"Either swear a magically binding oath to become my loyal... pet, or become my afternoon snack."

My foxkin's shoulders slumped, and she raised a hand to her neck, and said, "Like a slave collar?" I shrugged. I didn't know how they worked, so I couldn't answer her question.

Oaths sworn on my name are naturally binding, and I explained that to her. Instead of confusing her, I let her think I had the [Oathbinding] ability. There is power in names. As an eternal, like the greater fey and true devils, the web of primal mana that encapsulates the world was called to my name.

Misleading someone in an honor bound agreement is contemptible, but I wasn't misleading her about the oath, just about what enforced it.

With careful and precise wording, I explained exactly what being my 'loyal pet' meant.

Being loyal meant that she would never betray or deceive me, and her own hopes, dreams, and desires, were subservient to mine. It wouldn't force her to become a mindlessly obedient puppet, so she could disobey as much as she wanted, but being able to disobey has less to do with freedom than most people imagined.

Being my pet would only bind her in two ways. Like any good pet, she would come when I called, and since pets couldn't own anything, everything of hers, would belong to me. Including herself.

"I don't want to die." She whispered in a trembling voice.

"Then swear. It's just six words. 'I swear to be Ciarra's loyal pet.', and you will survive." It was cold, even to my own ears.

Silence stretched, but I knew which way she would leap. She was a survivor, and she would see the completely one sided oath for what it really was. Her only chance at survival.

The sweet scent of her outrage and humiliation slowly filled the air. It seemed thick enough to choke on before she finally surrendered, and said. "I swear to be Ciarra's loyal pet." The oathbinding flared into existence, and settled into place. It's terms were simple and clear, and exactly as they should be.

Oathbindings include an instinctive and complete understanding of all oaths involved. As the oathbinder, all oaths were interpreted through me. Her eyes widened as she learned exactly what I considered a loyal pet to be, and what she had bound herself to become, but my explanation had been clear and thorough. She wasn't really surprised. No one would ever be able to truthfully claim that I tricked them into an oathbinding.

[Content removed per request.]

Spoiler: Spoiler

Short version: Ciarra has fun, and so does the scared foxkin.

The full scene is available here: https://storiesonline.net/s/20605:216134/chapter-6-ciarra-the-cold

[Continued scene...]

I left her there, and searched the keep for a bedroom. It had been a long day, and I had eaten enough that I wasn't hungry. The bed I found belonged to the bandit leader. I already knew Vixen had been one of his bed-toys, and judging from the scents in the room, he had used her just a couple days ago. It made me thankful I hadn't used my mouth on her, and I resolved to thoroughly scrub her down in the morning. I ripped the dirty sheets off the mattress, threw them on the floor, and headed back to the courtyard for Vixen. The clean laundry that had been left out to dry would serve as adequate sheets for tonight.

I used their clothing to make a little nest on the bed, then stretched Vixen's body out on it. She was still so overwhelmed with toe-curling pleasure that she wasn't aware of her surroundings.

I wondered how many changes I could make to her body with [Flesh Shaping], so I focused on the skill to learn more.

Name: Flesh Shaping

Range: Touch

Rank: 10

Grants absolute knowledge of targets body.

Grants the ability to permanently alter targets body.

May not change species of target.

First Time Bonus:

Increase all stats by [Rank] * 5

Increase one stat by [Rank] * 5

Copy one [Special Ability] from caster to target.

Ciarra,

I created this unique ability just for you. Mold your harem girls to match your fantasies, then turn them into powerful allies for your dungeon crawls.

You OWE me,

Kolra, Goddess of Domination and Control.

Kolra was right. I owed her a great deal. From the beginning, she had given far more than our bargain required. This wasn't an accident, and she didn't do it on a whim. What was she hoping to gain?

I had already agreed to be her champion, so that wasn't it. What could I give her that she didn't already have? In the end, I could only think of one thing.

My loyalty.

Snarling, I forced my way through the wall, spread my wings, and climbed into the sky. I was incandescent with rage. How dare she! I roared at the night. I hadn't agreed to this. No eternal had ever given their loyalty to a god, or even another eternal. We often made deals and bargains, and at times we were forced into service, much like my original bargain with Kolra, but that was always temporary.

Actual loyalty is another matter entirely.

Gradually I brought myself back from the edge. I was still angry, but had regained some control. Eventually I managed to relax enough to think clearly again. I returned to the keep, and wasn't surprised to find Kolra waiting in the courtyard.

Our eyes locked. Two apex predators on the verge of combat. I wanted to kill her. Could I last long enough to taste her blood? Just because I couldn't win, didn't mean I couldn't make her pay for the insult. It might be worth dying for. I wanted to try.

Damn the consequences.

Before reincarnating I would have. My dragon's pride would have come before everything else. I wanted to spit on her 'gift'. It would be simple enough. All I had to do was ignore my [Flesh Shaping] ability, and I wouldn't owe her a thing.

Damn her.

But, it wasn't just [Flesh Shaping] was it? Her first gift was this body. Her second was [Sexual Insight]. I haven't used her third gift, [Empathic Sensuality] yet. I planned on saving it for later. [Flesh Shaping] was really her forth gift. I just couldn't give it up. I had gained desires, hopes, and dreams from my human past life. And Kolra had given me the ability to make them all come true.

Damn it.

Just her first gift was enough to fulfill her side of our oath. Everything else was an unsettled debt between the two of us. If I choose to keep any of them, then I owed her my loyalty.

Damn my honor.

My entire future hung in the balance. I had to be very careful. Her 'gifts' were only useful if I was free to pursue my own plans. I wasn't willing to spend my life on her schemes. It was pointless, if I couldn't enjoy my pets, and my dreams

Fortunately, a simple oathbinding would solve this problem with minimal risk. I would protect myself, show Kolra exactly what I expected from her, satisfy my honor, and best of all, motivate her to continue giving me gifts. All with a single oathbinding. Unfortunately, none of that made submitting any easier.

As powerful as she was, my [Dragon Form] dwarfed her. It was the hardest thing I had ever done. From the tip of my tail to the bottom of my jaw, I laid down before her. It was as close as this form could come to kneeling. Or bearing my throat.

"I swear, on my own name, to serve loyally, as long as you continue to support my hopes, dreams, and desires."

I felt sick, and tasted bile, but was able to accept this much.

When I finished speaking, the oathbinding flared into existence, and settled into place.

Because I made the oath on my own name, I was bound to my interpretation. Not hers. She would be able to see that I don't believe loyally requires obedience, and she would know exactly what I required from her, and that I wasn't demanding further gifts, just protecting myself from many subtle ways she could have betrayed me. She would also know that as long as she supported me, I wouldn't betray or deceive her, and my own hopes, dreams, and desires, would be subservient to hers.

Kolra strode forward, running a hand along my jagged teeth, then the side of my head, and down my neck. She leaned against my shoulder, and traced the outline of my scales with her hand. We were both comfortable with silence, and neither of us felt the need to speak. I turned my head so I could study her. Even though I knew she was tall for a woman, she seemed small and weak against my bulk. Her eyes always gave her away, anyone could see that she was as much of an apex predator as I was.

Everything had changed. The difference was subtle, but critical.

It began to rain. Of course, it didn't fall on Kolra, and I had never cared about the weather.

Kolra said, "This was fun. I think I'm going to keep you." Then she patted me on the shoulder, and walked away. As she faded into another plane of existence, her voice echoed through my mind. "I'll send you a few interesting prospects."

Then she was gone.

I returned to the bedroom. Apparently, I had been so enraged earlier, that I tore a dragon sized hole in the wall. When had I shifted? It didn't really make a difference.

I turned back to the bed where my foxkin's still unconscious body stretched out.

I had already planned on turning Vixen into my assassin, and she needed to look the part. If I only cared about how effective she was, I would have been better off making her look bland and uninteresting. But that wasn't what I planned to do.

Back when I was human, I was an artist that specialized in erotic commissions. I had spent over two decades designing beautiful characters. It didn't take long for me to come up with the perfect look. Graceful, deadly, and sexy. She would be my little foxkin ninja.

I stroked my fingers along her body while concentrating on the first change I wanted to make. Small and lethal. Power flowed from me, and she slowly began to shrink. I stopped at 3' 3", or 100cm. I wanted her to be tiny, but deadly. She still looked like a woman. I made her short, not childish.

Next, I turned her reddish-orange and white fur to black and silver-gray. It was as though my hand was a paintbrush. Every stroke of my fingers converted her fur to it's new coloring.

I could have stopped there, but she was my sex toy.

Slightly asymmetrical breasts were easily fixed. Then I increased their size. Just because I could. Nothing all that big, I didn't want something cartoonishly oversized, but I wanted plenty to play with. Truly impressed by how [Flesh Shaping] made the seemingly impossible happen, I paused to play with her new bust. They felt and looked completely natural, even though I knew they should have needed support.

Moving on, I fixed her scar and all her other minor imperfections, then sculpted her figure until I was satisfied. Time flew by as I carefully worked. I didn't stop until she was as close to perfect as I could make her.

[Domination & Submission] - Give this prim and proper elven mage a taste of Vixen, and she will sell her soul for more.

[The Princess & The Dragon] - Carry off this human princess, she dreams of being taken. Roughly. Painfully.

[Playing In The Dark] - A dark elven enchanter has a talent for making toys, and a ruthless debt collector knocking at her door.

[Leather & Lace] - Vampires made an offer this Werewolf and her lover couldn't refuse.

So that was what Kolra meant by 'interesting prospects'. I'm not sure which one I should do first.

I pulled up her status, wincing at her terrible agility. Thankfully, I could do something about that. [Flesh Shaping] was far more than the ultimate cosmetic surgery. I used the first time bonuses to bump up all her stats, and then gave her a copy of what was obviously the most powerful special ability I had, [Powerful Existence]. To my surprise, it was retroactive, and her available character points doubled.

Next I turned my attention to her abilities. I laughed when I saw the [Cunnilingus] ability. She really had learned it. I saw no reason to spend her points anywhere else, so I increased it's rank to four. I couldn't wait to find out how much of a difference that made.

My little pet looked perfect. She had the stats of a demigod, and the abilities of a mistress.

Name: Vixen

Level: 4

Race: Foxkin

Gender: Female

Class: Rogue

Character Points: 8 => 16 => 2

Ability Scores:

Strength: 2 => 52

Agility: 1 => 101

Toughness: 4 => 54

Mind: 10 => 60

Will: 9 => 59

Special Abilities:

[Powerful Existence] - Character points gained on level up are doubled.

[Sneak I] - You are able to hide where others couldn't

[Backstab I] - Surprise attacks deal extra damage.

[Resilient I] - You are able to endure harsh conditions.

[Beg I] - You are skilled at begging

[Dagger I] - You are skilled in fighting with daggers

[Club I] - You are skill in fighting with clubs

Rank Up => [Cunnilingus IV] - You are skilled in preforming oral sex on women.

I curled up with Vixen, making an improvised nest out of the clean clothes. I spooned against her, using Vixen as something between the "little spoon" and a bed pillow. Both my arms wrapped around her. One hand cupped a breast, and the other rested on her stomach. Vixen's bare butt pressed against my tummy, and I allowed her still unconscious head to rest on my arm. I quickly grew to appreciate my toughness stat. My arm wasn't falling asleep. Sometimes it's the little things that you appreciate the most.

Completely content, and looking forward to the morning, I started to drift off to sleep.

"Ciarra!" Kolra's shout echoed in my head, instantly bringing me fully awake. "Those bastards must have found out about you. The council that rules this game world just updated the rules. Draconic abilities are disabled in dungeons and the labyrinth." She paused. "I'm sorry."

Every single powerful combat ability I have comes from my draconic side. I've been crippled, both offensively and defensively, at least in dungeons. My demigod abilities were all geared for sex, but all the other champions would have combat abilities as overpowered as mine.

With a single stroke I had been changed from the most powerful champion... to the weakest.

I shivered.

The goal of the [Great Game] is to defeat the labyrinth. So I would be spending a great deal of my time in dungeons and the labyrinth. Participation wasn't optional.

At least I still had my full power outside of them.

So much for spending tomorrow playing with my pet.

Hours later, I fell into an exhausted slumber. I had a plan, or at least the general outline of one.