The otherworldly being slowly raised its palm, its five fingers stretching out like towering mountains. As its hand made a subtle grasping motion, an invisible yet terrifying pressure suddenly descended.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment, space rippling in distortion, and an intangible force forcibly halted the battle between Lynn and Aestry.
Lynn felt a tightness in his chest, his surging mental energy as if bound by iron chains, completely unable to circulate.
Aestry, too, stopped instantly, frozen in place like a puppet. Her gaze was calm and indifferent, without the slightest intent to resist.
On the surface, Lynn seemed to have the upper hand in this clash, even pushing Aestry to the brink of injury. But in reality, the battle was not as fair as it appeared.
Lynn knew all too well that Aestry, as a second-level wizard, had not used a single second-level spell throughout their fight.
She hadn't even mobilized her mental energy in the slightest relying purely on the strength of her trained body to fight him to a standstill.
Now that the otherworldly being had intervened, Lynn's nerves tightened. Sweat silently slid down his temple.
He could feel the being's gaze deep and icy like an abyss piercing straight into his soul, making him feel utterly exposed and vulnerable.
A suffocating silence filled the air.
Lynn's mental energy quietly reached toward the Azure Spirit within him.
A faint green light flickered in his chest, pulsing subtly like a heartbeat.
Though Lynn knew the Azure Spirit's power was no match for the otherworldly being, his goal wasn't to directly oppose it. Instead, he sought to use the Azure Spirit to manipulate the Scale Fragment within, giving himself a slim chance of survival.
Even the briefest instant of hesitation could mean the difference between life and death.
Thus, in his heightened mental state, he maintained the weakest yet firmest connection to the Azure Spirit.
If things spiraled out of control, he would ignite the Azure Spirit before his death, sealing away the Scale Fragment completely. With his current mastery over the Azure Spirit, he was confident he could achieve that.
The faint green glow in his chest shimmered subtly, barely visible through his armor, casting an eerie and indistinct outline.
Holding his breath, Lynn stared intently at the otherworldly being, feeling the overwhelming pressure crash down upon him like an endless sea.
To his surprise, the being neither spoke nor made any sound.
It simply observed him in silence, its deep and unfathomable eyes revealing nothing no emotion, no intention just an oppressive presence that made Lynn's heart race.
Cold sweat beaded along his spine, a fine layer of moisture forming at the tip of his nose.
Meanwhile, Aestry remained motionless like a wooden doll, her spear angled toward the ground, her gaze empty.
Lynn knew escape was impossible, but the being also showed no sign of speaking first…
Finally, amid the oppressive silence
Lynn gritted his teeth and mustered the courage to break it.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he channeled his mental energy.
In the language of the otherworldly beings, he spoke his pronunciation rough and uneven, some tones slightly off due to his incomplete knowledge of the dialect:
"We do not have a life-or-death grudge, do we? If possible, I wouldn't mind making a deal with you..."
If it came down to it, Lynn was willing to hand over the Golden Scale Fragment just to sever his ties with this being entirely.
As for cooperation, he believed a fair contract could be established under the guidance of the Golden Scale.
However, before he could continue, the otherworldly being interrupted him.
"You're nervous. Your mental energy is unstable, flickering in and out… For me, killing you in the instant you sever your connection to the Azure Spirit would be effortless."
The being's cold words sent a chill down Lynn's spine.
The pressure crashed over him like a tidal wave, and he had no way of determining whether the being was bluffing.
But instinctively, he deepened his connection with the Azure Spirit, straining to maintain the flow of his mental energy.
Inhaling the cold air, he forced himself to remain calm and spoke again:
"A practitioner of the Azure Meditation Technique can store mental energy within the Azure Spirit."
The otherworldly being suddenly chuckled a quiet, eerie sound. It was the first time it had laughed since appearing.
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm merely stating a fact."
Lynn's voice was calm as still water, though his heart pounded like a war drum, adrenaline surging through his veins.
Even with his Grey Hawk Armor's temperature regulation, he felt unbearably hot his body reacting to the immense pressure.
The power disparity was too great, leaving Lynn under an inexpressible weight.
On the surface, his words seemed reckless an overestimation of his strength.
But in situations of absolute power imbalance, appearing "reckless" could sometimes grant the weaker party a stronger bargaining position.
As the saying goes "Desperate times call for desperate measures."
"Heh."
The otherworldly being laughed again for the second time since its arrival.
The sound echoed across the desolate frozen wasteland, carrying an inexplicable loneliness.
Lynn's brow furrowed slightly, his fingers twitching. This was the most dangerous situation he had faced since arriving in this world.
Even back in the Landscape Realm, when he was under the oppression of the Furnace Stone and Aquila, he hadn't felt this helpless.
At least back then, he had the Will of the Maple Tree to support him, freezing their power in place.
But now, he was alone facing an otherworldly being at its peak.
Its power level was at least that of a Morning Star Wizard, far beyond his reach!
As the laughter faded, the being's gaze remained as cold and deep as an abyss.
"But you are right about one thing we do not have a life-or-death grudge."
As those words fell, the tense atmosphere seemed to shift slightly. The deadlock in their negotiation had loosened just a little.
Lynn's eyes flickered. After a brief hesitation, he tentatively continued:
"The only real conflict between us… is the Scale Fragment, isn't it?"
Of course, when he said "us", he deliberately excluded any mention of the Maple Tree and its connections.
After all, the otherworldly being was currently inhabiting the Maple Tree's body.
By framing their conflict solely around the Scale Fragment, he was intentionally misleading.
Even if the Maple Tree were still conscious, it likely wouldn't object to his words.
And besides the Maple Tree was already in deep slumber. It couldn't speak up to contradict him.
"Indeed."
The otherworldly being responded indifferently, then casually waved its hand as if brushing away a speck of dust.
Yet in that simple motion, the world seemed to undergo a drastic transformation.
A faint golden light emerged from thin air, rippling outward like waves, instantly enveloping the entire area.
The once blue-and-white world where the sky was an endless expanse of blue interwoven with white clouds, and the ground a tundra of ice and snow was suddenly washed in gold.
As that golden light spread, the entire space transformed into a brilliant golden flood, cascading in all directions.
Between Lynn and the otherworldly being, in the once-empty space, a dazzling golden glow slowly condensed forming a Golden Scale that hovered mid-air.
The scale wasn't large just over twenty centimeters in length.
The entire golden scale was composed of a mysterious and extraordinary substance resembling gold, radiating a pure and profound brilliance.
Its design was elegant and enigmatic, seemingly flawless as if it had existed since the dawn of time.
As the scale appeared, an indescribable sense of equality silently spread within the golden light.
It was as if an invisible force filled the air, imbuing every inch of space with an aura of equilibrium.
Within this golden glow, Lynn could even feel a deep serenity and stability in his soul, as if the scale itself was the embodiment of fairness.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm the unease in his heart.
He steadied himself and slowly spoke:
"I have no particular thoughts about the scale, and you can take these fragments. However, I need your assurance I need to ensure my safety."
His voice was calm but carried a hint of caution and probing.
Lynn's words were not without reason. If he handed over the fragments of the golden scale, what if the otherworldly being took them and turned against him?
If that happened, and the entity decided to kill him on the spot, there would be no one left to argue on his behalf.
By stating his concerns so directly, Lynn was pointing toward the golden scale that stood between them.
However, the otherworldly being simply shook its head and uttered a sentence that made Lynn's face darken slightly. A cold light flashed in his eyes, and his expression grew even more serious.
"No, I don't need them right now. Keeping them with you is exactly what I want."
Lynn opened his mouth slightly, about to say something, but the entity spoke first:
"Sign the contract."
"What contract?!"
Lynn was taken aback, his brows furrowing deeply.
He had intended to use the contract of the golden scale as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the otherworldly entity.
But now, the entity had made it clear it didn't even want the scale fragments so why was it suddenly bringing up a contract?
This unexpected development immediately set off alarms in Lynn's mind.
As suspicion crept into his thoughts, the otherworldly entity slowly raised its hand. Its slender, pale fingers extended lightly as if tearing through the fabric of reality, drawing a dazzling golden light in midair.
The light was brilliant and piercing, as though the radiance of a sun had condensed at this very moment.
The golden glow gathered and slowly expanded into a massive screen of light.
Strange, densely packed symbols surfaced across the luminous surface, forming intricate flowing runes and complex patterns.
These characters were twisted and obscure as if infused with an ancient will from another realm. Merely gazing at them for a few moments made Lynn's mind waver slightly, his mental strength shaken by the impact.
"Is this… an otherworldly language?"
Lynn was secretly astonished, focusing his mind on deciphering the runes.
However, these foreign symbols were incredibly complex. Despite having studied some otherworldly languages before, he could only make sense of a small portion of the majority of the contract was completely indecipherable to him.
That, in itself, was understandable.
After all, even in the world of sorcerers, contracts were rarely drafted in spoken language.
Instead, they were written in intricate and precise script to ensure their binding nature and prevent tampering.
Yet, the contract before him was far beyond the scope of what he had encountered before. Even with his prior studies, he couldn't fully grasp its meaning let alone dissect its terms.
The very structure of the text was baffling, as though it was designed to obscure its true intent.
"What does this say?"
Lynn frowned and asked, hoping to extract some information from the entity.
The otherworldly being merely smiled faintly and said in an unhurried tone:
"Just sign it. With this contract in place, I'll have peace of mind and so will you. Besides, under the current circumstances, do you have another choice?"
Its voice was indifferent yet domineering, as if certain that Lynn had no room to refuse, not even bothering to explain.
By now, the entity's true intentions were laid bare the contract was filled with lines upon lines of intricate terms.
Yet, Lynn had no way of understanding its contents.
If there were hidden clauses in the contract, he could very well be selling himself to this otherworldly being.
That would be nothing short of walking into his doom…
However, Lynn merely chuckled coldly, remaining silent.
At this point, he was faced with two options:
Either he refused and got killed on the spot.
Or he signed a contract riddled with dangerous clauses, only to meet a delayed but inevitable demise.
After all, he had encountered enough troublesome contracts during his past experiences with the Eye of the Furnace he had no intention of repeating that ordeal.
The otherworldly entity exuded power as vast as the heavens, slowly pressing down on Lynn as if daring him to reject the contract.
A single wrong word, and he would share the same fate as those members of the Star Hunters who had been annihilated earlier.
But Lynn knew there was a third option…
Within his mind, Yfgríd was slowly awakening, maintaining a subtle connection with the Spirit of the Azure Sky.
Just as the Maple Will had once hidden itself within extraordinary flora to survive, Lynn, too, could hide within Yfgríd!
Of course, Maple had the luxury of waiting for Lynn to save him.
If Lynn chose to hide now, the outcome might not be death but it wouldn't be much better.
That was why, even now, he remained hesitant about making this choice…
"That trick again?"
At this moment, the otherworldly entity's gaze sharpened slightly, as if it had already guessed Lynn's intentions.
After all, countless years ago, it had already witnessed the same tactic from the Will of the Maple Tree it was not unfamiliar with it.
Snap!
The entity suddenly snapped its fingers, nearly startling Lynn into reacting defensively.
But he managed to restrain himself just in time.
In that instant, the golden scale shifted dramatically.
The final lines of the contract lit up, revealing more text this time written not only in the otherworldly language but also in the language of sorcerers.
When Lynn looked at the sorcerer's script, he was momentarily stunned.
Because it read:
"This contract is established under conditions of fairness and equality. The above terms contain no harm to either party…"
Lynn had some understanding of the golden scale.
Not only was it an extraordinary and formidable artifact, but it also held sacred significance for the otherworldly entity.
With these final words included, the contract's safety was essentially guaranteed.
And yet…
Lynn was still puzzled. He pondered for a moment before asking:
"So this contract is the reason you came? Why didn't you present it from the start?"
The entity, now more solemn than before, finally answered his question:
"I was observing, evaluating… determining whether you were worthy of signing it. After all, from every perspective, you are the most suitable candidate. If you had failed my test, then…"
For the first time, the otherworldly being spoke with true seriousness.
It even slowed its speech slightly, adding pauses to ensure Lynn fully understood its words.
"A test?"
Lynn's expression remained unchanged, but his mind raced as he recalled their encounter.
The entity had slain the Star Hunters upon arrival.
Then there was Asterie…
"Was Asterie part of the test? Suppressing herself to the level of a first-rank sorcerer to duel me was that supposed to evaluate me? That seems a bit too arbitrary…"
Lynn couldn't quite grasp it and was about to ask further.
But the otherworldly entity was not in the mood for more discussion.
"Sign the contract. I have no patience for your questions."
With those words, Lynn was left with no further options.
Faced with an unfathomable entity, he had once considered relying on the greater sorcerers of his world to eliminate it.
He had prepared for the worst even his death.
But in the end, this outcome was not so bad.
At least, it was better than hiding in Yfgríd and cowering within the Spirit of the Azure Sky.
Thus, Lynn had no reason to refuse.
On the scale, two names etched themselves in soul-infused script one side bore "Lynn Cole", while the other…
A foreign symbol.
A name Lynn happened to recognize.
"Qi."
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