"A Blood Contract Pact..." Tarkos voiced out.
"An ancient binding oath. Do that and you won't have to worry about stabbing you in the back."
Victor's Wind Blade hovered closer.
"How does it work?"
Tarkos nodded faintly. "I'll guide you. But once we form it... neither of us can break it without consequences. If I betray you — if I even think about harming you — the contract will tear my soul apart."
Victor frowned.
It sounded risky.
But at the sa ti, it sounded perfect.
He slowly pulled the Wind Blade back half an inch but kept it ready.
"Teach ."
Under Tarkos's instruction, Victor knelt on one knee beside him.
Using his free hand, Victor etched a small ancient symbol into the dirt between them — a crude circular seal with three slashes down the center and a crescent around it.
Tarkos who was still bleeding from both hands, pressed his forehead lightly to the ground beside the seal and spoke:
> "Two blades. One oath. Bound by life and death. Let the pact bear witness."
Victor repeated after him steadily despite the adrenaline racing through his veins.
A faint glow rose from the etched circle.
Then Tarkos said:
"Now, the terms."
Victor leaned forward.
"I, Fang Chen, swear the following: Tarkos shall aid in destroying the Jade Serpent Sect.
He shall not harm , betray , or act against my interests in any form."
He paused briefly.
"And if he does... his soul will suffer collapse."
The contract circle throbbed.
Victor turned to Tarkos. "Your turn."
The assassin proceeded to recite the terms of agreent.
Victor then pulled out a knife and made a shallow cut across his palm.
Blood welled up.
He extended it over the circle.
Tarkos struggled to lift his pinned hand slightly and let his blood drip as well.
The mont the two blood droplets t—
WHOOMM!!
A rush of spiritual energy exploded upward.
The circle turned blood-red and hovered briefly before sinking into their bodies.
A system notification popped up before Victor:
> [ Blood Contract Pact Ford Successfully! ]
Victor felt a strange tingle settle deep into his chest.
Tarkos winced.
Then laughed weakly.
"Well, kid. Congratulations. You now own ."
Victor slowly stood and with a flick of his wrist—
He dismissed the Wind Blade.
The blade pinning Tarkos's right arm dissolved into mist.
Victor stepped forward and yanked his sword free from Tarkos's left arm.
The assassin groaned but didn't lash out.
He simply collapsed fully onto the ground, exhausted and wounded.
Victor wiped his blade clean with a rag and tucked it back into his belt.
"Don't make regret this," he said coldly.
Tarkos chuckled weakly again.
"I think you'll find ... very motivated."
Victor walked a few steps away and inhaled deeply.
His body ached everywhere from the battle, but sohow...
...he had turned a deadly enemy into a potential ally.
Was it foolish?
Maybe.
But at this point, fighting alone against entire sects wasn't an option anymore.
Sotis, you had to play dirty.
Behind him, Tarkos forced himself upright with blood dripping steadily from his hands.
He watched Victor silently...
For the first ti in years...
Tarkos felt a flicker of sothing unfamiliar.
Not loyalty.
Not gratitude.
Sothing closer to respect.
Victor wiped the back of his hand across his bleeding mouth, panting from the brutal battle.
Tarkos was half-kneeling nearby, battered and bloodied. Both of them looked like they had been run over by a stampede.
Victor grimaced at the deep gash along his ribs.
He inhaled and gathered his qi slightly into his throat before spitting into his palm.
The saliva had a faint glowing luster.
Without hesitation, Victor rubbed his palm across his bleeding wounds.
The torn flesh, deep bruises, and split skin healed almost instantly, knitting together with a faint warm glow.
Tarkos who was still nursing his injured arm, blinked in open disbelief.
His mouth twitched.
"You…" Tarkos rasped. "What did you just do?"
Victor stood upright while flexing his newly healed muscles. He rolled his shoulders casually like it was no big deal.
"Spit healing," Victor said nonchalantly.
Tarkos looked at him like he had grown a second head.
Victor shrugged.
"My body's got... restorative properties. For now, saliva's the only way I can use it."
He moved over to Tarkos without waiting for permission.
Tarkos instinctively tensed, but he didn't resist.
Victor spat again into his palm, rubbed it over Tarkos's mangled right hand, then over his left arm where deep gashes from their earlier struggle were still oozing blood.
The mont his spit touched Tarkos's skin—
The wounds closed up.
Fast.
Almost unnaturally fast.
The bleeding stopped, and torn muscles visibly knitted back together in seconds.
Tarkos stared in awe at his own nding flesh.
"This is…" he muttered with a low tone. "This is why they want you so badly."
Victor just wiped his hands on his pants and grunted.
"Yeah. I figured."
Tarkos flexed his once-shattered hand, still in disbelief at how there wasn't even a scar left behind.
Maybe following this brat wouldn't be such a waste after all.
In fact—
This kid was more valuable than an entire sect's treasury.
For the first ti, genuine curiosity sparked behind Tarkos's usually cold, dead eyes.
'Maybe this blood contract won't be so bad... he might be beneficial to ...'
Tarkos fell in line behind Victor without complaint as they began the journey back toward Bluefla City.
---
~ Real World — Later That Night ~
Victor's eyes fluttered open under the blanket.
The VR helt on his head clicked softly as it powered down.
He sat up slowly while stretching out his back with a satisfying series of pops.
The clock on the wall read 7:03 PM.
Outside the window, the academy grounds were bathed in the soft twilight glow of evening.
Victor turned to find Danny slumped sideways in one of the chairs, lightly snoring with a bag of unopened chips clutched in one hand.
Kairo's bed was still empty.
Victor chuckled quietly.
'Dude must've been here waiting for and knocked out.'
Victor nudged Danny's foot with his own.
"Yo. Wake up, man."
Danny startled awake while blinking blearily.
"You alive?" he mumbled.
"Unfortunately," Victor replied with a mock sigh.
Danny yawned, then groaned as he stretched.
"Let's go grab dinner. I'm starving."
"Sa," Victor responded.
---
They walked side by side across the wide paved paths, passing under glowing mana lamps.
Everywhere, students wandered, laughing, chatting, or rushing toward one cafeteria hub or another.
Victor and Danny took a slower pace, moving past one of the academy's many beautiful garden spaces—
—where, to their amusent, they spotted multiple couples engaged in so heavy face-sucking.
Victor snorted.
Danny gagged dramatically.
"Bruh. Public indecency!"
Victor laughed. "They're making the most out of the apocalypse vibes."
Danny shook his head in mock disgust. "If I had a girlfriend, I'd at least wait until the trees weren't watching."
Victor just chuckled, but his laughter faded when Danny gave him a sidelong glance.
"Speaking of..." Danny said slyly. "What's up between you and Amara?"
Victor stiffened.
"...Nothing," he said a little too quickly.
Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Dude. I ain't blind. Sothing's weird."
Victor sighed heavily.
"She kissed ," he finally admitted.
Danny's jaw dropped.
"WHEN?!"
"Two weeks ago. Before we got shipped here."
Danny stopped dead in the middle of the path while flailing his arms dramatically.
"Two freaking weeks ago and you didn't tell us?! Broooo!"
Victor scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I didn't know what to make of it. She said she has a boyfriend and shouldn't have done that... figured it was just... confusion."
Danny slapped his own forehead.
"You're such a dumbass, Vic."
Victor snorted. "Thanks, always good to have friends like you to boost my self-esteem."
"No, listen!" Danny jabbed a finger at him. "Girls don't just kiss dudes they don't like. She likes you, man. And lem tell you, Derek? Bro, he ain't it. He's just the typical bad boys young girls like until they realise they don't want a bad boy."
Victor shrugged.
"I don't know if it's a good idea."
Danny threw his arms up.
"Strike while the iron is hot, dummy!"
Victor laughed despite himself.
"You know, for soone who says mostly bullshit... you're kinda a genius sotis."
Danny puffed out his chest proudly.
"Damn straight."
They resud walking toward FeedHub-11 as the stars started to twinkle high above the academy's dod sky.
However, Victor's mind was elsewhere.
---
(( Later that Night ))
Back in his room, Victor lay sprawled across his bed.
The moonlight spilled faintly through the window blinds.
Kairo hadn't returned yet—probably training or doing whatever brooding loners did at night.
Victor stared at the ceiling with his arms folded behind his head.
"Amara..."
The kiss replayed itself in his mind, as vivid as if it had just happened.
The softness of her lips. The slight tremble in her hands.
He hadn't thought about it much at the ti—
—because the pressure of the academy, the trials, Ascendant Realms and surviving had consud all his attention.
But now...
Now he had ti to think.
Did he still have a chance?
Would it be selfish to even try?
Victor closed his eyes.
He needed to rest. He hadn't slept in days.
He needed to recover properly before he started making mistakes with emotions.
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