"Apparently, I wasn't the only idiot who made a deal with a goddess. The others? Dead serious. And not half as cool."
Abandoned Sky Temple, Hovering Above Tokyo Sector 12
By the time I stopped the bike, the sun was starting to rise—burning orange across the ruins of Sector 12. My black R6 hummed beneath me as I rode up a spiraling, floating staircase made of broken light and sky.
Yeah. You read that right.
A temple in the clouds, stitched together from leftover divine fragments, floating above reality like some glitch in a video game. Lysaria called it the "Sanctum of Binding." I called it a multi-story death trap made of white marble and poor architectural decisions.
She stood waiting for me at the top, arms folded, expression unreadable.
"You're late," she said.
"Fashionably," I replied. "Also, someone tried to shoot me."
She ignored the sarcasm. "This place will serve as your training ground... and meeting point."
"For what?"
"Others."
I blinked. "Others?"
That's when I heard them.
Footsteps. A sudden burst of wind. And then—
Three figures stepped out of the temple's shadowed gate.
1. Riko Kisaragi – Divine Slave of the Goddess of Storms
A tall girl in a black school uniform that looked half-destroyed by lightning. Short silver-blue hair, piercing electric eyes, and a taser baton strapped to each thigh. She sized me up immediately, unimpressed.
"You're the new guy?" she asked, voice sharp. "Thought you'd be taller."
"I thought you'd be nicer," I replied.
She smirked. "You're going to die fast."
Oh good. We're friends already.
2. Daisuke "Ox" Toramaru – Divine Slave of the Beast God
Huge. Like, refrigerator-with-muscles huge. Shirtless, with fur around his shoulders, tribal tattoos crawling across his back, and a giant axe slung over one shoulder. He looked like he bench-pressed demons for breakfast.
He grunted once. "You smell like engine oil and sarcasm."
"Yeah, that's me," I said. "Kaito. Resident slave and part-time chaos magnet."
He nodded. "I like chaos."
Finally. A man of culture.
3. Eve – Divine Slave of the Goddess of the Abyss
Pale, quiet, elegant. Long raven-black hair, eyes that shimmered like black pearls. She wore a flowing dress that looked stitched from shadows. Didn't speak. Just stared.
Unnerving.
Yep. She's the creepy strong type.
Lysaria stepped between us.
"You four are bound by separate deities. Different pacts. But your roles are the same—agents of divine will."
I crossed my arms. "So... are we coworkers?"
Riko scoffed. "We're competitors. The gods rank us based on our kills, our power output, and how well we obey."
"And what happens if we don't?"
Ox grinned. "You get erased."
Nice.
Lysaria raised her hand. A divine glyph appeared in the air—an interface, showing names and stats like an ethereal leaderboard.
My name was at the bottom.
[SLAVE RANK: F][KAITO REN – Pact Level: 0 – Aura Instability: High]
I blinked. "Rude."
"You haven't leveled yet," Lysaria said. "To do so, you'll need to unlock your Pact Core."
"How?"
She pointed to the circular arena behind her. Stone steps. Blood-stains. A collapsed pillar still smoking.
Ah. Violence. Of course.
Riko stepped forward, cracking her neck.
"I'll do it. Let's see if the new guy's worth keeping alive."
"I wasn't scared of gods. I was scared of getting outclassed by a lightning girl in a school uniform."
Sanctum of Binding – Floating Arena, Tokyo Skyline
"Let me get this straight," I said, hands in my hoodie pocket, "I nearly got turned into minced meat last night, and now I have to spar a thunder-charged schoolgirl in order to… 'unlock my potential?'"
"Sounds about right," Riko said flatly, spinning one of her stun batons. "Don't worry, I won't leave too many bruises."
"She says that," Ox muttered from the edge of the stone arena, "but the last guy she 'sparred' needed a neck brace."
"She flirted with him first," Eve added without emotion.
"I didn't!" Riko snapped.
I held up a hand. "Let the record show: I'm not flirting."
"Yet," I added under my breath.
Riko rolled her eyes and cracked her knuckles, lightning dancing over her skin like electric tattoos.
"Alright, Kaito. Let's see what your goddess gave you besides a cool bike and a death wish."
Lysaria raised her hand. "Begin."
Riko moved like a bullet.
A thunderclap cracked through the air as she rushed me, baton outstretched.
I barely dodged, her electric weapon grazing my cheek. The shock burned—but it only made me grin wider.
"Damn. You always this aggressive with strangers?"
"You're not special," she growled, launching into a spin kick that I ducked under.
I slashed upward with my sword—she blocked it with her other baton, sparks clashing with steel.
We broke apart, pacing in a circle.
"You're holding back," she said.
I twirled my blade. "And you're not even aiming for vital organs. This a warm-up or foreplay?"
She vanished.
No—moved too fast to track.
She reappeared behind me with a low sweep. My legs nearly gave out, but I recovered with a side roll, flipping back onto my feet.
She grinned. "Come on, Pretty boy. Show me what your pact can do."
I exhaled and focused. The sigil on my chest pulsed—white light spread down my arms, tracing into the blade.
Time to stop playing.
Round Two — Aura Surge
I charged this time—low stance, blade humming with divine aura.
She blocked the first strike. Parried the second.
Then I ducked under her baton and slammed my shoulder into her gut, knocking her back.
She flipped midair and landed on the wall—sideways. What the hell?
Her boots sparked. She kicked off the wall like lightning from a bow, slamming into me mid-spin.
I flew backward, tumbled—barely caught myself.
"Getting tired?" she teased, panting but smiling.
"I'm just pissed," I said, wiping blood from my lip. "That bike's waiting for me and here I am getting roasted like a marshmallow."
"Oh, I'll roast you properly."
She raised both batons. Thunder surged through the arena. Rain began to fall.
Storm Mode.
Eve, watching from the shadows, muttered: "He's going to die."
Ox grinned. "Nope. He's getting serious."
I felt it too.
The rage. The pulse.
The Pact responding.
My aura erupted—white and red, fire and storm.
Lysaria's voice echoed in my skull.
"Push past the threshold. Break your mortal shell."
I stabbed my blade into the ground. Light exploded upward. My hoodie burned away at the shoulders, revealing glowing sigil lines now carved into my arms.
I looked up at Riko.
And smiled.
"Your lightning's cute. Wanna see mine?"
Final Clash
She came at me like a storm.
I met her midair.
My blade clashed with her batons—lightning and divine fire twisting together. Every hit now rang like a bell from heaven.
She gritted her teeth. "Not bad—"
I twisted, slipped under her swing, and slammed the flat of my blade against her back, launching her into the arena wall.
BOOM.
Dust exploded.
Riko slid down the rubble, chest heaving. Her batons cracked and flickering.
I lowered my sword. "Match point?"
Silence.
Then she coughed… and laughed.
"Okay… you're not just a sarcastic idiot."
"I have layers," I said, offering a hand.
She took it.
[Pact Level 1 Achieved][Divine Skill Unlocked: Aura Pulse]— A burst of raw energy that pushes back all lower-tier enemies.
My body surged with new strength. Like my blood was charged with lightning and magma.
Lysaria appeared behind me. "Your awakening is complete."
"Didn't feel very graceful."
"Power never is."
Suddenly, an alarm rune flared above us.
ALERT: Hostile Entity ApproachingClass A Pursuit Squad — Demonic Bounty EnforcersTarget: Kaito Ren
Ox grunted. "Someone's mad about that shrine."
I cracked my neck. "Let 'em chase me."
Riko crossed her arms, smirking. "You better not get caught. I want a rematch."
Eve said nothing, just stared at me like I was an anomaly.
Lysaria's expression sharpened.
"You know what to do."
I whistled to my bike.
The R6 roared to life, divine runes burning like fire.
I looked over my shoulder as I mounted it.
"If I'm gonna be hunted… might as well make it a damn good show."
The race begins. The heavens burn. And a slave rides into the night—facing gods, demons, and whatever the hell comes next.
Level 1: Complete. Game on.