John stared at her, confused by her words. "Work? For you?"
Iris nodded confidently, "If you were to work for me, I can give you so many things that you won't get down here. You can go out and explore all you want. Don't think Dark Hand is better, I may be weaker than Dark Hand, but that is an organization, they have hundreds of people and won't give you everything you ask for. But me? I can."
"I can give you the freedom to go wherever you want." She continued.
John's head was still spinning with how fast things were happening, but he understood one thing, if he accepted the deal, he could finally get out of this suffocating place.
Iris added one last thing to entice John. "And if you agree to work for me, I'll teach you how the signs work." She said with a haughty smirk on her face.
"Signs?" John spoke with feigned ignorance. He remembered his eye that suddenly worked, the small symbol within it. Lucan wouldn't explain his powers to me no matter what, this is my chance to finally help him and Alicia.
His mind raced back to the bloody ritual, and his stomach started acting up again, his blood started boiling. That cult, That cult, That damned bloody cult.
He tried to push the bubbling rage down and the deep disgust for his own self. He audibly gulped down before finally calming down.
Iris interpreted that gulp as John getting tempted. What an easy kid. She thought, lips slightly formed into a faint smirk.
"If I may ask, what kind of work would you have me do?" John meekly asked.
Iris almost celebrated early, but she had to keep her happiness down before the job was finished, "Of course, you won't have to do much." She pointed at Fleur who stood behind her. "You'll work with her, she's my personal retainer and I value her very highly. She'll teach you everything you need to do with the job."
"You'll be considered a personal retainer of mine, the princess of Avaroa." She smugly continued.
"Why me? There's probably a lot who would be willing to work for you if you wanted to." John asked with suspicion.
If I told you you're special, you might get too full of yourself. She paused for a minute before answering, "I've got my reasons and you don't need to know them yet. I'll tell you when the time comes, but you'll likely know it before that."
John clicked his tongue and frowned, "I'm not doing this if you're not gonna tell me."
She sighed and gave in, "I won't answer it, but in return, I can give you another thing if you agree."
Iris turned to Fleur and raised her palm, Fleur gave her a bracelet made of black chains. Iris picked it up by pinching it and showed it to John. "This is a Bound Artefact…" She stopped for a second before continuing, "This is a treasure that can protect you from weak impacts, punches, bullets."
"Let me get this straight. Bracelet, money, and you'll teach me about signs… If I work for you?" John clasped his hands on the table to imitate professionals, but inside, he was still apprehensive of the deal.
Iris nodded and proceeded to get a strange piece of paper and pen from Fleur. The paper was thicker than usual, it was rough and the sides had evidence of being torn, it also smelt like it was burnt then patched up again. John watched her write on the paper, curious about what kind of magical item she brought out this time.
"This is a Soul Contract, read it and if you agree, drop a piece of your blood on it." Iris handed him the paper.
He perused the paper as best as he could. He noticed Iris' good handwriting, the clear strokes and curves, but the crimson-colored ink and rough paper contrasted the handwriting and instead made it look ominous.
John was tempted, hearing the freedom to explore outside, and getting the strength to take the opportunity to vent his anger and take his revenge was all he needed to hear. His emotions were overtaking his rationale, he knew that taking this offer would change not just his life, but also his sibling's lives.
He knew that Lucan would never agree to this, much less Alicia who was so overprotective that she never let John hold a kitchen knife before Lucan argued on his behalf. He wanted to take revenge, he wanted to watch the sun go down and the moon to rise up every day. But he also wanted to stay with his family.
As he was about to finish reading it–
A figure wrapped in a dark cloak dashed through the open door into the room and tried to snatch the paper from John's hands. But before he could yank it from the boy's hands, a knife was already pressed against his neck.
The man looked at the knife that was clearly ready to slash at a moment's notice, at the woman who was exuding clear murderous intent, and the young lady sat in front of John, frowning at her. He paused for a moment before letting go of the paper.
"John, put that down." Lucan spoke with a grave voice.
John was still not caught up with what was happening and just followed what he was told.
Iris harrumphed and spoke, "With whose authority are you interfering with my business, Fistbreaker?"
Lucan removed his hood and showed his face, "He's my brother."
Everyone paused for a bit, John finally caught up to what was happening.
A moment later, Iris stood up, and proceeded to leave. "I didn't expect this." Muttering under her breath. Fleur followed closely behind her.
"I'll come back later for you… What's your name again?"
"His name is John, and don't come back again." Lucan answered for John and irritatedly shooed the two away.
The two left and never looked back. After making sure that they left, Lucan closed the door and sat where Iris had been earlier and stared deep into John's eyes.
John was tense, feeling like he was in deep trouble. He was already bracing for punishment . Whenever he made a huge mistake, it was always followed by punishments like cleaning the house, getting grounded, and others. The worst was when he hid Lucan's gloves so he didn't leave, Alicia learned of it and she made him eat only leafy vegetables for a week, without seasoning. Since then, the mere sight of greens would make his stomach act up.
"Your left eye." Lucan said suddenly. "What happened? Does it hurt?"
John's eyes widened. He stared at him for a moment before shaking his head spiritedly. "It doesn't hurt, at all!"
"I can see with it now." He excitedly continued. "Look, I'll close my right eye and then you can try me."
Lucan shook his head. "It's fine, I believe you. How did this happen? I was away for a day and when I came back, you're a Tier 2 Signwalker like me, a Scholar." He spoke softly, carefully speaking each word.
That was when John turned quiet, reliving his experience earlier. He tried his hardest to recount what happened, until he reached the dream, no, the nightmare. His voice cracked up, but he tried his hardest to keep his tears from falling down. "The cult killed my parents." Each word scratched his throat, but before he could say anything else, Lucan's arms were already around him.
Ash noticed him and silently went on his lap, she looked at him as if to say, 'Stop crying, I'm here.'
***
Earlier that day. Before John's return to Underground Bunker.
Lucan was silently following the client while observing the surroundings. Tall buildings and skyscrapers littered the surroundings. Even if the world went to war and destroyed each other, this place served as a testament that humans can still rebuild and grow back stronger.
He was slightly annoyed at the huge disparity between his homeland and London, the center of the Eurafera Union.
Lucan's eyes darted around and silently frowned as the height of the buildings were mocking him for living underground.
A little boy with a piece of bread in his mouth darted through the streets, wearing rough and faded clothes from too many washes and years of wear and tear. He was being followed by an angry man shouting obscenities.
"So even in such a heavenly city, hell exists." He scoffed and turned his eyes away before following the fancy man who walked like he owned the street.
"Heaven doesn't exist, only a better hell." His client chimes on the side before continuing to walk.
That was when he was alerted by a notification on his phone. The text made his blood run cold before he realized that John is already old enough to take care of himself. He planned to do everything as fast as possible and come back home as early as he could.
When they finally reached their destination, they were standing in front of a huge building. Lucan and the fancy client entered the building. Inside was a man, dressed in red robes and wearing a crown of thorns. Lucan immediately noticed that the place was off, it was red, too red, every inch of the room was painted blood-red. It almost hurt his eyes to look anywhere.
The fancy client frowned and rubbed his eyes before going up to the man in the middle of the room. "I have the item, give me what I want."
The two were face to face. The priest held out his palm, on it was a prayer bead made of an unknown creature's eyes and teeth. While the fancy man brought out a transparent crystal filled with golden, viscous fluid that looked alive. The liquid was moving slowly, like it breathed, even as the crystal remained perfectly still in his hands.
They exchanged and scrutinized their items. The fancy client stared at the rosary and tried to identify which creature the eyes and teeth came from. A while later, he wore it and looked happy with it. "Fistbreaker, let's go."
That was when the priest stopped them, "Where did you get this? This isn't genuine Godly Blood."
"What are you talking about? Of course it is, don't you know how to identify Godly Blood? That cost an arm and a leg!" The guy vehemently denied the accusation.
"It is golden, but there's one thing you don't know about Godly Blood, it rejects any form of energy, and…" He broke the crystal with his hands, the golden fluid dripping on his palm. "This didn't"
"Heh." The fancy man started to panic. "I was scammed, I didn't mean to deceive you! I'll give this back to you."
"What a shame that the famed Broker is a sham." The priest shook his head and his head started bleeding due to the crown of thorns. Red robed priests appeared out of thin air, silently encircling the two.
The Broker's legs shivered and gave out. He was shaking on the floor, shouting apologies. Lucan confidently stood beside him. "We'll give back the artifact and leave right now."
The priest shook his head, "Deceiving me has consequences, don't worry, we'll take the Cursed Artifact off your dead bodies."
Lucan sighed before he raised his fists. "Don't regret this later."
He wanted to dash towards the priests when he felt a hand grab his leg. The Broker grabbed him, and started laughing maniacally. The way he laughed made Lucan's hair stand up and chilled him to the bones. "What are you doing!?" Lucan shouted in shock.
"Don't worry about this." The Broker assured him. Lucan noticed an antique pocket watch in his hand, that was when he felt something vaguely different.
The world stopped, except the two of them. The priests were mid-walk, the Bishop with the crown of thorn was just standing there, watching everything happen with his hands behind his back.
Every part of his body screamed danger in Lucan's ears. He immediately tore free from the Broker's grasp and jumped back and raised his fist. "What did you do?"
"I told you, don't worry. In the first place, they were the ones who scammed me. He handed me a cursed artifact made of Black Blade Viper fangs and eyes. It's poisonous so I just handed him a random blood that I changed the color." The Broker spoke while he patted his pants clean and smiled confidently at Lucan, contrasting his pitiful appearance earlier.
His words shook Lucan, he realized that his client is a scammer. He wanted to confront him about it, thinking that he might become a victim too, but the sight of everything around him held him back.
"How long will they be frozen?" Lucan asked him with fear behind his eyes. He tried to act tough but everything that's happened so far is too otherworldly for someone like him. He's seen many supernatural things happen since joining Dark Hand Society, but he has never seen someone stop time like this.
"Around 1 minute more, we can leave now if you want." The Broker pointed at the door. "Or… We can kill them now before we leave." He smiled again, bright and sweet, but this same smile made Lucan's skin crawl, feeling like the devil was smiling at him.
Lucan shook his head and headed for the door, eager to leave as soon as possible. He wanted to leave the Broker behind too, but he also wanted his payment.
When they left the building, everything outside was moving just as normal, only the inside of the building was frozen.
When they were farther away from the cult's building, Lucan turned towards the Broker. "I think my job is finished."
The Broker produced a small patch of leather in his hand. "This is the skin of an Iron-Bearing Bull. You can have it made into gloves and the minimum product would be a Cursed Artifact depending on the skill of the Artificer."
Lucan couldn't be bothered to haggle or look for a better reward, thinking that staying with this guy any longer would be dangerous. He grabbed his payment and started walking back towards the Black Market portal, taking the longer route and circling paths to prevent getting followed.
'You've grown well kid.' The Broker smiled and turned around, disappearing into thin air.