After the turn of events last night, Max still vaguely remembered making it home and falling asleep. He had woken up in a strange white room with sparse decorations. At the time, the startling discovery had left Max with a single thought – ‘I’ve been kidnapped!’

While not entirely distressed by the possibility, he had felt immensely annoyed and had bolted right out the door and into a brightly lit corridor. The blinding light had stung his eyes and had left him with minimum visibility.

Keeping up his guard, Max had carefully trotted forward and had eventually heard the faint cries of several animals – clamour which had instantly fuelled his apprehensions and had transformed his jog into a sprint.

As the cacophony of sounds had died, Max had heard a mysterious voice whisper into his ears, “My dear child, we shall meet soon.”

Max had had no time to react. In the moment after he had heard the enigmatic words, Max had been embraced by a comforting light and had found himself inside a forest.

Standing amidst a bunch of trees, Max took a deep breath as he recalled the inscrutable voice. It had sounded caring and somewhat familiar, even evoking a sense of nostalgia. As his thoughts wandered, his gaze finally fell upon the strange crest etched onto the back of his left hand. It was the same symbol that had previously been on the summoning talisman.

Bewildered, Max hastily examined the red ink insignia drawn into his skin. The emblem composed of a perfect circle with a star embedded inside. A series of what seemed like strange runes took up space in the areas between. He shook his head and scowled, inwardly cussing to vent his annoyance.

“Man… Things just keep getting weirder and weirder!” Max sighed and glanced at the night sky to find a floating blood red moon. His thoughts instantly drifted to a lunar eclipse, but he speedily dismissed the notion. The moon seemed far too eerily sanguine for the event. In fact, the sight made him uneasy and brought about an inexplicable sense of urgency.

After randomly picking a direction, he began to walk. His journey wasn’t a quiet one - the fallen leaves and dry branches constantly broke under his feet, making him considerably conspicuous. It wasn’t long before his ears pricked up and he stopped all movement while hoping he hadn’t misheard the distinct sound of footsteps. He smiled as he began to run towards its source.

Seeing two silhouettes in the distance, Max hurried closer and noticed something peculiar. One was carrying a woman on his shoulders while discreetly talking to the man next to him. Max found it particularly odd that the two uniformed men, clad in metal plates, even had swords bound to their waists. They reminded him of the early age knights.

“Is that cosplay?” The corners of Max’s lips twitched as he stopped and observed the duo. With narrowed eyes, he glanced at the young woman in their grasp. While rubbing his forehead, he groaned and silently wondered if he had stumbled onto something nefarious.

“Who goes there?!” The knight carrying the girl boomed as Max’s thoughts vacillated. Taken aback by the sudden shout, he stood still while the knights seemed even more surprised. They wore strange expressions as they curiously eyed Max.

Max walked out from behind a tree with a wry smile. He remained on high alert, but pretended to be frightened and at a loss. Hesitating, he said, “Um… Hi! I have no idea where I am and I was hoping you could help.”

The knight remained unmoved by Max’s insecure demeanour and subtly glanced at his colleague who also seemed to be scrutinizing the young man. With a frown, he tightened his grip around the girl and asked, “Lost? In these woods? How did you get here?”

“That’s what I want to know!” Max silently mumbled before awkwardly rubbing his hands. He was disappointed to see that his false pretence hadn’t achieved the desired effect. “I’m not sure. I’ve… uh… I’ve been travelling for a while now, but got lost on the way.”

“Travelling? I’ve never seen your style of clothing in the Empire. Are you from the Alliance or the Dominion?” The other knight asked.

Max was sent into a momentary daze. Empire? Alliance? Dominion? The hell is that?! Bitterly laughing, Max shook his head. He knew that he was incapable of handling this strange line of questioning, but still played along and diplomatically answered in the hopes to curb the conversation. “I’m just a wanderer. I don’t belong to any faction.”

“I see.” The man was apparently satisfied with the answer. He seemed to relax as a gentle smile emerged on his face. “You’re lucky to have met us. Since we’re done with our patrols for the night, you might as well tag along. We’ll lead you out.”

“Brilliant. Thanks!”

“Charles – ” The man with the girl began to speak but was immediately cut off by the one leading Max.

“It’s fine James. We can’t just leave the boy here. Tonight is the night of the blood moon. He’ll end up being devoured if we do nothing!”Charles replied with a wave of his hand, silently urging his brother to quietly follow.

Intrigued by their dialogue, Max chuckled as he tried to steer the conversation in another direction. “I’m starting to think that you guys are method actors. I must say you are doing a brilliant job. These costumes are… Well, they’re pretty interesting.”

“Method acting? You sure do use strange terms. I don’t know what that means. As for the clothes -” Charles stopped and gestured at himself. “These are standard military issued uniforms. You should choose your words more carefully. Some might take offence if they heard these being called costumes.”

“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind. Forget I said anything.”

As they continued to walk, Max couldn’t help but take another look at the unconscious girl. She dangled off James’s shoulder with her hair in a mess. Her clothes were ripped and had traces of dried blood. It was a pitiful sight to behold.

“I – uh – never did get your name. I’m Charles and this is my brother James.” Charles suddenly smiled and introduced himself and his brother.

“I’m Max.” Max said and glanced at James. The latter noticed his gaze and grunted in response, making no attempts to hide his annoyance. Max, on the other hand, wasn’t particularly bothered by the attitude and was instinctively focusing most of his attention on the girl. The more he looked at her, the more the symbol on his hand throbbed. Finally, unable to quell his curiosity, Max timidly questioned, “What’s up with her?”

“Mind your own business boy!” James snapped back.

“Now, now… James! Relax.” Charles smiled apologetically and clarified, “We’ve been patrolling for hours and haven’t had good sleep in a while. It’s why he is on edge. As for her, we found her lying unconscious in the woods.”

“I see.” Max nodded while looking deep in thought. As a person who was well versed in putting up façades, Max had instantly realised that Charles had just lied through his teeth. Max was now certain that he had misjudged the situation. The girl was unhurt, but he was sure that the blood stains were the real deal.

This is going to be bothersome. Max clicked his tongue in displeasure. While he silently continued to ruminate, he felt the onset of a headache. He quietly endured, but it quickly crossed his threshold of pain, causing him to sit down and clutch his head in agony.

James and Charles frowned at the sudden change in their traveller, but were taken aback after they noticed the markings on Max’s left hand.

Meanwhile, in the brief period of the migraine, his brain was flooded with new information about magic contracts and familiars in the form of fragmented pieces of knowledge. Thanks to his pounding head, Max found it immensely difficult to discern the chaotic and muddled data.

Max came out of his stupor and was astonished to find himself tightly bound by a large speckled snake. It had slits for eyes and its forked tongue constantly moved in and out of its mouth as it hissed angrily at Max.

The two knights stood a few feet away, their expressions exceedingly cold and wary. The young girl laid on the back of a golden lion that let out a series of low threatening growls.

Startled by the sudden development, Max instantly put up an expression of terror, but was actually unperturbed. A strong belief in his supernatural ability and the years of combat training had forged a mental fortitude. He was confident in his ability to get out of almost any disadvantageous situation.

“Wha – What is this? He – Help me!” Max seamlessly slipped into his act and began to stammer as he looked at the two knights with pleading eyes.

“Drop the act, punk!” James retorted as his eyes glowed with a dangerous gleam, “Be glad that I haven’t killed you already! In fact -”

“Wait brother!” Charles interjected and firmly held James’s shoulder. He looked at Max with a complex expression and said, “I didn’t know it was possible to summon human familiars. But even if you’re contracted to her, I would still like you to turn back and forget the girl. She has already been fancied by the Minister and there is nothing you can do about it.”

At the mention of the word familiar, Max felt clarity in his thoughts. He quickly understood what the insignia on his left hand represented – it symbolized a contract between mage and familiar, between master and servant.

Max couldn’t stop a scowl from momentarily appearing on his face. Is she the reason I’m in this mess? And how in the world did I become the familiar without even a say in the matter? How is something like magic even real?!

Mages and magic had always been considered a part of fantasy, but the ability to manipulate air, which Max seldom used, also defied rationale. From such a perspective, the current circumstance didn’t seem particularly implausible.

“Are you willing to leave?” Charles suddenly asked with a trace of impatience, breaking Max’s chain of thoughts.

In a bid to keep up the frightened act, Max whimpered. “I – If I agree, you – you promise to spare me?”

“Ye – ”

“NO! We don’t know what sort of trouble he’ll bring us if we let him go.” James instantly overruled his brother and shook off his hand. “He has to die!”

“Brother! This child is innocent. It’s obvious that he is temporarily contracted to her. We’re talking about the life of an innocent mortal.”

“It doesn’t matter. I won’t risk it. The Minister specifically instructed us to keep this under wraps. If he spreads word, then we could both lose our heads.”

Charles sighed in resignation. Pity and regret appeared on his face as he glanced at Max and quietly apologized, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make this painless!” James snarled, preparing to order the serpent.

Max frowned in discomfort as he felt the snake’s grip gradually tighten. You guys want to kill me in cold blood? Fat chance! I have no intention of dying here!

He clenched his fists as a cold glint flashed past his eyes. As their gazes intersected, James felt a chill go down his spine. Fear? I actually felt fear. How could a cocky mortal boy inspire fear in me?

Feeling both embarrassed and angered by the ephemeral appearance of an unexpected emotion, James shook his head and scowled. Having failed to notice the fluctuations in his brother’s mood, Charles simply took a step back and waited alongside the lion for his sibling to finish the deed.

Max immediately controlled the air around him to create a protective cushion around his neck before he glanced at the pet serpent. With a slight smile, he calmly addressed the animal, “Little snakey… If you squeeze any harder, you’ll die a miserable death.”

Since the day his powers had manifested, Max had also gained an uncanny ability to scare off animals. Exerting just the slightest will over the air would send most of them running. As a creature with heightened senses, though not at the King level, the snake was still an enhanced beast. Despite lacking the ability to understand the human tongue, it felt intimidated by Max’s lackadaisical threat. It quaked in fear as it felt the apparent peril.

“Kill him!” James ordered.