Chapter 674: – Contract (1) |
Ignoring the roaring crowd, Percy seized control of his host’s body and rushed out of the stadium in search of the nearest terminal. Getting eliminated from the tournament just before reaching his goal did sting a little, but he was far more concerned about Zurvanai’s result than his own. Kassorith didn’t even bother resisting, probably knowing that nothing good would come of it.
Did Percy feel guilty over his plan to ditch the Thess’kalan for a more promising host?
Only slightly. Kassorith had already earned much more from their cooperation than he could have ever managed on his own. He might argue that the same applied to Percy, but there was one huge difference between them.
Given enough years and clones, Percy could have found an alternative way of infiltrating the void tournament. The alliance was famous enough that he would have definitely heard about the Void Decree eventually, and Thess’kala was just one of many member-factions. Meanwhile, his host’s corpse would have already rotted away at some remote village on his home planet if not for their meeting.
Pushing any thought of who deserved what aside for now, Percy pulled up the latest information of his fellow contestants, his gaze anxiously landing on Zurvanai’s. He’d previously wondered why the organizers had set up the matches during the group phase to take place on separate days only to have the fights of the much-more-important elimination phase run concurrently, but it all came down to the purpose of each round of the tournament.
Earlier, the competition had placed a lot of focus on information-gathering and strategy, so they had clearly wanted to give the participants a chance to scout out their rivals. This was no longer important, as the final phase was just a straightforward contest of power.
‘Her match is still ongoing…’ he read with a frown.
Of course it was. It hadn’t even been five minutes since the most recent round of battles had started, so it only made sense that most had yet to conclude. How many people would have made it to the elimination phase just to get obliterated mere seconds into their first match?
‘Hey! I’d like to see the others facing off against Lohkrat,’ Micky protested. ‘Mark my words, that freak is going to win the whole thing this year.’
Seeing no point in lamenting what could have been, Percy kept his borrowed eyes glued to the screen, waiting for the conclusion of the Denyte’s match. About fifteen minutes later, he decided that it might be best to head to her stadium directly and try to watch the fight by himself.
There was a good chance that the match would be over before he arrived, but that would still be the best location to meet up with Zurvanai, since Percy had no idea where she was staying.
Another seven minutes later, he reached the new venue. The loud commotion emanating from inside the colossal building suggested that the fight had just ended, so he didn’t try to enter. Instead, he quickly located the nearest terminal and pulled up the Denyte’s information again.
‘She won! Thank the gods!’ Percy mentally exclaimed.
It no longer mattered whether she lost her next fight or made it all the way to the end. Or well… it might affect Percy’s ability to earn additional prizes with her help, depending on the terms of their agreement. However, she had already qualified for the Void Decree, which was arguably the most important reward by far. Percy just had to ensure that he had a clone possessing her when she received it.
‘Now what? Are we offering to stick with her for the rest of the competition, or do we only care about the new core?’ Micky asked.
‘We can bring it up, but it’s up to her. The only question is how to safely breach the topic,’ Percy replied while circling the building in search of the exit meant for contestants.
A few seconds later, the edge of his Sage’s Pond coincidentally caught the Denyte right as she emerged from the stadium. She looked exhausted, with only a couple of transparent strands of magical hair sticking out of her otherwise smooth scalp, yet she was smiling contentedly.
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“Hey! Zurvanai!” Percy shouted, waving as he approached. “Congratulations on your victory!”
The woman turned to look at him with a frown. “Kassorith? I suppose that your match was a short one.”
He chuckled, though it came off a little hollow. “That’s the understatement of the century.”
The Denyte nodded. She must have guessed the outcome, since she tactfully chose not to ask about it. “So here we are. You said that you had a proposal for me?”
He sighed, searching for the best way to proceed. He’d actually played this conversation out in his mind dozens of times since their meeting on Zath’maan, so he already had a pretty good idea of what to say. Still, this was a delicate topic, and there was no completely risk-free way to approach it.
“I want to offer you a trade, but the details are quite sensitive, since they involve things about my bloodline that very few people know about,” he said, choosing his words carefully.
“I can’t agree to anything without sufficient information,” Zurvanai protested with a shrug.
“Of course. Are you familiar with Kerfyl’s Decree?”
“Is that the one that creates soul contracts?”
“It is. I want you to agree not to act against me or share any information I divulge, whether or not you end up accepting my request,” he explained.
The Denyte creased her brow, understandably suspicious of Percy’s strict terms. He didn’t blame her, since this was a lot to throw at what was effectively a complete stranger, but there was no way he would talk about his ability to possess her without a guarantee that it wouldn’t bite him in the ass.
Telling her about his bloodline was tantamount to hinting that he wasn’t actually Kassorith, and that he was an outsider who had infiltrated the alliance. Clenching his host’s fists, he gave the Denyte as much time as she needed to decide, fully aware that this was one of the greatest hurdles in his would-be plan.
“I see. I understand that you won’t share the information otherwise, so I suppose that there is no harm in hearing you out,” Zurvanai said a couple of minutes later, much to Percy’s relief. “But I’ll need a few reassurances of my own.”
Having expected that, he nodded, prompting her to proceed.
“I want you to vouch under the influence of your Decree that you have no intention of harming me, my people, or the alliance. In return, I will keep everything you tell me to myself.”
“This…” Percy awkwardly scratched the back of his host’s head. Zurvanai’s terms were more than reasonable, yet he couldn’t agree to them as stated. “I promise that I’m not trying to be difficult, but your phrasing creates a few problems. What I offer will involve some temporary pain. I swear that you will remain perfectly safe and that the outcome will be extremely beneficial to you. As for harming the alliance… it depends on your definition. I admit that we’re going to break a few rules, but nobody will know or be negatively affected.”
Percy didn’t want to be too forthcoming before the agreement was in place, but he had to be honest with Zurvanai, otherwise his own Decree might kill him. Injuring her soul enough for possession would be an agonizing experience that would technically count as “harming her”, and he was also planning to steal an important Decree from the Void Hand.
If he counted Lanthaniel’s deception, Percy had actually participated in an even more serious crime, but that was thankfully something that had already happened and wouldn’t affect this deal in any way.
“That’s a few too many caveats for my liking,” Zurvanai said.
“I know.” Percy sighed. “Just a reminder that these are merely the terms for you to hear me out. If you don’t like my actual offer, you can still decline later, though I sincerely doubt you will.”
Zurvanai eyed him carefully before extending her right hand, clearly having a good idea of how Kerfyl’s Decree was supposed to work. Percy reciprocated the handshake while tugging at a certain facet of his recent acquisition, activating its main effect.
Something inside his soul stirred, a thin tendril reaching out from his wisp and worming its way through the gaps in his host’s soul, towards his palm. The Denyte’s soul responded in kind, stretching and touching Percy’s where their skin connected. A certain understanding settled between them, the words that they had previously spoken now binding them far more deeply. Whichever party violated them would suffer horrific consequences.
What Zurvanai didn’t know, was that the deal was somewhat lopsided. Percy and Micky shared a single soul, thus were both liable to pay the price should either of them betray the Denyte. However, their main bodies hadn’t agreed to anything.
The original Percy and Micky had yet to even acquire the Decree, so they would probably be fine if the clone got himself killed here. Not that he had any intention of putting this to the test. He still wanted to trade with the woman in earnest, and he would rather not miss out on all the prizes that he had already claimed from the tournament.
“Well?” Zurvanai asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Can you finally stop being so mysterious?”
Before saying anything sensitive, Percy carefully scanned his surroundings with his Sage’s Pond. Only after confirming that there was nobody within a couple hundred metres did he dare to reply.
“Long story short, I want your help to claim the Void Decree. I believe that I can do that without anyone knowing, and you’ll be generously compensated for your assistance.”
The woman looked at him confused. “The Void Decree? Is that it?”