Nixis's hollow eyes flared with an eerie, spectral light. "Ah, a perceptive question. I had to ensure you were truly exceptional, a worthy candidate for my scheme. I needed to test your resolve, your ability to survive under extreme conditions. Only then could I be certain you were the one who could carry out my will without fail."
Horizon's gaze hardened, his voice filled with disbelief. "So you killed the Amberskins just to get me here?"
"I had no choice," Nixis hissed, her voice rumbling through the mausoleum like a storm. "I cannot leave this place — not even for a second. The other greedy Azhurmas would descend like vultures, snatching up my treasures the moment I abandoned my territory. As for the Amberskins . . . I made a deal with them. They were the ones who broke it first. Punishment was all that awaited them."
"A deal?" Horizon shot a glance at Von, searching for answers, but the confusion on his friend's face told him Von knew nothing about any arrangement between the Amberskins and Nixis.
Nixis's hollow eye sockets flickered with a cold glow. "I was content with our agreement. In exchange for their peaceful existence here, I was granted the lifeforce of their dead to sustain my power. But then . . . the Valerians came. They disturbed the balance, disrupted the order. The Amberskins, under Vodgo's influence, grew restless, whispering of alliances and peace. The deal became meaningless."
"Their lives were forfeit the moment they chose to settle in my domain," Nixis said, her voice laced with venom. "I harvested what was rightfully mine. And you . . . you, Horizon, carry great power — power that belongs to me now."
Horizon's fists clenched, anger seeping into his voice. "You could've talked to Vodgo. You didn't have to kill them."
A deep, hollow laugh echoed from Nixis's skeletal jaws, a haunting, otherworldly sound. "Why would I, one of the Great Wyrm, ruler of Drakha, lower myself to such petty creatures? They broke the deal the moment they let weakness and doubt poison their minds. Their lives weren't theirs the instant they set foot in my territory. Everything here is mine."
"To you, this is all just a game, isn't it?" Horizon's words cut through the air, filled with frustration and disdain.
Nixis's skeletal grin widened, her enormous wings creaking as they stretched outward. "Precisely. The game has only just begun. You're now part of something much larger than you realize, a crucial piece in a grand design. The question is . . . will you rise to the challenge, or meet the same fate as those who came before you?"
The dragon leaned closer, her whisper a chilling breeze against Horizon's skin. "So, what's it going to be, Horizon? Will you accept my offer . . . or will you die here alongside your friend?"
Her words hung in the air like a death sentence, and the weight of the choice pressed down on Horizon like a mountain.
Horizon barely managed a smile, though the weight of the decision gnawed at him. Did he truly have a choice?
He had just arrived in this strange, dangerous place — a chance for a new life after surviving captivity on the ARK. He hadn't yet made Travis and Trisha regret their betrayal, for abandoning him. He couldn't die now. No matter how much it stung to bend his will, to become a servant, he would do it. To live, to survive . . . he'd do whatever it took.
"Fine. Let's form the pact," Horizon said, his voice steady but hollow.
Nixis's skeletal grin widened, and the eerie glow in her hollow eyes burned brighter, a sickly, triumphant light.
"Good. From this moment on . . . I am your Azhurma, and you are one of my brood."
The bony crown atop Nixis's head pulsed with ancient magic, runes igniting along its jagged edges. Horizon felt the pull of that same energy on his forehead — runic symbols flared to life in the air between them, glowing with spectral light.
For the first time, Horizon could read the ancient Draconic text that hovered in the dark air. It detailed the terms of their pact, binding them in blood, and at the bottom, Nixis's signature — marked in her own blood.
Guided by an invisible force, Horizon unsheathed a dagger and sliced across his palm. Blood dripped onto the ground as he placed his palm over the contract, sealing it with his blood. As soon as the first drop hit the mausoleum floor, the pact was complete.
A brilliant, eerie light erupted from the runes surrounding them, enveloping the entire mausoleum. It surged with power, binding Horizon and Nixis in a bond that was impossible to break. His vision blurred, but in the back of his mind, a torrent of notifications flooded in — signs of his new power, his new servitude.
The mausoleum trembled in response to the magic. The air grew thick with the weight of ancient forces as the pact solidified. Horizon's blood had now become a part of Nixis's power, and hers, a part of his.
The deal was struck.
[ACQUIRED! Title, Overlord of Death!]
[ACQUIRED! New Skills and Spells!]
[All stats increased!]