"I can't believe it... this is the power of swordsmanship?" An old western-styled wizard sat on his knees at the sight before him. It was a battle of gods, a battle of those who could pierce even the skies!
One was the Demon King, a being who searched for divinity through evil means, and the Sword King, Calak, who reached enlightenment after losing their companions. Calak was glowing red with flaming hair and armor, this was his aura, which had surpassed the realm of a mortal's power.
"This- This can't be real! After all this work, even the chosen hero lost, chosen by those gods who wanted to shoot me down before my hand touched their skies, I, the great Demon Bael will lose?! To a mere slum dweller?!" Bael was enranged, shooting blasts that could turn a small kingdom to rubble like it was nothing, the only thing stopping these stray blasts being, Calak who cut them into oblivion.
But even while pushing back the Demon King, Calak was dying. To use this form that gave him the power of gods in his human body, cost him his life... he could have lived if he wasn't in a fight, if he could have perfected this form before, could things have turned out differently? This was the current Archmage's thoughts.
He blinked one second, and the next the battle was over. Calak had cut the Demon King in half and stood there, standing and unmoving. The bottom half of the Demon King's body was standing still much like the unmoving Calak, at the edge of the still somehow intact castle.
"Calak..? Are you... still there?" The red aura that covered Calak still burned brightly, the Archmage knew he was dead, he's been alive for 200 years and experienced many things.
And there was only one time he felt despair as deep as this. But if he lived, he would at least protect this world that his companions held dear. The sun looked beautiful today, with the clouds split, letting the sun beam down.
That thought was cut short, although. A hand stabbed through the Archmage before he could even notice, he was weakened before the battle had started, and he wouldn't be surprised if there was a stray demon.
"Kuuu- It's hard staying alive by using my demonic energy. That bastard cut me in a way I couldn't heal! Thankfully, he didn't go for the head... Even if I'll die, I will die with all of you as well! Archmage Astram!" It was to the surprise of the Archmage, that the top half of the Demon King's body had killed him.
It was funny, his last thought was to protect this world that he had never cared about. And yet he would never get the chance to, it was ironic in a sense. He at least hoped this world, after facing a common enemy, could lead itself to a new age.
...
[The system is being penetrated! Attempting to pull out...]
'...' An empty conscious was unheard.
[The system defense protocol is not activating, sending a request to {Root}...]
"The System has defense mechanisms?" The words of a surprised adolescent boy could be heard in the dark and empty void, of an empty soul.
[Request verified, reason informed. Waking the new soul's consciousness... Creating contract.]
The lights were suddenly turned on, and a table could be seen, with a blank individual with no features sitting on one side of it. Even with no facial features, the slight movement in the facial area showed discontentedness.
"What are you?" Astram had been alive for 200 years, he wouldn't lose his calm in a situation like this.
[I am the system.]
"Why have you brought me back to life, system?" Astram knows it wasn't one of the god's who brought him back to life, as two blue screens lay in front of him, one with contract details, and the other with dialogue from the entity, "The System".
[The system did not bring you back to life. The system is simply helping outsider "Astram", according to its directives, any more information is not allowed. Will you sign the contract?]
Astram didn't know what this thing was, but he knew where he was. It was his soul space, the space inside his soul. He often dived deep into his soul to find out more about it, as it also helped with his magic research. If this entity could simply exist in here without a problem in the world... then Astram knew he had a long way to go before fighting this thing, if he didn't even know how it did it.
"So... from these contract details, it seems that I am trapped inside a child's body? With the other soul intact. This is simple, I can turn this child into a great mage myself, no matter the world he lives in!" Astram quickly took this new chance at life, forgetting about his past seemed to be his best option. He couldn't wallow in despair, Calak would have gone forward and forged a new path.
'That youngin... he was truly great.' The archmage moved these thoughts to the back of his mind.
[The system agrees with you heavily, saying that the only thing that you can't do is harm the other soul and its belongings! The system says that it is helpful for a story that gods might want to see!]
The blank figure frowned, gaining facial features. "I shall agree to this contract! Show me what this new world has in store for me, system!"
It wasn't at all what Astram had expected.
***
After a squabble between the Archmage and the body's host, they quickly became friends of sorts. The name of the host was Bael, a coincidence to say the least. After their fight because of his name, Astram quickly took quick control of the body and soon learned that the reason he could so easily be because it was a skill. And he had no bad intentions in doing so, so it didn't break the contract.
[User Status:
Astram ???
Allegiance: Bael Hophorous
Main Path: Archmage
Sub Path: Hero
Mana Rank: F
Physical Rank: E+
Luck Rank: NULL]
[Active Skills:
Soul Synchro (Rank: S+)
Soul Swap (Rank: A+)
"True" Magic (Rank: ???)]
He sighed when he looked at his Mana Rank... apparently, it was the lowest of the low, he didn't expect much from this body, but this was horrible, this body could barely utilize his soul! But of course, the great Archmage stayed arrogant, if he still had his soul, then he had all he needed to turn this body into a good vessel... then Astram looked at his luck.
After contemplating for a bit, like any good mage, he came to a conclusion. Luck in a sense is the fate of the scenarios you go through in your life, a deciding factor, but by bypassing death, he broke through the shackles of having good or bad luck. Possibly, he could change the fate of those with predetermined fates... It reminds him of something from the past.
But he didn't care, he noticed something about Bael, and soon took him under his wing, gleefully acting like a carefree old man.
"So that is what a phone is... truly I still am more surprised that you have the same name as the Demon King, puhahahahahaha!" Astram laughed but was nowhere to be seen in the city landscape.
'Cut it out! Don't laugh like that in my body, weird old geezer!' The thoughts of the boy could be heard, seemingly the one Astram was talking to, Bael.
"Ah, calm down young one! At least you're showing emotion now! It was much different when your [Analyze] skill was active, you were boring you know? That skill is ruining your young mind!" Astram teased the young Bael who was talking through their souls, which was then translated to their minds.
Sadly what was in the mind could not be translated to the soul, at least in such a way Bael could understand, so the Archmage was talking out loud. Astram knew he could have figured out how in a few days of research, but this new world was much more interesting than he initially thought!
"Boy, you only showed your system skills to me... Let's check your status shall we?" Astram asked, 'looking' at Bael.
In the system contract, the two souls would have two different systems, Astram had only checked his status and he now wanted to check Bael's, which he neglected to check before.
'Hahhh... You'll be a disappointed old man soon... [Status]!'
[Status:
Name: Bael Hophorous
Allegiance: Evil God Hophorous
Main Path: None
Sub Path: Scholar
Mana Rank: NULL
Physical Rank: E+
Luck Rank: E]
"... NULL is good right?" Astram had wished Bael's Luck was also Null instead.
'Old man, I can't be like you, I've been trying to tell you that since the moment you started spouting stuff about becoming the strongest archmage... IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET!!!'
Astram felt his old age was finally getting to him, 200 years and the migraines finally caught up.