"Can't we just break out?" said Lyra. "If we all push really hard against the doors, especially with her here"—she hooked a thumb over at May—"then I'm sure we'll be fine."

“I think it’d be best to train first,” said Nolan.

"You plan on doing that in this tower?" said Sean. "Don't forget that most of us'll die if we take a single step down those stairs, and there's no energy left up here because of someone, if I'm guessing right."

"Oh!" exclaimed Esteban, who grew excited as his eyes lit up in understanding. "Are we going...you know, there?"

Sean and Ian looked at Nolan expectantly, as did Nyla. The others quickly caught onto the fact that there was some unspoken secret being brought to light, one that left question marks floating around the heads of those in the dark.

"You speak as if there's another option," said May.

Alicia and Aine exchanged curious looks but otherwise remained quiet, though Lyra was vocal as ever.

"Hey, Ian. What's with the sudden mood change?"

He shrugged, otherwise ignoring his sister.

"What is it? Stop being all dodgy."

Ian fixed Nolan with a golden stare, helpless as his sister kept prodding him for information.

"Okay guys, those that're confused need to listen up and think very carefully." Nolan stepped into the centre of the group and directly addressed those that he was referring to. "I've got a way to increase all of your cultivations by more than just a level or two. The thing is, I can only share my secret with you if I know for sure that you won't tell anybody about it. Like, I need to be one hundred percent sure."

"Will this secret method be of any benefit to me?" May held him with a hazel gaze. "I wonder if some youngster like you could actually help me cultivate.” As an aside to herself, she muttered, “Well, there's definitely that way, but I get the feeling that he’s talking about something else.” She returned her focus to him. “You're not referring to that water, are you?”

"Nope, it's something completely different, and it'll benefit everyone equally. But before that, I need to get to the main point." He summoned a few master-slave contracts from his spatial bag and let them fall to the ground with light patters. "I'll be blunt. The only way I’ll share my methods with you guys is if you agree to go through with one of these contracts. I'll only ever give you one command, and that'll be not to tell anybody about my secret. You have my word on that.”

"You want us to be your slaves?" snorted Lyra. "Are you dreaming?"

"He's not kidding," said Sean. "Me and the kid here already went through with the contract."

"You two?" She slowly turned her head to her brother. "Don't tell me, you too...?"

"No, not me."

"Nyla. You don't seem surprised by this. Did you have to sign one of these contracts?"

"No."

"What the hell is this then? This isn't some small matter, Nolan. Even if you say that you won't give us any other commands, how can we be sure? These contracts are for life, you know. What if we have a falling out or something? I don't want you to have that sort of power over me. I don't want anybody to."

"I know what you mean, trust me, I do. But that's just how valuable this method is. When I first showed up here, I didn't even have a cultivation. Look at me now, out here killing direct disciples of all these sects that keep trolling me."

"Even if I was foolish enough to agree to this, I'm already under a master-slave contract. I was always told that only one can be active at any given time.”

"Oh, shit eh. I almost forgot about that. Well, if we get rid of it then would you agree to signing one with me? Everybody that joins our sect from now on will have to agree to the same thing, too, so it’s not like I’m going out of my way to give you a hard time.”

"It's impossible to break a master-slave contract," said May. "The only way to end one is for the master to willingly remove the energy signature from the slave's body."

She's right, said Uncle Grey, his voice causing a lead weight to settle within Nolan's stomach. Even I can't remove one. They might be among the easiest talismans to create, but they're the hardest ones to dispel.

Seriously? Why didn't you tell me earlier?

"There's gotta be another way," said Nolan. Worry found its way into Nyla's eyes as she noticed his sudden distress, but then he took a breath and then fixed her with a reassuring gaze. "Don't we just have to kill that guy?"

"Are you crazy?" sighed Lyra. "The only one with any chance of doing that would be her."

May shrugged. "I've already made enough enemies for you lot. I won't be doing you any more favours until I'm repaid in full."

"We won't need your help," said Nolan, hanging on to the emphasis at the end of her sentence. "We just need to keep our distance from that guy for a year or two, then we can go find him and show him what happens when you mess with the Earth Sect."

In the silence that followed, Alicia suddenly spoke up. "I’ll do it."

She rested a hand on Aine's shoulder, the younger girl meeting her gaze with conviction and then turning to look at the others with a nod.

“You’ve already saved us time and again,” said Aine, who picked up two of the fallen contracts and handed one to Alicia. "I trust you won't do anything bad to us, Nolan."

"I'll keep my word, I swear.”

He unfurled each contract, opened up a small cut on one of his thumbs, and then left a blood imprint on each of the stretched-out sheets of parchment. The girls followed suit, which brought about a bright flash of light and the momentary manifestation of black rings around their necks that signified a master-slave contract, which quickly faded as if they’d never been there in the first place. The girls were gasping in pain, but these expressions also lasted but a few short moments.

As soon as the ceremony was complete, Nolan spoke with authority. "No matter what, don't tell anybody about the secret that I'm about to share with you guys. If you do, then hold your breath until you die."

The rings made a brief reappearance, shining as the girls acknowledged his command with silent acceptance. "Alright," he said to May. "What about you?"

"I think I'll refuse. I like taking things at my own pace, so being on the slave end of one of these contracts just doesn't sit well with me."

"Suit yourself, I guess." He put a handful of paces between him and May, at which point he gave everybody else a sweeping gaze. "Alright, crowd around me guys."

Those that had never been to Nia gathered close with confusion, while Ian sighed and dragged his hesitant sister to Nolan's side.

“Lyra’s word is worth as much as mine. Let her come, will you?”

Nolan sent a guilty gaze to the girls that had just gone through with the contract, though they assured him that they didn’t mind the double standard. Sean walked over as well, Esteban trailing behind with a smile of anticipation on his freckled face. Nyla followed after and reached out to grab hold of Nolan's left forearm.

"I've got to keep close, right?"

"I'm glad you know."

Closing his eyes, he instigated a reaction within the Millennial Ring and then looked up just in time to catch a curious expression from May. "We'll be back in a week or so."

"Wait, what do you mean by—”

He gave her the peace sign with his free hand as his mind went blank, and he completely lost his bearings. All too suddenly, he was falling down in a jumble of jostled vision, though he was able to catch himself on all fours in a feline crouch as his friends crashed to the grassy ground in an unconscious heap.

Well, this is new. He normally lost consciousness whenever he relied on the ring to travel between worlds, but this time around he’d only felt a brief mix of nausea and vertigo.

Everybody else crashed to the ground with a series of light thuds, all of them asleep save for Nyla, who immediately began to stir. They were a few metres west of the simple courtyard, strewn out beneath the ghostly gaze of Uncle Grey, who had rushed over to greet his highly anticipated guests like a puppy greeting their owner after being left alone for the first time. Without any intent to save face, he began to circle around in the air above them, a happy smile parting his grizzled beard.