Lars leaned toward Klein and whispered, "Why did everyone take a step back?" His first impression was that it was some kind of hierarchy.
"I'll explain later," Klein replied quietly, "but for your own good, never go near the boss."
As they both murmured, the deep voice of the Dominion boss echoed in the room.
"Klein and Hermann told me about you. They said you passed the exam well, although your final goal could be a problem for us. We're not friends with the Meyerns, but we have a good relationship: they don't mess with us... because it's not good for them, and we don't mess with them."
The man calmly took a glass of wine that rested on the coffee table. "You may all sit."
Those present obeyed. In total, there were three men: the Dominion Boss, Klein, and Lars; and two women: one, a refined girl with blond hair and blue eyes, and the other... the same one Lars had taken from the building. She was dressed casually, with black hair and crimson eyes. Lars had barely glanced at her before, but now that she was sitting next to him, he noticed a certain warmth in her gaze.
At the edge of the room, several servants and the boss butler waited silently.
The woman Lars had captured broke the silence. "Hey, take these restraints off me, the show's over."
Lars looked at her, puzzled. One of the servants approached and freed her. "Ah, what a relief..." he exhaled, stretching. "Why did you make them so tight, Klein?"
Klein shrugged and laughed. "Sorry, Lauren. I was caught up in it."
The chief took a sip of wine before introducing himself. "My name is Sigmund Klaus, leader of the Dominion."
Lars blinked, surprised by her imposing bearing.
Sigmund continued, "Now, the question: Are you sure you want to join the organization? I know you have no ill intentions toward us. You're not a detective or anything, according to what Klein told me... and I'm really sorry about your daughter."
Lars tensed. What the hell...? How do they know all this about me?
Lauren, noticing his confusion, smiled mischievously. "I see you don't understand what's going on. Our dear Klein has the ability to read people's minds."
"How...?" Lars looked at him in disbelief. "That's why you were staring at me so much...."
Instead of answering, Klein's eyes widened and he looked away as if nothing had happened.
"Come on, Lars Braun, answer me," Sigmund said, moving away slightly to sit down. "Yes, sir. I'm sure of what I'm doing. Even if you don't like why I want to join you, I will achieve my goal... with or without your help."
He had barely finished speaking when a stabbing pain shot through his head. He hadn't slept well in days.
Sigmund took another sip of wine. "I never said I didn't like his intentions. I just said he might cause us trouble. If I were in his place, I'd probably do everything possible to obtain justice... even if it meant taking it into my own hands."
He leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee. "Very well. I'll tell you a few rules, and above all, I want you to know one thing: once you make the contract, there's no turning back."
Sigmund's gaze fell on Lars, who was still rubbing his temple. "Can you hear me, Lars?"
Lars corrected his posture and looked at Sigmund. "Yes, sir, my head just hurts a little." He kept his left hand on his temple.
He repeated a sentence that surprised him: "He told me something about a contract, how much money I would receive."
Everyone looked at Lars and burst out laughing. He looks at them all in disbelief, and the latter, embarrassed. He scratches his head, staring at the floor, not understanding what was so funny about his words. Sigmund, laughing, swirls the wine in his glass and looks at it as if examining it. Suddenly, he says:
"It's not an employment contract... as you know, every member of the Dominion has supernatural powers. To obtain them, we have to make a contract with an entity that could be considered a demon."
Lars remembered Seck having mentioned something to him about demons. He tries to pretend he didn't know. "Damn, what are you talking about?" Klein watches him and listens to his thoughts, puzzled why he asks if he knows anything about this.
Once the ritual is performed and the contract is obtained, these will be the rules:
1. You must complete at least four missions, which will be supervised by two members of the organization. This is to assess your skills and determine your contribution and importance to us.
2. Once you complete the first item, you will become an official member and can take on freelance jobs. We are generally hired for protection, searching for missing persons, searching for valuables or relics, etc.
3. Anyone with mortal powers must never use them against a Dominion member; you will be executed for doing so.
4. Information about Dominion and its members is confidential. Revealing information to outsiders, whether intentionally or unintentionally, will be considered treason.
5. Every contract with a demon is personal and non-transferable. No member may interfere with or attempt to manipulate another's pact.
6. The orders of the leader or superiors assigned to a mission are unquestionable during its execution. Disobedience may put the team at risk and will be punished.
Sigmund placed his glass on the table and stood up. "Good. Then let's not waste any more time. If you really want to join Dominion… we'll go to the ritual."
Lauren raised an eyebrow. "So fast?" she asked in mock surprise.
"There's no point in waiting," Sigmund replied without looking at her. "If it's decided, it's decided."
Sigmund gestured to the butler, who disappeared through a side door. A short time later, he returned carrying a black briefcase with gold drawings, strange symbols. He left the briefcase about five meters from Sigmund and walked away.
"Inside are the elements for the pact," Sigmund explained, opening the briefcase to reveal black chalk, red candles, a dark-bladed dagger, and a small metal bowl.
Lars examined the contents. A chill ran down his spine. "So… is this done here?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from trembling.
"No," Sigmund said, giving a faint smile. "We have a place for these things. A place where the world of the living and the world of demons meet… if only for a few minutes."
The Boss turned to Klein and Amelia, the refined woman with the blond hair.
"Take him to the pact chamber. And make sure he arrives… whole."
Lars raised an eyebrow. "Whole?"
Klein chuckled. "Don't worry, it's just a joke."
Lars looked at him, confused, as Lauren stood up from her seat. "I'll go too. I want to see her face."
Sigmund crossed his arms. "Fine. But don't interfere." Lauren smiled as if she were already planning to have fun.
The retinue set off down a hallway dimly lit by antique lamps. With each step, the air grew thicker, as if the walls were charged with electricity. At the far end, a large metal door awaited, guarded by two hooded members.
Klein turned to Lars before opening it. "Last chance to back out, Lars."
Lars didn't ask; he simply replied, "Open it."
The door opened with a low creak, revealing a large circular hall where the floor was marked with a gigantic pentagram surrounded by symbols that seemed to pulse with their own light.
Sigmund advanced to the center, letting his voice resonate in the room: "Here begins your true connection to Dominion… and to something far older than us."
Klein gestured for Lars to stand in the center of the pentagram, and he did so. Amelia lit the red candles one by one, while Lauren watched with her arms crossed, amused.
Sigmund approached slowly, dagger in hand, to the edge of the pentagram. "Don't move." His voice brooked no reply.
Lars swallowed. The air seemed heavier, as if each breath took twice as long. The ground beneath his feet vibrated, even though no one else was moving.
Sigmund tilted the dagger and dropped a drop of his own blood into the metal bowl. Then he stepped away, leaving the dagger and metal bowl for Lars to do the same.
"It's enough to open the way... you provide the rest."
Lars took the dagger, hesitated for a second, and made a shallow cut in his palm. The blood dripped into the bowl, mixing with Sigmund's. Lars asked Sigmund a question directly.
"Why doesn't anyone come near you?" Lars continued to ask why Sigmund didn't come near him, nor did anyone come near Sigmund.
"Now I can only tell you that it is one of the consequences of gaining power. You must know that no power is obtained without giving something in return."
The symbols carved around the pentagram began to glow a deep red. A sudden wind erupted from the center, whipping everyone's clothes around.
"Don't fight it... or it will break you," Klein said, but his voice was barely audible over the roar of the wind.
The ground beneath Lars turned completely red, as if made of incandescent liquid. An invisible force lifted him several inches off the ground, his feet no longer touching the pentagram.
"It's too late to repent," Sigmund muttered, his words carried away by the gale.
Suddenly, the walls, ceiling, and surrounding figures vanished like smoke, swallowed by absolute darkness. The wind stopped, but there was no silence: a deep heartbeat echoed somewhere, as if coming from everywhere at once.
Lars tried to scream, but his voice wouldn't come out. He was no longer in the room… He was no longer in his world.
"Hey! Where am I?"
"It's all dark...!" He murmured.
A voice echoed in the distance: "What are you doing here, human?" Lars didn't understand what was happening and didn't respond. Suddenly, everything turned red. Looking around, he saw what appeared to be an Asian-style temple. A demon emerged and set the place on fire.
In front of him, a black, endless expanse, and enormous eyes opened in the darkness. A deep, inhuman voice broke the void:
"So you're the one who called me… or rather, the one I decided to bring."