Zeke remained standing in the middle of the ritual, expectantly gazing at the portal above him. However, minutes passed without anything happening.
During Celine's ritual, spirits had appeared one after the other. Was that the difference between a top-tier offering and his mediocre showing? Zeke hoped that he had not just squandered his only chance.
Even so, he'd rather forgo having a summon all together, than having a creepy Soul eating monster as a companion. The thought of feeding people to that thing made his skin crawl. Furthermore, even if he completely disregarded the morality of it, the offer had not even been that tempting. If he was willing to do so, Zeke would most likely be able to find a way to do the exact same thing using his Mind and Soul Magic.
Wait a moment… had this thing been attracted to him for exactly that reason? Aurelia had told him the criteria for attracting spirits. What was it again? Personality, life experience, or spell engraving? It was very possible that the devourer had been attracted to him because of that very experience where he had inadvertently absorbed parts of that spy's Soul.
Zeke felt sick all of a sudden. What did it say about him that the first spirit he had attracted was such an abomination? With an effort of will, he got rid of those dark thoughts. The next one would be different, no doubt about it!
A shadow at the edge of his vision drew his attention. Instead of up, this weird distortion had come from right in front of him. Zeke lowered his gaze. There it was, standing right in front of him, a completely black human-like silhouette stood. For a moment, Zeke just stood there, staring at this bizarre apparition.
What the heck? How long had this thing been standing there? Why had he not noticed it until now? Putting all his questions aside, Zeke used his [Telepathy] to contact the shade. The thing either couldn't or didn't want to make the first move.
"Hello," he sent. "My name is Ezekiel von Hohenheim. Can you understand me?"
"Indeed I can, Ezekiel von Hohenheim," the being responded in a soft voice that was barely louder than a whisper. "You were quite fast to notice me."
What was this? Was this thing sarcastic with him? He did deserve a bit of blame for ignoring it for so long, but still, who started a conversation like this?
"I am sorry to have ignored you," Zeke said diplomatically. "I was deep in thought."
The being tilted its head. "I was not making fun of you, Ezekiel von Hohenheim, you were actually quite fast. I pride myself on stealth, you see."
No wonder he had not even seen the being arrive. If this being relied on stealth to survive, then it was a wonder he had even noticed it at all.
"…But where are my manners," the silhouette continued. "My name is Olyssi and I am of the Veilweavers. My Mind magic gives me the ability to bend the attention of others away from us to remain unnoticed. A gift that would extend to you, if we were to form a contract."
"How strong is that ability?" Zeke asked.
Olyssi remained silent for a moment, before glancing over at Aurelia. "The woman conducting the ritual has not noticed me yet. Nor will she ever notice me, if I do not wish for it."
What!? Zeke's mind spun. Remaining hidden from Arch Mages? What seemed to be a mediocre ability at first glance actually had the potential to be a complete game changer. Without even trying, Zeke could think of a dozen scenarios where this ability could save his life. Thinking further, he wouldn't have to fear much of anything.
Zeke realized immediately why the Veilweaver had appeared before him. The constant need to hide had become an intrinsic part of his life by now. How often had he wished for the ability to just hide away from the world to conduct his research in peace? Now, he had the chance to gain this very ability.
"D-Do you wish to offer me a contract," Zeke asked, scolding himself for stammering.
Again, the Veilweaver remained silent for a moment. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl as Zeke awaited its answer. Words could not express how much he wanted that ability!
Eventually, Olyssi nodded. "I do, Ezekiel von Hohenheim."
"Please, call me Zeke."
"Very well, Zeke. These are the terms of my contract: You can summon me whenever you want, for as long as your core can manage. I will assist you to the best of my abilities in any situation and try my utmost to help you fulfill all your goals…"
Zeke's smile grew wider and wider with every word the spirit spoke. Could this get any better? This had to be the situation Aurelia had spoken about. Olyssi must have taken a liking to the way he looked. He inwardly thanked his mother and father for blessing him with such an outstanding appearance. However, his good cheer was not meant to last.
"…and in exchange, I request that you give me 1% of your Soul annually."
Zeke's smile vanished. He wanted those abilities — wanted them bad. But was he really willing to pay that price? It had only been a couple of days since he had learned that his Soul was linked to his memories. Giving up 1% of all his memories was equivalent to losing 60 days at his current age. But what about later?
By the time he was 100, he would lose a year for every year he was alive. What if he lived to be 1000 years old? He would lose ten times the amount of new memories he would make per year.
Of course, this kind of calculation wasn't even close to being accurate, given the fact that he would have fewer memories than a normal person. But his point still stood, such an arrangement would cripple his development. And this was without even considering what it would do to him as a person. Would he forget his friends at some point? Maximilian? His family?
Zeke shook his head. "I cannot accept such a deal. Do you want anything else?"
As usual, Olyssi took its time to respond. "I can lower the rate to 0.5%, but that is as far as I can go."
Zeke grimaced. This was quite the compromise on its part. Could he accept that? Even while asking himself, Zeke already knew. There was no way he would accept an arrangement that would gradually rob him of everything he held dear until the day he died. No matter how much he wanted to accept — he couldn't.
"I am sorry, Olyssi. I won't give up my Soul for anything."
This time, there was no pause. Just as suddenly as he had noticed the Veilweaver, it was gone. Zeke wondered if Olyssi had really vanished, or if it had just decided to revoke his permission to perceive it. Not that it mattered. He had refused the contract and there was nothing left to say between them.
Even though he had made the choice, and would do so again, regret still assailed him. Giving up such an amazing power was not something he could get over easily. Most of his current problems could have been solved with it. He might even have been able to infiltrate the empire and take his revenge right away.
Zeke pictured the look on Richard Feuerkranz's face as he rammed a Voidiron dagger into his heart in the middle of the night. Now, his revenge was just as far out of reach as it had ever been.
How long would it be until he could exact vengeance on Maximilian's behalf? How long would his killers, his betrayer be allowed to live and enjoy their days? Every day he delayed, Zeke felt it gnawing at him, like a festering wound. Giving up this chance had been harder than he had expected. Only now, after getting his hopes up, did he realize how much this matter actually bothered him. Alas, there was nothing he could do about it anymore. He had made his choice.
With an impatient heart, Zeke went back to waiting. But as if to mock him, nothing happened. For some reason, no more spirits appeared after the Veilweaver. It had almost been an hour by now, and to his dismay, Aurelia seemed to be getting tired. Zeke watched with rising despair as one after the other, drops of sweat began to appear on her forehead.
Was this a punishment for refusing to make a sacrifice? Did the spirits think he was unreasonable for being unwilling to give up even a tiny fraction of his Soul? Celine had offered them her entire core after all. Not only that, but she had even had a perfect affinity. What was he even willing to give?
He had been aware he would not be able to get a Summon like Celine, but there had to be something he could gain. Somehow, Albert had managed to get Truthseeker, after all. There had to be a way. Was his character just too rotten?
Just as Zeke was about to give up on the ritual entirely, he noticed a minuscule figure approaching the portal. He had to wait for it to get closer before being able to recognize what it looked like. It was only about the size of a fingernail and had roughly the shape of a human brain with six wriggling tentacles. It came to a halt only a handspan away from his face.
"…offer… contract…" the tiny spirit sent haltingly.
Zeke eyed the creature. It was almost translucent and didn't appear the least bit impressive. It was definitely a massive step down compared to the former two. Still, this might be his last chance to get any contract.
"What can you offer, and what do you want in return?" Zeke asked telepathically.
"…help… think…" the creature replied.
It would help him think? Well, he couldn't say that this was wholly unexpected, given the spirit's form. However, he couldn't say that he liked the idea of having a parasite attached to his brain. He warily eyed the tentacles that extended from the tiny spirit.
"What do you want in return?" Zeke asked, despite his reservations.
"…stay… active… always…" the spirit replied. It visibly struggled to get the words out. Also, its body seemed to dim further with every message it sent.
Stay always active? Did it want to remain summoned? If so, then this was not a small ask. Having a companion materialized at all times would put a constant strain on his core. This arrangement would slow down his recovery rate by a lot. It was not nearly as damaging as the previous offer, but Zeke was still hesitant.
For one, the tiny spirit didn't seem reliable at all. In fact, it almost appeared desperate for him to accept. How much would it be able to help, if it was barely able to fend for itself or even communicate properly? Furthermore, the idea of making a contract with a brain parasite was very off-putting. Wouldn't he essentially be feeding himself to this thing?
With a heavy heart, Zeke decided to turn the contract down. He just didn't have enough information to justify this risk. Not when all he had was the nebulous promise to 'help him think'.
"Fool!" A deep, gravelly voice reverberated through his consciousness, shocking Zeke to his very core. "I was mistaken to expect anything from you, Ezekiel the fool! You hold a king's treasure but fail to grasp its worth."
After saying its piece, the voice fell dormant again, leaving a stunned Zeke behind. This was the most the Dragon had spoken since they had started to share a body. But the truly astonishing part was something else. Had… had the Dragon just given him advice? It might have sounded like an insult, but it had clearly been meant to aid him. The Dragon had called it 'a king's treasure'. Was he referring to the spirit?
No matter how Zeke looked at the tiny brain, he couldn't see it. Should he just ignore the Dragon's words? That didn't seem smart, either. If it had deemed this situation important enough to break its silence, then Zeke would be a fool to underestimate its weight. For a moment he remained torn, but a quick glance at Aurelia's struggling form reminded him that he was pressed for time.
After one last, deep breath, Zeke made his choice.
"I accept your contract!"