Chapter 8: An unexpected Soul bond
System Notification:
Congratulations!
For being the first to accept 'The Hive' patronage, your rank has been upgraded from 'Lesser Devotee' to ' Patreon's Champion.'
'The Hive' wishes to grant you a reward. Do you accept?
Y/N
With mounting excitement, Jason unhesitatingly selected "Yes." A gift box image promptly materialised on the screen, and he interacted with it with growing enthusiasm.
The box opened with a quick, dazzling array of light, revealing a minuscule, eyeless creature draped in a soft red glow. It was small, the size of a small worm, and softly swayed under Jason's gaze. Jason observed the creature closely and had to say he found it cute. And so, under these emotions, he reached out a hesitant finger to poke at it.
As he did so, another notification appeared.
System Notification:
Do you want to create a 'soul bond' with 'Gluttonous brood'.
Y/N
Jason was taken aback by the new message.
"What's a soul bond?" Jason spoke aloud, trying to question the screen, but no further notification appeared.
As Jason looked back upon the small worm, he found it wriggling, trying to touch his outstretched finger.
"Despite the ominous name, you are kind of cute," Jason chuckled before clicking 'yes'.
He doubted it was harmful; after all, the mighty system did say it was a gift from 'The Hive'.
As Jason clicked 'Yes', a small change took over the worm. It began casting a ghastly red glow.
Jason was perplexed by the ominous vibes emanating from the diminutive creature, but before he could react, it streaked towards him with uncanny speed, disappearing into his being.
The sudden influx of the creature's energy cast Jason into a maelstrom of darkness before he once again collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
--
In the demon world.
As the sizeable snake-like creature continued to move between the layers of hell, within its body's dimly lit fleshy confines, the ceaseless movement of drones had finally subsided. At the heart of this cavernous space, Malgrith's body remained unmoving. Instead, its squishy body gave way to a broad hole that seemed to tear through the demon's abdomen.
Despite the throbbing pain from the injury, Malgrith's gaze remained fixed on the crystalline shards lying before it. The items glowed faintly with a soft, ethereal purple light, mesmerising and elusive.
The parasite's form trembled slightly, recalling the staggering price it had paid to obtain these items. Malgrith had bartered with actual demons! The merchants!
Beings known for their extortionate demands and prices, all for the sake of these items.
Unfortunately, the Ascension trials reset unexpectedly, and as a result, most of Malgrith's wealth, which he had invested in the human world, was now gone.
After selling what little Malgrith had left to the merchants, truly demonic beings with their exorbitant fees and prices, Malgrith managed to amass a small fortune of over 4 million SP, but even that was just barely enough.
To send patronage requests to all the humans who had once been part of his organisation, 'The confluence,' each message cost Malgrith 10000 SP. Having sent over 100 messages hoping that one human would accept before commencing their trial, Malgrith had already used over 1 million SP.
Malgrith used the remaining funds to buy these items, totalling another 3 million SP, meaning it had already used most of its available SP resources.
However, the subtle chime of a system notification disturbed Malgrith's momentary thoughts, alerting it to the fact that some unlucky soul had accepted its patronage.
Malgrith did not know if it could reacquire this item; after all, it did not know if this gamble would pay off.
Instead, looking over the ethereal blood-red screen, Malgrith identified that the human named Jason had expected him as his patron. Usually, sending messages to players before passing their trials was impossible as they had not yet unlocked the social systems. However, Malgrith remembered the unique player code for each Human who had been in his organisation and used that knowledge to message over 100 humans before they started their trials.
Quickly, Malgrith interacted with the screen, attempting to send another message.
System Message:
Are you sure you want to make Jason Anderson your 'Champion'?
Y/N
The demonic entity swiftly selected 'Yes,' conjuring a minuscule ethereal worm from the whole in its abdomen.
Would you like to send the entity 'Gluttonous Brood' to the human Jason Anderson?
Y/N Price: 100,000 SP
Once again, the demonic entity swiftly selected 'Yes', triggering the transfer. A small window materialised before it, and the minuscule worm was placed within as it vanished from the demon realm.
As the 'Gluttonous brood' disappeared, Malgrith, for the last time in what would undoubtedly be a long time, that is, if he survived, addressed the room.
"I leave the rest to you, Magnus! Keep Mortus safe."
After the 'Gluttonous brood' disappeared, the hive's overseer, the massive body at the room's centre, collapsed to the floor, now devoid of life.
In response to Malgrith's disappearance, another creature, one that had been unmoving throughout all that transpired and stood over a softly glowing purple orb in the centre of this fleshy room, spoke in a similar hoarse, gravelly voice.
"It shall be done! Father!"
--
In a distant corner of the world, in the country known as the United States of America, another pair of eyes shot open. These eyes gleamed with a razor-sharp focus, accompanied by their owner jerking up with a sudden start.
As Elijah took in his surroundings and recognised his old room, a place he had not set foot in for years, an overwhelming sense of happiness and elation washed over him.
"I'm back!" he exclaimed with growing excitement.
Filled with anticipation, Elijah made a beeline for the door, eager to reunite with his family, whom he had not seen in years. But as he reached for the doorknob, he was rudely awakened to the fact that he was in his birthday suit, and his humble snake lay bare, unencumbered by the need for clothing.
"Well, I suppose I should put some clothes on first," he mused with a wry grin.
With that, Elijah sidled over to another door, hoping to resolve his current predicament first.