"Mortal, You summoned me?" The voice rang, childish and sweet, doing a bad job of sounding deep. It made Vlad tense, stepping forward as a storm of questions stirred in his mind.
The mist fully cleared, revealing a young child, no older than ten and barely three feet tall.
Beady eyes shimmered with curiosity, while thin lips were pressed into a forced frown as if trying to look intimidating.
Since she was given a temporary form from poison, she was virulent green and shades of violet.
"I am Velcrissa Syth'Mavet," she said, pushing her shoulder and chest up. "Queen of the Virulent Bloom, The Pale Matron of Ruin, Born of the Seventh Decay, The Verdant End."
"So bow and show me respect," she declared, lifting her chin with all the authority her small frame could muster. Her voice teetered between mock seriousness and innocent arrogance.
'What is this?' Vlad questioned, his eyes narrowed into slits, confusion clouding his mind as he questioned what went wrong.
Name: Velcrissa Syth'Mavet
Race: Spirit
Grade: Greater
Affinity: Poison
State: Uncontracted
Description: Velcrissa Syth'Mavet, the child from the Garden of Twisted Velvet.
{System Warning: The spirit Velcrissa is dying. The player is advised not to proceed with a contract.}
'She is dying?' Vlad questioned absentmindedly but quickly shifted his focus to the problem at hand. 'Why did I summon a weak greater spirit and not The Harrowed Empress?'
The Harrowed Empress was a sovereign-grade spirit, and maybe she was king-grade and only rose in Rank after devouring the shard of corruption, but she should not be a weak child spirit.
Vlad knew that no two spirits shared the same name, so either he was looking at the Harrowed Empress or he remembered the name wrong.
'No, the name is correct… so why?' Vlad muttered, eyes narrowing as unease crept up his spine.
The childlike figure before him did not match the battle empress known by a dozen titles, feared and respected even by the reigning Sovereign of the spirit plane.
Velcrissa was the Empress of the Hollow Expanse, and Vlad knew for certain she had not acquired that status in the short few years of her appearance.
She was the Empress long before she made a contract with Mortrisa and devoured the shard of corruption.
The name was correct because Vlad had heard and seen it countless times in his past life.
Mortrisa was given the title of the reaper, and she was one of the top ten players before her death. Even before subjugating the shard of corruption, she was a top-ranking player who made a name through countless battles.
So, Vlad was forced to question what went wrong and what he should do next.
He was prepared to bargain and offer great things that would interest Velcrissa and, if necessary, threaten her, but he never expected to face such a problem.
"I see that you are a decorated individual with feats honored by the world," she said after seconds of silence. "But if you continue disrespecting this Queen, you can forget about forming a contract with me."
'Should I take the risk or move on?' Vlad ignored her and pondered his available choices. 'I know six spirits capable of devouring a shard,'
'But, not having the means to acquire the shard of corruption would be a major hit to my plans because, without that strength, there's no guarantee I can acquire the third spirit, let alone the last two spirits that are in the hands of the Cult of Anarchy.'
'Things would only get worse.'
'What should I do?' Vlad clenched his jaw, his cold gaze resting on the child before him.
"You.... Do you know of the Empress of the Hollow Expanse?" Vlad questioned, not knowing what else he could ask or even what answer he wanted from her.
"She's Dead," The Girl answered and, after a pause, added. "At least that's what other servants say, that our queen had died, and now the first general Threxalis rules over the Hollow Expanse,"
Vlad felt his stomach drop. This was not right, but if it was true, then it made sense. If the Harrowed Empress had died, then it was very much possible for another spirit to take her name, which while very unlikely, was possible.
"I don't believe she's truly gone," She said softly. "I still see her in my dreams from time to time, but strangely she is always alone,"
"Strange, right? It's my dream, and I am not even in it, "She let out a soft, almost mischievous chuckle. Her smile faltered for a breath, just long enough to show her hidden sadness.
"Yes, It is strange," Vlad murmured as he tried to make sense of her situation.
'It is likely, not true, but maybe she is the real Harrowed Empress, and maybe because of some disease or some other affliction, she is losing strength, turned to a sliver of the true self,'
'She has the same exact name, she is dying and she also has dreams of the empress, which could be her true memories,' Vlad's eyes narrowed, 'It all can't be just a coincidence,'
Spirits made contact with inhabitants of the physical plane because it allowed them to grow stronger by feeding on the mana and learning the laws that govern the world.
There was very little mana in the spirit plane, and the laws were thin, so they were extremely difficult to comprehend. Understanding the laws was what decided their strength and, ultimately, their status.
So, it was entirely possible that after the contract, she could slowly recover from her dying state and recover her true strength.
"But, the spirits in the garden think I lie to get attention," She said meekly, her head looking at the floor, hiding her teary eyes, a complete shift from her arrogant display.
"I can see that," Vlad said absentmindedly as his wild theory became more and more plausible.
The little girl's shoulders trembled, and a quiet sniffle escaped her. She hugged herself tightly as if trying to hold the rest in, but the tears betrayed her, slipping down her cheeks and turning to gaseous mist.
"I'm not lying..." She whispered, voice cracking. "I remember things... big things. Things I shouldn't. But they just laugh…"
Vlad was jolted from his chain of thoughts. When he saw her crying as she spoke, he stepped forward and knelt beside her without thinking before gently placing a hand on her trembling shoulder.
"Hey… I believe you," he said quietly. "I'm sorry," She said, wiping away her tears.
'I am probably wrong,' Vlad thought, 'but if there's even the slightest chance, then it's a gamble I have to take.' He reached his decision.
A person could make a spirit contract on each Rank, from Mortal to World ascendant. There were seven ranks, and in theory, one could have seven spirits.
But one had to be a genius with incredible feats and talent to make a contract with two strong spirits, let alone seven.
Vlad had ways to acquire the spirits he needed to achieve his goals, and if something went wrong, he was prepared to acquire other stronger spirits.
While he could not have foreseen this situation, he was willing to take the gamble, even at the cost of losing a much stronger spirit.
Vlad's real goal was to take down the shards of the nameless king because they were the central pillars of the world's narrative, and subjugating each one would earn him more performance points than the top factions could earn in a year.
"Velcrissa Syth'Mavet," Vlad spoke clearly, his voice steady. "I am V and wish to form a spirit contract with you."
"No, you shouldn't do that," She said, her head shaking, "I am cursed, I can't grow stronger, and as time passes, my strength only declines,"
"I will be a burden, just like I was to my previous oathbound, and you will be forced to break the contract, suffering the penalty," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes were downcast as her small fingers curled into trembling fists.
Her tone had no trickery, only sadness, and resignation as if she had already accepted her fate and no longer wished to hope for anything better.
Her words weren't meant to manipulate, they were simply the truth, spoken by her, so she would not have to suffer the fate of being abandoned once more.
The spirit contract was meant to be lifelong, but the spirit or the contractor could break it, though the cost would be immense.
The penalty could be as simple as the person's magical core permanently weakening, making him lose a portion of strength, to spirit recoil, making one lose some of his memories, affinity to a certain element weakening permanently, or not being able to form another contract for a long time.
Similarly, the spirit also suffered even if it was not the one who broke the contract, and the pain and trauma from breaking the contract made it wary… even fearful.
Some refused to form contracts again, while others grew bitter, twisted by the agony of abandonment.