A Mortal Seals a God
"Once you've killed a guy, you can't kill him a second time... but honestly, if you're gonna do it, do it right. I came to kill the real thing, not some illusion."
Crack...!! As he tightened his grip, even the half-remaining skull shattered into fragments.
[Indeed...]
Whoosh---!!!! In that instant, black energy rippled, and a massive wolf's form materialized before Adel.
[A fitting contractor for one who made a pact with me.]
The wolf spoke to Adel in a low rumble.
"Summoning Karon means you've read up on me to some extent."
[That's right. I followed the scent of the void clinging to you. Your past life was astonishing—hunting and capturing countless gods.]
"...It was nothing special."
[And you contracted with them. Then you took your own life, setting their power adrift without a contractor.]
Powers bereft of their master warp time itself. That was the method of regression.
Theory was simple enough, but execution never easy. One had to end their own life without certainty of success.
"Finally, an ancient god's power fixes a specific point in time. Losing its contractor makes it the same as the others."
[Impressive.]
"Not a pleasant experience."
[Defying time risks erasing one's very existence.]
Kalderet intoned.
[Yes, you must bear the guilt of slaying old friends as well. A man of such caliber is worthy to pass my trial.]
"Guilt? Weight? Cut the crap. No need for those feelings toward the bastards who tried to kill me."
Adel's words carried a clear warning: drop it.
[Hmph.]
Kalderet shook his mane awkwardly, as if embarrassed.
"And if you're gonna make something, make it properly. How long since I killed him...? Flesh already rotting? It shouldn't be that far gone yet."
Thud— Adel irritably kicked the shattered remnants of Karon's corpse.
Fwoosh...!! Karon's body vanished in flames.
[Kuh, kuhehe... Good. Let's contract. Even if reaching this place was coincidence, I'd have granted you power...]
Step—step—step—
Kalderet approached.
[But this time, it wasn't chance—you sought me out yourself. And you've passed my trial, so you're fully qualified as a contractor.]
A red mark appeared on Kalderet's forehead.
[In thousands of years, you're the only one to find this place, and even that meeting is fated... Truly a contractor befitting I, Kalderet.]
Adel eyed the mark.
[I'll grant you my power. Just as you found me, I'll now accompany you, watching through your eyes as you devour the world—and see how magnificent it will be.]
The oath of contract. Even with an ancient god, it was simpler than expected.
Just drip blood onto the forehead mark.
"... "
The moment he'd awaited.
But...
Adel hesitated briefly, then looked at Kalderet.
"One thing I'm curious about."
[What?]
"Why are you here?"
[...What do you mean? I must be here, so I am. Is it strange for a god to dwell in his domain?]
Adel shook his head at Kalderet's response.
"That was true when this was your temple."
[...What?]
He hadn't sensed the incongruity at first. Only on his second pass through regression did he notice.
He'd hunted many gods. Not just high gods, but low and mid-tier ones too.
They shared a commonality.
"Temples honor their gods. Even low gods have steles or statues for worship."
Adel scanned the surroundings.
But here? Absolutely nothing.
"Don't give me that excuse about your true name being Void. Void and nonexistence are different."
Empty versus nonexistent.
"Void exists as space—and that space is you, Kalderet."
Thus, this place was wrong.
A temple with nothing negated Kalderet's very being.
In that moment, Adel eyed the light enveloping Kalderet.
"I walked history with you. Ancient god Kalderet—known to have perished from the world long ago. That's why I found you."
[Grateful I was found, by a mortal? Heh... Insolent, but amusing.]
"No. That's not it."
Unlike Kalderet, who dismissed it as jest, Adel slowly shook his head.
"You were waiting for someone to find this place. As if you couldn't leave. Ah, now it clicks. The reason you saved me when I was dying."
Bang—!!!
He touched the void, and a sharp resonance rang out.
"You needed someone to free you. In other words... this isn't your temple. It was a seal."
[...W-what are you talking about?]
Kalderet spoke the words, but a faint tremor betrayed him.
[Even granting your nonsense, what changes? Our contract remains.]
But Adel laughed instead.
Those words admitted Adel's claim.
[I'll give you power as your contractor and be your ally.]
"No. Wrong, Kalderet. You think I don't know you? We spent years together. Trying such obvious lies?"
[...What?]
"This is all wrong. Being sealed means someone sealed you. Right?"
Adel's voice sharpened like a blade.
"I want to know who. And what power did it take."
He stared at Kalderet.
"Your power is mighty, Kalderet. I hunted gods with it—countless bowed to me."
[Then this is the perfect chance, no? You found me sooner.]
"But it's not enough."
[...What?]
In his past life, contracting with Kalderet taught Adel one truth.
"I can borrow your power, but that's the limit. I'll never surpass you."
[Greed for more strength even with an ancient god's power before you.]
Hunting gods. He'd caught many, but he knew his method relied on Kalderet.
"That greed sometimes makes people stronger. Tell me—who sealed you?"
[...Hmph. Ancient history. Human lifespans are short; by now, just bones. Pointless.]
"...Bones?"
Adel didn't dismiss it lightly.
"Music to my ears."
[Strange one. Dead, and that's good?]
"Exactly. Death, not oblivion. Death means everything."
[What...]
"It means a mortal."
Adel's eyes gleamed.
Who could imagine the path to power beyond his past life lay at regression's start?
"A mortal seals an immortal."
Power to overwhelm gods.
A force unknown in his past life.
"I want that power."
[Puhaha!!! You want the power that sealed me? Our bond is intriguing. Looks like I contracted with quite the figure.]
Far from angered by Adel's provocation, Kalderet regarded him with interest.
[Listen, boy. How long were we bound? Did past me fail you?]
"Adel."
[...Right. Adel, I'm no paltry low god. I treated you with full trust in our pact.]
"You did. You were my most reliable comrade—taught me regression, warned of my death crisis."
[Then why crave the power that sealed me? Coveting it betrays my trust.]
Adel smirked at Kalderet's words.
"No. I'd never betray you if you act as my contractor."
[Meaning?]
"Gods don't seal gods. Clashes end in annihilation. You told me that."
[So?]
"Humans can't kill gods. They only seal them. Your words too."
The wolf-formed Kalderet chuckled.
"I thought this your temple. But if sealed—not by a god, then a human."
[Hmm...]
Kalderet eyed Adel.
"Gods never seal each other. Means no borrowed divine power. Pure human—no contractor."
[Heh, sharp eyes indeed.]
Kalderet paced slowly around Adel, gazing at him.
[Past me was amusing too—teaching you god-slaying versus holy war. Like exposing my weakness.]
He continued.
[You must've been quite to my liking.]
"You should thank me for choosing you as contractor."
Kalderet barked a hollow laugh.
[Kekeke... Yes, you please me. But I can't speak of the sealing power. It's a promise with the sealer.]
"Promise?"
Kalderet crouched.
Adel knew it was his relaxed pose—story incoming.
[Want power? Find it yourself. Yes, sealed by a human. No desire to bare my shame.]
"Indeed..."
Adel thrilled at this new possibility undiscovered in his past life.
[As your contractor, I can give a hint about the sealer.]
"Who?"
[Live in the desert, and you'll know. Alkan, Alkan Temir. Once desert's master, called Ghost Commander.]
"...!!"
Adel startled hearing that name from Kalderet.
Shadow King, Alkan Temir—Ulan tribe's founding king.
Even Hien, dubbed desert conqueror, dared not claim 'Commander'—only one king per era.
That was Alkan Temir.
"The Shadow King sealed you?"
[Yes.]
"Hm, good enough."
[Really? Not curious why?]
"Not needed. But proof exists—a human can stand above gods."
Adel placed a hand on Kalderet's head.
Stroking the mane familiarly, like a pet.
[First human like you... No, first since him. But different.]
Kalderet looked up at Adel.
"Of course. One who kills gods differs from one who tames them. My path will be unprecedented."
Gazing into the boy's eyes, Kalderet felt ten millennia of slumber flee.
"I'll reign above you all."
[A contractor declaring he'll sit on gods' heads... None like you before.]
"So follow me."
Adel rose.
"I'll show you a far more entertaining future than this darkness."
[Arrogant pup. Showing a god the future?]
Absurd, yet Kalderet followed Adel's back slowly.
[But you'll be my greatest amusement. Fine. I'll follow.]
Shooooaak---!
[I am darkness atop light, primordial being.]
Kalderet's form dissolved into black mist, enveloping Adel.
[And void as well.]
Adel drew a deep breath; the mist seeped into him.
[My contractor. Try filling my void.]
Adel closed his eyes slowly.
Finally...
The familiar energy coursed through his veins, filling him deeply.
The foundation is laid.
Five years ahead of his past life.