Blood Contract

"Aren't you going to save your 'uncle' first?" She chuckled. "He might die any moment now..."

Aerion formed a sphere of Light Magic, directing it towards Viserys. All the while, the grandmaster focused on her counterattack. She turned away from Aerion and opened the entrance to the deeper level of the cellar.

Aerion ran up the stairs to see Viserys and Jaime instead of immediately giving chase.

"What will we do now?" Jaime inquired.

"Survive... that is the most important thing to do," Aerion answered after healing Viserys. "Even if we must temporarily retreat from the Freehold of Valyria."

He walked to the top of the cellar and opened the exit.

"Leave with Viserys, I will join you soon."

Aerion commanded all of the Soul Knights to move closer to the Palace before walking back down to see where the grandmaster had run off to. He walked past the entrance and down another set of stairs. Once the deeper floor came into view, Aerion was astounded by its sheer size.

There were hundreds upon hundreds of corpses piled into hills to the side of the black-emerald cellar. Towards the end, laid an extravagant, colossal and terrifying tomb. Aerion felt a malevolent aura like no other leaking through the tomb. As a matter of fact, this aura was so dense that it managed to materialise into a fog of darkness around the tomb.

The grandmaster stood in front of the tomb.

"Wouldn't want me to wake him, now would we?"

Aerion smiled. "We can negotiate. You did say something about leaving this cellar sometime ago... but, other than that, I do not know what you desire."

"Negotiate... hmph, very well." She nodded. "The strength of your magic now surpasses my own but I'll have you know that those guards of yours are still at my disposal. Their souls, to be more precise."

"I could erase them completely so you had better keep your word regarding these negotiations of yours. If you truly care about them, that is."

Aerion frowned as the situation had grown far more complicated than before. He had planned to distract her with his negotiations and strike when the time was right. But now... what would be the point of that? She could destroy three of his Kingsguard with a mere flick of her fingers.

He had a difficult decision to make... disregard the souls of his Kingsguard or proceed to do whatever was necessary to free them, neither of which he wanted to do. Both were terrible options, after all.

...

"I've been trapped in this god-forsaken cellar for quite a few years and it seems that you're my way out of it." She sat down on the tomb. "The only other person who was capable of opening it was the one who trapped me... and let's just say that he wasn't too fond of releasing me. He provides all that I would need to continue living and nothing more."

"I'm almost starting to feel sorry for you." Aerion chuckled. "Release my Kingsguard and I'll let you leave. That seems fair, no?"

"Hmm, and how do I know that you'll simply let me leave?"

"You will have to trust me."

Once I get my hands on her... death would be a blessing.

She shrugged. "Your rage seems far too great for a promise to mean anything. I know that the moment I release them will be the moment that my misery begins. So... we'll have to form a blood contract to ensure that neither of us will disregard the terms of our deal."

"A blood contract?" Aerion frowned. "How will you manage that?"

"It's a type of magic derived from Hematomancy which binds people together upon the agreement of both parties. I am no more than an adept in that form of magic but it will serve its purpose."

System... is she telling the truth regarding this?

"Yes, she is." The system replied. "This is a difficult situation to be in... especially for you."

It is the duty of the Kingsguard to protect the King while it is also the duty of the King to protect his realm and all the people within it...

As Aerion thought of his three Kingsguard, his willingness to strike the grandmaster dwindled.

"It seems that we're both of the same mind." She smiled. "Isn't that wonderful?"

With a wave of her hand, a dim crimson circle appeared. She drew her own dagger and cut open a wound. Blood fell from her arm and dripped into the circle.

"Your name is Aerion Targaryen, yes?"

Aerion nodded. "It is."

"With my blood, I initiate this blood contract. Before and after I am released from the Dungeon of Chaos, I will not harm Aerion Targaryen or those who serve him. I will immediately release the souls of his guards once I am free of the dungeon."

"Now, it's your turn. My name is Helia Malitheos... if you need to know."

The Dungeon of Chaos?

Aerion did not ponder on the name for too long, however, as the matter at hand was more important.

This contract seems fair enough... the only issue is that I'll be unable to avenge my Kingsguard. But it's better to have them by my side as undead rather than have their souls destroyed.

Aerion sighed as he drew his own blood.

"I, Aerion of House Targaryen, will release Helia Malitheos from the Dungeon of Chaos."

"And?" She shook her head after a brief silence. "I need your word that you won't kill me after."

"And I will not harm her afterwards."

Their blood intertwined in the ever-glowing crimson circle as the terms were agreed upon by both parties. The strange patterns within the circle glowed brighter than before disappearing from the world.

"Well, it seems that I'll be laughing for several days on en-"

Rumble... rumble... rumble...

She jumped off the menacing tomb and walked towards Aerion. "More importantly, it seems that we have disturbed the Soul King with our ritual."

"The Soul King?"

"Our only options are to run now... and... well, there's no other option."

The Soul King's gauntlets... it would only be logical for him to have them.

She turned to the exit and began to run at a steady pace, stopping when she realised that Aerion standing still.

"Are you trying to die?"

"I cannot run from him," Aerion replied. "I need something that he has. It's one of the reasons why I cam here in the first place... and I'm not leaving without it."

"Stubborn fool, you're close to being completely exhausted in terms of magic and yet you believe you can face him?" She shook her head. "Even if you somehow succeed in defeating him with my assistance, you will likely die right after from sheer exhaustion. I know what he's capable of... unlike you. Naturally, you should heed my advice."

She has a point... it would be best to master my new-found strength before doing any more trials.

"Are you willing to die here!? If so, then open the exit first and I'll gladly let you fight him on your own."

Aerion turned away from the tomb and started to walk up to the first level of the cellar. Following that, he walked up to the exit of the dungeon after taking the fallen Ser Arthur's Dawn. Meanwhile, the grandmaster grabbed some of her valuables.

"To think that you were stronger than me and yet you couldn't open such a simple door." Aerion laughed.

"It's protected by a special barrier, much like the rest of the cellar. Now hurry up... I've had enough of this horrible place."

Aerion touched the exit and the runes began to glow emerald in response, opening shortly after.

Together, they left the cellar and returned to the floor of the palace where Jaime sat beside Viserys. Several Soul Knights had rallied around the cellar to protect the living while there were many others in the vicinity, including several of the greater undead dragons in the sky.

"Huh... isn't she the... enemy?" Viserys muttered as his blurry vision began to recover.

"There was a change in circumstances," Aerion replied.

Helia released the souls she had taken and transferred them to Aerion by touching his chest for a moment.

"Don't think too much of it... you have the souls of your guards and I have my freedom."

The roar from before seemed to have attracted quite the audience as a dozen guards were gathered around the cellar as well. Aerion turned to one of his Soul Knights.

"You didn't cause any trouble, did you?"

The Archer shook his head. "None at all. It seems that they came running because of the roar."

"The witch has escaped the cellar! Seize her at once... I repeat, seize her at once!" One of the guards announced. "You three, go tell the dragonlords... now!"

The guard nodded and started running.

"Oh my... isn't this a warm welcome?" A chain of lightning emerged from her fingers, stretching all the way to the guards who were running away. They all turned to ash within seconds.

"Wonderful... now you have collapsed my entire plan with your antics."

"I believe it was your roar that did that already."

"However, it seems that we have a common enemy, in the end-"

"Ah..."

Aerion fell to his knees as the consequences of overusing his magic vitality struck.

"Not... now..."

Helia's lilac eyes looked at him with pity as he began to fall unconscious. "Too proud and stubborn to admit defeat. Then again, you had to protect those around you... which is fair enough."

"Hmph, you're not my issue anymore... I have my freedom to enjoy!"

"Hey... you." Viserys managed to stand up as he watched Helia cheerfully stroll away. "You're not going to kill three loyal members of the Kingsguard and walk away so easily. Whatever negotiations you made, you still owe him!"

Helia glanced at Viserys and laughed.

"Owe him what? He should thank me... in truth. It was I who made him into a grandmaster in the first place. Oh... I did kill a few of his guards but he has their souls which means that they can be resurrected stronger than before. He might as well thank me for that as well."

Viserys grit his teeth as he began to plead. "Please, help us to safety. It is uncertain when the Freehold will catch onto our deeds and strike. All I ask of is your protection until he wakes. After all, his exhaustion was as a result of the battle he had with you..."

"It isn't my fault that he wasted his magic." She shrugged.

"He'll repay you... I know he will. Despite your differences, Aerion would repay you because he values those who assist him in a time of need."

"I want to see the Valyrian Freehold burn... would he happen to help with that?"

"Of course, he has been doing that already..."

"And I desire the Tome of Hematomancy," Helia added. "It has many powerful, truly wonderful, magic skills to discover."

Viserys nodded. "He will help with that... if he can. I promise that he will on the honour of House Targaryen."

Helia chuckled as emerald flames emerged from her body. She glanced at Aerion's figure and was reminded of the power she had seen. If this strength was mastered and used, then attaining what she wanted was going to be far easier.

"You have yourself a deal, my good sir."