"You know you are going to die soon, right?" I asked Raven with a nonchalant tone, but I was incredibly excited inwardly. In fact, I was struggling to control my excitement.
Marana and Akilah's expression froze, but Raven's eyes opened wide with a how-do-you-know look.
"Hey! What kind of stupidity are you saying!? I won't forgive you if y–"
"Mm." Raven interrupted Akilah and nodded.
Instantly, the entire place fell silent.
"R-Raven, what are you s-saying? A-Are you going to die?" Akilah stammered. Marana's expression turned heavy, but she soon understood the reason.
"... The daggers?"
"..." Raven nodded silently.
I looked at the three of them with a small smile expression. Marana had told me that they were not true blood sisters, but they had grown together as true sisters. Even if they were not blood-related, their relationship was stronger than many blood siblings.
"... What happened?" Marana asked darkly.
Raven remained silent. She had been keeping her condition hidden from her sisters. She knew that if her sisters learned about that, they were going to feel guilty.
After all, part of the reason she accepted the power of the daggers was them.
"Allow me to explain." I observed Raven with an interested expression. "These Daggers are cursed, and their curse is very strong. They carry the resentment of thousands of lives and tens of owners. Born for revenge, they grant the user a great power in exchange for the user's lifeforce. Raven reached the seventh layer at such a short age, so the price she has to pay can be imagined. If I'm not wrong, she will die in less than five years."
The three girls fell silent. Akilah bit her lips and her face was filled with guilt. Marana, on the other hand, did her best to keep a calm look.
She then raised her face and looked at me. "You have a way, right?"
I smiled like the Cheshire cat. "Of course I have. I would not have mentioned it otherwise."
"Then...!"
"But, what can you give me in exchange?"
Marana fell silent. Her expression changed between struggle and determination, and finally, she looked at me with firm eyes.
"I'll give you my everything!"
"Sister! Don't!"
"Stop, Akilah! I'll not allow Raven to die! If I have to give him my life to save her, I'm glad of doing it!"
"But–"
"Silence! It's final!"
I looked a both of them with interest. "How nice. I admire your relationship."
Akilah bit her lips and looked at me with a gaze full of hatred. I just flashed her a smile and looked at Raven.
"However, I'm more interested in her."
Marana's expression changed.
"Stop! I'll not allow you to d–"
"I accept." Raven nodded with a firm expression. "If you save me, I'll be yours."
"Raven!"
"I'm sorry, big sis. I'll not let you sacrifice yourself for my sake." Raven's gaze was filled with an unwavering will. Marana and Akilah were frozen silent, unable to speak after seeing her eyes.
I smiled even more brightly. "Very well. Don't worry, I'll not harm you. Instead, it's a great opportunity for you."
Marana stared at me with a powerful murderous intention. "If something happens to my sister, I swear I'll kill you."
"Yeah? You are welcome to try." I then looked at Raven and bit my finger. A drop of blood let my finger and floated in the air, creating a gorgeous scene. Under the surprised gazes of the three, the drop of blood transformed into a complicated tridimensional magic array.
The magic array shone with an ominous glow that seemed to want to devour all the souls nearby. But with a gesture of mine, it froze.
Then, I spoke.
"I, the immortal soul wandering through eternity, wielder of the flawed end, make this contract with the universe's laws as a witness. From today until eternity, this soul belongs to me!" My voice resounded through the world, causing terrifying weather changes and making the world tremble. All the powerhouses around the world felt that something had changed.
Millions of dimensions away, a woman looked towards us. Her eyes briefly regained a small bit of light, but they dimmed in the next second.
"... So you are there, huh, my old friend."
In another place, even further away, a pair of red eyes opened abruptly.
An expression of surprise and glee filled the eyes, before being replaced by madness and obsession. Soon, the being trapped under uncountable layers of seals started to break free.
"... Dad."
Of course, I did not know that my actions had caused such a change, but even if I knew, I would have proceeded anyway.
This girl, perhaps she was the key to the answer I had been searching for so long.
The bloody light of the contract shone with even more strength. The three girls around me felt their bodies shiver. An unknown and overwhelming feeling of danger invaded their minds.
*Rumble!*
The entire world cried in rage! The gods opened their eyes searching for the source of such evil, and the asleep powerhouses were forced out of their dreams.
The hero shivered, a sliver of fear had been planted in her mind. The seer felt the world change. Fate, that had always been clear before her eyes, turned muddy for a brief instant.
Many tried to pinpoint the source of the change, however, they failed to find it. A thick and heavy fog seemed to hide it.
Immense pressure assaulted me. The universe's laws seemed unwilling to see me succeed.
I roared in rage! My powerful soul willed the world to do my bidding, and my mana rushed crazily towards the contract. I endured the backlash of the universe's laws and made sure that nothing was wrong.
Soon, the tridimensional contract was completely formed.
I lifted Raven's chin and looked into her eyes. "Raven, are you sure of this? Once you accept, you will be mine until eternity. If you show the slightest hesitation when signing the contract, your soul will be dammed!"
Raven's eyes opened wide. Fear and uncertainty flashed in her mind, but when she saw my eyes, for some reason she calmed down.
She could feel my excitement, my incredible happiness, and my nervousness. She got the feeling that this contract was very important to me.
She had the feeling that she was very important to me.
So, after one second of hesitation, she nodded.
"Mm."
Instantly, the contract moved.
It entered her head and found her soul before rushing to it. Raven felt a head-splitting pain assault her mind, making her cry in pain.
But in the next second, she felt my lips pressed against hers.
With that as the signal, the contract lit up with a powerful light.
Our two souls were bonded together. A bond beyond life and death, made to be eternal, but unfortunately flawed. From then, our souls would be together until her soul dissipates.
*Rumble* Enraged noises emerged from the world. It tried to destroy the forbidden contract, to stop Raven from transcending life and death, but I stopped it. My body was twisted by the powers of the world, but my will forced the world to retreat.
Finally, the entire world fell silent.
Then, everything returned to normal.
Raven closed her eyes. Her body lost its strength and fell into my arms. I grabbed her with a gentle gaze and caressed her cheek.
In the next second, my body trembled.
Hundreds of injuries erupted at the same time, filling the ground with my blood.
Marana and Akilah, that had seen everything from start to end, looked at me in complete fear.
"... What the fuck happened."