“Traitor,Vow breaker, Djinn of the Commission, Pultris,”

  “I give you authority to rise above your seal, Heed my summon.”

  Sage Yeltz declared, leaving the gilded pen afloat in the air.

  A figure of wind materialised, the atmosphere itself sucking in all the air in the vicinity. The intangible shape gained sentience as a slow glow of mana formed the intangible shape of the Djinn.

  The figure rose as creepily as ever from the confines of its seals, clawing its way through the barrier to answer the call of its summoner.

  “It seems that you are in a good mood, summoner. You don’t usually joke around like this.” The wispy figure decided, materialising magically out of the air in front of Aurelius and Sage Yeltz.

  “Shut up, angel. You are in no position to judge my mood, nor my personality.” Sage Yeltz said curtly, standing stoically with crossed arms.

  “Don’t be so uncooperative, summoner. After all, you’ve opted to grant me a limited manifestation. I assume that you need something… interesting.” It smiled with glowing, fiery eyes, much more focused than Aurelius had seen from him a mere 2 days before.

  The intensity of its gaze sent an itch across Aurelius’s ears and the inhuman smile sent a taste of mercury running down his spine.

  “Run your mouth some more and find out what I do.” Sage Yeltz said irritably.

  “The Commission’s clever spells have forbidden me from even the refuge of insanity. So I must apologise if I am not as threatened by your statement here, summoner.” The djinn grumbled, its edges flickering in and out of existence.

  “What do you require of me, summoner?” The djinn asked blandly.

  “Rework the contract that this boy has according to these terms.” Sage Yeltz commanded, pulling up a parchment with the reworked contract terms that had been drafted.

  Sage Yeltz proceeded to rub the corner of the paper with her thumb and index finger, sending the paper bursting into fire.

  “Ah… This boy. What a peculiar situation…” The djinn said, staring curiously with its divine eyes at Aurelius.

  Aurelius backed away fearfully, avoiding the djinn’s gaze by inching closer to Sage Yeltz.

  “But I do doubt that is the extent of your business with me today, summoner.” The djinn continued, looking back at Sage Yeltz knowingly and expectantly.

  “I want you to make a contract.” Sage Yeltz declared.

  “...Interesting… I assumed that the Commission only does business like this with me in emergencies.” The djinn mused thoughtfully.

  However, Aurelius could swear that the djinn was flickering in and out of existence, as if it were… excited.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I have plenty of options for my contracts.” Sage Yeltz snorted, jabbing her finger towards Aurelius pointedly.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Aurelius made a small sound, a hybrid between a yelp of fear and a whimpering greeting.

  “Disappointing. So you seek to exploit me once more.” The djinn sighed, attempting to float ever so closer to the two of them, causing the pen to glow ever so slightly.

  The pen immediately created a sigil under its barrel, creating a sigil of mana in the air. And with a loud ‘gong’ sound, Aurelius saw the path to a million corridors open within the eyes of the djinn, each path leading to a different part of a labyrinthine hall of suffering and extinction.

  “Argh.”The djinn groaned, its frame twisting and folding into itself a picture of non-euclidean geometry.

  “Stop whining. Here’s the contract. So catch.” Sage Yeltz said bluntly, taking another piece of parchment to burn with her magic.

  “Y-You are a cruel woman, summoner.” The djinn muttered, writing and withering in its spot with more intensity than before in a grotesque display of divine suffering.

  “Sure. Read the terms and form the contract.” Sage Yeltz commanded, clearly unbothered by the showcase in front of her.

  Aurelius simply froze stiff behind the sage, getting increasingly horrified by what he had gotten himself into. Maybe coming to Sage Yeltz was a mistake…

  “Fine.” The djinn said explosively, sending a tsunami of wind across Aurelius and Sage Yeltz’s face, deep into the bowels of the corridor.

  “My payment.” It asked, reaching out a tendril in front of Sage Yeltz.

  …Oh, right. Aurelius thought to himself. He had a problem with this precisely because of the cost of this transaction! What kind of horrific price will Sage Yeltz pay for this deal?

  Sage Yeltz narrowed her eyes at Pultris, and took out a small pocket knife from her pocket, apparently having prepared it beforehand.

  Aurelius froze stiff at this, terrified if the sage was going to kill him with that knife. He knew it didn’t make much sense, but from how unstable the sage seemed to him, Aurelius would not have been surprised to find that blade stuck between his ribcage.

  And as a gasp filled his lungs, the sage, with one fluid motion, sliced the cold, metallic blade across her own palms, leaving a deep, red gash in its wake.

  “The blood of the Commission.” Sage Yeltz declared, clenching her fist and dripping her blood into the air.

  With the smell of warm iron permeating through the hallways, Aurelius stood dumbfounded and confused as the blood glided in a neat stream towards the expectant angel.

  “With this, the price is paid.” Sage Yeltz announced, jerking her fist up into the air, and cutting off the stream of blood with her weakened magic.

  “Aurelius Vennor, contractee, awarded the role as advocate of Pultris the Corrupt,”

  “I will offer the services of mine through you, and give you power equal to angels.”

  “I will grant you safety, from angelic reprisal, mortal law, and divine retribution,”

  “Through the power of this contract.”

  “Do you accept?” Pultris asked, leaving Aurelius dumbfounded.

  Was it that easy to contract an angel?!

  “Y-Yes.” Aurelius answered hurriedly, noticing the expectant glare from Sage Yeltz.

  With his answer, a flare of light surrounded the foggy figure in its glance, outlining a horrifyingly divine figure in its shadow. And with a loud snap, Aurelius was engulfed in a portion of this fog, one which formed a coil all around his body like a viper.

  And with a small woosh, everything returned to what it once was, and the corridors faded into obscurity.

  And with that, Aurelius heard a voice echoing through his mind. Divine, and alien.

  “We are bound.” It declared.

  ???

  “Did you really think that I would sacrifice a bunch of people for your sake?” Sage Yeltz asked in mild amusement, immediately unfurling her hands the moment they stepped back into her office.

  As Aurelius stepped out of the teleportation, he saw the gash on her hand mend itself, its bleeding staunched within seconds.

  “Ah… Yes?” Aurelius said, slightly relieved by the sage’s amusement, and more importantly, by the fact that there was no… murder involved.

  “Pft. Pultris is a relatively new angel, and we’re keeping him sane. He has no need for human souls.” Sage Yeltz explained vaguely, stepping back into her seat leisurely.

  “So what was the price exactly?” Aurelius asked.

  “You heard him. The blood of the Commission spilt.” Sage Yeltz replied.

  “It has symbolic meaning for him. Gives him catharsis or something.”

  “But more importantly, he gained you as an advocate.” She said, leaning forward slightly with that comment, leaving Aurelius puzzled.

  “W-What does that mean?” Aurelius asked cautiously.

  “It means that I’m in your head.” Pultris replied.