Hello hello hello. I am terribly sorry for the late and irregular releases. I've been hooked on a new game recently and i've been procrastinating by grinding in the game. It's called RPG MO, have any of you heard it or played it? So anyways, here's what the schedule will be for the forseeable future with regards to my chapter releases.

When Im grinding combat skills in the game, which require my full attention, I probably wont be releasing any chapters. However, when im grinding crafting and gathering skills, which allows me to go afk while my character just chops away at the in game trees, I will be mass releasing chapters. Like vomitting chapter after chapter over a weekend. lucky for you guys, this weekend is one such weekend where I'll be trying to level up my farming skill, so I'll have plenty of time to write up the chapters while i play.

Anyways, this is a short chapter so i hope you enjoyed it.

“Hey Kii~. Do you remember that nice trip we took to the north back on Aioa to help the dwarves?” Isana asked, embracing the tiny Kiefer who had been forced to sit on her lap like a child.

“Yea. Why do you ask?” Kiefer replied, leaning back as the back of his head sunk into the valley behind.

“What do you say we tour this world in the same fashion? After all, this hoo-ha about the flowers on this continent is over. It’s not like we are in a rush are we?” Isana suggested, her flawless hands clasping onto Kiefer’s while resting her chin on his head.

“Hmm?” Kiefer mumbled, as his long pointed ears pricked. His attention was now fixated on the surge of mana that exploded behind his carriage. Similarly, Isana had noticed it too, and with a blink, their carriage had become empty.

“What is going on?” Kiefer thought silently, floating above the convoy that had come to a sudden halt. His daughter’s carriage was shrouded in a thick black smoke that seemed to suck in any and all of the setting sun’s rays. Eril was frantically rushing forward from his carriage which had been the last in the line. Jielin had already scrambled outside her carriage the moment smoke started emanating from Kina. She had a frantic look, wondering what was going on.

“Control the spirit! Do NOT let it consume your will!” Eril was screaming at the top of his lungs, projecting his voice towards the roiling smoke. “Kiefer! Your daughter is going through a contract bonding with an elemental spirit! You cannot approach her or you will be consumed by the spirit as energy for the bond!” Eril warned as he watched Kiefer slowly float towards the black smoke.

“Hmph!” Kiefer snorted as he proceeded without care. Had Eril carefully inspected him, he would have realized that at this moment, there wasn’t an ounce of mana around Kiefer as he continued his approach. Reaching the border of the spinning sphere of black smoke, Kiefer did not hesitate one bit, the smoke clearing around him as if it was butter being cleaved apart by a hot knife. Soon, when Kiefer was entirely within the smoke, it engulfed him, returning to its original surging sphere.

[[Within the smoke]]

“Master.. Will it be you? Or me? What’s mine, will be yours. What’s yours will be mine. One cannot perish without the other. Your eternal body, shall be mine!” The smoky figure roared with his ghastly voice within Kina’s consciousness as his body dispersed into a stream of smoke, tunnelling straight into her body.

“Who… are… you!?? Get out! Get out!!” Kina screamed while struggling against the pain that tore through her mind and body. It felt like something was eating her from the inside, corroding her vessel walls as it passed through and flowed with her blood.

Deep within her chest laid her mana core. A single clear marble half the size of her fist was suspended as it exuded a mist of pale translucent mana. Then, a smoky mist gradually began consuming the wisps of mana, invading the mana core. What was once a bright clear sphere now started turning cloudy, then murky, like someone had dripped a deep black dye into it. The crisp surface that once gleamed and shined now began showing cracks as paper-thin layers began turning black and flaking off.

Kina fought back. She tried her utmost best. She knew the terms of the contract. The smoky grim-reaper explained it to her in her mind. The contract was a one-way binding. Which way it bound, depended on the strengths of the parties involve. Either the spirit took over her body and all her abilities, destroying her consciousness, or she overwhelmed the spirit, claiming its abilities for her own and enslaving it.

“Stop”

“Before I destroy you.”

A voice reverberated. The black smoke seemed to tremble slightly as it stopped its intrusion into Kina’s mana core. And yet, it did not recede, merely holding its ground as it searched for the intruder to whom the voice belonged.

The thick sphere of black smoke quickly receded into the carriage, through every orifice on Kina’s body, finally revealing the carriage. Floating above the carriage was a young elf whose domineering aura diffused into the surrounding. Within his outstretched arms, clutched between his hand, was the neck of the young girl. Kiefer had a choke hold on Kina, his eyes not wavering one bit.

Kina’s eyes opened, but what greeted Kiefer was not the usual bright pair of golden eyes, but instead a completely jet black void that filled the entire socket, without a single peep of the whites. Kina’s lips curled upwards into a sinister smile as her throat trembled. “If you destroy me, you will end up killing this girl too,” she spoke, not with her high-pitched girlish voice, but with a deep growl.

“As if I care. It doesn’t matter that she dies. I can always resurrect her from the netherworld. We are immortals from another world. Your petty rules don’t apply to us. Leave now, or be erased from existence,” Kiefer threatened.

He looked confident on the exterior, without any emotion on his poker face. However, deep within, even he was unsure if the same rules that applied to him would apply to Kina. He had been a titan when he died, but he was not sure if Kina was a Titan. After all, she had been conceived when he was still a human, making her a sort of hybrid. Regardless, he still played his hands, only hoping the mysterious entity would not call his bluff.

Within a split second, Kiefer knew his threat had worked. The spirit had seen her past, as well as those joined to her timeline. It had seen her future, her endless future. It knew she was immortal, hence why it chose her out of the 3 that entered the heart of its dungeon. The weakest of the 3, and yet still an immortal like the other 2. She was its best chance of winning the contract.

Kiefer saw the smile disappear, as the darkness in the eyes wavered. Then, the darkness disappeared rapidly, as the smoke quickly started gushing out of her eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Within her mana core, the glass marble was quickly regaining its original lustre, as the white mist quickly chased the black smoke out. The resulting marble had become just a tiny bit smaller than it was before, but still just as clear and bright.

“It matters not. I’ve regained some of my strength from this girl. You shall never see me again,” The cloud of smoke growled as it shot away from Kina’s body.

“And who said you could leave?” Kiefer raised his voice as the black cloud came to a screeching halt. It had realised it could not escape any further, being blocked by an invisible wall that was devoid of mana. Mana was its entirety. Mana was its composition. Where there was mana, it could exist, where there wasn’t, it couldn’t. The smoke quickly turned around, trying to find a loophole in this wall, only to realise it was completely trapped within, together with its previous host and its captor.

Kina had regained consciousness the moment the majority of the spirit left her. Glaring angrily at the cloud, she sighed in relief, knowing what almost happened. With a single outburst of anger, her mana exploded out of her body, flooding the entire enclosure within the mana void wall. Then, controlling her mana, she began enveloping the smoky cloud.

“You! It’s just my darn luck to have chosen you! I can’t claim you, but you won’t let me leave either! Aren’t you just forcing me into servitude!?” The cloud screamed as it desperately tried to weave its way around Kina’s mana bombardment.

“You tried to take over my body and now you are complaining when you are at a disadvantage!? Like you said! What’s yours shall become mine! Now submit!” Kina bellowed back as Kiefer watched calmly from the side, merely maintaining the arena in which they fought.

“You! Elf! Let me out! I’ve let her go from my grasp! Why are you still hindering me!?” The smoke pleaded as it started diminishing in volume quickly, seemingly being pulled back into Kina’s body by her mana. Kiefer merely kept silent, smiling slightly as he watched the smoke retract back into Kina’s body, this time her eyes remaining clear and golden.

After about 20 seconds of struggle, Kina finally relaxed, panting heavily as she sat down on the top of the floating carriage. Then with a smile, the same black cloud surged out, consolidating into a black figure similar to what she saw in her consciousness. “You’re mine now,” she muttered as the figured bowled deeply.

“My master,” It responded, before floating gracefully around Kina.

Eril watched from the side, not believing what he had just seen. His disciple had just contracted a spirit, and one that was more powerful than Sayuri. Only problem, though, was that he did not know what this spirit was. Even Sayuri could barely take a humanoid form, and yet this figure could speak and respond as if it was another living being altogether.

As Kiefer disabled the void space enclosure, Sayuri came whizzing in, mingling with the black spirit. She pulled strands of black wisp from his hooded cloak as she circled him, interacting with the spirit.

“That’s my father, and she’s my mother. Introduce yourself,” Kina ordered as she pointed to Kiefer and Isana.

“Good evening to you, parents of my Master. I am Kronos, Spirit lord of time,” Kronos greeted, bowing slightly.

“Why now Kronos?” Kiefer asked immediately. “Why choose now to take over my daughter?”

“I was resting and recovering. I spent most of my energy creating the dungeon to find a contractor strong enough to bind to. I latched on to Master after she made contact in the heart of the dungeon and took my time recovering using her mana. The more she used my abilities, the more mana I took from her to heal myself and grow stronger. I chose a time when she was most defenceless to start the contract to ensure maximum chance of success in taking over. Alas, I had not accounted for your presence and prowess. I apologise for my actions earlier,” Kronos replied earnestly.

“Apology accepted. Now let’s get going. I don’t want to be delayed any further,” Kiefer nodded, turning back to float towards his carriage. Isana nodded as well, opening the carriage door. However, just as he was about to enter, a thought came across his mind.

“Kronos. Are you going to be following us around from now on?” Kiefer asked, worried the frightening image of Kronos might spell trouble for them. He’s seen Sayuri hang around Eril all the time, but she was almost always barely visible, making it convenient for her to hang around.

“Yes of course. I am contracted into servitude to my master. I go wherever she goes or wherever she orders me,” Kronos replied, nodding his head slowly.

Kina seemed to pick up on Kiefer’s intentions, looking at his frown. Facing Kronos, She grinned as she thought of something amusing.

“Kronos.” She called out.

“Yes my master?”

“From now on, call me Mistress Kina, or young Miss. Also, I want you to change your appearance. Your current image is too intimidating and will cause problems in my travels,” Kina ordered.

“As you wish, Mistress Kina. What form would you like me to take?” Kronos replied curtly.

“I want a small fluffy fox,” Kina grinned, imagining Kronos’s frown and despair of being asked to take the form of something so mellow.