Cold water splashed across his face. Aleister begrudgingly opened his eyes as he felt his stomach churn. However, upon hearing the familiar voices of Gilmore and Ryellia, he let out a sigh of relief and sat up in his bed. Well, as best he could. He still couldn't feel one of his legs.

Looking around him, he was in a stone room with wood paneling. A giant windowpane covered the wall to his left with a familiar-looking black raven perched upon it. To his right stood a desk covered in herbs and vials containing a variety of mysterious liquids.

Noticing his sudden movement, the two of them turned around. Next to them stood an unknown figure draped in blinding white robes. As Aleister glimpsed at that figure, they seemed ethereal and otherworldly, as if they didn’t belong to this world.

Tears deluged from Ryellia’s face as she moved to embrace him.

Gilmore walked towards him and smiled. “Thank Lilith, you’re finally awake!”

“How long was I out for?” Aleister asked.

“Four days,” Ryellia replied as she broke the embrace. “Almost five.”

“Mitre filled us in with what happened before you passed out,” Gilmore said. “Not long after that, Captain Cyrne and his company arrived. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to ambush the escaping gnoll tribe as they took a different off-trail route, but they were able to deal with a few stragglers that hadn’t left the village.”

He nodded. Although disappointed that they hadn’t finished them, he was more disappointed in himself for not being able to...?

Aleister scrunched his eyebrows and frowned. He was trying to remember what had actually happened that night, but he couldn’t seem to remember.

Noticing his odd reaction, Ryellia gently touched him on his shoulder and asked, “What’s wrong?”

However, her touch sent a cold shock through his body, causing his body to jolt up in pain. He felt his head pound, as if his brain scratched and clawed at his skull, digging for a way out. Aleister clutched his head with both hands, gripping onto his head with his fingernails. Saliva built up in his mouth as he rocked back and forth. His vision went blurry as a ringing in his ear developed.

To his side, he saw Gilmore look over to the mysterious figure and ask, “What’s wrong?”

The mysterious figure walked up and looked directly into Aleister’s eyes. After a few moments, they spoke in an equally ethereal voice that he could just barely make out. “Medicinal side effects...”

The voice trailed off as Aleister passed out once more.

“Wake up. You’ve been asleep for long enough.”

Aleister opened his eyes after he heard the sharp yet soft voice talk to him. Currently, he was sitting in a chair in what appeared to be a reading room. In front of him sat a woman with tanned skin and flowing black hair.

He stared at her for a couple of moments, trying to collect his thoughts, but he wasn’t able to remember why she almost looked familiar.

She put the book she was reading down and took off her glasses. “Just give it a minute.”

Aleister nodded and in the meantime asked, “Where are we?”

“We’re currently occupying a space of conciousness within my mind,” she answered.

Aleister opened his mouth but closed it right after, not knowing exactly how to respond or follow up.

The woman noticed and, with a slight smile, said, “I gave you a couple of days to rest up. Now,” she waved her hand over the table between them, revealing a black scroll and white ink. “You need to sign the contract officially.”

Upon seeing the scroll, his face grew long and solemn as he remembered the memories from several days ago.

“Wait? Those events? They weren't just in my head?”

"They were an alternative reality of what could be if you sign the contract," she answered. “In basic terms, essentially when you accepted my power, and in turn the contract, it created a mental link between us. This mental disruption caused you to faint almost immediately after, and what caused you to fall into a deep sleep for several days. This, combined with the stress, adrenaline, shock, and other various factors that you experienced that couple of minutes, let alone the rest of the events throughout the day, all overloaded your mental state, causing temporary memory loss. You should be able to recall everything that happened that day, but some of your long-term memories might take a bit longer to come back.”

Aleister nodded as he took a second to take it all in. He closed his eyes and tried to remember events from the past, but they all appeared as a blur. He knew they existed, but he couldn’t make them out. With a sigh, he opened his eyes and saw the women take a sip of some hot liquid from a cup that hadn’t existed just a moment ago.

Without waiting for him to say anything, she continued, “Don’t worry, when you wake up again, you will remember most, if not all, of your memories. This time was just to bring your mind back from its deep state back to reality just so you can sign the contract.”

He looked down at the contract once again. Although she acted in a calm manner, signing the contract was of the most utmost importance.

“The longer the contract goes unsigned, the stronger the chains that bind me get. And I’d rather not live in a state of ever-increasing pain.” Her voice trailed off as she took another sip of her drink.

“What happens if I don’t sign the contract?”

“The contract already effected you, so at best you'll live but lose all of you memories, and at worst die,” she said as the cup left her lips. “Of course, this also leaves the contract unfulfilled, so I’ll have to find a less suitable replacement in haste. An outcome that neither I nor you wish for. After all, you seem satisfactory enough.”

“Don’t worry, I was just asking.” Aleister said. He flipped through the contract and read the details in but a second. Because there were no details. "Is this a joke?"

"Unfortunately, the details of my contract are ever changing. The price of power."

"What happens if I decide that the terms of the contract are no longer worth it and break the contract?"

"No idea and hopefully we don't have to find out."

Aleister shook his head and signed the contract.