I got more information than I knew what to do with. In the end, this still could be an elaborate scam or joke.

But I wanted it to be true. I had given up on my little hopes and dreams. I realized I couldn’t make them happen. Every waking moment I lamented knowing that I failed.

If I could give my family the opportunity to live fully and prosperously then I was willing to do so. I have been trying to do so for many years now.

So I texted a reply, “yes”.

With a press of a button, everything went silent. I suddenly noticed I was unable to move. I could see and hear, but I could not feel my extremities.

I freaked out at the scary sensation of being paralyzed. I screamed for help, but my mouth didn’t move and nothing came out. Willing strength into my body, I tried to run, to do anything, but there was no response. I then realized I wasn’t even breathing.

I stopped struggling. The person lied. I thought I had died. When I finally accepted my fate and calmed down I realized that not only was I unable to move, everything around me too was not moving.

Time froze.

Nothing moved and nothing made a sound. It was an odd scene with an eerie silence. Whatever I got into went beyond anything I could understand. It broke the laws of science. None of this made sense.

Something moving in the night sky caught my attention.

I thought they were streaks of light from a pair of shooting stars, but they were not. Most definitely not.

The streaks of light blinked. A pair of humongous all-seeing eyes filled the starry sky as they opened. The outline of the face of what seemed to be a woman took shape. Her face was translucent like glass as the lights of the heavens above distorted through.

I could not see all of her, but with the bit I saw, I knew she was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her eyes warmly radiated with the gradients of colorful nebulas. The outline of her hair and face glowed from the soft illumination of the stars. Her lush lips held a gracious smile. Poised and elegant, the woman was divine.

I was further shocked as more eyes opened and covered the expanse of the cosmos. Like the divine lady, all the faces of the others started to take shape. They were all inhumanly handsome and beautiful, all the while focusing on me. In unison, a harmony of unworldly voices reverberated through the universe as they spoke.

“All is done. Our agreement is once again fulfilled.”

I was entranced by their bewitching voices and was unaware of the familiar warping of space below me. A fissure tore open the fabric of space and gradually opened a perfect circle leading to the abyss.

Semi-transparent shadows shaped like petals of a lotus flower snapped me out of my daze, as they rose from the portal beneath me. Fear and panic overtook me as the petals enclosed around me, encasing me inside.

Time unfroze and everything moved again. I could hear the chirps of crickets and the hoots of owls in the night, but I was dragged away before I knew it.

There was a tug from the transparent lotus flower causing it to retract with a lightning fast reaction back into the abyss. I tried to quickly get out but it was useless. I was pulled along with it into the portal.

Inside the portal and struggling to get out of the transparent lotus, I stopped as I was awestruck by my surroundings. Deep purple hues and shades of black rippled like silk in the wind as I was swiftly moved through the abyss. My curiosity of what the mystifyingly beautiful substance could be made me forget my fear.

The further along I went, the more variety and colorful the colors became. I wondered cautiously where I would be taken to. No longer struggling, I thought to myself.

“Who was so powerful to summon forth god-like entities? And why me? What fate did the person hold for me? Would they be true to their part of the bargain?”

I only cared for that part. If worse came true, as long as the person held their part of the bargain and helped my family’s situation then I’d be willing to give them my soul.

The colors turned into a blinding white light and I covered my eyes to shield them from the piercing light.

It slowly dimmed and I reopened them. I had finally exited the abyss.

I was expecting a castle, summoning circles, a king, princesses, robed magicians, or a god, but none of that was here.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

I was still wrapped in the closed transparent lotus flower now floating at a lake’s edge. The sun was high in the sky hidden behind white fluffy clouds, but the color… the colors of the place was surreal. It was so rich, almost overly saturated. There was a vibrant lively feeling coming off everything inside.

I was used to the dull and lifeless for so long that the place was almost too much for me. A deep manly voice beckoned me from my side, awakening me from my daze.

“Leon.”

Startled, I turned to my left and saw a small simple chestnut table near the water’s edge. There was someone who looked like a young human man sitting loosely and relaxed, half hanging off one of the two table chairs.

The plain and faded forest green tunic and brown trousers could not hide his muscular physique. He had the face of celebrities and models, one that I wished mine were more like. Chiseled in the perfect spots with a perfectly placed large straight nose, there was a rugged appeal that lured all to take a second look.

His prominent green eyes were the most striking of his facial features as they were sharp and peered past any deceit and facade. If not for his worn-out clothes, messy brown hair and sloppy laid back posture, he would have been seen as someone prestigious that descended from nobility or royalty.

I would have been convinced he was human had it not been for his horns that grew from the corners of his forehead and curled to the sides of his head. His horns reminded me of those like rams that roamed the high mountains.

The man beckoned me to him with a lazy wave of his hand. He mumbled something I could not hear, and the lotus bloomed and moved to reach the land.

“Levitate.” The man voiced.

There was an odd flow of energy that I never felt before as I began to float. I was taken by surprise and struggled helplessly midair.

“Ugh… Stop your futile attempts. This is why I don’t want any apprentices. Let alone one from another dimension. That damn “family” forcing their covenant upon me.”

Reprimanded by his words, I obeyed and stayed motionless as I was hovered off to the empty chair. As if cutting my strings loose, I was dropped mercilessly on the chair.

Hitting my shin on the chair I let out a pained shout. “Ow ow wow!”

The man let out a chuckle at the expense of my pain before sighing. “You have poor reflexes. The years have not been kind to you, though not keeping in shape is your own doing.”

I was momentarily taken aback before giving him a glare and thinking to myself. “Was this guy mocking and blaming me? He doesn’t even know a thing about me!”

“Alright, alright. I shouldn’t have laughed at you, but you know there’s truth to my words. I know much about you Leon. I have to, it is part of the covenant.”

“What could you possibly know? And who are you? I’ve never met you in my life!”

“Maybe a little too much, my new apprentice. Just know that I know. I’ll be your master. Call me Master Krone.”

This guy felt like a prick on a high horse. I couldn’t see myself getting along with him. “I don’t believe you.”

“I know you peed your pants when you had that presentation in the 2nd grade.”

“How do you know that! No one knows that but my mom! No other person should know that!”

“You get my point, right? I know you well. That’s why I made you the offer.”

“Right! The agreement! My family! You didn’t even let me say goodbye!”

“There was no time. Any further and the deal would have been nulled and voided. You made it by a hair’s breadth.”

“Then how do I know you're telling the truth?!”

“You’ll have to for now. You’ll come to understand that covenants cannot be broken as you stay and progress here. If you try hard enough you might even get to see them again, though you’re forbidden from directly interacting.”

I thought hard about what he said. He said I could see my family again. I continued interrogating the man.

“Then did you grant my wishes? What happened to my family?”

“When you gave me your word, the pact was sealed. All that you worked hard to achieve in dreams and hopes were given to your family. Besides, you saw THEM. The divines don’t go back on their covenants. They’re the most stringent of all creation. No one messes with the divine.”

I recalled the immaculate beings in the night sky, and nodded in agreement. I didn’t want to cross such entities either.

“I still want proof.”

“Ugh. I knew you would say that. I don’t have the resources right now. You will have to work hard if you want to get your proof.”

“What do you mean?! Didn’t you take me here? Can’t you whip out a crystal ball or something?!”

“Fool! Like every damn world ruled by sentient beings, you need money! I’m as broke as you are!”

“Then how did you even get me here?!”

“Like I said! It was the covenant between the divine and my ancestors! I’m a victim too, ok?! I’m already exiled and my family forced the covenant on me as a throw away resource! You think I wanted to tr…?”

I cut Krone off. “Then can’t the divine give me some way of seeing my family?! I don’t even need to talk to them. I just need the proof!”

“You know nothing! You can’t just call up the divine like some sort of business service. They're the all powerful!”

“Then how am I supposed to believe any of this! How do I know I didn’t get scammed!?”

Krone took a deep breath to calm himself.

“You’ll have to trust me. If not me, then trust my words. I vow to the Sole Creator that your wishes have been granted to your family Leon. Now, you will uphold yours.”