Chapter 23: Turn Your Life Upside Down
Levi would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about what Ash’Kral saw in him. But, he didn’t allow his curiosity to influence his judgment as he sped through the contract.
After a few moments, Levi finished the first major term and was left staring at Ash’Kral in bafflement.
He found out that he would be in charge of his body, possessing the majority of control. He thought before that Ash’Kral was manipulating him all this time to force him into signing a 50/50 contract.
This contract ensured equal control over the body as both the nightcrawler and the human would be able to alter between leadership and fellowship.
This contract rarely took place since both nightcrawlers and humans cherished having complete control.
They knew that if it was 50/50, it might lead to an uneventful death due to a lack of cooperation or worse, causing significant harm to innocent civilians.
Thus, it was frowned upon for Daywalkers to have this kind of contract as society wouldn’t accept them fully.
Levi thought that Ash’Kral was seeking this kind of contract, but here he was, staring at 100% control in his favor.
"Why?" He couldn’t help but wonder about Ash’Kral’s reasons.
"All you need to know is that it has to be you in the lead."
Besides this cryptic message, Ash’Kral gave no further details. Realizing that he wouldn’t get his answers, Levi moved on.
While this term had restored some hope in Levi’s mind that maybe his life wasn’t completely screwed, when he continued reading he found out at the end that everything wasn’t sunshine and rainbow.
"No death binding, and an indefinite term?" Levi’s expression turned grave. "Doesn’t this mean I am stuck with you until you decide to let me go? Even worse, if I died, your soul will remain unaffected?’
Levi wasn’t a fan of those terms in the slightest. He understood that nightcrawlers and humans could only work together efficiently if their life and death were bound together.
This would ensure that both parties would give their best in every single endeavor since their life literally hung on the line.
As for the other term? All Daywalkers’ contracts had a fixed term. Usually, it lasted until the Shadowlife seed grew into a tree, bore fruition, and created a new Shadowlife seed, restarting the circle until a new tree was born.
When the two trees reached their growth limit, that was when the contract ended and both parties separated from the other, taking a tree for each.
Of course, this separation would weaken them a bit, but it would reward them with autonomy at a level of prowess unimaginable...It was a win-win situation for both parties.
While reaching this stage was extremely rare as it implied evolving the nightcrawler to Tier 7, which wasn’t a simple journey in the slightest, it gave the humans and nightcrawlers a goal that assured their eventual autonomy.
But, indefinite term? Levi realized that he might be trapped with Ash’Kral forever.
"Don’t flatter yourself, boy." Ash’Kral sneered, "The contract is indefinite for the opposite reason. I have no interest in being stuck with you if you don’t live up to my expectations. I have, very, very high expectations."
"Wait, are you saying that I might be dropped in the future?" Levi knitted his eyebrows.
"Yes, I have a certain goal in mind, and if you prove inadequate in helping me achieve it, I will have no choice but to start again with another entity," Ash’Kral replied calmly.
Levi went silent, not because he was ’hurt’ by Ash’Kral’s lack of confidence, but because he realized that if he was to sign the contract, he could not stop moving forward until he helped Ash’Kral achieve his goal.
That’s because an early separation during the growth of the Shadowlife seed would kill both parties!
It was like the moment a Daywalker was born, the Shadowlife seed would turn into his primary organ, more precious than his heart or even brain.
Fortunately, when this happened, the seed died as well, ensuring the demise of the nightcrawler...This made the nightcrawlers avoid this scenario at all costs.
Yet, Ash’Kral was telling him straight up that he could easily drop him and switch him with another person like his life would be unaffected.
While it seemed impossible, Levi knew that Ash’Kral was too much of an enigma. If there was any nightcrawler capable of surviving the separation, it would definitely be him.
’What do I do? Do I sign it? Do I even have a different choice?’
Many questions roamed Levi’s mind as he turned around and gazed at the predicament of his party.
Nel’Vess was getting angrier and more ferocious by the second, already uprooted hundreds of trees and hurled them at the Solar dome.
While the trees had gotten burnt out by the dome’s flares, its illumination had gotten way too dim compared to its first appearence.
’Do I wait? Can I afford to wait?’ Levi shook his head with a bitter smile.
No matter which way he studied his choices, he always came back to the same two choices. He could reject Ash’Kral’s proposal and be left to die, knowing that he was the only one keeping him alive at the moment.
He wasn’t scared of the idea of death as he always saw it as a much more merciful way of leaving his hellish world, but the fact his brother’s life was also on the line changed everything.
"Boy, signing the contract to save your brother is understandable, but is that really your only motivation?" Ash’Kral whispered near Levi’s ears, "Have you already forgotten about what happened that night? The screams of your dearest parents? The pain of having your eyes ripped away? Have you already forgiven those two nightcrawlers? If so, you are either the most benevolent human in existence or, you are just a coward."
Levi remained composed, already numbed to the nightcrawlers’ emotional manipulation. But, when he was reminded of that night and what he had witnessed, he realized that it wouldn’t cut it to just be an average Daywalker.
He had just spent a couple of days hanging with actual decent Daywalkers and yet, their lives were held by a pen in his hands.
Everything he had lived and experienced in those days made him truly see the world of Daywalkers and what had become of their planet.
The lives of people inside the Holy Pillars were utterly different from those exploring and attempting to reclaim their planet.
Now that he had experienced both worlds, he understood that it wouldn’t cut it to just sign a contract with any Nightcrawler like he was dreaming about in the confines of his safe space.
He needed a strong nightcrawler, no, he needed the strongest nightcrawler as his partner to ensure that his potential surpassed everyone and everything...Especially, when his growth was impaired due to his missing eyes.
It wasn’t like he had such nightcrawlers waiting in line to sign him up.
’If I am already living on the edge of life and death, of sanity and insanity, what’s holding me back from giving it my all and seeking my parent’s redemption?’ Levi’s expression turned icy by the second, ’Indefinite term? Dropping me if I was inadequate? Such conditions should have never fazed me, not now, not ever.’
Levi lifted his head and gazed at the empty signature location. The more he looked at it, the more it seemed to call him.
Before Levi could know it, he was already floating in front of it while holding a giant white pen.
Ash’Kral was there, right next to him.
"Sign it and your life will turn upside down, I guarantee it." Ash’Kral grinned.
"You should work on your convincing skills, that sounds more ominous than good...But, I have already made up my mind, you can stop pitching it."
Levi tightened his grip on the pen and double-checked one last time for any fine print he had missed in the contract.
When he found that only those two terms were considered ’negative’ to him, he steeled his expression and started writing his full name, each letter widening Ash’Kral’s devilish grin.
Just as Levi reached the last letter, he stopped and turned to face Ash’Kral. Then, he asked suddenly, "Am I your first contracted human?"
Ash’Kral paused for a moment, not expecting such a curveball.
"You aren’t even in the top ten list."
But, he still answered him truthfully even though he knew his answer might change Levi’s mind. In his eyes, if his answer changed Levi’s mind, he would lose interest in him.
Levi was silenced for a few moments, many thoughts coursing his mind at the shocking implication that Ash’Kral had more than ten failed partners.
This would make anyone question if Ash’Kral was giving his partners a fair chance to aim at his goal or if he dropped them once an inconvenience arose.
Yet, Levi’s confidence remained unfazed.
"I may not be your first partner, but I am going to be your last." Levi said coldly as he wrote the final letter of his name, "Mark my words."