The Shadow Clan

Contract and Destiny

"Hey! Wake up!" a huge and terrible voice echoed and deafened Aji's ears. 

Aji, who was sleeping, woke up instantly.

"Yes, sir, Remon," said Aji, who had not fully awakened. His eyes were still half open. And when his eyes were wide open. Aji was taken aback. In a panic, he turned his head right to left.

"Where is this?" asked Aji as he looked at his surroundings darkening.

Aji got up. He was still looking around him. There was nothing he could see but darkness. But he can still see himself. 

"Where is this?" said Aji, still panicked. 

"You're in the boundary realm," the voice that had made Aji wake up, came back and answered Aji's question. 

When the voice sounded again, Aji immediately turned his head to his right side. Aji felt, the voice came from that direction. However, as long as his eyes squinted to look that way, Aji saw nothing. All seemed to be swallowed by the thick darkness.

"Who is there?" asked Aji trying to fight his panic and fear.  

Observed from his voice, Aji felt that the voice was the voice of a large monster. 

WUUSSHHH 

The wind suddenly blew quite strongly from the front. The wind was cold.

"I am a part of you. We are bound by an eternal contract to unite when light determines our destiny," the voice came back.

Aji's forehead frowned. He didn't know what those words meant. 

"What do you mean? What contract are you referring to?" asked Aji. 

DEMMM

The sound like a boulder falling freely into the abyss sounded quite loud. Aji immediately convinced himself that it was not the sound of a big rock falling. It's the sound of footsteps.

"The contract that happened 8026 years ago!" the voice replied again.

Aji, who was frightened by the sound of galloping steps just now, decided to take a step back without turning around. He took steps little by little so as not to make a sound. But just stepping 4 meters, he tripped over something and made him fall backwards. 

"What's that?" asked Aji, rubbing his slightly painful buttocks. 

Aji took a good look at what tripped himself. Although it was filled with darkness around, Aji could still see. 

"What is a tree branch?" thought Aji. But after paying more attention to the details, Aji realized that it was not a tree branch. It is a tail with jet-black scales. Which is the size of a coconut tree. 

Aji's soul seemed to be separated from his body when he knew that. Makes it difficult for him to breathe, let alone scream. 

Aji's fear has not subsided, from the front, a muzzle is visible. Then the muzzle puffed a breath that felt so cold. 

"Where are you going?" this time the owner of the voice revealed his face. And it was a dragon with a height of 10 meters. 

Aji could no longer hold back his fear. He was unconscious on the spot. However, it did not last long. Unbeknownst to Aji, he immediately woke up 5 seconds after he was unconscious. 

And when Aji woke up, the scene he first saw was not darkness. But the face of the dragon that was only one meter away from his face. 

Aji screamed and immediately covered his face in panic.

"Only this time, I encountered such a cowardly successor of the shadow clan. Woi, my face will not be able to surpass the cruelty of the world that you have been experiencing. So stop being a coward and look at me!" exclaimed the dragon.

Aji, who was still shrouded in fear, slowly began to calm down. At first, he peeked at the dragon through the cracks of his fingers. After thinking that he was safe, Aji began to dare to lower his hands. 

"W-who are you? What is this place? Why can I be here?" 

"Me, Skotd. You are now, on the limit. The boundary between your soul and your mind," replied Skotd. 

"The boundary between the soul and the realm of the mind?" 

"That's right. It's a place where we interact with each other." 

"Then, why can I be here?" 

"Because it's time we fulfill our contract agreement. Contract, which will be active when the Light will dim." 

Aji didn't understand.

"What light?" 

"Goddess of Light. She is the reason we fulfilled this contract. When she is reborn, we too will be born. And the birth of the Goddess of Light always happens when Xyroz is threatened."

Aji thought for a while. He tried to digest all of Skotd's words. 

"Does that mean, it has something to do with this Ragnarok?" asked Aji.

"That's right. I'm sure, you've heard a little bit of past stories from the Goddess of Light, right? The story is true. Although, there is some that he hides." 

"When she told the story, I felt something strange about the story. She said that I suddenly appeared after she prayed. It sounded strange in my heart. I feel like there's a bit of a lie to the story." 

"Then ignore it. You don't have to find out. The most important thing now is our contract. You, will fight for the survival of this planet. And I will help you."

"How to do it? I just can't protect myself. There is no way I can fight, let alone to protect the planet. After all, I would rather have this planet destroyed. “ 

"Do you think so? In that case, kill the goddess. That way, our contract expires. And I will be free from the shackles that have been chaining my neck," Skotd said without hesitation.

Aji is shocked when Skotd orders him to kill Cecilia. 

"Killed Cecilia?" said Aji.

Skotd smiled mockingly when he saw the look on Aji's face. 

"Why? For a person as weak as you, it is certainly not difficult to kill that woman. She can die even if you stab him once. Moreover, she can't walk." 

Aji was silent for a few seconds and then asked.

"Why kill Cecilia? She was so weak and helpless. Although she is the Goddess of Light. But she couldn't do anything. Without having to kill her, I could refuse to participate in the battle!"

Skotd laughed loudly.

"You're really stupid. If the planet is destroyed, how do you think Cecilia will live? And anyway, you won't be able to refuse anything that girl says. Just like when you jumped off that tree."

Aji was instantly torn apart. He just remembered the incident. 

"Now it's up to you. Whatever decision you will make. I'm just going to enjoy it." 

A second after Skotd said that, Aji's eyes suddenly became glare. The darkness that was around him was also gone. And at that moment, Aji woke up.