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This is a work of fiction. Names, monsters, skills, places, etcetera, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by FrozenArrow. All rights reserved.

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Time goes by and Iryl’s endless days of chores never seem to end. First thing in the morning, he would always go to the training area. There he almost always beat the scarecrow using a sword made of wood! Apart from beating the scarecrow he always trained his body to be in good shape.

After finishing his morning training he went all over the camp and did several chores for the elves. Some of them included cleaning clothes or washing dishes and such things. While the more laborious ones were farming, cooking and moving stuff around the camp.

Late in the afternoon he always meditated in order to raise his spiritual and external energy. Even though the spirits never seemed to react to his meditation, it helped him relax after a long day of chores. Once the night fell, Iryl always felt exhausted from the hard day of work. Sleep would always come and take him away without him even realizing it.

While Iryl was having a hard time dealing with chores, Luke and the others (apart from Lilith) were honing their skills while hunting! Sometimes they would be away from the camp for over a week. And every time they came back they were always stronger than before!

That way, Iryl and his friends were passing their time in the camp. Four years have passed since their arrival and they are now all full fledged members of it! But. Those days are soon to be over.

“ Hey Iryl! Come and help over here with these boxes! “

“ Coming! “

“ Iryl can you wash the dishes ? “

“ Give me a moment. “

Iryl was going all around the camp doing chores for the elves. It was a normal day for him. But there was a slight difference.. As he was moving a bag filled with vegetables he heard a voice.

‘ Do you want some water ? It can help you relax! Accept the water.. ‘

“ No thanks.. I am alright! “

As he gave his answer he turned around to see who asked, but there was no one behind him..

‘ So.. I am starting to go senile from the chores huh..? ‘

Once again, Iryl turned back the way he was going in order to finish his job. But, as he was walking a drop of sweat went down his neck and another voice whispered in his ear..

‘ Are you sure you don’t need a little water..? It will make you feel nice and refreshed… ‘

Annoyed now Iryl turned back and gave his answer in a loud voice..

“ No, I don’t want to drink any water.! Will you leave me alone already.!? “

But, there wasn’t anyone behind him.. The place he was currently at was a central road of the camp and naturally there were a lot of elves gathered around.. The elves that were gathered around the place saw him shout and turned their gaze towards him. Some of the elven ladies were slightly laughing behind their hands while others just ignored it and went back to their work. Among the people that were laughing one took the initiative to ask..

“ Hey Iryl! Did the heat got to you too ?! If you don’t feel fine you should rest a little. It’s not good to overwork yourself.. “

A familiar voice rang in Iryl’s ears as he heard the elf speaking. It was indeed someone whom he had helped dozens of times with several different chores, during those four years.

“ Mister Oliver! I am sorry for the commotion, I might be a little tired but I can keep going.. I think.. “

“ That’s not good! Not good at all.. You should rest well so that you can finish your assignments faster! “

“…”

Oliver then went closer to Iryl and took the bag filled with vegetables from his hands.

“ Here! Let me take care of it for you. It’s not far from where I am heading anyway. Go rest for today.. Everyone deserves a little rest after all! “

Iryl frowned a little and then he said.

“ Thank you Mister Oliver. I’ll be heading over to my house then.. “

“ Ok take care! “

Iryl waved goodbye and then made his way towards his wooden house. During the way, not only the one who spoke to him before but several others joined in..

‘ Are you going to rest..? The grassland is the best place to take a nap..? ‘

‘ Don’t forget to leave a candle lit before you sleep.. ‘

‘ Do you want to play with me..? ‘

‘ That old man was really tiresome… ‘

Iryl was steadily getting more and more annoyed as he heard the voices in his head and couldn’t hold his mouth shut any longer.. So he mumbled in a low voice..

“ Will you shut up already.. I am about to go mad you know..? “

But, the voices didn’t stop there. Even if he begged it made no difference to them.. They just ignored him and kept talking about random stuff..

‘ I can fly! Let me take you to the sky..! ‘

‘ A bath.. I need a bath.. ’

‘ How about a game between us..? ‘

Iryl couldn’t even walk properly due to the loud noise the voices whispered all together in his head. Soon enough he tried to catch his balance while hanging on a wooden wall. But, to no avail.. He felt his head was about to burst and fell on the ground..

“ Please.. I am begging you stop talking.. It hurts.. IT REALLY HURTS!!!.. “

As he said that his consciousness began to drift away.. The loud noise made from the whispers slowly faded away and Iryl was finally alone in the blankness of his mind.. He couldn’t move, think nor feel anything.. He just floated in nothingness.

Iryl slowly opened his eyes only to find his self floating in a white space. He could neither move his body nor think straight about the situation he is currently into..

“ Where am I..? “

without thinking much of his surroundings he just blurt out what was on his mind.. After several seconds a voice rang in his head.

‘ Mortal.. Are you aware of whose presence you are currently under ? ‘

Iryl could hear a voice similar to the other ones he heard. But, he could understand that something was different from all the other.. Unlike them, this one was clear. It didn’t pause when asking a question nor did it say something that would confuse him.. It was a normal question.. Yet, it held enough force to make one tremble and hold their breath in for several seconds.. After Iryl heard the voice, he almost immediately gathered back his thoughts and hurriedly answered without much thought.

“ No.. No idea at all! “

‘…’

The voice didn’t say anything for a while but, it gave of a feeling that if it was a person it would make a dumbfounded face and fall on his knees.. After the silence, he (or she) opened his mouth and said.

‘ I see... Mortals these days have no sense of respect for a being in a league higher than them.. Well, I’ll let it pass since I am the one who made contact with you first... What is your name mortal..? ‘

Iryl slightly understanding a bit more of what kind of situation he was currently in, decided to be a bit more formal with the person he is talking to.

“ In the place I come from, I go by the name of Iryl. Oh mighty being.. I request that you also share your name with me. “

' Arrogant mortal.. I can sense disrespect in your words.. '

A drop of sweat formed on Iryl's forehead as he heard the words of the unknown being.

" No.. No! No disrespect at all! "

' Hahaha! Relax mortal. No, Iryl I suppose.. The reason of your coming here is not to fight me but to make a contract.. '

Iryl was pretty much silent as he kept hearing the other person talking. Once he finished his mouth couldn't resist but ask.

" Contract..? "

' Yes.. I was impressed! For someone who doesn't even have a spirit contract to have such resistance over the spirits is unheard of.. I have seen many people being able to reject their first spirit contract with the first spirit they meet, but none of them could resist the pain and temptation of the second one or third.. In certain cases I have seen people reject up to 10 or 15 spirits but that's the limit... '

The spirit paused for a moment before finishing what it was saying.

' And here you are.. A person who rejected over 100 contracts enduring both pain and temptation. Until you fell on the ground.. Now, tell me Iryl, how did you reject them all..? And most importantly, why didn't you accept any of them ? '

With a tone that indicates interest the spirit finished what he was saying and was now awaiting for Iryl's answer.

" Ehh.. Even if you ask.. I can't really explain. I just heard random questions like 'Come play with me' or 'do you want a glass of water ?' but, I had work to do and just declined their offers.. After a while, I just ignored them and before I knew it the pain took over me.. Besides, who are you anyways..? And why am I even here ? Where is this place..? "

'...'

The spirit didn't speak for a while so Iryl took the initiative to speak again but was cut off.

" Hello! Excuse.. "

' Ahahaha! Mortal.. No Iryl my future benefactor.. '

As the spirit talked the place around Iryl began to change. A vast grassland appeared out of nowhere and Iryl fell lightly on the grassy soil. About 5 yards away from Iryl a small tree grew out of the ground. The tree's growth didn't stop there, it kept growing more and more and after several seconds it was already over 5 meters tall. Green leaves like those of an apple tree made the tree look fully grown and, as if it was spring, small silver fruits began to grow. Upon taking a closer look Iryl found out what the silver fruits were.

" Clocks ? "

The moment he said the word the blue sky was filled up with thousands of clocks of all kinds and shapes. With his mouth slightly open and an awestruck face Iryl wishpered once again.

" ..Amazing.. "

' Isn't it ? '

As if to remind him that there was someone else there as well the spirit broke Iryl's admiration of the spectacle that was unfolding in front of him with its answer. Once more with amazement in his voice Iryl asked..

" Just who are you..? "

' Huhuhu! For I, I am one of 73 spirit gods that rule over all of the spirits. And my name is Zyth the Spirit God of time! ' (Author here: If you believe you have a more fitting name for the spirit god leave it in a comment bellow and if I like it more I'll be changing it.. I couldn't come up with a fitting name... I would prefer it if the first letter is 'Z' Thank you dear reader.)

Without stopping there Zyth kept up his speech.

' Mortal! Ghmm.. I mean Iryl! I brought you here in order to form a contract with you! I was amazed by the feat you showed me and so here I am to ask you.. '

Zyth took a deep breath and with the most serious voice he had ever spoken so far said.

' Iryl.. Do you accept me as the main spirit that will reside in your body ? '

Without losing time and in a serious state of mind Iryl replied.

" If that means that I will get stronger then.. Zyth.. I accept you as my main spirit! Now come! "

Iryl opened his arms wide waiting for the impact from accepting the offer.

'...'

"..."

' What are you doing..? '

" Ehh?? Aren't you supposed to enter my body..? "

' Sigh.. '

A sigh was all Iryl heard and after a while he turned red from embarrassment and irritation.. Seems that Zyth wasn't one to let it pass, as he said in a voice low enough for Iryl to hear..

' Pfft.. Did he think that I would literally enter his body..? What is he, an idiot..? '

" I heard that! Bastard, you tricked me! "

' Tricked you ? No that's not it.. This is my world. Anything that happens here doesn't affect your real body.. Well.. I suppose that the tattoo must have formed on your body since we finished the contract.. But, since your consciousness is here you didn't feel the impact from it forming... Anyways! Since we are finished here I'll be sending you back to your world. I'll see you soon! '

With that last sentence a void appeared under Iryl's feet and he fell into the endless black.. Before he fell he was able though to utter some words..

" Wait a moment! I have more questioooooooo.... "

' Ahh.. I am tired.. This generation’s mortals are too tiresome.. Well. To think that I would make a contract.. But more importantly.. '

Zyth paused for a second before he said in a loud enough voice.

" What are you doing here Erevel..? "

" Araa.. I was found out ?! "

" Wandering into someone else's realm without being noticed..? Who do you think I am ? "

" Uwaa.. Big brother Zyth is angry.. "

Said Erevel in a childish manner.. Before she added.

" But, this is rare! For big brother to make a contract.. And as a main spirit as well! Are you sure about this..? Your benefactor may not be suitable for you..? "

" Only time can tell.. Besides I can break the contract if need be.. " (Author: Is that a pun..?)

" Ehh..? The penalty for breaking a contract is quite harsh big brother! "

" I am aware of it, I am aware.. And I do hope that I won't have to.. "

With that last sentence the two spirits finished their conversation and silence filled the spirit god Zyth's realm..

END of chapter 10

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Author's note: Hello my fellow readers! First of all I want to apologize for the long wait.. I had a pretty eventful summer to be honest and I was away for far more time than I expected.. So once again I am sorry.. The second thing is that I don't know if my vacation was tiring or relaxing... I seriously can't say.. I am more physically tired than mentally... Well, the point is that I couldn't write during the summer so I haven't made any progress as I said I would..

Well, that's one thing! What I plan for now is to go back to my regular pace of 1 chapter in Wednesday and one in Sunday. I will take my time with the first volume and finish it in a way that both I and hopefully you as well will enjoy!

As for the last news of the day I finally got a proof reader!!! A friend of mine said that he would like to do the proof reading for me correcting mistakes and maybe add some comments of his own.(He is far better at english grammar than me I think..) Since he doesn't have an acc on the site I will not reveal an ID until he makes one.

Before I close those long author notes I want to give full proof credits to my first proof reader who was also (coincidentally) a friend of mine but had to go serve in the army and couldn't do that for me any longer. Full PC for AthanatoszZz up till now and hope you enjoyed the chapter! See you this Sunday!

PS: My old proof reader didn't have an acc either but it would be a shame to let it pass like that xD