"Is that really your name?" Mane asked. His eyes were squinted, and the hand retreating from Night's Kiss's handle swiftly returned to its place of readiness. He wasn't naïve enough to put his life in Crystal's life just a few minutes ago because he had received a message from her. Men were crafty and women were just as nasty. Mane wasn't going to cooperate with her just because of that. So why had he? Because he had an extra layer of assurance – a Soul Contract.
A Soul Contract was a document born from the willingness of two souls – one to serve; the other to Lord. A Soul Contract was no trifling matter. The Lord of the Contract could track the movement of the Servant and also feel their every emotions. The Lord couldn't be lied to, deceived or betrayed. And the life of the Servant was within the hands of the Lord! That meant the Servant could lose his or her life at any second if the Lord was displeased with him or her. Of course, there weren't only disadvantages for the Servant. Apart from the contract being a display of their loyalty, it also allowed the Servant to grow at their Lord's speed. They basically shared in the talent of their Lord. And Crystal had signed such a contract with him unhesitant when she approached him initially. As an Eternal she already shared in the talent of the Supreme. But now that was going to increase by a few folds!
Right now when Crystal had given her name and title, the Soul Contract within Mane's mindscape had cautioned him against an untruth. And that was why he was so vigilant. But it seemed the Young Supreme hadn't fully understood the limits of the Soul Contract because his first reaction was to reach for his sword.
"I apologize my Lord and Sky. Chaos Eternal is the title I use now. Before I was known by another. But now I am too weak to wear that name proudly." Crystal was quick to explain her circumstances. And when the Soul Contract informed Mane that she was telling the truth and that her loyalty was pure, he let down his hand once more.
"What is the title you previously donned?" Mane asked curiously. Since the time he had come to learn of a people – the race that was tethered to him – Mane had learnt of a few of their historical figures. So he wanted to know if Crystal was one of those he had read about.
"In times past, during the reigns of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Supremes, I was known by another title. I was called Chaos Witch." Crystal responded coolly, her knees still kissing the floor in subservience.
"You're the Chaos Witch?!" Mane asked with a dumfounded expression.
Of the historical Eternals he learned about, there were three his mind especially stuck with – the Cold Emperor, the Fire Eternal, and the Chaos Witch. The Cold Emperor was shrewd and wise, and Mane remembered him for his wisdom, not his power. The Fire Eternal was powerful and destructive, and Mane remembered her for her flames not her wit. The Chaos Witch was an army of her own, capable of performing summons and possessing powerful Leases that were sought after by all. She was a powerful Spiritual Empress, and one so great that even Spiritual Gods didn't dare to offend her. Mane remembered her for her overwhelming presence, not her famed beauty.
He regarded Crystal a normal Spiritualist. After all, she was only a Spirit Queen. And she couldn't even make out some of his Leases. And that was shocking, because in the record it was said that she was comparable to Basileus himself! So Mane only thought she was a powerful Eternal Spiritualist that he may have heard of, but didn't think for a single second that she would be the most powerful the Eternals had to offer. And the fact that the Soul Contract provided no alerts meant that she was speaking the truth.
Mane looked down at her in doubt. How could she be the most powerful Eternal Spiritualist? Were her stories exaggerated?
"Tell me what exactly happened to you," Mane demanded, feeling that there was more he didn't know than he did know. He wanted to learn.
"Gladly, My Lord and Sky," Crystal didn't oppose him in any way, and proceeded to inform him of all that had happened – from the very moment she disappeared from the True Universe till now.
It happened right after the 6th Supreme had mysteriously disappeared. Crystal was losing power quickly, much like the other Eternals. But unlike the other Eternals, she didn't choose to go into hiding. The 6th had left at a time when things hung in the balance. His disappearance caused a large imbalance in the scales and tipped things in the favor of the unruly gods who had been suppressed by the overwhelming power of the one now called the Abandoner. Whilst the others had hidden themselves, waiting for the return of their Lord and Sky, Crystal and a few other powerful Eternals had declined to do so.
The Cold Emperor and Fire Eternal were of those who thought that the Eternals should be hidden. It wasn't because of fear or cowardice that this decision was made. It was a decision made simply because Eternals didn't believe that their lives were theirs to throw away. They had to preserve themselves for the sake of the new Supreme who would come. They were the knife of another, and had no right to choose whom to cut.
But the Chaos Witch and a few others disagreed. They felt that it was their duty as the sword of their Lord and Sky to maintain the peace he had built. Their Lord had left suddenly, and even they didn't know what was going on. They were aggrieved, but they felt that they couldn't let the people who had come to look up to them down. And so they detached themselves from the others and become justice seekers.
But they had ignored one fatal thing. Their strength without the presence of the Supreme was meant to dwindle. They were meant to grow weaker, and soon that weakness would cost them. And it did.
"Some gods ambushed us. They set up a trap we couldn't escape. And all the others fell. I was the only one who made it out alive. And I did so by retreating into a black hole created from the power of our clash. When I came to, I was here – in this strange Universe."
When she returned here she was much weaker than she was in her prime, her strength barely dangling over the edges of the Profound Realm. And her power as a Spiritualist was reduced to the Low Level. But she was an Eternal, so hiding herself wasn't difficult. In the years she stayed here, she learnt of a Supreme. In her excitement she had sought this person out, hoping that it was the same title she knew of. But she ignored the fact that her strength was showing no signs of picking up. This person was clearly not the same as the one she sought after. And when she did see her, she was left with nothing but disappointment. Not only was this Supreme not the 6th, she wasn't connected to Crystal's race at all. And that was why she was unable to grow.
"This Universe also has a Supreme. But unlike with the True Universe, over here the Supreme is highly respected by god and demons alike. They united under her rule once she appeared. And few dare to go against her or badmouth her. She is treated like a goddess of goddesses. And she is very proud because of that. I kept losing my strength, even to the point of returning to the Mortal Realm due to the difference in time between the two realms. I even lost my Ears."
When she said she lost her Ears, Mane finally understood why she was not as impressive as he thought. The Ears of a Spiritualist were a bit different from regular ears. Spiritualist built up their Spirits to contain the power of Chaos and manipulate it as they saw fit. So that meant they had a Spirit Body, and that body had parts that differed from the physical body. Spirit Ears were special. They allowed a Spiritualist to make out Leases of others. If not, one would just hear the Lease as a muted language. And that was why the common folk could never fully hear or understand the Leases that were cast, even the Low Level ones. Mane's Basileus Glow allowed him to possess Basileus's Spirit Ears, making it possible for him to hear and understand Leases he hadn't heard of before. Not only were Spirit Ears highly important, they were difficult to heal, and without special plants and herbs that were too rare to find, it was impossible to fully heal such a wound. Since Crystal had lost her Ears, it made sense why she couldn't make out some of his spells.
"However, a few years ago – about a hundred or so years – my strength started to return. I knew then that a Supreme had been born in my Universe. However, the distance between us was so great that my strength was growing very slowly. That changed a few years ago however, and my power rocketed from the Earth Realm to the Ascension Realm. Now that I see you, I understand why."
Mane marveled at her story, and felt a bit of pain for her. How much did she have to go through as the only member of her race in a foreign universe? She described it so simply, but Mane knew it couldn't possibly be so. Crystal was so beautiful that being weak was a massive danger. He couldn't begin to imagine what kind of hands she must have escaped from – the greedy and selfish alike – to be standing here before him.
"It must have been rough on you," Mane sighed.
"It matters little now that I stand here before you," Crystal smiled faintly and said. Such a joyful smile it was that Mane didn't need to refer to the Soul Contract to understand the sincerity in them. And he leaked out a smile as well.
"I have a question though. Why did it take you so long to prepare that Lease? No matter how powerful it was, or how many distractions came into play, it shouldn't have taken that long." That was the one thing bugging Mane. If it took that long to prepare powerful Leases, then Spiritualists would be easy to kill off. So he felt there was something else in play.
"Because I was restraining the Wraith," Crystal pointed out, before stretching out her hands before her whilst gathering the forces of Chaos. A green light soon subdued the space before her, and the Wraith Mane thought he had killed appeared before him once again – alive and well. However she was bound with chains of Chaos, and could make no movements.
"She is still alive?"