Chapter 8: A Deal

"This kid."

Lucius looked at the portal with mixed expressions, he didn't know what to feel as he is feeling several things at the moment; he felt that Cosmo was the bravest soul he ever encountered on his lifetime, or probably, in his opinion, the stupidest being he has ever encountered, he starts to wonder if that kid even uses his brain.

Nevertheless, the act of jumping into the portal of horrors can indeed be counted as a courageous act, even though it may or may not be just blind courage. Lucius contemplated the situation for a while and came to a decision. He swiped his hand through the air, causing the portal floating to disappear, and what replaced it was a fainted Cosmo.

Lucius never actually conjured a portal leading into unknown horrors, no, because frankly, he is less than an ant compared to his previous power. Now all that's left to him is a shell of his former self. Thinking that way, he lamented his fate and thought of the various things that had happened, leading him into this place.

Trapped in a prison filled with the most complicated spells and seals to have ever been created. So complicated that even he does not know how he can get out of this. That is until he saw the child. In him is what he thinks is the stupidest being he has ever seen, and yet he saw hope in him, saw hope that he may be free once again.

"Mr. Lucius, are you there?" said Cosmo as he lay there limp, barely making sense of his own words.

Okay, maybe not.

"Yes, child, I'm here."

He snapped his fingers once and in the next moment, Cosmo was then laying in a comfy bed. Beside his table was even a drink prepared by Lucius. Often to kill time, Lucius would make drinks, sometimes beer, sometimes juices, and sometimes drinks so divine that even the gods would want it. Though there were times he created a drink so foul, it's enough to wipe out a country.

Cosmo got up with apparent grogginess, with his surroundings still blurry but in that blurriness, he can somewhat make out the figure of Lucius. Lucius gazed at the dizzy Cosmo and thought, 'Maybe this is my chance. Deep in thought for a while as Cosmo was trying to make sense of his surroundings, he decided.

"Congratulations kid, you passed my test and successfully survived the Horrors of of the other side."

Hearing that he passed, Cosmo said.

"I did? I did! Yes thank you Mr. Lucius. Though i don't remember surviving any perils on the other side."

"Nonsense child, you did indeed survive it, don't think about it too much."

He lied.

"Oh, uh yes, Mr. Lucius. So what now?"

"Its simple kid, i will attach to your soul."

"Hmmmm well okay."

"Its understandable kid that you are suspicious of me- wait what?"

"I said yes, Mr. Lucius."

Shocked that Cosmo agreed to his proposition so easily, he thought that Cosmo was pulling a fast one on him, but the more he looked into his crystal clear eyes and his dumb face, he realized that the kid was telling the truth.

"Seriously child, what is wrong with you…"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

Cosmo showed an apparent confusion to what he said, but Lucius ignored it and continued on.

"Ehem alright then, let's not waste time, here i go."

Lucius turned illusory as his body almost became see through like a ghost, and in the next second, he lunged towards Cosmo as if the wind was blowing and he then disappeared.

"That's it? I thought that there would be some mystical spectacle or something."

Once Lucius entered Cosmos' soul, nothing happened. The white space remained the same except for the puzzled Cosmo in the middle of it. Alone in the white room. As he was about to continue sipping tea, he heard a voice.

"Oh child, i forgot to tell you, since I'm hiding in your soul, some precautions are necessary so that no one can see me. But don't worry, the pain will only last for a couple of seconds."

"Well, alright Mr Lucius."

Lucius may have not lied about the pain lasting for a few seconds, but he severely sold short the pain that Cosmo he has to go through, and in a short amount, he understood the meaning of pain when it relates to the soul.

An electric current went through Cosmo as if the lightning itself was alive, making its way through cosmos entire body. The current went through his veins and then to every part of his body. Cosmo went into shock the next moment as he felt that he was struck by lightning a thousand times in a span of a second, but it did not end there.

He kneeled as he tried gasping for air, and yet no air entered his lungs as he tried to breathe, he can indeed breathe, but the pain was enough to make him forget how to even breathe. A fire of unknown origins lit up his insides as if the very pits of hell were inside his body, thrashing around like a demon going berserk.

His eyes oozed blood from its sockets as his eyes turned hellfire red, his skin turning pale from the rampant pain he felt throughout his body. What Mr. Lucius was doing felt like he was making no mistake in targeting every part of his body, not even missing his own fingernails as it was visibly turning black because of god knows what.

It was only for a few seconds, yet in that pit of pure pain, it felt like a billion years passed through in a blink of an eye. Cosmo could no longer take the pain as he passed out the second the pain started. In his mind, he felt relief that he could no longer feel it, yet that dream didn't come true as he realized that he was very much awake.

Although not with the intention to endure the pain, Cosmo lasted throughout the entire process as it didn't take long for it all end. And once it ended, he was then allowed to pass out, thus falling into once again a deep slumber.

Lucius, now hiding in Cosmos' soul, was deep in thought as he gazed at Cosmo, his eyes turning black for a moment until he smiled and said.

"And so it starts."

…

My sister once told me not to talk to strangers, but i didn't listen as i talked to everyone in the city that i lived in. My sister told me after that to not trust strangers no matter what they say, but i didn't know what it meant when i was a child so i continued on conversing with the people, sometimes playing games with them and sometimes just talking.

It wasn't later that i found out what t it meant.

During my casual stroll around the city, i sometimes greeted some people and occasionally when i come across a food stall, i bought some food to have a snack while i took a walk, and boy it was delicious.

But in one of these walks, i happened to come across a band of mercenaries who seemed to be robbing some people in the alleyways, and not wanting to see injustice, i strode forward and tried to put an end to it. Unfortunately I'm not the [Brave] and so they must have realized who i was judging by my garments, because they did stop bullying the people.

Instead, they invited me to their warehouse so they could discuss the right and wrongs about what they did along with their leader, i thought that it wasn't a bad idea and i had nothing to do and so i followed.

And once i followed them, i noticed that while we were on the way, they surrounded me bit by bit until i had nowhere to escape, but i didn't think too much about it as i thought they did it to protect me.

It wasn't until doubt surfaced in me that we were moving into a secluded region devoid of people, but by then, it was too late. We did into go to a warehouse but from the outside look of it; it was apparent that it was an abandoned one.

Cobwebs formed in some places of it and rust was taking over the hinges of the door, while the ceiling had some holes in it as sunlight was shining through the cracks of it.

Just as i was about to say something about the situation, a blunt object hit me in the back of the head, and what followed was the enveloping darkness of being unconscious.

Later i found out that one of the most notorious mercenary bands kidnapped me, known for their brutal methods of killing their enemy and striking fear in the hearts of anyone who dares go against them. Some people said that their way of dealing with their missions was full of terroristic.

Kidnapping, Assassination and blackmail, you name it; they do it as long as they completed the mission. If i remember correctly, their organization name was [Ultimus].

But i guess they underestimated the Dynasty i belonged to, in particular my family as it seemed that they didn't take my kidnapping to kindly. After my family realized that i was kidnapped, and funny enough they found out because [Ultimus] was seeking ransom for me.

I heard that the moment my family found out, my father threatened the Dynasty with using their forces to bring me back while my sister got her spear ready to go after me solo, but luckily my mom kept calm and held them back both. But she was by far the worst as i heard that she used the family's Guardians to bring me back.

Our family's guardians are not people anyone wants to fuck around and find out. Reason being that once they found out i was gone, my mom ordered them to bring me back and they sent one man. Only one man.

Yet that one man was feared through the entire eastern continent, why? Well, it's actually simple. Uncle Savitar might act like a kind man to me, but to his enemies he is the definition of a god of war. My father once said that the moment he steps onto the battlefield, the enemy was already preparing to retreat as if the outcome was decided.

His battle style was reminiscent of a crazed maniac seeking blood and gore. Everywhere he went in the battlefield, the enemy was massacred as a fountain of blood rained in the ground, limbs flew and heads were chopped off.

By the end of it, he was covered in blood, not his blood of course, but the blood of his enemies as he cackled into the sky as if enjoying a moment of pleasure. But to me he was a kind person, he once taught me how to fish in the pond we had and taught me arts and crafts, so i think the rumors were pretty exaggerated.

Yet i was proven wrong as the moment he arrived in the warehouse alone, coincidentally i already woke up and saw him smile at me in the distance. I of course, smiled back as i wondered why he was here.

Didn't take me long to find out because once we entered the building, the mercenaries rushed at him yet he his smile didn't fade as he summoned a large battle ace the same height as him, and cleaved forward, directly killing every mercenary that stood in his way.

In a minute, he was already in front of me soaked in blood while still keeping his smile. It would've been a heartwarming reunion since i haven't seen Uncle Savitar in months, if not for the fact that someone was holding a knife to my neck.

The last one standing was supposedly the leader of the mercenary corps. Behind me i could feel that he was shaking and trembling as he held the knife close to my neck. I wasn't worried since Uncle Savitar was here.

"Let him go." said uncle savitar in a deep voice.

"No no, don't move! Don't move, i say! Make one move and i will kill this kid! Don't test me, you demon, please… no…"

He couldn't finish the rest he was saying as he collapsed in the ground, with his eyes showing tears of blood running down his cheek. I don't know what happened, but i just noticed that Uncle Savitar gazed at him with a flash of red in his eyes, and in the next moment, the man was dead.

With the man being dead, Uncle Savitar came close to me. He knelt down beside me as our eyes level met. Well barely, he's pretty tall, so even while kneeling, my eyes could only reach his shoulder level.

He reached out a hand in a slow manner, and of course in turn, i followed and grabbed it, with uncle Savitar pulling me up to my feet. He scanned my body for any injuries with a worried expression. He also asked me various questions.

"Cosmo! Did they do anything to you? Are you hurt? Did they verbally assault you? Oh no, Cosmo, you look thin. Did they not feed you? Damn it, i should've taken my time ripping them apart."

Intent full of bloodlust rose within Uncle Savitar, making the atmosphere heavier than it already was, with the rooftop almost breaking down from his pressure. Shit, this is ain't good. He's gonna bury us alive at this point.

"Uncle Savitar, Uncle Savitar! Look, I'm fine! There's no need to worry, but yeah, i am indeed hungry."

I open my arms to showcase my body to show that there was nothing wrong, i even turned around to show that everything was fine, that not one part of my body was hurt. Yet that seems to be a miscalculation on my part, i forgot i was hit on the back of the head.

Due to that mistake, Uncle Savitar saw my the back of my head with blood seeping out of it, and that was what finally broke the roof. Literally. As the roof of the warehouse came crashing down, as i could see some part of it falling down on me, yet i didn't panic, because even if it fell on me, i knew we were going to be safe.

Before the rooftop came crashing down on us, my surroundings changed and what replaced it was vast greenery with tall trees covering the starry sky. I would've liked to admire it more if it wasn't for the fact that Uncle Savitar was here, and he doesn't seem to be Happy.

I could tell because he made no sound. He had a big smile on his face as he looked at me. His body showing no wasted movement as the surroundings changed again and now we were back at my house.

Something tells me this isn't gonna be the end of it.