Once I stepped through the crimson arcane circle, reality flickered once again and I found myself in a completely different place.

I was in a dark and damp basement, lit up only by the soft lights of floating candles. All around me there were several hooded figures covered in dark robes. One of them held in its hands an ornate dagger which seemed to have been carved from a human femur.

On the floor there lay a circle of blood which perfectly replicated the one I had just traversed to reach this place. I was in the middle of it, completely naked and with the head of the thing that had attacked me still in my hands.

I felt the portion of the Veil infused within me thicken, ready to bind me down and limit my being, but for the time being I was still in pristine conditions. I made as to move forward and immediately felt a surge in the restraining force.

The circle I was within appeared to be considered a free zone, where I could stay even without having signed a contract, but there was no way I could leave it. Of course I could still make it out through struggle, but that would be a risky endeavour.

I turned my head to the other being that was inside the circle with me. It was a young girl who had not yet come of age. Her clothes had been reduced to rags and scars covered her body. Her dishevelled black hair had been torn in several places and her clear blue eyes had become dull. Her wrists had been slit horizontally and two big pools of clotted blood rested nearby. From the colour and the smell, it was clear the blood that had been used to trace the circle was hers.

My eyebrow flicked at the sight in front of me. The young girl resembled someone I knew well and who I cared a lot for. Although Faye was certainly prettier, I saw the images of the two overlap for a moment, perturbing my usual controlled demeanour.

I turned my attention once again to what was going on. No matter how I looked at it, this scene appeared to be a ritual to summon a dark being. And I had hijacked it, taking the place, but most importantly the head, of the one which had been called upon. This explained the surprise, wariness and hostility in the gazes of the cultists around me.

From behind the small crowd of twelve people, a figure donning a more elaborate tunic came into sight. It held a long wooden staff with a crimson crystal mounted at its end in one hand, and a ceremonial blade in the other.

It opened its mouth and pronounced sounds I started to decipher. Quite differently from the ashen individual, its words appeared to belong to languages similar to those used in my world before the advent of the modern era.

“Lord-no more? You? You-how? You-who?” was the literal translation of some of the words it said. Translating more freely, the cultist was asking me to confirm if the ashen being had been killed, if I had been the one to do it, how I did and, most importantly, who I was.

“Yes. Yes. Hands. Trader,” I answered every single question in what I thought to be the language of the cultist.

Although with a few difficulties, he appeared to have understood me. The last answer took it aback. The cultists started to speak between themselves. They were discussing what to do and how to approach me. A few of them seemed to have misunderstood me as being of the same species as the ashen being I had killed, although my appearance and complexion were highly different.

I remained in wait, as this situation was advantageous to me. If they mistook me for one of the beings they were trying to call, the likelihood of establishing a contract would skyrocket. If I managed to convince one of them to accept a deal with me, I would be able to step outside the circle and adventure into the outside world.

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It was paramount for me to access it. Under the bindings of the Veil and the rules of a different world, my body would be exposed to stimuli much different to those I was subject to where I came from. This was key to instantiating rapid development. Although I had reached maturity, this didn’t mean my body had reached its full potential. An archuman could grow indefinitely, although everyone had an asymptote.

Nevertheless, I didn’t fully believe these thoughts. For the first time since I couldn’t even tell, not all portions of my mind were in accordance. I knew well what my main objective was, but the situation was leaving a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.

I looked the frail girl in the eyes. Their dull turquoise colour reminded me of the person I missed. It appeared as if my emotions had influenced my destination, guiding me here to this place.

The girl was still alive, but she would die sooner than later. The circle that enabled me to stand here was being powered by the blood that was slowly being sucked out of her veins from the cuts in her wrists. That sight bothered me.

Suddenly, she jolted. Her eyes regained clarity. She weakly blinked her eyelids and fixed her gaze on me. Her lips mouthed a simple word, which translated to a simple desperate “Help me”.

A smile crept over my face. It appeared there was a way to satisfy both my impulses and my agenda. Before adventuring to the Otherlands, I had been taught many things. One of these was that not only a contract needed to be fair, but that it had to be signed with someone “important”.

It was apparently quite usual to appear near such locals, as they were the ones their respective realities gravitated around. And in this situation, it was quite clear which individual was which. In this place, there were many cultists, but only one sacrifice. Even if she didn’t know it, she had been calling for me and her pleas had brought me here.

I got down on one knee and brought my mouth close to her ear. I had heard the cultists long enough to pinpoint with accuracy the language they were using.

“What do you ask for?” I questioned her in a soothing voice.

- Save me. Protect me - she weakly mouthed.

I covered her wrists with my hands and stopped the blood trickling from her wounds. The arcane circle started to lose power. The chains of the Veil grew tighter around my heart.

“What are you willing to give in return?”

- Anything -

I offered her a price. I had to play the role of a Merchant, which was more often than not more akin to that of a mercenary, as it was the case now. Nevertheless, the title itself was irrelevant. A Merchant should sell wares for just compensation, and usually the merchandise a Merchant offered their client was blood.

The price was accepted. The crimson circle disappeared at that moment and the weight of the Veil pressed down on my body. It became heavy, heavier than it had been in a long time. I felt weak and slow, but I had just to become used to it.

I stood up and grabbed the horned head I had previously left on the ground. The cultists had stopped talking among themselves since I had approached the girl and watched me with caution in their eyes.

I stepped towards them and several cold weapons which had been previously hidden by their robes appeared in their hands. Their leader shouted at me.

“You dared to behead a Lieutenant of the army of the Great King! In His name, you shall be made to suffer!” he declared.

Its words sounded courageous, but its demeanour betrayed a great amount of fear. It spoke big words, but it was talking to the one who had killed the one it had tried to summon. The difference in class was clear from the start.

“Die you bastard!” screamed out a fearless one who ran out of the group towards me with its longsword unsheathed.

I frowned. It was unbelievable. Even beings from other worlds should have been able to understand when they were in front of an existence higher than themselves. And yet this thing dared to show me such impoliteness, all the while swinging a dull piece of metal at such slow speed.

So, before it could take another step, I appeared in front of it and clawed its windpipe, severing it and making it collapse on the spot.

I turned to the others and readied myself to finish the work I had been contracted for.