His soul world was calm right now. Far calmer than it had been in the past. The sea swirled gently, various shades of black moved slowly through the sky, and a crescent moon shone a soft crimson glow across the entire thing. 

Once again, Kane was slowly drifting on the dark waters of his soul. But this time, he didn't stay like this. Aside from teaching him how to enter his soul world, Ella had also taught him how to make things a little more comfortable in here. 

So, after a few moments of practice, he started rising up from the water. "Feels much better to have a little control in here," he chuckled to himself. 

Next, he snapped his fingers, and a floating platform with comfortable cushions appeared. "There we go" he grinned confidently. "From floating on the water, to a bumpy, crimson marble rock, to a comfortable seating arrangement. That is progress." 

He flew down to the platform and took a seat on one of the pillows, before crossing his legs, and closing his eyes with a frown, "Now, how do I get Mána here?" 

He remembered the connection he felt with her back when she appeared on the cliff and decided to focus on that. After a few minutes of trying, he found the connection again. It felt stretched out and muffled, but it was there. So, he started pulling on it. 

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed through his soul world, "Master! I was wondering when you'd call on me!" 

Kane opened his eyes and was greeted by the admittedly beautiful visage of Mána. She looked at him playfully and wore her usual, provocative clothing, showing off her long legs, toned stomach, and modest yet firm breasts. 

Some lust rose up inside him as he remembered how he dominated and ravaged her body not too long ago, but he quickly stamped down on that. 'Not the time,' he chuckled lustfully to himself. 

It appeared like Mána knew what he was thinking, because her playful smile widened as she swayed her hips suggestively and winked, "You know, I'm available if you want to punish me some more…" 

But Kane chuckled and shook his head, "Maybe later, Mána." Then, he indicated towards the pillow in front of him with a serious expression, "For now, let's sit down. I think we still have a lot of things to discuss." 

Mána played out a dramatic, exaggerated sigh, but still did as he said, parking her firm ass in front of him. "Alright, Master. I'm at your disposal." 

Narrowing his eyes, he started off with the obvious, "Well, first of all, what's with calling me Master? You mentioned I marked you?" 

Mána nodded, a playful grin playing on her lips as she caressed the collar made of runes around her neck, "Shard bearers like yourself can form master-servant bonds with patron spirits like me. Incidentally, you are also the only ones who can touch us." 

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Then, she winked mischievously at him, "Technically the spirit doesn't have to be willing so long as you have enough power, but you'll be hard-pressed finding one that's unwilling to bond, and most of them will be young." 

Kane frowned with a hint of confusion, "Why?" He couldn't imagine anyone willingly becoming a servant without excellent reasons. Or at least, reasons that seem excellent to them, like with Ella. 

Mána shrugged with resignation, "Because of boredom and frustration!"  

She pursed her lips with a hint of exasperation, "You know how old I am? Thousands of years! I'm getting close to the ten thousand mark, and that still makes me one of the younger spirits! But in all that time, all I've been able to do is watch!" 

She pursed her lips wryly, and continued, "I mean, I can somewhat talk to other volfar besides you, but they're not real conversations, more like my voice appearing in their dreams. Only through a bond with a shard bearer can patron spirits gain the ability to influence their surroundings a little more." 

Suddenly, Kane was getting a better idea of Mána's state of mind. She was doing this partly for the excitement, and partly to finally have some real influence over the fate of volfar's on her world. Bringing back Dreadwolf might only be a fringe benefit for her. 

At the same time, he realized that this bond was likely the only reason she was able to help him enslave Ella and transfer her soul into the neuralizer. 

She quickly confirmed his thoughts when she pointed at him with excitement, "But with your help, I can do more than watch and wait for a disaster I might have to prevent! Even if I have to serve, that's more than worth it!"  

Then, she playfully stuck out her tongue, "Actually, losing control is not a bad feeling. And finally being able to have sex is a nice bonus." 

Suddenly, she lunged forward on her hands and knees until her face was inches away from Kane's. Her iconic, mischievous grin once again made its appearance, "So will you reward me after I answer all your questions?" 

Kane blinked and looked at her with a hint of surprise. Suddenly, he wondered why the universe gave these spirits a sex drive, but made shard bearers the only ones capable of satisfying them. 

'Maybe to make it easier for us to subdue them?' he muttered to himself. 'But that seems awfully well-thought-out. Exactly where did these shards come from?' 

Before his thoughts could continue, Mána appeared to become impatient, because she started moving closer in an attempt to kiss him, but Kane grinned at her impatience, and quickly grabbed her chin to stop her. Then, he leaned closer and Mána got excited. 

But just as their lips were about to touch, Kane went passed them and whispered in her ear, "I'll think about it. Now be a good girl for your master and continue answering my questions." 

A shiver went through Mána's body when Kane released her chin and sat back. The patron spirit sighed, and also went back to her seat. Yet, she also grinned with excitement, "I can already tell this is going to be fun." 

Kane looked at her expression and realized something, 'I have to make her more invested in me than mere excitement and as a way to further her plans. In fact, the same counts for Ella. These bonds are good when there is little initial trust, but I want to know they won't betray me, even if the bond breaks for whatever reason.' 

Once again, Kane's desire for control was rearing its head. 

But he decided this could wait. Mána had still only answered a single of his questions so far, and the first thing he wanted to know next was about benefits. 

"So, we've established what you get out of this deal," Kane began with a raised eyebrow. "But about me? I'm assuming I get more than just a horny woman in my soul?"