Chapter 13 - Pacted

Demiurge visited me on my way home. 

He took the form of a dragon with a gold lion's mane. Curled around the base of a giant mountain like a snake. 

Immediately, I bowed to him. This guy was paying me after all. And he was a god, too, I guess. 

"Greetings, pupil." His voice roared over the mountains like thunder echoing in a valley. "I see you've grown accustomed to this new world."

"I have." I answered. "And thank you for the gifts that you've provided for me."

He snorted proudly. Wind ripped down the mountain top. 

"I've come to make a formal pact with you." He told me. 

"A pact?" I remembered how the old lady demon called Noir lion pacted. 

"This will allow you to use more of my power. "

I'm already doing well without your power. I kept that to myself, though. 

He unfurled his body. As he did, the sky warped. Behind his great head, he positioned the sun and the moon into an eclipse. I had to avert my gaze from him entirely. It was like he burned with the heat of a thousand suns!

Dropping his talon over my head, my heart started thumping in my chest. Materia swarmed around me, filling me with energy that made my skin glow. Placing his claw to the back of my head, a surge of energy rushed into my body. 

Instantly, I felt lighter. The staff, which I laid at my knees, began to levitate in front of me. I caught it, feeling power coursing through me. 

Even though I hadn't released them, my summons took to the air. Swimming out of my pocket, the Seia danced in the air around me. The carbuncle, a marsupial beast with a gem on its head, crawled out of my pocket. It circled the earth around me, chasing the shadow of the naiad. 

Even the Scarlet Bunsen escaped its card. It paid me little attention as it walked circles around me. The mouse demon and the great winged demon followed suit. 

All of my current summons revolved around me, like planets circling the sun. 

I began to levitate off the ground, raw power coursing through my body. The staff began to vibrate in my hand, blooming to reveal the empty sockets in its pedals. The summons began to jump into the empty sockets, one by one. They reverted to their card forms, which folded into triangular shapes. Only the head of each beast was shown in their petals. 

Finally, the ritual Demiurge started had ended. I was powered to the ground gently by an invisible hand. As my feet met the ground, I could feel a current of energy from the Earth coursing through me. 

"I have opened your magical circuits. You can now draw material from the very earth you walk on. Your power is beyond most wizards."

Red wind rushed over me, drifting over my skin. I realized the red energy was flowing from me. I gasped. 

"This is true materia. It is the very air us gods breathe. It is the life force for all magical entities. To even have it coursing through your body will amplify your summons to a level beyond that of a normal wizard."

Demiurge rested against the mountain. He dimmed so I could see him, the sun and moon parting ways like lovers saying goodbye. They formed halos on each side of his head. 

"You, Rue Baydo, are now pacted to me. Your strength comes from me as if it were your own."

The power that emitted from me flared a final time, crimson light basking the mountain tops. When the light dimmed, my veins glowed red for a few seconds. The very magic a god uses was in my veins!