Solomon found himself floating in a world of nothingness. The entire world was dyed in the darkest black. Darker than any night he had ever seen and darker than the very cosmos itself. He felt nothing as he floated there. There was no heat, no cold, no sound and no wind in that world. Solomon wondered if he would spend the rest of his life there and to him that didn’t sound so bad because that empty world was so peaceful.

‘It’s so quiet. There are no people here, no faces filled with contempt at the mere sight of me. No worried looks on mother’s face. If I stay here I won’t have to worry about connecting with people anymore. I won’t have to worry about my lack of emotions…I wonder if this is how happiness feels like.’

Unfortunately, Solomon’s state of nirvana would be cut short. A small light gathered in the center of that dark world. Then it grew larger and larger until it burst, permanently dyeing the world in a deep crimson. After that burst of light, all feeling that had been missing from Solomon returned to him. He felt the sensation of heat and he felt breath enter and leave his lungs. All those thoughts he had of staying in that empty world were gone. It was as if they never existed in the first place.

Although he was floating upside down, his feet touched down on invisible ground. It was a disorienting experience. He looked up to his feet and saw a symbol beneath them. The symbol was a circle with a five-pointed star in the middle and there were letters in between the star and circle too. The letters were strange and alien to him but they felt familiar at the same time.

The letters began to glow and spin around in the circle. Then a black cloud erupted from the symbol and flew past Solomon. Streaks of lightning sparked throughout the cloud and thunder bellowed from within. The cloud separated into thirteen smaller clouds and they each took different shapes. They were still formless gasses but they were distinct enough for Solomon to differentiate between them. One of the clouds moved closer to Solomon. Then he heard a voice boom through the red void.

“S~ ^~u’e o”` >-[

When the visions stopped he saw one of the clouds slam into the cloud that moved towards him. Solomon heard a cry of pain in the distance. “Sorry about that Solomon. Showing people frightening visions is this moron’s idea of a joke!” The second voice he heard sounded feminine. Even though it sounded angry, it was still pleasant to hear, especially after the first voice. “You have to admit, it is pretty funny.” It was the first voice again. Thankfully this time it wasn’t as painful as before but it was still grating to listen to. After it spoke, an awkward silence hung in the air. Solomon heard someone clear their throat and saw one of the clouds move back a bit. He assumed it was the cloud that talked to him first.

“...Um, so anyways, how do you know my name?” One of the clouds quickly turned around and answered Solomon. “We learned your name just now, when we came into contact.” Seemingly satisfied with its response, Solomon asked another question. “Do you know how to get out of here?” To his disappointment, the first voice was the one to respond this time. “Of course we do, what do you take us for! You just have to agree to bind your soul with ours. Though I’m sure there are more questions-” The voice was cut off as Solomon answered quickly so he wouldn’t have to hear it anymore. “I accept.” A few seconds of silence passed among them.

“...You’re not going to ask any other questions?” The second voice questioned. “I have no more questions to ask.” More silence followed his reply. “...I see. Um, well then, the deal is complete. And if you ever need our help, you just have to call our names and we will be there…Actually I suppose Eligor is the only one that can help you in this state…Hmm. Oh well, farewell Solomon.” The moment that pleasant voice stopped speaking, Solomon lost consciousness.

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Solomon awoke to find himself in a dirty alleyway. The sky was colored in the crimson light of the setting sun, making it clear to Solomon that he had been sleeping for quite some time. He stood up and dusted himself off and while he did so he spotted a plain, gold ring on his right index finger. He tried to take it off but it soon became apparent that the ring was stuck there so he ignored it and just kept on walking. As he wandered out of the alleyway, Solomon’s nose was assaulted by a horrific stench. The usually clean and bustling markets of Argentum had been replaced by filthy, unpaved streets. On the streets he could see people wearing what could only be considered as rags. They were all clearly malnourished and some were even fighting over whatever food was left. Everywhere he turned, he saw buildings that had broken down from decades of disrepair and he saw rubbish, carrion and even human corpses littering the streets.

Solomon had never been here before but he knew immediately of what it was. It was a place all the relatively well off citizens of Argentum knew of but ignored. He was in the slums of Argentum, often referred to by its nickname ‘Ohiani fie’, which roughly translated to ‘poor man’s house’ in the local tongue. A place where those unfortunate enough to be cursed by poverty and those who preferred to conduct their business and affairs away from the public eye congregated. The slums of Argentum had originally started out as a safe haven for the less privileged citizens but decades of neglect by previous Argentum Chairmans had turned it into a living hell. As he walked through the slums, he felt more and more eyes fall upon him. Solomon and his mother were not particularly wealthy but when comparing their appearances with those of the slum residents, they would have looked like royalty.

The people there, or rather the people that had any ounce of resolve and will to live left, looked upon Solomon with envy and hatred. He was used to people looking repulsed and angry at the sight of him but they were never envious. Some people moved closer to him and then he felt a cold hand clasp around his hand. The hand belonged to an old man. His bones could be seen clearly through his skin. It took all the strength he had to hold onto Solomon. Just like Solomon, the old man’s eyes were also empty. But their emptiness did not come from a lack of empathy and emotions like Solomon, they had become empty from his disappointment and anger at the world that had left him to such a fate.

Soon other people started crowding around Solomon. Despite the unfamiliar environment and the number of strangers that could do him harm, Solomon did not feel afraid. Most people would look upon the slum dwellers with some sort of pity, sadness, disgust or even anger but Solomon felt nothing as he looked at them for he was entirely indifferent to their plight. Solomon brushed off the people touching him as gently as possible while they begged him for his help. Even as he saw mothers with their babies crying out and sickly children that were nothing but bones, even as some of the people clawed at his clothes, Solomon still looked down at them with the same empty look in his eyes. That heartless glare from those inhuman eyes was enough to deter some of the slum dwellers but some people were more desperate than others.

It was getting harder and harder to push the people away but Solomon persevered and almost made it out of the crowd surrounding him when he felt a sharp pain on his left side. Solomon looked down and noticed a knife piercing through his lower left abdomen. He turned around and saw a scrawny young woman with shaggy hair and a wild look in her eyes holding the knife. Her hands shook as she held the knife. The woman pulled out the knife and stabbed him again in the same spot three more times. Solomon groaned from the pain and tried to walk away from the woman but she pushed him to the ground and stabbed him in the same spot again. “I-I’m s-o-sorry…I’m-m s-so sorry…Forgive me.” She continued to repeat those lines as she kept attacking him. The other slum dwellers simply watched in silence as she did this. After all, this wasn’t an uncommon sight in the slums.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

By killing Solomon, the woman would be able to sell off his clothes to one of the local gangs and with the money she could afford to buy some food that would last her a day at best. With such a meager reward awaiting her, most people would wonder why she would even go through the trouble of killing Solomon. But to the slum dwellers, one tiny meal was the difference between life and death. Solomon was not weak and he could have easily pushed her off at any time but he didn’t. As he stared at her while she hurt him, many thoughts began racing through his mind.

‘In that book I read, when the hero was about to die from his fight with the demon king, he saw cherished memories of his family and friends and of the countless adventures he had been on. But now that I am about to die, there is not a single memory flowing through my mind, not even one of my own mother. It does not upset me but at the same time…I wonder if I am the only one like this. What would this woman be thinking of on her deathbed? What do other people think of when they are about to die? I guess I haven't lived a particularly meaningful life, huh. But what even is a meaningful life in the first place? Hmm. There are so many questions that need to be answered. I guess that means… I can’t die just yet.’

While he was deep in thought,the woman had stabbed Solomon in many places now. Blood flowed freely staining his clothes, yet he was still alive. “Please…just die…I don’t want you to suffer!” She raised her knife and brought it down upon his head. Before the knife could pierce Solomon’s skull, he pushed her off himself. The woman fell down and Solomon, despite his injuries, stood up and picked up the knife. The woman looked up and was terrified to see Solomon towering over her with a knife in his hand. His blood red eyes seemed to see through her very soul. She breathed heavily, gasping for air as sweat trickled down like the first rain after a drought. The woman was scared of the potential death that awaited her and prepared for it. Memories began to flow through her mind. She remembered her parents that were not around long enough to give her a name. She remembered her partner who had died working for one of the gangs and she remembered the child she lost to miscarriage. She cried as she imagined the painful death that she deserved for hurting someone that had not caused her any harm.

Thankfully all those thoughts of the death that awaited her would be just that, thoughts. Solomon squatted and gave the knife back to the woman. “Sorry about that. This knife is yours, isn’t it?” After saying those words, Solomon stood up, bowed his head and walked away. Solomon was indifferent to everything. Though he had no love for anything, he also had no hate in his heart. Confused, the woman could only stare at his back as he wobbled away. While her tears streamed down her face, the woman laughed at how absurd the situation she found herself in was. She had never prayed before but she hoped and prayed that the kind soul before her would live to see another day.

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The sun had set leaving room for the moon and stars to occupy the sky. Solomon had walked quite a distance when his legs finally gave out from the pain. He was not willing to die just yet so he tried to push through the pain. However, determination and tenacity can only take one so far. His mind drifted in and out of consciousness. Solomon knew that once he passed out that it would be the end of him. He thought about how to prevent that and remembered the words of the beings he encountered in that red void. With the remaining strength he had left, Solomon uttered one word. “Eligor.”

Solomon felt some sort of energy leaving his body. Then the ring on his finger glowed a deep crimson and black smoke erupted from it. Sparks of red light crackled and fierce winds blew all around him kicking up dust and dirt. The black smoke settled next to him and it began to take shape and slowly became more solid and real. The smoke took the shape of a tall knight clad from head to toe in ebony armor darker than the night itself. The knight wore a red cape and he had two goat horns that extended far past his helm. The knight kneeled down and addressed Solomon in a deep, gruff voice.“I am Eligor, knight of the abyss and your faithful serv-…Oh dear are you quite alright?!” With the last of his strength gone, Solomon collapsed onto the ground.

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Sheba continued to serve her guests with a beaming smile until nightfall. There was not a single look of concern or unease on her face. Truthfully though, she was extremely worried. Her son Solomon was always back home before the sun set to help her at the inn. Solomon had never been this late. Sheba initially brushed it off as him goofing off and having fun with a friend but then she quickly realized how unlikely that was. She worried if she had done something to upset him and that maybe he had run away. Sheba thought of how Solomon was always willing to help her with the work at the inn. Though she couldn’t tell if he did it out of kindness or if he just picked it up from one of his books.

‘Did I do something wrong? Did I push him too hard?’ Sheba clenched her fist and looked up to the moon with a sorrowful expression. Suddenly, she could feel her chest ache. For just a moment, she imagined Solomon in pain. She shook off those pessimistic thoughts and hoped he would come back home soon.

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Eligor was in a panic. He had been summoned for the very first time by his new master. It was an occasion that called for celebration because of how long it had been since he had seen the outside world and yet, his new master was about to die. His first thought was to hurt and kill whoever had done this to Solomon but he ignored it as more important things were at stake. The moment Solomon died, Eligor would be forcibly returned to the ring and he would have to wait for another suitable candidate. Understandably, Eligor did not want this to happen so he picked Solomon up and carried him bridal style and looked for anyone that could help him. Eligor did know of someone that could heal Solomon’s injuries but they were stuck in the ring and only Solomon could summon them.

As Eligor walked around the slums he felt his connection to the world slowly disappearing so he moved even faster. He walked until he found a building with strange statues in front of it. Then he realized that those statues were angels, meaning he was standing in front of a church. Though when he took a closer look at the church, he realized just how rundown it was. Many of the statues had lost or broken parts and the church itself had holes in its walls. He almost wanted to laugh at how absurd that a being like him would seek help from a church, especially one in desperate need of repairs like this.

Eligor pushed open the large wooden church doors and was greeted with quite a sight. In front of him was a pale, short and wrinkly old woman with gray hair wearing a nun’s habit. She sat next to a candle in one of the benches. None of those things were peculiar at all. What was strange about the woman was that she was smoking a cigar and there were traces of other cigars she had smoked on the ground. Eligor wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming but then he remembered that it was physically impossible for him to dream.

Upon seeing Eligor the nun beckoned him closer. Eligor complied as he had no other options. Eligor laid Solomon on one of the benches and the nun took off Solomon’s coat and shirt. There were countless stab wounds across his torso yet he was still breathing. “...I’m surprised the boy is still alive, though I am afraid he doesn’t have much time left.” Eligor stooped to her level and grabbed the old nun’s hands. “Is there anything you can do?!” The old nun smiled. It wasn’t the kindhearted smile you would expect from a woman of the cloth such as herself. No, it was the smile of a businesswoman that had found a new profitable customer.

“My darling of course I can help you. But it will cost you.” Eligor stood up. “I am prepared to pay any price.” With his confirmation, the old nun got to work. She put her hands together as if in prayer and began to chant. “Dear god above, let your healing power pass over this boy’s body like a gentle breeze. Take away his pain and discomfort and fill him with new life.” Once she finished her chant, a gentle wind washed over Solomon and most of the cuts on his body closed up. “...I’ve lost my touch over the years. We’ll have to stitch up the other injuries. Would you kindly fetch my kit from the back?” Eligor nodded and followed the old nun’s instructions.

She went to work stitching up Solomon’s cuts and bandaging them. For every stitch she made, Solomon groaned in pain. Then she showed the both of them to a small room in the basement of the church. Surprisingly it was the most well kept part of the church. The old nun lit a candle and placed it next to a mat on the floor. Eligor placed Solomon on the mat and sat next to him. “There’s another room for you if you’d like.” Eligor shook his head. “Hmph. Suit yourself.” He watched over Solomon the entire night. Although Eligor had no idea of how Solomon had gotten so injured in the first place, he was very impressed by how stubbornly Solomon had clung to life. He was glad that his new master had just as much backbone as his previous one.