A Contractual Obligation is always a risk.

They say never make a deal with the |_E-_R-_R-_O-_R-_|

Yet, what's to say any of those above have a better deal to offer?

What's to say that's there any other offer at all?

What then?

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{Within the the Grasslands...}

The world smelled of burnt soil.

The dark sky that hung overhead was lit up by a swirl of clashing colors, the green and red dancing around one another yet refusing to fuse, perhaps fearing the other as a contaminant.

Yet, as the sound of turbulent winds and screeching flames roared on, the barely conscious body of a young boy lay still among the tall grass.

As chaos continued to descend upon the boy's surroundings, he barely kept awake, knowing that with the rapid loss of blood and his fatal injuries, "Falling asleep" would be his last.

BOOOOM!!

With barely any energy to move and no hope in sight, as loud sounds struck out around him, a chilling numbness spread throughout his entire frame as he struggled to even wiggle his fingers.

RUSTLE.

"Ugh, h-who's there?" Oz croaked out as even with the warfare noises ringing out, the sound of footsteps still caught his attention.

He moaned in pain as he craned his neck upwards, the sounds of cracks and pops sounding out at the back of his neck as he did so.

"Ugh" stifled grunts seethed through Oz's teeth as gazed towards the source of sound in front of him, as his eyes widened and began to tear up, "Wuh-why?"

There at the very edge of his feet, was a pitch-black figure crouched right in front of him, its plump belly drooping nearly to the floor and an unnaturally wide grin plastered across its face.

A sinister gleam was apparent in its golden eyes as it prowled forward on all floors, crawling towards Oz, its belly scraping against him as it chuckled out mischievously, "Hehehehe, I've been waiting for this awhile."

As tears started to drip out of Oz's baggy eyes, he shot a hateful at the entity atop of him as questions blared in his mind, 'Goddamn you! What do you even want!'

The entity was now face to face with him, their eyes locked on, and though the creature was breathing heavily, there was still no smell or even the feeling of a breath on him as he stared up into its beautifully... evil eyes.

Yet the creature opened its mouth once more, "I..." It lowered its hand, which warped into a tendril, slithering against Oz's discolored face, "Been waiting for this awhile, hehehe."

FWOOOOOOOSH!!

A bloom of red burst in the sky, and the surrounding grass smoldered as smoke began to cake the atmosphere, fogging up Oz's lungs as he coughed and struggled even more to breathe.

Alas, the figure atop him would not allow him to even budge, instead, it seemed to be taking pleasure in his struggle.

Though the creature was the shape and size of the pervert, it wore no clothes, as its entirety was composed of its own black, yet, nonetheless, a bulge began to surface from underneath its belly, nearing dangerously close to Oz's face as it only continued smiling down on him.

"Hehehe," it continued whispering out that horrid laugh as the ground shook more violently and the sound of explosions became so loud Oz could barely hear himself think.

"Goddamn you!" the boy shouted, "It's either gonna be the fire that kills me or you!!"

Oz strained his body, pushing himself past 200% as he forced his chest up and, with his uninjured arm, struck the creature across the face.

slap.

Such a powerless swing wasn't even heard as the chaos among them ensued, but he wasn't done yet, "I don't care what the fuk you are!! I ain't dying without a fight!"

He continued swinging his uninjured arm, bashing the creature across the face and meshing the pervert's morphed face to look like a crushed stack of bread, yet it continued swirling within itself, alive.

Oz knew it wouldn't be enough, though.

This was an entity capable of destroying entities like a family of thunderous gazelles and even that lanky man nearly instantly, so with the very last of his strength, he pushed himself up, "AAAAAAAGH!!"

With that, the creature, who was strangely light, almost as if it were a cloud, toppled off of him.

Now the tables were turned, with blood continuing to spout out of his shoulder and his vision steadily getting blurrier, Oz attacked with everything he had left, "Yah yah yah yah!"

The creature's face felt like a foam ball, one that you'd squeeze to relieve stress, and now Oz was unleashing all of his on this entity's mushy body.

Those golden eyes in its head continued to stare at Oz, each punch morphing its face from the pervert, to the lanky man, to his comrade that Oz killed, to even the face of Weedcur.

More and more, yet its eyes continued to stay locked on.

Oz's body shook.

Whether that be from the stress, the rapid blood loss, the swiftly approaching flames, or coming to terms with... "I'm gonna die."

The boy stared up into the sky.

The colors continued to clash in the air, sending strands of grass blowing past Oz, some enflamed pieces even searing his skin, yet it didn't matter.

None of it did.

He closed his eyes, the strong smell of cinnamon and peppermint with each aroma battling to overtake who could nauseate his senses most.

The numb icy showl that plagued his entire body encroached on him, sending a bitter shiver throughout his entire body.

The taste of iron, soot, piss, and... shit stained on his tongue was a reminder of the things he put himself through, all just to end up here.

The shrieking winds and roaring flames continued their epic battle, a minor character like Oz on the sidelines as just another casualty.

Finally, he opened his eyes, longingly gazing at the two battling in the sky, 'To be that strong...', yet he then recalled when it tried to take his life, 'Heh, beautiful on the outside yet truly wicked underneath. I knew God was beautiful, but to be so selfish.'

As those thoughts rolled around in his mind, an action awoke him from his stupor.

KCHUNK!

Oz's eyes widened in shock.

He slowly craned his head down to see that same smiling face, yet now its torso had morphed into a spear that had pierced all the way through his chest, impaling his heart.

"Uhhh.... uhhhhh..."

Pained gasps leaked out the boy's mouth as blood leaked through his mouth.

Now he knew for sure.

He was dying.

"Hehehe."

Even now, on the verge of death, this abhorrent creature continued to mock him.

Oz's veins pulsed in rage as this bastard of a beast in front of him lay there laughing.

"Fuuhh-- kkkk... y--" Blood continued to gush from his chest as he felt his body start to give on him.

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FWOOOOOSH!!

His pale eyes began to dilate as a sea of flames far larger than before crashed towards him, a mere meters away, seconds before the bleeding boy would be completely incinerated.

He scoffed as a sarcastic smile arose from his dripping lips, 'Heh, guess I'll bleed and burn, call that a bbq.'

HUEOOOOOOK

After the playful words, a stream of blood erupted from his mouth, 'But I ain't dying alone, you bastard.'

The creature underneath, whose eyes were playful this whole time finally changed from its calm demeanor.

Now a look of shock was visible in its eyes as Oz fully grasped it by the throat with both hands, 'Heh, if I'm burning, you are too... bitch.'

He wrapped his arms around the creature, screaming to the little black box in his mind, 'I found my bloodline!'

The creature beneath him struggled, trying to move away from Oz's grasp, yet the boy held firm, a mischievous smile across his face now as he leaned over into the creature's ear, "He...he...he..."

The two then stared into each other's eyes, the gleaming pair, the furious golden eyes, and the weary onyx lenses.

'See you..." Oz's reserves had finally run dry, and the long awaiting reaper had come to fetch the lad 'in hell.'

He wished to the creature as he faded off, yet as he did so, he noticed the creature morphing into a ball of black, swallowing him whole.

"Heh. Bitch."

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{Meanwhile in a Village near a stone castle...}

Under the dreary night sky and within the towering stone walls, a village was bustling with activity.

Men walking home from work, children playing on the streets, and yelled at by their mothers to return.

The simple life of the village, yet tucked a bit away, still within the safety of the walls, was a modest wooden house.

Surrounding the house was a lush field of grass that stretched on for miles.

Within this house was a long dinner table with the clanking of silverware against plates and bowls.

At the head of the table sat a brawny-looking woman with a bonnet messily tied around her wild red hair.

All around her, youths of all ages were digging into the food like they hadn't eaten in ages.

"Ayy, whatere' ye doin?" The woman scolded a child a few seats down from her, "I told ye, use yer' manners!"

The child looked up from his bowl of food, sauce dripping from his filled cheeks and bits of food hanging from his face, "Shwary nana," he responded with a full mouth.

Nana, in response, rubbed her face and chuckled to herself, "Ayy... what to do with ye kids..."

The smile left her face, and a serious atmosphere filled the room as the clacking of eating became quieter, "Anyways, have ye decided Zee?"

Across from her, sitting at the opposite ends of the wooden table, sat a boy with tranquil black eyes and a calming air to him, yet an unsure look was on his face.

"I... I dunno Nana," his head drooped, eyeing the bowl of mouthwatering food in front of him, yet he had no appetite.

"After... what happened to him."

"Ay!" Nana slammed the table open-handedly as she stood, "he woulda wanted ya too!"

Her eyes began to water, and her voice croaked as she continued, "This is your future, Zee. Me and the kiddies here, we all want ye to."

Zee looked around at the youth around him, their large puppy eyes watering up as they all enthusiastically shook their heads.

"We love you, Zee!"

"You got this, bro!"

"We know you can do it!"

The table of children all sang encouraging praises as he looked around with teary eyes, "Everyone..."

Nana spoke once more, "And I know..."

Her voice became shaky once more, so she calmed herself, slowly breathing out, "and I know that he's probably up there... in Yala's Domain," quiet tears streaked down her cheeks as she smiles at him, "watching over us all."

The whole table erupted into tears, the young children bawling their eyes out as Nana stood there, gazing at Zee across the table.

Tears silently fell down his face as he looked down.

BAM

He stood up quickly, open-handedly pushing up against the table and rubbing his eyes with his sleeves, quieting down the commotion around him "You're right!"

He looked around at all the children at the dining table, "Thank you, everyone."

He then gazed directly into Nana's eyes, a confident smirk spread across his face, "I'll enter the academy!"

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