A deafening screech chased Anisha and Murdera down the decrepit tunnel of an ancient tomb. Their footsteps echoed by the stone walls and the footsteps of those that pursued them relentlessly.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Thought Anisha.

Her first adventure was supposed to be something easy! Her first party wasn't a match for a Lant hive even with Murdera, the guild master with them. Glancing over to the dwarf he trudged on behind her in his heavy bronze steel armor, his silver blood poured from a gash on his forearm, and just from a quick look she could see it was already hardenting, causing his fabric coating to be stiff with the hardened metal.

There was so much on him, and not all of it was his.

They were all that's left, the two other beginner adventurers, Nathul Hound, a knight, and Julu Nadra, both human. She had been so excited to finally be a part of the party.

She tried, but, but she just couldn't. When the moment came Julu needed her; she couldn't cast a single spell! She tried opening her gate, but quickly began losing control, it took everything she had just to close it again. And by then, by then it was too late.

Oh Gods she left her, she panicked and ran. What kind of healer mage if she ran away! She was still running. She didn't stop until she ran into Murdera, who was already injured when they met up. Nathul was grabbed from behind, and his screams were quickly silenced by one of the Lants legs piercing his neck collar with one of their long street like legs. Breaking his armor like roots crack rocks.

"DON't STOP THORN EAR!!" Murdera yelled from behind. He came to a stop and turned to stand before the horde of lants that charged down the hallway. They were so fast, only the tightness of the tunnels and their over eagerness to kill them causined them to stumble over each other.

"Murdera you can't take them all!" She stopped now. She had to stop, she couldn't leave Murdera, not after everything he'd done for her.

Murdera didn't respond at first, instead he hefted his warhammer, and twisted the handle; the crystal on the bottom shifted from a red to gray one. He slammed the pommel of the hammer into the ground shattering the crystal, the mana flowed into him in one massive surge of energy. With the other hand he raised it and a gray circle appeared, a magic ring began to form complex runes swirled together before firmly settling with a flash.

The horde broke on an invisible wall. Their needle-like tree limbs clawed and scratched at the wall, Causing Murdera to slide back with it, but he still held firm, pushing back with everything he had.

"G-GEA't TO THE D-DOOR! THORN EAR!!" He grunted through gritted teeth.

"Murdera I can help-" He cut her off.

"I'M NOT PLANNING ON DINING HERE HALF-KIN!! You need time to prepare a spell and I'm giving you that! Now for once in your life, do as you're told!"

Anisha still didn't move. She couldn't, she wanted to listen, but her legs locked her in place. The hordes pushed ever closer and closer, the barrier flickering with each passing moment.

"Develts forge!" Murdera cursed.

"May my blood harden and form steel!" With his other hand he held his palm towards Anisha, a smaller ruin she'd never seen before began appearing on his hand. Its yellow hue shocked her.

Hes... He's multicasting?!

The yellow magic circle was unknown to her but what it did hit her hard.

A powerful burst of air slammed into her chest sending her flying back five ten fifteen feet landing on her back and coming to a sliding. Finally stopping once she was inside the small room.

"M-murdera!" She cried out trying to lift herself up from the ground and get to her feet. But before she reached the door, another burst of air shot out, this time it wasn't aimed at her, instead it slammed into the door shutting it with such force that some of the hinges bent inward. effectively selling her in.

Anisha pounded on the door with all her might and cried out for the only person she considered a father figure to her.

"Murdera!! Murdera!! Please!!! Murdera!!"

Yet her cries remained unanswered.. Her head slumped against the door, and the strength left her body causing her to slide down to her knees.

"You- you brush beard, stone head wrotted-" She couldn't think of any other insults she's learned from him over the years. Tears blurred her vision, they fell leaving droplets of water patterns staining the fine dust layer that covered the floor.

"You idiot! You know I didn't have any magic crystals left."

She had lost the bag before they lost Nathul, A land had ripped that strap as she nearlily ducked its stabbing attack.

Without those crystals she had no means to use her magic. She had lost any hope of surviving along with them

"But not all of them." A thought crept into her mind.

"N-no. Thats an evil magic I-I can't"

"So you will let Murdera die?"

"No-no!! I won't, I'll find another way!"

"There is no other way. It would be so easy to save him with your True power."

The thoughts kept coming, with ever louding vigor and force. Anisha tried to cover her ears but that didn't help as the thoughts were coming from her own mind. They were her own thoughts and no one else's. She knew that. And. And She knew they were right. It was the only way.

Resolutely she stiffened her back against the door, and stifled a few more tears that were beginning to fall. But these ones were not from fear, but of sadness. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to be this way. But what other choice have the Gods given her? She can't let Murdera die.

She reached into her back belt pouch, usually a place for storing herbs she found on her carrier routes before becoming an adventurer.

From it she slowly pulled out a small cylindrical object wrapped in a thick leather.

The leather was showing signs of degradation, as if it was a well used piece of material, but in truth it was only a week old. Parts of it flaked away and tears marred the surface.

Carefully she unwrapped it.

In her palm she held one of the most vile things in all of Bortone. A black crystal.

To anyone else it would give a feeling of unease and fear. But in her hand it felt.

Wonderful.

The power in the crystal pulsed through her palm, and synchronized with her own beating heartbeat that rang in her ears. It created a hypnotic effect.

Yes, it felt so good to finally use it. She hadn't felt this since her first summoning a year ago. The power she felt. Back then! The spell came so easily to her. She didn't have to struggle to control the little mana she had in her body. It obeyed her. As all things should! Its power could give her that. All she ever wanted was right there if she could just use it!

"NO!" She screamed. Shaking her head, trying to physically rid it of those thoughts. Raising the defiled crystal above her head she intended to toss it at the nearest wall, shattering it completely.

"I WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED!" She said through gritted.

But no. She couldn't destroy it. She had to use it. She had to control it! Not the other way around.

Taking a few moments to steady her breathing she clenched the crystal in her hand and power began to pulse up her arm, then her shoulder, making its way through her chest and then finally, her gate. A black ash began to pour from the tip of the crystal. Its flakes cause the dust of the ground to engulf in a small smoldering purple flame, leaving a black char.

She had to work quickly.

She moved to an opening in the room, pushed an ancient table over and out of the way it shattered into a pile of splintered wood frayed rope, and a cloud of dust..

Sitting herself down in the center of the room she placed her hands together making a ball-like shape with them, then she began the ritual.

The crystal floated upright around her in a large circle. The outer lines were vital for any magic, it's what allowed the user to further manipulate what the spell would do. The crystal began to draw out the shape of the one spell Anisha knew the best. A summoning circle.

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The circle was far more complex than most magic circles. Over a hundred different symbols had to be made, each one clearly defining the purpose of the spell, and the conditions on which a summon could accept her summoning. What made it even more complex was the flow rate of the crystals. Where a magic user could start and stop the flow of mana in a normal crystal a black crystal never stopped converting mana once started. So the runes or symbols had to be made all in one fluid motion, like cursive writing one symbol leading to the next in a perfect flow. Not a single mistake or the summoning could go very very VERY wrong.

The circle itself acted similar to how adventeres got quests. Someone made a request with certain specifications and posted it on the guilds board. The problem with that comparison was how similar they truly were. Because just like the board, anyone, or anything, that meets those specifications could answer the call.

And if the summoning went wrong, and she couldn't bind whatever came to her. Her very soul could be dragged away, never to be reborn again.

She shuddered at the thought, but pressed on regardless. Maybe just a little slower now, making sure everything was perfect.

The crystal disintegrated as she added the last rune. The rune for a proper binding wasn't fully complete, she could still use it but she'll have to supply it with her own mana once she was found.

By whatever answered her call.

A purple hue of light shone from the circle as the ritual finished. And with it Anishas vision began to darken.

The room faded away to nothing. Anisha was alone, in an endless sea of black. But she wasn't alone. She could feel the darkness move around her, like she was submerged in water. She was in Hmota. The Dark river. The realm of the dead.

She wasted no more time and sent out her cry for help. A wave of energy dispersed from her, and the river lurched with it. Its water like feel increased and felt more like a raging rapid trying to sweep her away. But the circle she was in protected her, as long as she stayed in it. But the protective runes wouldn't last long. She needed to hold until something came.

After what felt like hours, Anisha began to lose hope, nothing came. The swirling storm of void continuously beat on her protective shielding, slowly wildding her strength down by the minute. With more effort she sent out another call. Purple energy surged from under her finger tips and shot out into the dark, tendrils feeling their way through the void like a snake in brush.

Non of them finding anything. This wasn't how it should be! Her first summon was so easy compared to this why wasn't there anything here?! Did she mess the circle up? Did She mess up one of the cursive symbols?

One of the tendrils sent something back. A solid wall. Or what felt like a wall. Curiocity and desperation caused by the dwindling shield made her rush her next decision. She sent out another surge of energy, but purely at the wall. Her magic slammed hard into a magic barrier in the void. She pressed again sending out even more of her dwindling energy. For a split moment she felt it break, and her magic entered it. But it was quickly pushed back out. And the barrier repaired the hole.

Sweat poured from her skin, as she she began to feel the drain from her failed efforts. She couldn't send out another call. All she could do now was wait, and hope something would come.

She took a meditative mindset and only focused on maintaining the barrier trying to conserve as much mana as possible.

Her concentration was disrupted when she heard something out in the void, or rather someone! She heard a man's voice call out, but the words were lost to the roaring of the river. When she didn't hear it again, she began to wonder if it was just her imagination. But that idea was dismissed when she saw his boots just outside the ring of light.

Her body was so weak, she tried to look up and see him, but her head wouldn't move. Every muscle was locked in place, fearing that any movement would cause her to collapse. She was so tired. And it was taking everything she had to maintain the barriers. To her surprise, he seemed to understand she was tired, and lowered himself down into a squat in front of her.

There before her standing completely unfazed by the roaring rapids of the river was a human man. He wore strange armor, a gray tunic that covered every part of his body and was barely covered by white metal strapped to his shoulders from a full body harness that dip and woved inbetween the gray tunic. They covered his forearms and chest. The three white plates strapped together covering his chest however caught her eye the most. A gnarled hole was punched clean through. And the once brilliant white armor was stained with his blood. There was so much blood on that part of the armor that she figured that was the wound that killed him.

A... A HUMAN?!?! Anisha thought in a panic.

No No no no! She- She couldn't summon a human!! That's, well that's necromancy!! The dead need to stay dead. And not to mention. Humans Don't go to Hmota when they die. Or at least most don't. She remembered overhearing a few adventurer humans talking about their afterlife, what did they call it? Vara'dun, Var'dan? The name didn't matter right now what did matter was why was a human in Hmota?! Only the most vile of people spent their afterlife in here, and even then only for a little time before being grabbed by a Draugmary and taken to be reborn. For him to not only walk unfazed by the rivers power, and was around long enough to answer her call.

Oh Kunnskap, help her. What kinda horrendous acts has this man done to be sealed away behind that barrier in the depths of Hmota?!

She could send him away. Maybe wait for something else, preferably not an intelligent being. But could she really risk it? In all the time she'd been here nothing else has answered her call. Her first summon Bruin only took a few minutes to appear. And was relatively easy to bind with the summoning spell. What would happen if he resisted?

Maybe this was the Gods helping her. After all, a person should never be forced to do something against their will... But a human who ended up in Hmota...

She looked up at the man, trying to lift her head just a bit higher to see his face.

A kind boyish like smile, and genuine concern on his face was all she saw. His hair was black and short cut with a long strand of it sticking out and to the left unnaturally. His face spotted with faded scars that looked well tended to only leave the faintest of signs of ever being there.

A warrior. she concluded, and one who seemed to be concerned for her.

He held out his gloved hand to her.

"Trener Dul Hjl?" He said.

"W-what?" Anisha couldn't understand, what he was saying, she was starting to feel faint from her oversue of mana.

"Dul Era Sarret?" He asked.

"I-I don't understand you." Anisha said back.

His head tilted, clearly not understanding what she said either.

"Hva Var det?" He responded.

They couldn't understand each other! Would the ritual even work?! How could they make the deal that would determine what he would get in exchange for being summoned, how much freedom would he be granted. How would he be a usable summon if he couldn't understand her!?

She, She had to do it. She had to make this work. Binding him by force will take all of her reaminning energy, If she pushes too hard she might even break her gate in the process. But it's the only option left now. She's gone this far.

She set her mind, and took a shaky breath, in preparation for what was about to happen next. Even if he was an evil soul, no one deserved to be controlled like this. She was summoning him to fight the horde of monsters, and probably die all over again.

"I-i'm so sorry." She said lowering her head even lower, and placing her unsteady hands on the circle floor that began to pulse with energy again.

The man was startled by the circle, his eyes went wide and he took a few steps back away from her.

"Hva-?!" He was cut off.

"BIND!!!" Anisha yelled out.

Black chains shot from the circle and began wrapping themselves around him. One pierced his chest, passing right through his white armor. He gave a shout of pain as black smoke poured from his chest, Anisha tried to tune out the screams of pain, she knew she was hurting him because she could Feel it hurt through the chain that led back to her.

"In exchange for your resurrections you will be my summon. We will be linked and My life will be yours. Anything that hurts me will hurt you too." That was one of the first conditions to give. This way it prevented the summon from just killing their summoner when they got their body back.

He grabbed at the chain with his arm and pulled it, but it was too late, it had latched on to his gate. And nothing short of death would loosen it.

"In exchange for your strength I will give you a new body. One in its prime. you will Use this body to live again and fight at my side." She added that last one to ensure that when he came back he would be at his strongest. This drained the vast majority of her remaining mana. Only leaving a bit left.

Two more chains shot up and out of Anishas body and wrapped themselves around his arms. They began to pull him down into a kneeling position.

Gods was he strong. She pulled and pulled with all her might, and he pushed back with all of his.

She had to end this quickly. She just needed to place one more chain. The one that would let her control him fully. The last chain rose up and moved like a snake about to strike.

He stared at it, seeming to know what was coming next he turned his head away. And tried to pull away from her grasps.

"Kom Deg Vek Fra meg!! Hva Gjr Du?!!" he shouted through gritted teeth.

"Please calm down. It will be over soon." She knew he couldn't understand her but she just had to try to calm him down before...

He broke his chain. The black chain that wrapped his left arm shattered and turned to mist.

That wasn't good, he shouldn't be able to do that! She needed to get the last chain in before he truly broke free.

"In exchange for your soul's refinement our minds will be linked, my thoughts will have sway over yours and you will obey my will." She said hastily before she flung the last chain as fast as possible going straight for his head. With a sigh of relief, it was finally over. She lifted her head, but was shocked by what she saw. HE CAUGHT IT?!

He held the chain a mere inch from his face, it writhed in his grip and tried to escape his grasps but he didn't let it go. His other arm, the one that held some strange work of metal that only now did she realize he had been holding this whole time, began to pull the chains up. He slowly began moving the tip of the item towards her.

"Spo Det!!" He yelled, more anger in his voice now.

"Ikioke lag meg!" He said more pleading in his voice. But Anisha didn't stop, she pulled down even harder. her whole being ached from the effort. Every part of her body was straining from the effort it took to just hold him still.

There was a bright flash followed by a loud booming sound and Anisha lifted her hands from the circle to cover her ears. Even for a Helfman her hearing was exceptionally sensitive to loud noises. And now all she could hear was a dull ringing. Even her own exhausted breaths couldn't be heard.

Fluid began to spill down her left arm. Looking over at it, it was bleeding. A deep gash was sliced across her arm, and blood began to pour from it. She had to stop the bleeding, if any of the blood landed on the runes and messed up the circle, she could lose her last bit of protection!

Anisha looked back at the man, who still continued to fight her restraints. He looked resolute in what he had done, the smile long gone, now replaced with stone cold determination. He was determined to kill her if it meant being freed from the chains.

Anisha placed her right arm back on the ground and pulled on the chain that wrapped around his right arm, but he pulled back even harder than before. Pulling the tip of the weapon to point ever closer to her body.

What was that thing?! It was some kind of weapon! Was he gonna kill her?! What would happen if she died here?!

The more he pulled the more he slipped from her grasp, no, she couldn't fail here. Not now.

With one last cry and all of her remaining energy she had left in her whole being, Anisha cried out "BIND!!" Once more.

Hundreds of chains shut up from the circle. Forming a wave-like wall over them, the chains came crashing down over both of them. And submerged them in utter darkness.