CHAPTER 50: [ SMALL WORLD ]

Alexander had gone over the contract three times.

Brak had been playing with various items the whole time. This time, he was juggling playing cards, easily entertained by himself.

He had read every clause, and they all seemed solid.

Some of the things that were written down were only possible because of the assumption of the golden vow.

The numbers could be redefined at a later date, the logistics could be altered, the way Brak’s invested could be revisited.

There was no pressure for the contract to be perfect, the magic used allowed flexibility that no ordinary contract would be able to provide.

It also stated they could back out of the deal at any time, returning what rightfully belonged to each of them while splitting the profits in the middle.

The interesting part, was how the golden vow wouldn’t end with the contract. Once revoked, it would linger until death, preventing them to harm each other in any way, shape or form.

Whatever happened, Brak had the safety that Alexander wouldn’t damage his business, while Alexander wouldn’t be scammed out of everything he owned.

"It looks good," finally said Alexander.

Brak, surprised, suddenly stopped juggling the cards and clapped his hands. The cards kept juggling themselves, revealing the levitating magic at work.

"Alright!" said Brak.

"Your deal seems fair, too fair even. You’d actually stand to lose as well, if I were ill-intended. I doubt you’d sign this yourself if it wasn’t for the golden vow."

"I’m glad we’ve arrived at an agreement."

"I have questions."

Brak made the cards drop on the table, then crossed his hands on his legs.

"I’m listening," he said.

"What if I want drugs, or a woman to sleep with? I could ask for a weapon that’s known to create a lot of collateral damage, then, what would happen?"

Brak smiled widely, it looked as creepy as it could’ve.

"Anything you may need, I’ll provide. It’s in the contract."

Alexander raised both eyebrows.

"If you do need drugs, I have a wide variety... as for girls, well, that service already existed long before me so I could arrange something..."

He then took a deep breath, his eyes staring into Alexander’s.

"I’m your provider. I do not make decisions for you. I may advise you, but ultimately, what you do with what I give you is not up to me. Your actions and the pain you might cause is all on your shoulders."

"Isn’t this dangerous? What if I was the worst threat this world had ever known? If I used you to cause more pain than you could imagine?"

Brak smiled. "As long as I can acquire new things, I couldn’t care less."

Alexander felt Fae’s gaze beside him. He was still holding onto her, but she already seemed in a much better shape than before.

The potion must’ve started work, he could feel it in himself too.

"What do you think?" he asked Fae.

Her eyes said the same word they always did.

It was totally up to him, she didn’t mind.

He grabbed the pen in one decisive move, writing his name, and right under it he added the name given to him in his inner path. ’Veil’.

Brak’s smile became even larger. He grabbed the pen Alexander was handing him, and signed the same paper right next to his name.

Once he was done and put the pen down, from the contract emanated bright light.

It started to unravel, the threads of the parchment turning gold and reaching toward both Brak and Alexander.

The threads swirled around their fingers, then arms and shoulder.

It wrapped around their whole body, head to toe, completely covered in golden thread.

It looked as if it was sinking into their skin, until it finally disappeared.

Brak then got up, and out of nowhere appeared a knife in his hand. His sleight of hand was so good, despite his visual prowess he couldn’t tell how he got it out.

"What is it?" asked Alexander.

Brak then brought the knife backward, and went to throw it at Alexander.

Fae quickly moved to jump at Brak, stopped by Alexander who held her at the waist mid-air and pulling her toward him at the best of his abilities.

She was quick and strong, her weakened state most-likely the only reason he was able to hold her back.

With [ Witness of All Paths ] activated, he could see first what she couldn’t : golden threads emerged from Brak’s body. It tightly wrapped around his arm and hand.

It looked like it painfully sunk into his skin, so tight he couldn’t even move. The thread even held onto the knife, it never would’ve left his hand.

"See?" said Brak.

Fae’s tension dropped, still held by Alexander. She sat on his lap, while he stared at Brak.

"I might not be able to stop her, next time," he said, his tone serious.

"I’ll keep that in mind," replied Brak brightly.

Alexander was unconsciously patting her head while talking to Brak, a gesture she seemed to appreciate.

"It’s late," started Brak. "But there’s a few things we still need to get out of the way."

Alexander nodded silently, letting Brak continue.

"First, I need you to come out of your next dungeon runs. You won’t find me anything good if you die. First thing will be getting you all the gear you might need, we’ll make you the most efficient dungeon runner possible," he said.

"As long as my head isn’t riddled with rings and piercings..."

"Oh, you know Sunder? He’s under the same contract as you are, right now. I’ve provided him with each of those piercings..."

Alexander’s surprise couldn’t be held back.

"I could give you the same treatment, but it would be overkill. He’s a special case, so he needs all those items. We won’t need to pierce your precious skin... unless you want me to?"

Brak’s tone ended in a truly hopeful manner, while his eyes were looking directly at his ears.

"I would rather avoid piercing anything," said Alexander.

"Suit yourself."