I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 467: Contracts

Chaos," Tharaxis replied. "His empire collapsed, releasing millions of creatures he’d bound back to their natural states. His allies scattered. His enemies celebrated. And the Council reformed specifically to ensure no one would ever accumulate that much power again."

Lightning struck nearby, close enough that Jack felt the discharge make his hair stand on end. Tharaxis didn’t seem to notice, his attention fixed entirely on the young Soul Warden before him.

"The red-haired woman tried to follow Malakai’s path," the dragon continued. "Built alliances. Made strategic bindings. Cleared floors with calculated precision. For eleven months, she succeeded where dozens before her had failed." The lightning from his eyes dimmed.

"Then the Council sent their assassin, and she died in her sleep."

Jack’s expression remained neutral, but internally, his mind was working through the implications. The Council wouldn’t wait for him to become a threat.

They’d act the moment they learned he existed. Which meant he needed to grow stronger faster than they could mobilize against him.

"You keep saying ’they,’" Jack observed. "But you’re a Demi-God on Floor Fifty-Two of this tower. Why haven’t they eliminated you?"

Tharaxis’s laugh was genuine amusement. "Because I don’t threaten their order. I exist here, in my domain, occasionally killing creatures stupid enough to challenge me. I don’t build empires or raise armies."

"The Council tolerates me because I’m a known threat that doesn’t expand."

"But you could," Jack said. "If you wanted to leave this floor, they couldn’t stop you."

"True," Tharaxis agreed. "But why would I? This floor provides everything I need. Constant storms to feed my power. Isolation from annoyances. Occasional entertainment when someone interesting arrives."

Lightning pulsed from his golden eyes as they fixed on Jack. "Like you."

Jack processed this, his mind already forming questions about the Council’s leader, about Erebus’s involvement, about how to avoid the red-haired woman’s fate. But before he could speak, Tharaxis continued.

"The Council’s leader is called the Chosen of Erebus," the dragon said, as if reading Jack’s thoughts. "He’s held that position for years. Every decade, someone challenges him for leadership. Every decade, that challenger dies. He’s survived assassination attempts from gods, battled Demon Lords to a standstill, and once killed an entire army of ten thousand soldiers without taking a single wound."

The dragon’s voice carried absolute certainty. "If you claim the Soul Warden throne, if you grow strong enough to be noticed, he will come for you. And when he does, you will need more than bound creatures and lightning magic to survive."

Jack’s jaw tightened. "Then I’ll need to be stronger than him."

"Ambitious," Tharaxis rumbled, his tone carrying approval. "Malakai said the same thing when I warned him about the threats he’d face. He meant it too. Spent years becoming powerful enough that even the Chosen hesitated to act against him directly."

The dragon’s massive head tilted, studying Jack with renewed interest. "You remind me of him. Same refusal to accept limitations. Willingness to gamble everything on becoming strong enough to challenge the unchallengeable."

Lightning crackled along Tharaxis’s body. "Which brings us to the interesting question, little Soul Warden. You came here chasing my child. You now know that binding Stormfang will attract the Council’s attention faster than almost any other action you could take. A blessed creature, a lightning-wielding wyvern, bound to someone already marked by Soul Magic."

The lightning from his eyes brightened. "So tell me. Knowing what you know now, knowing that the Council will hunt you, knowing that their leader is the chosen champion of a Primordial God who already tried to kill you once... do you still want to bind my child?"

Jack met those burning eyes without hesitation. "Yes."

Tharaxis’s laugh boomed across the plateau, loud enough that rock formations cracked from the sound pressure. "Good answer. The correct answer." The dragon’s countless arms shifted, creating a sound like distant rainfall.

"Malakai gave the same response when I asked him a similar question. Told me that hiding from power because it attracted danger was the fastest way to die weak and forgotten."

The dragon’s voice took on a thoughtful tone again. "He was right, of course. Every Soul Warden who tried to stay hidden, who refused to claim powerful creatures because it might draw attention, died quickly and meaninglessly. The ones who embraced risk, who accumulated power despite the danger..." Tharaxis paused. "They at least died as legends."

"I don’t plan on dying," Jack said flatly.

"Neither did they," Tharaxis replied. "But planning and execution are different things. The red-haired woman had plans, too. Strategies that should have kept her alive for years. Then an assassin’s blade found her throat in the dark, and all those plans became irrelevant."

The dragon coiled through the air, bringing his head level with Jack once more. "But I think you might be different. You have something the others lacked. Something that reminds me of Malakai."

"What’s that?" Jack asked.

"You’re willing to pay any price," Tharaxis replied. "The others wanted power, but they wanted it safely. Wanted to accumulate strength without sacrificing too much. You..." Lightning crackled from his eyes as he studied Jack.

"You’d burn yourself to ashes if it meant achieving your goals. That kind of determination is rare."

Jack didn’t respond, but he didn’t deny it either.

Tharaxis’s massive form shifted. "I’m going to make you an offer, little Soul Warden. Something I haven’t offered since Malakai stood where you’re standing now."

The dragon’s voice carried weight that made the air itself feel heavier. "But before I do, you need to understand what you’d be accepting. What price you’d pay. What enemies you’d make beyond the Council and the Chosen of Erebus?"

Lightning struck continuously around them now, bolts hammering the plateau in rhythm with Tharaxis’s words.

"So let me tell you about contracts," the dragon rumbled. "And what it means when a Demi-God offers one to a mortal."

"Contracts are partnerships," Tharaxis began, his voice resonating through both air and Jack’s skull. "The contractee shares power with the contractor. Abilities. Affinities. Sometimes, even lifespan. The bond creates something greater than either party alone."

Jack listened, his red eyes tracking Tharaxis’s movements without wavering.

"Most contracts are straightforward," Tharaxis continued. "A mage binds with a fire elemental. Gains flame manipulation. The elemental gains access to the physical world through the mage’s anchor. Both benefit equally."

Lightning arced between the dragon’s countless hands. "But when the power differential becomes extreme, when a Demi-God offers a contract to a mortal, the exchange becomes... complicated."

"How complicated?" Jack asked.

"Lifespan," Tharaxis stated flatly. "Strong contracts shorten the contractor’s life. The beast shares power, yes. But that power has to come from somewhere. The contractor’s vitality feeds the exchange. Years traded for strength."

The dragon’s head lowered, bringing those massive golden eyes level with Jack. "The red-haired woman understood this. She had contracts with three powerful creatures. Each one cost her a decade of natural life. She would have died at forty instead of seventy, assuming nothing killed her first."

Jack’s expression didn’t change. "How much would contracting with you cost?"

"Decades," Tharaxis replied. "A Demi-God’s power doesn’t flow freely. You’d gain access to lightning on a scale that would make your current abilities look like parlor tricks. Command over storms. Electrical manipulation beyond what any mortal mage could achieve."

The lightning from his eyes pulsed. "But you’d pay for every second of that power with your remaining years."

"How many years?" Jack pressed.