Syra was just about to heave a sigh of relief when she suddenly heard Clyde issued a command.
"Naomi, the dagger."
"Wait?! What was the dagger for? I thought---"
Syra asked with a quivering voice as dread started to cloud her features. She eyed the cat warily as it handed Clyde a dagger.
Meanwhile, seeing her reaction, Clyde only flashed her a smirk.
"Relax."
"Relax you say? Go and try hearing that from a complete stranger holding a dagger before your eyes and tell me if you could calm down despite that."
That was what Syra wanted to say but she no longer had the courage to do so. Instead, she backed up at the corner and watched what was about to happen next.
Clyde, on the other hand, chose not to speak anymore and without further ado, slit his own palm. His crimson blood dropped at the parchment and the parchment seemed to absorb it.
After a short while, letters started to appear from the same surface where the blood drop.
'Clyde Abenson'
Was the name that appeared on the parchment afterward.
"Your blood would be needed to sign the life contract because it would contain the essence of your soul. As I have told you before, this is a blood contract and when I said blood, I mean it literally. You have to sign at it using your own blood as ink. This was the one that would bind us and make the agreement official."
Clyde explained.
"So you mean to say, this works like a blood pact?"
"Well yeah. Same concept. Now go on, your time is running."
Naomi walked towards Syra's direction and using her mouth, she handed Syra the same dagger that Clyde used to wound himself.
"It's your turn."
The cat said as sge ushered the piece of parchment that Syra previously let go from holding but rather than accepting the dagger, Syra extended her hand instead.
"I can't do it. Can you please help me with it?"
She said with her eyes close.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Syra was also afraid of blood. She cannot even watch someone bled without her knees feeling weak, let alone inflict a wound to herself and make herself bleed on her own accord.
"Eh?"
Meanwhile, Naomi who had no idea what to do threw a helpless look at his master. Clyde who had seen everything unfold before he could not help but sigh.
In the end, he walked towards the two and take Syra's hand.
"Brace yourself. On the count of three, I would draw your blood from your palm."
He warned Syra and the other party only nodded her head in response to show that she understood what he said. She did not even bother to open her eyes as it was currently shut tight.
As though not seeing the other party wounding her would at least alleviate some of its pain.
"Alright, one..."
Clyde started counting and on the count of one, Syra drew in a deep breath. Syra was just about to exhale just right in time for the other party to say 'two' but Syra already felt the cold surface of the dagger making its way on the skin of her palm.
The unexpected pain made her opened her eyes in surprise.
"You said---"
"--- Three..."
Clyde, on the other hand, continued his count in a nonchalant manner as if he had not than anything. Then he tilted Syra's hand to make the blood flow and drip on the surface of the parchment.
"I only said I would draw your blood on the count of three. Wounding you was a different thing."
Clyde said using the same blank expression, then right after that, he blew on Syra's wound, and the wound healed at a rate visible to naked eyes.
"Woah???"
Syra watched her own wound heal with obvious amazement. Her eyes went wide almost as big as two saucer plates.
Her head whipped up and down as she alternately glanced at her scar-free palm and Clyde's blank but handsome face; up and down it went because even if she already saw it by her own two perfectly working eyes, she still could not bring herself to believe that such feat was possible.
Syra also flexed her hand to check if how it would feel and to her surprise, her hand did not feel like it was even wounded a second ago.
"Thank you."
For the first time ever since she arrived at the house that night, Syra expressed her genuine gratitude towards the other party.
Clyde on the other hand just shrugged only his shoulder showing a perfect act of nonchalance. It was as though he was wordlessly implying that what he did was not exactly worth a mention.
He did not even lift his gaze to look at Syra and instead, his eyes were focused on the contract.
His gaze was zeroed in at the last portion of the parchment as he waited for Syra's name to appear next to the contract.
When he saw the parchment scribbled itself using Syra blood and the name Syra Wright slowly surfaced, it was only then that he lifted his gaze again.
"Keep the contract, Naomi."
He said as he casually handed the parchment to his cat.
"Roger that, master."
The tomcat replied right away and even gave the other party a quick salutation.