"Fine by me. I'll be there soon..." Ryuk replied to the phone before switching off the device and slipping it into his pocket.
"Whatever is happening, I just hope I'm not a part of it..." Aster asked with puzzled eyes as Ryuk turned to look at her.
"It's actually all about you."
"Huh?"
---
20 minutes later...
"Sounds like you all could really benefit from learning about the Knulls. In a way, it's like your survival even depends on it..." The words echoed in the air where there were none other than Ryuk and Asteralaxia, who walked through the sky as they continued moving invisibly, yet with incredible speed.
"Seems like you're understanding, at least..." Ryuk said with a smile.
He had thought he would have to go through a world of convincing, but she had accepted far easier than he thought.
"But!" she suddenly called out as Ryuk turned to her.
"Why should I even bother at all?"
"Huh?"
"I don't care about this world, remember? It can get invaded and overtaken for all I care. It's not my world and Once I reach the Eternity stage, I'm planning on leaving," Aster said as Ryuk raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you should bother because I care about it. And you're indirectly placed under my rule, remember? I can just force it on you..." Ryuk said with a shrug as Asteralaxia scoffed.
"You do know the amount of time you can order me around is limited, right?" Asteralaxia said, as Ryuk shrugged.
"You know, I try to take things nice with you, Aster. I really do."
"But when I place an order not to kill and you go ahead and start hurting people, then you're leaving me not much choice."
"That just shows I was right in being wary of you..."
"I show you a point of importance, but you said you're not interested—telling me you don't mind if millions of children, women, and men die. That shows how heartless you are. And once more I'm forced to impose another strict command on you."
"Little by little, you're turning from that expert I respected—because of her contribution to my growth—to a creature that needs more chains around her neck," Ryuk said, this time with a serious expression as Aster's eyes furrowed.
"Tch, as if you don't enjoy it..." She replied with a scoff but was shocked by Ryuk's next words.
"Once the Endearth is safe and we win the battle with the Knulls... I'll destroy the Contract Grimoire. You'll be free. Really."
"WHAT!?"
"Then you can go to whatever world you want, or wherever it is you come from."
"Why?" Aster aske diwth dubious eyes.
"I also reasoned that if I was trapped in a realm for countless years only to awaken once more, I wouldn't want to be stuck under the control of another person for the entirety of my life."
"I figured that out. Your desire to escape your own Contract Grimoire makes sense. No one wants to be treated like a slave or be under the whims and orders of another, especially forcefully."
"But you know, instead of it being a race of you growing stronger and trying to break free, giving me headaches and me placing more chains on you... I figured out that we can cooperate instead."
"In what way?" Asteralaxia replied unconvinced
"Help us win this Knull war, Aster, and when that is done, I'll give you your freedom."
"If you agree, you won't have many chains on your neck, and you won't be forced around. I'll also gain a good helper for my goals, and in the end, you'll get your freedom."
"But if you don't agree, then it'll just be an empty race, and who knows how far you'll push my anger—so much that one day I might just order you to be destroyed by the Contract Grimoire," Ryuk stated as Aster rolled her eyes.
"You can't do that. It's not part of the rules."
"But there are countless ways to make someone regret something, isn't there? Especially if they'll have no choice but to agree."
"Death isn't the only worst punishment, you know..." Ryuk said with an unreadable gaze as Aster's eyes flashed.
When she tried to put herself in Ryuk's shoes, she knew well that there were truly countless ways she could suffer badly—ways the Contract Grimoire would accept.
"Promises are just words in the end. You can wake up tomorrow morning and not feel the same. I would have just worked for nothing..." Aster said, not falling for the trap.
Even if she agreed to the idea, it wasn't cemented in the Contract Grimoire.
Ryuk could wake up after the world was in peace and say he didn't feel like it anymore and still keep her under his control.
All her effort then would have been for nothing.
"Let's make a second deal then," Ryuk said as he stopped, with Aster also sliding to a stop.
"The Contract Grimoire can only take a single deal," she replied—but then her eyes widened in shock when a golden light flashed in Ryuk's hands and a page appeared before her.
"You... You have a second Contract Grimoire..."
"By the Order of the Contract Grimoire: If you, Aster, stand by the side of I, Ryuk, and you help me in all the ways you can, to make sure Endearth wins this war, then I promise—by the Order of the Contract Grimoire—to free you from all Contract Grimoire orders that I have placed you under," Ryuk stated as Asteralaxia's eyes flashed in disbelief.
Her words stuck in her throat, but then she steeled her mind as she replied.
"If you refuse?"
"Then, I will be the one to be stuck under your whims..." Ryuk replied.
"For all eternity?" Aster pressed on.
"For all eternity. But, only if we win the war against the Knull and prevent Endearth from becoming a Dark Gomar..." Ryuk said as he bit his finger, and a single drop of his blood floated upward—soon appearing before the page—and it assimilated into it as a golden sparkle flashed through the clouds.
Aster watched the page slowly float toward her.
"So what do you say, Aster? Do you dare risk it?"
"Do you believe in your heart that we can win this war against the Knull, and Can you risk it all for that belief of yours—or refuse, and be stuck under my control, possibly until eternity too?"