Kren nodded and looked at Vale. He stared for so long that Vale wondered if he would ever answer, but then he spoke. "Your will. You will pledge yourself to our organization. Where we direct, you will go. What we say, you obey. That is the price you'll pay for the power we plan to give you."
Vale let out a bitter laugh. "And I'm assuming I have no choice in this. You plan to force me whether I agree or not. That was your plan all along, to make me into a slave you can use."
Kren shrugged lightly. "There's no denying that. Look at it this way: we'll give you power and save you from death. In return, you submit yourself to us."
Vale weighed his words carefully. From what he'd pieced together, he wouldn't survive past the Squire rank as a Forbidden Mark Knight. Either the other Knights would hunt him down, or he'd turn into a monster, a corrupted. He didn't know exactly what that meant, but it was clearly not something he wanted to find out.
