Igaris watched her carefully as she stood upright, her long silver hair flowing like liquid moonlight in the dim light of the ruined citadel.
She was hard to read as her expression subtle, her thoughts veiled behind those enchanting violet eyes.
Scheming or not, one thing was certain: she wasn't fully loyal yet.
But thanks to the Soul Binding, she couldn't disobey his commands either.
A delicate silence stretched between them until she broke it with a soft, almost honeyed voice.
"Umm, boy… perhaps we should come to a compromise," she said, tilting her head slightly, her tone gentle but laced with cunning.
Igaris narrowed his eyes. "What kind of compromise?"
Her lips curled into a sly smile,
"I'll follow your commands. All of them. But in return… don't ever ask me to call you 'Master.' And you must never order me to do anything obscene with my body. If you can agree to just those two conditions, I believe we could be… good friends. Allies, even."
She extended a hand toward him.
Her sharp claws were gone, and her wings folded behind her gracefully.
"What do you say, Igaris Vance?"
Igaris's gaze lingered on her as she stood before him with wings slowly folding behind her.
From this close, he could appreciate her fully.
The way her figure curved with both strength and grace was striking. She stood taller than him by a few inches, her posture commanding, yet elegant in an otherworldly way.
Her white dress hugged her body tightly, emphasizing her ample chest and narrow waist. Each breath she took made the fabric shift slightly, revealing smooth, well-toned legs that looked like they were carved from starlight.
She was temptation given form, a being too beautiful to belong in the world of the living.
Any man would fall for her body, driven by desire and lust.
But, Igaris's gaze was not driven by desire. It was calculative.
From a very young age, he had cultivated strong willpower for his revenge.
But that didn't mean he was a being devoid of desires and emotions.
He had desires too, but he knew well to control when necessary.
Nevertheless, despite her divine appearance, she was now bound to him. A rose, no doubt, but one with enough thorns to draw blood at the slightest misstep.
Evernight noticed his eyes trailing over her body. As such her brows creased, irritation flashing across her flawless face.
Just as her red lips parted, likely to deliver a scathing remark, Igaris spoke.
"All right, I'll agree to your second condition. I won't give you any indecent orders."
Her expression shifted slightly, caught off guard by his swift concession.
"But," Igaris continued, taking a step closer, "you cannot call me by name either. There must be a clear line of command between us. That part is not up for discussion. Am I clear?"
Evernight's wings twitched as she frowned. "Then what do you expect me to call you, boy?"
Igaris's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Pick your own choice, Saintess. I know you're clever enough."
Evernight narrowed her eyes, her mind already dancing between names that would skirt the edge of defiance while still honoring the pact that now bound her soul.
"Sir? Lord? King? Or…"
She paused, then sighed as if made up her mind.
"Okay, I've decided. I will call you My Liege from now on."
She finally made her choice, though there was no excitement on her face. Just a forced, faint smile.
Igaris nodded in acceptance. Although he would have preferred being called Master, it was still something.
Maybe she had some kind of history with that title, or perhaps it was just her pride.
"Alright then. I'll call you Evernight,"
Igaris replied, finally accepting her handshake that marked a relationship destined to last forever.
As she felt the human boy's palm against hers, Evernight's expression flickered for a brief moment, but the change vanished as quickly as it came. All that remained was the same forced smile.
After a while, they let go of each other's hand and turned their attention to the present.
"Dismiss!" Igaris called out loudly.
Instantly, all the Undeads broken or alive melted into his body from all directions like shadows dissolving into darkness.
Saintess Evernight's eyes widened in shock. But the next moment stunned her even more.
"Assemble!" Igaris commanded again.
From the darkness of his shadow, the same Undeads emerged once more.
They stood before him with obedience and silence. Over sixty of them stood before him, fully intact.
Some of them had clearly died before, yet now they were whole and alive again resurrected by some unseen force.
"Unbelievable!"
"What kind of Summoner are you?" she asked with disbelief.
Igaris frowned. "Why? Haven't you seen a Summoner like me before?"
"No. Even in our time, not a single Summoner like you ever existed. A Summoner capable of contracting with sixty Undeads? That's simply impossible!"
She said, shaking her head as if trying to reject the very notion.
"No, you're not a Summoner. You're something else."
Igaris's eyes narrowed, intrigued.
"Why not? Look at yourself. You have plenty of Undead under your command. Why can't I?"
"No. My necromancy is different. They can't be vanished like your's."
She paused, her expression serious.
"But your ability... it's something the world should start to fear. Because you're no necromancer..."
"You're an Enslaver of Souls."
Her words hung heavy in the air, as if declaring the start of something grim and inevitable.
Igaris shrugged, clearly annoyed.
"Alright, alright... I get it already. No need to get all dramatic. Just help me with something, will you?"
Evernight's brows creased, but she stepped forward nonetheless.
"What kind of help do you need, My Liege?" she asked, her tone noticeably softer than before.
Igaris looked up at her face and said calmly,
"Command your Undead to stand in line. It's time to make them part of my army."
A wicked grin spread across his face, one that made Evernight's eyebrows twitch in sheer disbelief.