Contract

"Domain expansion" 

"Heavenly Guardian" 

As the flowers bloom in spring, Yggdrasil's domain expands like the petals being swept in the wind. The scenery changed from the broken dimension to a never-ending flower field. 

No matter how far you look, the only thing you'll see are beautiful flowers that seem to dance in the wind. In the middle of it all is a giant tree that stands proud and tall. 

The creature looked around in curiosity. Slowly, it focused on Yggdrasil and looked at her with emotionless eyes. 

Yggdrasil kept a calm gaze, but beneath such eyes, she observed the creature with utmost focus. 

"Weaker," Yggdrasil said. 

The creature was far weaker compared to the beast they fought before. It was like an egg compared to the one before. 

Yggdrasil lifted her finger as a wave of energy swept through the creature. The energy knocked the beast back a few miles. 

The beast stood up unscathed and now had a menacing glow in its eye. Yggdrasil, on the other hand, only noted a few things in her head. 

'It has resistance like the one before it. Interesting.' Yggdrasil casually thought.

This creature was no match for her. If it were the one before, she would surely lose, but now? It was like looking at a mere replica. 

'Nonetheless, it's a threat,' Yggdrasil concluded. 

She raised her hand in an elegant fashion as she muttered a string of incomprehensible words. 

The words meant "universal punishment." 

Yggdrasil had a deep connection with the universe itself due to her origin. This allowed her to summon universal punishment for beings she deemed threats. However, the universe itself will first have to judge that character before deciding.

The dark creature suddenly raised its guard as it sensed a strong presence scanning its body. Universal bonds suddenly appeared as they bound latched on the creature, immobilizing it. 

After a few seconds, the creature stayed still as the dark matter slowly reverted back. Lock's body couldn't take any more burden; otherwise, it'd break. 

Yggdrasil's eye raised a bit as she watched the events unfold. The dark matter slowly retracted as a boy appeared in its place. 

Suddenly, universal energy entered the body of the young man before vanishing without a trace. Yggdrasil was now shocked beyond comparison. 

Not only did the universe not punish or even kill the creature; rather, it was blessing it! This was unheard of! 

'If the universe itself blessed this kid, then I do not have the right to harm him' Yggdrasil thought. 

She flicked her finger, and green essence invaded the body of the boy. The energy started healing him both externally and internally. Afterwards, Yggdrasil cancelled her domain. 

After some careful thinking, she had decided to cater to the boy for now. She had sensed a huge deal of damage done to the kid's soul. Even the universal energy entering his body didn't fully heal it. 

She will now watch the kid until his soul finally recovers. Of course, this didn't come without a price. Materials needed for this procedure will cost quite a lot. 

***

Three months later.

Lock's eye twitched a bit before finally opening slowly. He groggily looked around and saw an unfamiliar room. He was inside a lab-looking structure. 

"Where..?" Lock asked subconsciously. 

Then he was assaulted by a nasty headache. He slowly laid down again as he massaged his head. The system messages suddenly flooded him and caused the annoying brain pain. 

When the system messages finally calmed down, he started to remember the details of what happened. 

'Did I kill the queen? No, that can't be right. If I did harm the queen, then I wouldn't be here.' Lock concluded. 

'Where am I anyway?' Lock wondered. 

He allowed his eyes to explore for a bit. He was inside a very high-tech-looking place. There were also jars and computers on the side. The jars were filled with weird-looking things that Lock couldn't recognize. He was also sitting down at a white, high-tech-looking table. 

In Lock's conclusion, this place was probably expensive. 

With nothing much to do, he started checking the system messages. 

<Emergency protocol disabled>

<You have sustained soul damage.>

<Soul damage fixed>

<Your body grows stronger.>

<Your soul grows stronger.>

'Soul damage?' Lock thought. Then he remembered the pressure the Queen gave him, which shook him to the core. 

What happened when I was in this "emergency" protocol? These were the questions running through Lock's head. He couldn't remember much after the initiation of the protocol. 

He moved his body around and did a series of simple exercises. After confirming he was fine, he checked his stats. 

<Status> 

Name: Lock 

Age: Sixteen and 4 month old

Species: Human

Affinity: Void

Talent: N/A 

Condition: Healthy

Stats: 

STRENGTH: 16.3

SPD/AGI: 16.7

DEXTERITY: 12.7

CONSTITUTION: 18

CHARM: 7.2

SPIRIT: 9.6

MAGIC: 8

SKILLS [+]

Lock's mood brightened after seeing his increase in stats. He was also pleased by the increase in spirit. Increasing it was not easy as he didn't possess any soul-strengthening methods. 

"It appears you're very much awake now."

Lock was startled and immediately summoned his axe before taking a battle stance. When he saw where the voice came from, he was shocked for a bit. 

The being was beautiful but exuded a very suffocating pressure. This was way beyond what the Queen had. It was like comparing an ant to a god. 

"Cease your weapons; I am not your enemy." being said.

"If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be here. You can feel it yourself." being added. 

Lock slowly lowered his weapons in compliance. As much as he hated to admit it, what the being said was logical. 

"Good," he said. 

"Do you notice any difference in your body?" It asked. 

Lock hesitated for a bit before checking his body again. This was just an act since he already knew that he was fine; he just wanted to hide the existence of the system. 

"I'm all good." He said it after a while. 

The being stared at Lock for a while before replying. 

"My name is Yggdrasil. I brought you here after your accident." Yggdrasil said. 

Lock pondered for a bit before introducing himself. 

"My name is Lock," he said. 

"Just Lock?" Yggdrasil asked. 

"Yes," Lock replied. 

"Okay, Lock, I will be frank with you, the procedure to heal your soul cost a lot. Since you don't have anything of equal value, I will give you a few options." Yggdrasil said. 

Lock got nervous as he heard the word expensive. Looking at how grand this place was, he couldn't imagine what expensive was to Yggdrasil's eyes. 

"The first choice is that you will help the elves until you die." Yggdrasil announced. 

Lock felt desperation as he heard what Yggdrasil said. It was like a death sentence to his ear. 

"Second," Yggdrasil said. 

Lock felt a bit better as he realized there were more options. 

"You will sign a contract with me." Yggdrasil followed. 

'Contract?' Lock thought in curiosity. 

He had nothing to give to this being, so what was the point of a contract? Wasn't a contract a way for an equal trade? 

"Third, you will allow me to experiment with your body." Yggdrasil said. 

Lock was silenced for a while as he weighed his choices. 

'The first option is immediately out of question; I can't stay here for that long.' Lock thought. 

No matter how hard he looked, the most viable option was the contract, due to the fact that he didn't quite like the sound of someone experimenting on his body. 

"I chose the contract," Lock said. 

Upon hearing this, Yggdrasil formed a small, imperceptible smile as she summoned a paper out of thin air. 

Lock didn't bother understanding how it happened and went straight for the terms. 

"The contract will be a soul-bound contract. You will become my disciple, and you will follow my commands. Of course, you will have a choice if the situation is dangerous. You will also aid me in my "medical" research." Yggdrasil stated. 

Lock listened and carefully examined the contract for any loopholes. 

'Ah, why am I even bothering? It's not like I have a choice to begin with.' Lock thought. 

He was a bit annoyed but accepted the terms anyway. The feeling of powerlessness was quite frustrating. 

'There goes my freedom, I guess,' Lock thought. 

"Don't worry, I won't ask you to do anything absurd." Yggdrasil assured, which made Lock's mood a bit better. 

Lock heaved a deep sigh. not realizing how big of a mess he got himself into.