The person in front of me turns around, heading back to the portal. It seals behind her, leaving me slightly confused. Nothing happens for a awhile, until I come back to my senses. I look around, but everything is still frozen in time. I focus on the notification that the first demon sent, and he appears again.
"That was fast. I get why you wouldn't want to talk to some of them though. Anyway, have you come to a decision?" He is in the sitting position again, but I don't see Fein yet. "Don't worry, she's completely safe. She might have some injuries from the attack" he glares down at Cerberus in the distance "but nothing life threatening."
I think for a few seconds, making sure this is the right choice. None of the gods seemed like a good fit for me, and the other demon I met seemed unstable, to say the least. The one in front of me now seems powerful, and I already was planning on collecting more of the Divinities, so I have nothing to lose.
"I'll sign a contract with you." I say, looking right at him. He lets out a small chuckle, almost like a giggle, before standing straight. "Nah."
"Nah?"
"Nah."
I stare blankly, dumbfounded. Nah? He lets out another laugh, before he continues. "I hate contracts. I prefer to be free, and to make my own choices. I'll still help you, just no contact. And if you tried to sign a contract with me, it would have corrupted your soul and mind. I wouldn't like that to happen."
I hear the smile in his voice. "I only work with equals, and those above me. However, I can make exceptions. That is my job, after all. The only catch is that you must become as strong or stronger than me. It doesn't matter how long it takes, but this is the only thing I want out of our partnership."
I think for a moment. It's not a bad deal, really. I keep my soul and mind, I get a partnership with an extremely strong demon, and the only catch is I need to get stronger. Things I wanted either way, based on what I've seen of the other other gods and demons.
"Ok. I agree to this deal." I say. "Tch. Why are you so serious? Relax some!" He say in a slightly condescending and aggravated (?) way. "The purpose of darkness is to NOT be solid. If you act so rigid and up-tight, you won't be able to use my powers at all."
He vanishes, and I feel him behind me. Before I can even react on the slightest, I feel him jabbing his fingers into pressure points, and my body goes weak. The frozen time keeps me in the air, bit I can barely move.
"The first thing you need is to learn. You can't always just use force to do what you want. You must bend around the rules and limits, or else they'll break you." As he talks, I feel something pushing into my mind. It's a memory of him, fighting against the angel of light.
He barely dodges her attacks, moving only how much is absolutely necessary. A blinding light is released, and he puts his sword in front of him, blocking almost none of it. However, a sliver of him is left behind, as the sword blocks some of it. He reforms when the attack ends, and the fight continues.
"You can't just force everything. Go with the flow or parallel to it, but never directly against it. Now, use this to make yourself move again" He flies in front of me, and I try moving again. I take a deep breath, and try to figure out what is stopping me. I notice the muscles on the sides of my arms and legs are refusing to move, and the same thing on my back.
I use the muscles around the ones that are stuck, allowing me to move a little bit. I pull myself upright again, and my body returns to normal. "Good, much quicker than I thought it would take you. If you can't do something, find out why first. Only then can you fix the issue."
He look off to the side, looking to the air. "That applies to everyone in any situation, not just in books. What and why are the best questions to ask. Most problems are solved just by answering these questions."
Books? Is this guy actually crazy? I'm not so sure about this partnership anymore. He looks back to me, and clears his throat. "Anyway, this is one of the most important things I can teach you. You can use it for pretty much any situation, but you'll need to use it consistently to get used to it."
He floats closer to me, and places his hand on my head. "You wanted some power, right? I can't really give you anything outright, but I can help you learn more. Of course, the system in this world will be pissed, so the difficulty will ramp up a lot. I blame the author personally. The seven of us weren't even supposed to exist."
Half way through his talk, my mind goes completely blank, and thoughts and memories flood into me, threatening to tear my head apart. I don't get anything specific, and I instantly forget everything that he shows me, but I still feel them somewhere in my head.
"There. You should be able to go much further with this. I hope I didn't give you too much." He snaps his fingers in front of me, and I shake my head. "It just hurts. A lot. What was that?" I can't see it, but I can feel the smile under his mask. "Reading is great, but with too many worlds, you lose track of them sometimes. I hope you find them useful, dear.... Partner?"
He disappeares, and Fein is in his place, with a field of energy surrounding her. A protective field? She's still unconscious, but she seems ok. I feel time starting again, and the field holds Fein in the sky. Not me though. I stopped moving my wings, and gravity takes over me again.