First Contract, Part 1

Astaroth eyed the orb greedily.

"What do I do, sir?" He asked Aberon.

"Start by trying to feel the soul remnant inside the orb. It should look like a flicker of flame to your mana sense. Feel it out until you can see it clearly. Once that is done, try to contact it using your mana." The old man instructed.

Astaroth did as instructed. It took him a few minutes to feel the soul, and a few more to contact it.

Once his mana touched the soul, he felt a wave of hatred and anger wash over him. He could feel his mana being pushed back slightly.

"The soul is pushing me back, sir. What should I do?" Astaroth asked.

"Did you think a spirit will submit to anyone? One that you have just killed? What else were you expecting?" Aberon said, almost laughing at the question.

If taming a soul was easy, every mage would do it.

"Just keep focusing on it until the repulsion can't stop you from contacting it." He added.

Astaroth focused more. He pushed his mana harder and continuously into the soul until he could feel his mana touch the soul without interruption.

"I can force contact now. What next?" He asked the old mage.

"Now you crush the orb in your hand. Set the soul free. It will more than likely try to overpower you, but you must resist. If you can hold out against it until it deems you worthy, it will form the bond to your soul by itself. Remember this: anything you see will be in your mind." Aberon instructed Astaroth.

Astaroth nodded his head. He then took in a big breath and crushed the orb.

Immediately, darkness swallowed his vision. His body lost weight like he was floating in space, and he couldn't tell up from down.

A few seconds after, a wolf materialized in front of him. It was the same Dire Wolf Alpha he had helped kill.

It snarled at him.

"You think I will bond with you, puny elf?! You are much too weak to kill me, even less likely to force me into submission!" Astaroth heard in his head.

"You can talk?!" He responded.

"I can do much more. Kill you, for example." The wolf responded in his head, sending a wave of mana at Astaroth.

The mana crashed into Astaroth, sending him tumbling into nothingness, but he stabilized himself quickly.

"You don't scare me, you oversized dog!" Astaroth yelled at the apparition.

"Hmph! We will see about that!" The wolf huffed, then said.

"Let's see how long you would last against my pack if you were alone!" The wolf then said, before howling.

Around Astaroth, many wolves started appearing. They formed out of nothing and then surrounded him.

Astaroth pulled out his polearm and stood ready. The surrounding wolves snarled and growled without moving.

That changed rapidly as the wolves repeated the strategy used against Kloud. One moved in from one side and another moved in from the opposite side, trying to sandwich him.

If he tried moving sideways, out of the two wolves' way, another would lunge at him, forcing him back into the middle. He got hit a few times, but strangely, he felt no pain.

It wasn't until he got hit a dozen times he noticed why. The more he got hit, the weaker and slower he became.

It was like they were draining away his strength. And then he remembered what Aberon had said.

It was all inside his mind! They were draining away his mana!

Astaroth changed tactics and didn't let himself get hit anymore. He focused on dodging, not trying to hit back.

Astaroth wasn't damaging the wolves, anyway. He fought on like that for a few minutes, but he was rapidly tiring, and the more he grew tired, the more he got hit, forming a terrible circle.

'This isn't working.' He thought.

He tried to make sense of the situation while dodging, but couldn't focus enough. Then he realized.

It's all in his head. That's what Aberon said.

If this is in his head, doesn't he have absolute control? Theoretically, this could work, but he wasn't sure.

Unfortunately for him, he no longer had any other option. He stopped moving altogether, closed his eyes, and focused his mind.

The wolves all lunged at him, seeing an opportunity. Astaroth kept his eyes closed but imagined the space around him empty.

Astaroth visualized the darkness; he visualized himself in it, alone, with the Alpha's spirit. He kept his eyes closed for a while, but never felt the bites from the wolves.

He opened them up, and the wolves were gone. Only the Alpha remained. A look of anger was on his face.

"So you have figured it out. So what? Do you think that is all I can do?!" The Alpha said, snarling at Astaroth.

"No. That is not all you can do. But there is not only you in this space. And this space is inside MY mind. You will bend to me!" Astaroth said, domineeringly.

"I BOW TO NO ONE!" The wolf bellowed. He then tried lunging at Astaroth to eat him.

"I said BEND TO ME!" Astaroth yelled back.

The wolf received a wave of mana that came out of nowhere. It pushed him back and then pressed him to the ground.

The more he struggled, the harder it pushed him, eventually crushing him to the ground. The Alpha started whimpering in pain.

"Yield and bond with me. Only then will you stop suffering. Resist, and I shall ground your soul to dust!" Astaroth declared, acting imperiously.

"You are too weak! I won't yield!" The wolf responded, trying to push itself back up.

The force pushing on it only grew. It cried out some more, feeling its strength erode the longer this went on.

Yet, it kept resisting. It was stubborn to the end.