[MC's POV]

Wondering around in a land full of nothingness, eating the occasional soul, ignoring the voices in my head telling me to kill myself. Honestly, just the normal everyday things that I have to go through. Fun, right?

However, today that fun will end. As I was munching on a devil's soul, I sensed one of the familiar vibrations in the fabric of space. Immediately, I shot like a cannonball towards the origin of the vibrations.

As I got closer and closer, the voices in my head became more and more vicious. They kept roaring at me things like "You'll never make it!" or other such things. I roared back at them in my mind, temporarily shutting them up.

Getting on all fours, I broke through the speed of light as the ground under me began cracking, dangerously slowing me down. As I neared my goal, I sensed it getting weaker and weaker. A sense of desperation took a hold on my mind, waking the voices up once again and making me run even faster. 

I sped up more and more, just as the vibrations got weaker and weaker. Distances in this hell can easily reach the millions of kilometers, and there really isn't any end. My theories is that it goes around and around, but one would never be able to tell, as there are no landmarks anywhere, and making any is pointless as they would simply disappear.

Just as the familiar, swirling blue portal appeared in my vision, my speed broke through the limits of light and reached the mana speed (10 times the speed of light). 

However, it was all in vain. Just as my hand was about to reach the already-miniscule portal, it closed just as I was a couple meters from it. 

I stopped in place for a solid minute, my face expressionless. Soon, I turned around and began walking once more. What's the point of crying? This wasn't even the first time it happend, albeit it surely was the closest.

However, just as I was about to leave the area, I felt those blessed vibrations appear once again. Turning around, in the same exact spot as before was another portal. It was small, around the size of a man's head, but it was a portal nonetheless.

For an instance, my mind froze. I couldn't think anymore. However, the next moment, forget about mana speed, my body almost broke itself from the sudden increase in speed. The ground sure did.

The portal was exceptionally small, and my body would never fit through it. This was a serious problem, but not an impossible one.

I reached the portal and immediately shoved my hands in between two ends. The thing tried and tried to close on me, threatening to break my hands and arms. Gritting my teeth, I roared in pure rage and determination as a giant web began spreading from under my feet.

Immeditely, like snakes, the webs each directly headed for all the souls in the area. Thousands of black and red tendrils attacked viciously, gathering all the souls and dragging them back to me. 

After a couple seconds, hundreds of souls were gathered around me. Opening my mouth to an impossible degree, I sucked in all the souls and began turning them into pure energy.

The problem was simple, and so was the solution. Although flesh and blood could never hope to break the fabric of space, souls, mana, qi and divine force can. And what am I? A soul. However, I still needed some extra help, and these souls provided it.

Ignoring the torrent of memories streaming into my mind, I converted all of the souls into the purest energy and sent it all to my arms. My strenght instantly increased hundredfold, and the fabric of space seemed to cry out in pain as I tore a hole large enough for my huge body to fit through. 

As I passed through space and time itself, I felt a force try and wipe out my memories and sense of self. This force was the reason why, with the exception of heroes, all summons are usually mindless slaves. They would be summoned without will, and a being without will is essentially a slave to whoever gets their hands on them. However, I'm different.

Gathering all of my remaining energy in my first, I 'punched' this force head on, making it cry out in pain. I didn't stop there, however, as I released a monstrous aura, corroding all of the primordial chaos floating around this endless plane of existance. I felt the force pause for a bit, before finally retrating, recognizing that it wasn't worth the effort.

Smiling for the first time in a very, very long time, I let the pull of the summoning bring me towards my new home. Be it devils or angels, whoever summoned me deserves my full servitude. That was a decision I made long ago, and I never let go of. Furthermore, the voices in my mind had finally shut up by themselves for once, allowing me to bathe in the bliss of hope. 

[3rd person POV]

Inside of a castle, a family happily chatted together. This family consisted of a man in his 40's, a woman around the same age as the man, a girl and a boy.

At first glance, they might not seem much. However, this family was in truth, the royal family of the most powerful kingdoms in the entire continent: The Silverheart family!

"Dad? You're spacing out again!" Whined the girl at her dad, the middle-aged man.

"Uh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking of some things..." The dad smiled, trying to avoid having to mention his inner thoughts about politics and economy.

"Haha... Dear, stop thinking about things. Just enjoy this evening. I mean, when do we ever get together like this?" The woman laughed heartily and looked at her son "Albert, what were you talking about? Something about a suprise for us?"

The son, Albert, upon hearing his mother, perked up and immediately began blabbering "Oh yeah! Well, I wanted to wait a bit longer, but teacher said that I'm now ready to summon a familiar! He did say that my chances of succeding for the first couple tries are slim, but at least I can start!" 

Both the king and queen looked stunned for a second before smiling happily. "Really!? But you're so young! Are you sure that Duke Bradley told you that you're ready?" The king asked questioningly. Albert looked offended and immediately responded with an "Of course!"

The queen laughed and ruzzled her son's head a bit and complimented him heartidly. Jealous, the girl threw herself at her mother. Being only 8 years olds does have it's perks, although the 15 years old Albert would definetly deny it.

After another hour of such happy-go-lucky chattering, the king called for the court magician. As the wizard entered the private chambers, he bowed deeply and exclaimed "Bradley, duke of Manascia and court magicians requests entry!"

"Granted!" The king answered, and the magician rose from his bow and sat on one of the couches, in front of the king and next to his student.

"So? Our son is almost ready to summon a familiar?" The queen asked, excited. The duke nodded with a smile, making the queen exclaim "That's great! Albert, make sure to succeed soon, as I'm beginning to get worried..." She stopped herself in time, and her excited smile turned into an awkward one.

Tensions were high between the human kingdoms and the demon kingdoms. It wouldn't even be suprising if war broke out in 10 years or so. The chances of assassins were high, and having a familiar means having a meatshield, although many would disagree. Still, for a familiar, dying isn't a problem, as they can simply be called back a week later.

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The summoning of familiars is a practice very common amongst Silverheart's nobility, and even wealthier commoners sometimes do it. Royalty however, are practically guaranteed to have a familiar with them, and they are usually stronger then normal too.

As the king and the duke discussed for a bit about some random subjects, the duke finally revealed today's suprise.

"Well, you see your majesty, your son really wanted to have you come and observe his first attempt." Said the duke with a teasing smile directed at Albert, whom turned away in embarassment.

Laughing, the king accepted the proposal. As the duke brought them onto the courtyard, he began drawing strange symbols and chanting strange tongue-twisters. Albert stood behind him, looking rather eager. As for the rest of the family, they stood at the side-lines, watching with warm smiles. 

When Bradley finished his strange rital, he pushed Albert forward whilst giving some words of encouragement. Albert put his hand on a particularly detailed rune at the outer perimeter and began inserting his mana.

After a bit, a strange portal opened up where the drawings once stood. Albert kept the portal up for a couple seconds, before having to remove his hand, closing down the portal. 

Bradley sighed and shook his head before walking up to the disappointed kid and patting on the back. "Don't worry, kiddo. Almost nobody gets it in their first try, and it's just a matter of luck. You did nothing wrong."

Albert nodded, albeit sadly, before heading back to his family for their congratulations on his attempt. He smiled slightly at the thought of such a good family.

As the king and queen congratulated their son, the girl waddled over to the strange runes and looked at them curiously. Noticing her, Bradley approached her and began explaining "Princess Sophia, do you know how this works?"

Noticing that she was discovered, she blushed fiercily before shaking her head. Bradley chuckled and began explaining "Well, this thing essentially draws upon the great and endless void. It is where all of our familiars originate from, and by merging with our mana, they automatically form a contract with us. Or at least, that's the theory. Many different kinds of familiars exist, and details aren't easy to get, as familiars themselves don't really know either."

Sophia nodded and looked at the large drawing expectadly. "Can I try?" She said in a light voice, earning a laugh from Bradley.

"Well, with your mana, it'd be hard to summon anything, but you can try. I mean, what's the problem in trying?" He said, knowing the girl would never summon anything. How wrong he was...

Nodding, the girl put her hand on the same rune Albert did, and injected her small amount of mana in it. However, she had to take away her hand almost immediately from the stinging pain.

Bradley looked at her with a teasing smile and began explaining "To successfully summon a familiar, you need to grow up more because then you'll have more mana..."

"ROAAAAAAAAAAARRR" A tremendous, blood-curling roar emerged from the summoning circles, making the blood freeze in all of those who heard it, and even those who didn't felt a huge chill run down their spines.

Then, the summoning circle began revolving and revolving, shocking everyone into silence and making them all just stare stupidly. 

The once black runes turned bloody red, and the ground began shaking, making the two kids fall on their butts. 

The moment Bradley regained his wits, he grabbed Sophia immediately and backed off, the king grabbed Albert and headed behind Bradley too. No words were spoken, it was obvious something had gone wrong with the summoning.

The ground began shaking more and more fiercely, so much so that the castle itself threatened to collapse, but luckily, the magical defenses weren't as easily destroyed by a mere earthquake.

Then, a huge hand, no, perhaps claw would be a better term, emerged from the ground. After that, another hand emerged and following that, a devil that could only come from the deepest parts of hell emerged.

The devil was at least 4 meters tall and had a huge spiked tail twice his lenght swishing behind him, as well as two enormous, bloody red wings that could surely extend at least to 10 meters each. Horns 50cm in lenght protruded from it's forehead, and extremely sharp teeth filled it's mouth. A terrifying aura appeared, making even the battle-hardened Bradley feel like he was but an insect gazing up at a giant.

The devil's expressionless face didn't display any of it's thoughts. Bradley cursed in his mind 'damn it! How did such a thing even get summoned!? Nothing of the like ever happened before!!'

Using telepathy, Bradley quickly told the king "I'll stall for time! Your majesty, please run! There is no way we can beat this thing without help from the royal guards!" Although he said this, Bradley didn't believe that the royal guards would be of much use. After all, to him, royal guards were like ants. To this monster, perhaps saying that they were nothing more then empty air would be an overestimation.

The devil's eyes darted around before fixating on the young girl hiding behind Bradley, she was grabbing at his shirt and was so scared that tears were running down her eyes.

Then, the devil took a single step. It was but a step, and yet, it somehow appeared right in front of Bradley. Faster then anybody could react, the Devil picked him up and threw him away. When Bradley hit the wall he was thrown torwards, he coughed blood.

As a magician, he was not trained for close-combat. Still, his magical armour could stop swords up to the A rank. Even S ranks would have to put effort to tear it down. To be thrown so casually destroyed any confidence he held in defeating the abomination.

The devil's eyes returned to the young girl, who had fallen down and was staring up at the monster, her eyes filled with tears. Soon, she began sobbing and crying, but she didn't even dare call for help. No, she couldn't. Her voice was suppressed by the sheer fear she felt.

"No!" the king cried out as the Devil began moving again, however, nobody expected what happened next.

The Devil fell down, one knee on the ground and the other up. His hand went to his heart and the other went on the ground. Then, he spoke. "Master..."

The world seemed to freeze at it's words. Nobody understood what had happened, however, the devil hadn't quite finished.

"My great master, I sincerely thank you for saving this useless and uncapable me. I am forever grateful for your great act of kindness towards this worthless me. I am willing to offer myself as your servant for as long as time shall flow and the great river Stynx runs through the universe. My skills include all aspects of necromancy, demonic and devillish magic, blood magic, mind control, various skills related to souls, cooking, sewing, blacksmithing and other miscillanous tasks. I am also well-versed in the ways of weaponry and long-ranged weapons. I have no clear weakness due to my many expertises, but I know of some ways to suppress me. I beg my master, please accept this worthless being as your servant. Should I be lacking in anything, I can promise to learn any craft or art in a short time should you request so." 

"Eh?" The girl let out a stupid-sounding sound, just as everyone else soon did.

"EEEEEHH???" 

"Please forgive me for my uncerimonious entry, master. However, I was met with some problems during the summoning. I am fully aware of my error, and prepared for any punishment that I might incour." The devil said, it's head touching the ground in submission.

"E... Eh? M-mom? D-dad?" The girl asked, unsure of what was happening. She was still scared, but now she was more confused then anything. After all, she was merely 8, and she couldn't understand much. However, she could understand that this strange monster didn't intend on harming her.

"Slowly... come over here sweety..." The king bekoned, trying to get the daughter to their side. The girl instantly ran towards them and jumped in her father's arms and began crying. Soothing her, he still kept an eye on the devil... oh wait, it wasn't there anymore...

"Hihihi!!" The queen let out a scream and the king swiftly turned around, only to be met with a giant, bowing devil a couple steps away from him. 

Cold sweat began travelling down his back and he felt an urge to scream and run away, but his training as a king allowed him to keep calm and look at the situation critically.

'This monster doesn't seem intent on harming us... at least for now...'

Glancing over to Duke Bradley. He laid unconscious on the ground, having been knocked out by a single blow. Still, he was alive, which was good.

Clearing his throat, the king asked "What is your name, devil?"

The devil didn't answer, instead, it kept bowing down, unbothered by the request.

A vein popped up on the king's face "Ahem... May I know your name, sir devil?"

Once again, silence.

"..." The king wasn't sure what to do. He knew that acting all-mighty here was a bad idea, but he had no idea of what to do. 

The girl had stopped crying by now and was staring at the devil in a mixture of curiousity and fear. Being a kid, and a sheltered one at that, she had very few 'fearful' encounters, and her recognition for danger was low. 

Reaching out her arm, she tried to touch the devil's head, whom, suprisingly, moved up it's head to allow her to touch it. 

The king didn't dare to move, nor say anything in fear of displeasing the devil. However, in his mind, he was roaring 'Stop! Don't touch it god damn it! What if it gets mad!'

However, she couldn't read minds, and she soon began giggling as she felt the strangely soft hair of the devil. It's raven black hair reached down all the way to it's knees, almost touching the ground. And considering it was 4 meters tall, that's a lot of hair. 

A couple of minutes passed like this, and the tense athmosphere of before passed by. Soon, guards rushed into the courtyard to find the king frozen with his daughter in his arms, the queen sitting on her butt staring blankly at the king, the prince looking confused, and the court magician, the strongest magician in the kingdom, unconscious. Oh, and also a giant, terrifying devil being petted like a dog by the princess.

Normal everyday things, normal everyday things...