Hao Xuan took a deep breath and closed his eyes to complete the first step of the plan. His consciousness entered the token and appeared in a new space.

When Hao Xuan opened his eyes again he was surrounded by darkness on all sides. He was standing on what looked like a black sea.

Even he didn't expect this to happen.

"Show yourself," he said softly. A faint ripple spread out with him as the center but there was no other change. He frowned at first but then saw something from the corner of his eye.

There were two golden eyes staring up at him from somewhere deep within the sea. His heart almost skipped a beat until he realized it was only his consciousness in here and not his actual body.

"Why are you hiding? Or rather, how did you even do...this?" he asked looking around. There was no light whatsoever in this space with only the black seawater under his feet.

"I am of the strongest tribe in existence. Do you think something like this is not possible for me?" a feminine voice asked curiously, almost mockingly.

Hao Xuan's eyes turned cold.

"Hmph, show me your true self!" he said loudly in an authoritative tone.

"...as you wish," the voice mumbled softly.

The sea churned, creating waves big enough that they could wash away entire planets. None of them came towards Hao Xuan but he could still see and feel them somehow. The water level kept rising higher and higher until he realized it wasn't water anymore. It was part of a shadow that had crawled out from the bottom of this seemingly endless sea, a shadow so massive that Hao Xuan couldn't even see all of it.

His expression turned ugly as he couldn't help but take a few steps back in fear.

A massive head with two golden suns for pupils peered down at him.

"Anything else?" the feminine voice came into his head once again, sounding a bit pleased with Hao Xuan's reaction.

Hao Xuan gulped, his throat feeling a bit dry. How that was even possible was unknown but here it was. He was about to speak up but noticed something. Their soul connection was telling them that the creature he was looking at wasn't the one he severed.

"This isn't your actual form, or....is it someone else entirely?" he asked weakly with squinted eyes.

The two suns shrunk as soon as the words left Hao Xuan's mouth. They stared at him soundlessly before the shadow started shrinking.

Bit by bit by bit the shadow shrunk until it was only about seven hundred meters in size. The shadows solidified and an actual scally body came into view. Sharp talons,

"This is....it..." he mumbled looking at the dragon in front of him now.

"What was that before?" he inquired.

The black dragon didn't seem like it wanted to answer but when she met Hao Xuan's gaze, she knew he would force her to answer if she didn't.

"My true form. That is what I was like at my prime. Back when I ruled over the abyss..." her tone was a mix of both hopelessness and fury.

"But Ra defeated you?"

"DEFEATED ME?!" she shouted out loud for the first time. Her voice turned deep and even her posture became aggressive. Until now she had only communication through spiritual sense, this was the first time she actually said anything.

"He could not defeat me in a million years! That filthy little creature! The best he can do is raise a few dead and order them to do his bidding, how would HE be able to defeat ME?!"

"Then how? Was it one of your other clansmen that helped him?" Hao Xuan quickly followed up with another query.

The dragon was about to answer but paused. She looked at Hao Xuan with her burning pupils and understood what he was trying to do. She quickly calmed down and regained her composure.

"Little thing, you are far too young to trick me. But, I will answer your question nonetheless."

"Ra is not capable of defeating me. It's a difference in our bloodlines. If not for that damned Orc, I would never have seen this day."

"Orc? Orion?!" Hao Xuan connected the dots. Orion was the only Orc he knew that was powerful enough to do something like this.

The dragon nodded, "Yes. That mongrel's abilities were too troublesome. If not for his assistance, Ra would have never been able to do anything," she explained a bit more.

Hao Xuan nodded in response. He could not help but be surprised. Was Orion really that powerful? Had his power reached such heights that going up against true dragons was nothing big for him?

"Between your form now and what you were like before, there is quite a distance. Am I right in assuming that you have lost the majority of your power then?"

"Yes," she replied without any hesitation whatsoever, startling Hao Xuan.

"But you can regain it?" he asked again.

"....maybe. If I have enough time and resources, perhaps I could."

"Good, that's all I needed to know," Hao Xuan clapped once. He looked at her right in the eyes, "Help me. Help me with whatever I need and I will help you in return."

The dragon scoffed, "And what if I don't? Will you not simply force me to do so anyway?"

Hao Xuan smiled, "I could, and for all logical reasons I should, but I won't. If you won't help me then this will be the end of our interaction, period. I will never, EVER ask you for anything and leave you alone. You can stay in this place and enjoy yourself as much as you want."

He didn't say anything after that, instead choosing to stand there in complete silence staring at her. She didn't shy away either and met his eyes, trying her best to read him as much as possible.

".....Why?"

"Why what?"

"....nothing. Alright, I will help you but not for free, I have a few conditions..."

Hao Xuan listened to everything she had to say. Some of the conditions were a bit much but he agreed anyway. Right now he needed her power a lot more than she needed him.

"I accept. I want to become a contractor. Form a life long contract with me and lend me your power according to the old rules."

The 'old rules' he was talking about were something that every contractor had to obey. No one knew who made them or how long ago, but they existed and were enforceable and binding.

The dragon shook her head, "No need. We have a deal, you can have all of my powers but beware, your body cannot handle them for any extended period of time. It's a vessel like any other and when you try to insert something too big, it will break. Be careful," she warned and reached out with her claw.

Hao Xuan stood in place and allowed the torrent of turbulent Qi to enter his body. A second after the claw touched his forehead he woke up in his room again with a burning sensation all over his body.

He checked the time. Less than a minute had passed since his consciousness first entered the token.. He looked down at his palm for the clay-like token but there was only a pile of dust falling through his fingers.

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