Daniel's mind raced with confusion as he continued to drift through the endless darkness. Panic gripped him, and his heart pounded in his chest. He couldn't make sense of what was happening. All he could think about was the sensation of weightlessness and the absence of any sensory input.
"Where am I?" Daniel thought, his inner voice filled with desperation. "Why can't I feel my body? Why can't I see anything? I'm a cripple, not blind for God's sake!"
Despite his frantic thoughts, there was no response, no change in his surroundings. He tried to move, to reach out, to touch something, but he couldn't even feel his own limbs. It was as if he had been reduced to a disembodied consciousness adrift in an endless void.
As he struggled to come to terms with this surreal experience, memories of his past flooded his mind. He remembered the accident that had left him paralyzed from the waist down. The pain, the rehabilitation, and the emotional toll it had taken on him and his loved ones. But this was different. This was beyond anything he had ever imagined.
"Oh yeah, I remember it now. My mother and sister met a gruesome end at the hands of those six bastards, and I, well, I met my untimely demise courtesy of a dragon." Just as Daniel recollected his grim situation, a melodious and strangely beautiful giggle disrupted his thoughts.
"Pffthh."
Suddenly, a faint glimmer of light pierced the abyss, reminiscent of a distant star flickering in the nocturnal tapestry of the cosmos. Initially, it was but a feeble gleam, barely registering in the gloom, but with each passing moment, it swelled in intensity, hurtling toward Daniel with unrelenting luminance. Within his breast, an inexplicable hope surged forth, a fragile ember amidst the pitch-black desolation. It marked the inaugural stirrings of life or motion he had encountered since succumbing to this enigmatic state.
As the radiant luminescence approached, its celestial radiance revealed elusive forms and arcane silhouettes, akin to phantasmal entities emerging from the very depths of the abyss. These enigmatic beings bore an ethereal quality, their visages shifting and transmuting with a spectral fluidity. They moved with an eerie grace, their motions a sinister ballet, as though choreographed by a malevolent hand.
And at the heart of this haunting ballet, the luminous figure took shape—an ethereal beauty, resplendent and sublime. With every step, she exuded an aura of otherworldly allure, her features pristine and flawless, as if sculpted by the gods themselves. Her presence was a paradox, a beguiling fusion of angelic grace and demonic magnetism. In her gaze lay a promise of salvation and damnation, a seductive dance of light and shadow—a evil god, cloaked in the beguiling guise of a beautiful woman.
"Who are you?" Daniel thought, trying to communicate with these enigmatic figures. "What's happening to me?"
"How amusing. You hold yourself in such high regard, human. A dragon killing you? I highly doubt it. Majestic creatures like dragons wouldn't bother with feeble ants like you. Pfftt." The beautiful yet demonic woman contorted her face into an amusing expression, struggling to contain her laughter as she regarded the pitiful soul before her.
"But it's true. I saw it clearly—a colossal dragon plummeting onto my head. There's no way I could forget that." Daniel, stung by the ridicule in her beautiful words, made a feeble attempt to defend his last vestiges of dignity.
"Hahahaha... that's truly hilarious. I can't bear it any longer. You mistook an oversized lizard for a dragon, hahahaa... my stomach. Listen, human, a real dragon could obliterate your world in mere seconds, and there's absolutely no reason for a dragon to visit your world in its early stages."
"Early stage? What on earth does that even mean? And who are you?" If Daniel still had his skin, it would surely be beet-red right now. He had initially believed he was killed by the mightiest beast in the world, only to discover that, according to this lady, he had met his end at the hands of a mere lizard. The absurdity of it all left him bewildered and frustrated.
"Where are my manners? Allow me to properly introduce myself, human. I am Mortessa, known to all living beings as the Evil God. Please note that while I bear the title 'Evil God,' it doesn't necessarily mean I am inherently evil. I earned this title due to the formidable and somewhat malevolent nature of my powers. However, I've long since learned to keep my powers from dictating my personality. Perhaps in the past, I leaned towards darkness, but that's no longer the case."
The woman who stood not far in front of Daniel introduce herself as an evil god make daniel feel scared. thinking his situation right now first he just died, second he trick six people to their dead and lastly an evil god come to him 'shit, will i go to hell now?'
As Mortessa, the self-proclaimed Evil God, continued to laugh, her amusement seemed boundless. She noticed the fear and confusion in Daniel's eyes, and it only fueled her amusement further.
"Relax, human," she finally managed to say between her fits of laughter. "I'm not here to condemn your soul to some fiery abyss. That's not how I operate."
"And for your second question," Mortessa began, her voice unwavering despite the chaotic turmoil surrounding them, "Earth is still in its early stage of the...."
Just as she want to explain, the void space intensified in its violent upheaval. Lightning streaked through the void, each bolt carrying an otherworldly power that seemed to pierce through the very essence of Daniel's soul. He clung to his own consciousness, feeling as though he were on the brink of being torn apart.
Mortessa extended her hand toward Daniel, her expression resolute and she create a cocoon to protect Daniel soul. "Look like i need to make contract with you first before i can tell you." saying that Mortessa close her distance toward Daniel.
Daniel, still bewildered by the situation, managed to stammer out a question, "What... what do you want from me?"
Mortessa's demeanor became more serious, her striking, otherworldly beauty now overshadowed by an aura of power that was both alluring and intimidating. She spoke with a commanding tone, her voice resonating through the void.
"I offer you a choice," Mortessa replied, her eyes locking onto Daniel's, holding his gaze captive. "You can make a soul-binding contract and join my faction, the Covenant of Shadows, where you will gain unimaginable power and purpose. Or, you can refuse the contract, leave this place, and forget everything that has happened in this space."
Daniel's heart pounded in his chest as he weighed Mortessa's words carefully. The gravity of his decision bore down on him, and he knew that whatever choice he made would shape his destiny in ways he couldn't yet fathom.
"What do I need to do if I accept your contract, and what will happen to me if I refuse it?" he asked, his voice filled with both hope and trepidation.
Mortessa's captivating yet enigmatic gaze never wavered as she responded, "The only thing I can tell you is that if you accept my contract and join the Covenant of Shadows, you will gain incredible strength, and I assure you that the tragedies that befell your family will never happen again."
A glimmer of optimism ignited within Daniel at the thought of preventing others from experiencing the same horrors he had endured. However, Mortessa's next words sent a shiver down his spine.
"I can't reveal anything about the consequences of refusing the contract unless you want to deal with that thing" Mortessa's finger pointed upward, and Daniel immediately understood her cryptic warning. The ominous entity that had caused his soul to tremble earlier would descend upon him once more if she reveal the secret to him.
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Daniel arrived at his life-altering decision. He had already lost everything, and his heart ached with the burning desire for vengeance on behalf of his mother and sister. "Mom, Lisa, I'm sorry," he thought to himself, "It seems our reunion will have to wait. I want to know the mysteries shrouding this world and why earth became like that"
With resolve firm and heart steeled, he looked at Mortessa and declared, "I accept your offer."
Mortessa's expression remained enigmatic, but the subtle approval in her eyes didn't go unnoticed. She extended a slender hand toward him, palm up, and an ethereal, inky-black parchment materialized within her grasp. The parchment seemed to absorb all the surrounding light, creating an unsettling void.
"By your own volition, you shall be bound to the Covenant of Shadows," Mortessa proclaimed with a voice that resonated with ancient power and authority. The parchment floated from her hand, gliding gently toward Daniel. As it approached, intricate, glowing runes etched themselves onto its surface.
With a mix of trepidation and determination, Daniel reached out and grasped the parchment. The moment his fingers touched it, an intense surge of energy coursed through him, filling every fiber of his being. It felt as if a dormant wellspring of power had been awakened within him, a sensation that was both exhilarating and overwhelming.
The Covenant of Shadows, an enigmatic faction associated with an evil god, now held a fragment of Daniel's soul. In return, he had gained the promise of incredible abilities and the hope of unraveling the world's mysteries.
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