Book 3: Chapter 63: Meeting the Spirit

Book 3: Chapter 63: Meeting the Spirit

The moment Zeke spoke those words, the scene changed. The entire stage of the ritual disappeared from his view to be replaced with a neverending void.

He felt himself fall, but he couldnt be sure if it was up or down. In fact, he couldnt be sure of much of anything in this strange place. He couldnt tell where he was, nor how much time had passed. Not even his Magic responded to his call.

Thankfully, he wasnt alone in this void. A surprisingly soft, artificial-sounding voice spoke to him. Its cadence reminded him of the mechanical guardians of the Gigers. Greetings, Contractor. Thank you for accepting my offer.

Zeke whipped his head around, trying to find the entity that had spoken. But he was met with nothing but darkness every which way he turned.

Suggestion: You wont find me by looking around, the voice said. Clarification: I am not behind you, and not in front of you. Im neither above nor below.

Then where are you? Zeke questioned.

Answer: I am inside you, the voice responded. Clarification: It is not as you had feared. I am not inside your body. I am inside YOU.

Inside my Soul?

Answer: Positive, the voice responded. I am inside what you refer to as your Soul.

Can you read my thoughts? My memories?

Answer: Positive. I can read both your thoughts and memories.

Zeke decided not to think about the implications this might hold and instead tried to focus on his current situation. What is this place?

Answer: This is the binding stage, the voice replied. Clarification: This is where our contract is being finalized.

What does that mean exactly?

Answer: Our contract will only be fully established once I have integrated into you into your Soul.

Zeke considered this. Can I still cancel the process at this stage?

Answer: Negative. Clarification: Trying to halt the integration at this stage would damage both our essences.

Zeke nodded slowly. He didnt have any intention of going back on his decision, but it never hurt to know his options. How long is this going to take?

Answer: Insufficient information. Clarification: Time flow is relative in this place. The entire process will take approximately three heartbeats in the real world.

This was a relief. It felt like he had been here for a long time already, it was good to know that he wouldnt be missed in the real world. Now that he had time to waste, it might be a good idea to find out as much as he could about his new companion.

Do you have a name? Zeke asked.

Answer: Negative.

Then what do you want me to call you? The voice remained silent for a beat and Zeke had the distinct impression that it was thinking hard about something.

Answer: I would like to have a designation

Do you mean a name?

Answer: This is very confusing.

Youll get used to it, Zeke said with a small smile. How about this? Ill just call you Spirit until we find a name that suits you better?

Answer: That name is acceptable for now.

Thats great. Nice to meet you Spirit, I am Ezekiel.

Nice to meet you, Ezekiel. My temporary designation is Spirit.

Ok, Spirit. Can you tell me how far along we are in the integration process?

Answer: Positive, the process progresses linearly and is 93% complete.

So they were almost done. Anything else I need to know, before we finish?

Spirit remained silent for a moment. Answer: I would suggest preparing yourself for intense discomfort.

Zeke had a bad feeling about this. How intense?

Query: Do you remember your first Engraving ritual?

yes?

Answer: Possibly worse than that.

Zeke groaned. He still shuddered whenever he thought back to the first engraving ritual. It was by far his most painful experience. Those three, torturous hours had felt like an eternity. He hoped that Spirit was just overstating how unpleasant this was going to be. But he somehow doubted it.

Suggestion: Get ready, we are at 95%.

Zeke closed his eyes and steeled himself. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl as he awaited the impending return to the real world. It was a dreadful wait, and Zeke almost wished Spirit hadnt warned him at all. Like this, he was already imagining the worst before the time even came.

How much long

Before he could even finish his question, his body jolted. No, it had not been his body. This had come from deeper. With a dreadful realization, Zeke remembered where he had felt this before. It was indeed very similar to the sensation of engraving a spell onto his core.

But compared to the last time, the feeling arrived in full force right off the bat. Zekes eyes shot open as he howled in pain. His eyes were hazy from the bone-searing agony that assaulted his very being. Through his foggy vision, he thought he could make out Aurelias figure rushing toward him to catch his falling body.

Everything after that was only a blend of tiny flashes of awareness. At one time, he saw Celine worriedly looking down at him. Then he saw David's face, his expression more grave than Zeke had ever seen him. He saw Aurelia, escorting him to his ship, together with his guards. She must have been able to calm David and the others.

Zeke tossed and turned, falling in and out of consciousness. But there was no relief to be found in passing out. Compared to the body, there was no limit to the pain the Soul could endure. And there was no ceiling to the agony it could perceive before shutting down.

How often did he beg for the blessed release of senselessness? Zeke couldnt remember. But such a thing was of course impossible for the Soul. He grieved and raged, he cursed and threatened, but it was of no use.

However, a deeply hidden part of him was also glad for the fact that he was not given a choice to stop this. No matter how much he had wanted a Summon, he would never have been able to endure this hellish torture if he had any way out. Thankfully, that temptation was out of reach. All he could do was grit his metaphorical teeth and wait for the storm to pass.

Minutes turned into hours and hours turned into days as Zeke endured. Despite his state, he was conscious often enough to be able to observe the cycles of night and day. However, it was not all bad news. The first hours had been the worst, and the pain had gradually lessened since then. By now, the discomfort was infinitely more bearable.

Finally, after what must have been weeks, Zeke heard a familiar voice inside his head. Congratulations, Contractor. The integration has been a complete success.

Hearing those words, and feeling the absence of pain for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Zeke fell into a blissful sleep.