Here I am again in a car again, going to my destination. Hopeful of finding answers to my desires as I was promised by Salim that my chauffeurs grandfather would know them.

 

To be honest I could have played it better back there. I could have done many different things but I think subconsciously I had meant for that ending. Ever since I had made my double layer of Sphere and the Barrier for myself I had been wanting to test it out, to see the potential of it.

 

` And I must say I am satisfied. Thankfully the second Auril passive, energy transference worked perfectly. ` In theory I always knew it would but practical was the crutch of everything that worked or not. Every bullet that hit me did no damage and all its kinetic energy was transferred back into the ground with my directive. 

` No to mention it was cool receiving all that gunfire and not being injured at all. Either way, the second test worked too. ` The first time they shot at me, all I did was stand still and let them hit me but the second time they did I tweaked the barrier a bit. 

As Auril has almost perfect absorption and transference of energy it was easy to have that energy not be absorbed but deflected at the point of impact. Of course that was assuming the point of impact wasn't straight in the first place. 

` If it had been straight I would have no choice but to absorb the impact and deflect it inwards and into the ground. Either way, the conflict might have not been needed but it was a much appreciated testing ground. `

 

Back to my journey I focused back on the driver. “ Salim, tell me why were there no supernatural … things involved back there? I am really curious. ”

 

He looked into the rear view mirror and shook his head. “ I am not sure Mr.Stephen. There could be many reasons but I suspect it had to do with my report on the Artifact of Maat not working. You see, while we may be involved in the supernatural our main job is to cover their tracks and usually guns are enough for those jobs. In the offshoot where they did not work we just had to use bigger stuff and afterwards blame it all on terrorists. ”

 

“ Hahah, true they are a very good scapegoat. Sigh, ok I will wait for answers once we are in front of your grandfather. ” Like that took my gaze back to the passing streets and the people.

 

About half an hour later we came to a big housing complex. Nothing grand, but it was big. Once there  I said nothing again and let Salim lead me to the living room. From the outside, the house had an old style feel but inside it was all modern with sleek designs  combined with ancient Egyptian style. ` It looks quite good if I am honest. Must be because I have never been to these kinds of houses before, minus the hotels I had been to. `

 

Once inside I sat on the couch. Immediately Salim spoke. “ Mr.Stephen do you want something to drink? ” Shaking my head in denial, he continued. “ Very well. I will go and inform grandfather of your presence. ”

 

Nodding to him he was gone. ` Too bad, I can already perceive him and he looks like an old man close to his deathbed. Well, from his general image I am getting he probably has a few more years. ` In my Sphere I observed them speak. 

 

It took some time for Salim to come back. “ I have spoken with grandfather and he welcomes you. Come. ” That said a minute later we were there. Once inside I saw the old man on his bed. He looked quite sickly but that was only his body, his mind was a different case. When I looked at him I could observe intelligent eyes behind the tired face. ` Indeed, those who reached power must have a sharp mind. `

 

Inside I observed him and he observed me. We stared at each other for a bit but it was me who started our conversation. “ Hello, ah ” Ah, I totally forgot to ask for a name. Immediately I looked at Salim and he understood what I wanted to know. 

 

“ Right, sorry due to the action I forgot to say it. Mr.Stephen this is my grandfather Moustafa. Grandfather this is well, he calls himself Stephen. ” Taking my eyes from him I greeted the old man.

 

“ Hello. As I will not be disclosing my real name, you can refer to me however you like but Stephen is fine too but before we get to knowing each other, there is one thing I have to know. Salim has told me you might have what I need, has he explained it? ” The old man said nothing and only nodded. 

 

“ Good. ” Immediately I went to him. “ Don't move. Let me see your body as I need you of clear mind and healthy body for now.  ” Placing my hand on his chest I used my Auril and examined it, but as I did I turned my attention to Salim for a bit. “ You know Salim, it was pretty bold of you to bring me here and not say your old man is on his sickbed. ” 

 

Immediately he froze. “ It's okay. I don't mind it, but next time you might want to ask first if I had any healing powers or not. Otherwise this could have turned out to be a waste of both our time. ” Hearing me he could only nod and I said no more. 

 

Focusing on the patient I saw no major problems aside from those that come with age. My medical knowledge was not high or anything but with Auril as the interpreter it was easy to examine a biological body. “ Well, old man I have good and bad ones. ” I noticed his intrigue as I said that. “ First the bad news. There is nothing major wrong with your body and tons of minor stuff that comes with age. I can fix the minor stuff easy but all that would give you is a few more years and less pain. ” 

 

Immediately he noticed what I was getting at. “ Yes, old man. The good news is I can give you more than that though so here is the deal. You tell me everything you know and I will give you more than a few years. ” No old man can resist a deal like this.

 

Hearing it he finally spoke. “ How will you extend my life? ” Unlike his grandsons his accent was heavy when he spoke English but it still brought forth his concern about the method. Immediately a smirk appeared on my face and asked him. “ Oh, I see where this is going but do indulge me and tell me what you thought of. ” 

“ Salim spoke of you acquiring power not long ago. Does it have anything to do with Demons? ” I knew it, he probably thought I would be taking his Soul or something like that. 

“ Old man, I can't tell you that as I have no idea how the Demons operate. In fact I have no idea how anything in the supernatural world functions. As I only have speculations, It is the reason why I am walking the World. ” Stating my problem first I eased his consciousness. “ But, if I consider how the general story goes about Demons then you probably thought along the line of me taking your Soul or something. Am I Right? No wait, you don't have to reply. I know it is like that. ” 

 

Hmm, how do I do this without sounding suspicious. “ Listen, old man. I might not know the general way they do stuff but I do know the reason they want somebody's Soul and it's the same reason as to why I will be able to prolong your life in this World. Soo, how do we do this? I can do it forcefully of course but I am a gentleman and will let you decide. ” 

 

` Choosing between mortality and uncertainty of his Soul. Now what will he choose? `

 

As he was thinking about it I fixed some problems in his body. It was like giving the body a much needed pipe cleaning so everything flowed better, but without a huge amount of Life Essence used over a longer time period that was all I could do when it came to problems brought forth by age. As I did that I heard Salim call for me. 

 

“ Mr. Stephen, can I ask you something? ” I turned to him. “ Sure, what do you have on your mind? I can see your concern for your grandfather so no need to hold back. ”

 

“ I have heard that there is a way to enforce deals. Can you make a Contract that will ease the mind of my grandfather? ”  Salim proposed.

 

“ Contract? A way to enforce parties to follow a guideline. That's … a good idea under normal circumstances but these ain't normal ones. Tell me both of you, how much do you know about Contracts? “ As I asked I looked at both of them but it was the old man that looked at Salim to explain it.

“ Umm, not much but if I take into account what a Contract represents it should be about who is able to enforce the terms of it. Is that not so? ” 

“ Basically yes. ” I confirmed it for him. “ Due to my Power and how it functions I have thought about it, so listen closely. No matter the type of power used, or the type of Contract used there are only two ways in which one is able to ensure that the terms of a Contract or something similar are followed. The first is to use outside force and the second one to use inner force.” 

Noticing a reaction from Salim and nothing from the old man I didn't wait for him to ask about and looked at him. “ Let's start with the outside force as that one is easy to explain. Salim which one do you think it is? Let me give you a tip. The stronger it is the better it is. ”

 

Again the old man said nothing but Salim answered fast. “ Umm, If it's better for it to be stronger then, are you thinking about the Gods? ”

“ Gods? ” Hearing his answer I denied it. “ Well, it's not a totally wrong assumption as they are strong but they are not the top of the food chain. It is Reality. ” Immediately a confused face appeared on him.

 

“ There is no need to think hard about it. Reality or as some call it The Universe is alive and conscious. It's different kind of alive compared to us but its consciousness encompasses the very fabric of everything and holds everything together. That is why one makes a Contract with Reality as the enforcer. That way the terms of the Contract will be definitive unless of course you are ready to face the consequences and even if you are there is no escaping it. ” Indeed, one does not mess with Reality.

 

Again I looked at the old man as I spoke but the only thing he did was look at me with intelligence in his eyes and we started at each other until Salim processed what I had said. When Salim did I broke our eye contact and turned to him.

“ Okay I understand the outside force but what about the inner one. How does that work? ” Asked Salim. “ The inner one is far more interesting in its procedure but there is one minimal requirement for it to work and that is Power. ” 

 

“ Power? ” I nodded. “ Yes, Power of any type. It works by using one's own Power and placing a restriction upon oneself. Think of it like this. If I used my own Power and made a vow to … let's say never have sex till my death, then every time I tried to do it, my own Power would attack me from the inside and stop me. And if I used additional Power to suppress it, ignored it and went on then that restriction would only suck more Power from me and get stronger and stronger until I either give up or die from it. ” 

 

“ Wait, you telling me that those that do not have any power can break their own vows any time they want but those with Powers are restricted? ” Nodding to that, I explained. “ Yes, but it's not as bad as it sounds. No matter the type of people, everybody is careful when they make promises. It's only those with Power are more careful about deals, promises and vows. ”

 

Salim looked at me as I explained with certain intent but I knew what it was. He wanted me to make a promise or vow to ensure his grandfather but I would not give it. Seeing me staring back and smirking at him he probably realized he can't force me to make one either. “ So you have Power to save my grandfather and it should be easy to do it, and it should be easy to make a simple promise like that to ensure he feels safe but you won't do it? ” 

 

Smirking I shook my head. Deep down I knew emotions swirled around and it showed in his voice this time. “ Why? Why wont you do it? ”

“ Haha, it's simple. I simply don't want to restrict myself even if it's only for a tiny bit of Time. It's simply not worth it. ” Again I denied his wants. ` Ah now his face is twitching here and there. If he could he'd probably jump at me this very second and beat me up. Too bad he can't do anything. ` 

“ What do you want in return for your help? ” Oh, still not exploding. Looks like he's the type that buries everything. Lets see how much he can take. 

“ From you nothing. You have nothing that will be enough to compensate me for that … inconvenience I will encounter for that bit of Time. ” 

“ Inconvenience!! ” Still not there. 

 

“ Indeed, you have nothing that is worth that Time for me. On the other hand your grandfather does but he doesn't trust me as I fiddle with his Soul. ” With that Salim imploded instead of exploding and turned to his grandfather and went to him. Picking up his hand he begged but the old man just shocked his head.

 

` Damn, ok this can't go on. The moment I am done with them I am getting myself a translator somehow. Hmm, I don't want to poke into people's heads that often so should I make a core with only language in mind? `

 

` Either way, it looks like the more the old man denies it the more Salim's expression goes down as if falling into depression. Maybe there is more to their relationship as I have not heard one mention of the parents. Sigh, an old man about to die knows his own worth more than a youngster in the spring of his life. Let's end this. ` With that I placed my hand on my mouth as if imitating a cough and made its sound equivalent.

Cough, Cough

 

Seeing their attention back on me I make my proposal. “ Look, I won't make a vow, but there is a way to ease the old man's mind. I simply explain to him how it works but. ” Stopping there for a second for theatrics. “ But I will only tell it to the old man and he will sign a contract for that knowledge. ”

 

Immediately Salim caught onto that possibility and hurriedly asked. “ What kind of Contract? ”

 

“ It's simple. ” I said. “ As that knowledge is not ready to face the World right now I will have him forced to keep that knowledge with himself till death or I say otherwise. ”

 

Seeing that hope they both argued for a bit but ultimately agreed. ` Looks like my first Contract is up for negotiation. ` Immediately I raised my hand and in it conjured/materialized a scroll. 

 

During my time here in Cairo I visited an antique shop and saw a parchment in it. At that moment I scanned it to the best of my possibilities and made a copy of it. With a few more touches here and there to make it fancy and elegant I had my contract form but just that would not work. 

The scroll opened for me and showed its form. “ The terms will be simple like I said. In exchange for my help in extending your life old man and the knowledge that comes with it you will sign this contract with your life on the line.  ” The moment I said it, lines started to appear and shape themselves into words. Once it was done I gave it to the old man. He looked at it but confusion appeared. He looked at me. “ How do I sign this? ” 

With a realization I could only say one thing. “ Oh. ” 

 

“ To be honest I totally forgot about that thing. Here let me help. ” That said I placed my hand on his head and infiltrated his Soul and he didn't feel a thing. Once there I took a bit of his stored Life Essence and focused it on his right index finger. “ Ok, place your right index finger on the singing part and use it as if it's your pen. ”

The moment he started his signature appeared as if ink was on his finger. Like that with a weak arm and not used to writing in that form it was done. Immediately after it was done it collapsed into a scroll again and flew to the old man's head. Once there it lost its form and once inside his head it enveloped his Soul. If he ever went back on his word it would react and separate the Soul from the body. Normally that would be a good thing if one considers what a Soul does to the body but. ` Whoever made the Soul placed a kill switch into the genetics of life that if it ever leaves, the body would just switch itself off. I may not like it but it's useful for me. ` 

 

Everything done I remove my hand from the old man's head and turn to Salim. “ Since the contract is signed there is no going back now. I will prolong your old man's life for as long as possible but since I can't do it all in one sitting, I will stay here for a bit and you should leave right now. ”

 

With a very confused expression at seeing it happen I kicked him out. Once he was out I found myself a chair and made one huge barrier around the room to stop any information from going out. It was similar to my Invisibility Cloak just much bigger.

 

Done with all that I addressed the old man. “ You know you could have said something when I tested your grandkid. I thought he would explode but he went the opposite way. ” Shaking my head at that. “ Either way, old man what do you want to know first. By the way I did some fixing on your body but those are minor things and the others will take Time to appear. ”

 

Moustafa the old man, considered it for a second but he asked the obvious, obviously. “ Tell me about the Soul. Why are the Gods and Demons after them? ”

“ Straight to the core it is then but do know I only know the basics of the relationship between the Soul and the Divinities of both sides. ” Taking a second to formulate it, I continue. “ First of all you should know that what they are after is not the Soul but after what is inside it, Life Essence. ”

 

With that our discussion started.