Chapter Eighty-Nine: Eight Contracts

In the blink of an eye, Linley’s comfortable chair was replaced by a jagged stone beneath him.

“Damn it, who just yanked me?”

He clutched his backside and leapt up, scanning his surroundings—only to be stunned anew. Why were there so many people here?

On this small patch of ruins, over a hundred night elves had gathered, all of them mages. The mages had erected a barrier around the ruins, isolating the space so Linley couldn’t see what was happening outside.

“Your Highness.”

Eve approached him. “We were the ones who brought you here.”

A few mages, pale-faced, trailed behind her—they had been responsible for the summoning circle. The leopard was among them, and Linley glared at it. “Little White, why are you making trouble for me?”

Summoning was an extraordinarily difficult spell, requiring vast magical power and a medium—the leopard, Little White, was Linley’s medium.

“Where have you been all this time?” Linley looked at it. “You didn’t even help me when I was fighting.”

“I went for a stroll in the dreamworld, young master,” Little White replied, sensing the urgency. “You’re in danger now. They wish to entrust the Twin Moons Wheel to you, which will be beneficial for you.”

“The Twin Moons Wheel?”

Only then did Linley notice the altar nearby, upon which the Twin Moons Wheel hovered.

“They want you to become my bearer,” the Twin Moons Wheel intoned, extending an invitation. “How about we make peace?”

To the Twin Moons Wheel, it made little difference who its bearer was. Yet Linley brimmed with uncertainty, which put it on guard—still, after conversing with Hera and the others, it realized that tying itself to Linley would guarantee its safety.

Linley’s eyes widened in astonishment. “You want me as your master? That can’t be. I’m not even a night elf.”

“But you can see the Twin Moons Wheel,” Hera interjected, stepping forward. “It has always been believed that only night elves can see and possess the Twin Moons Wheel—but if you can see it, in theory, you should be able to wield it as well.”

She gazed at Linley. “Right now, you’re half a night elf.”

Linley was shocked. “What?!”

He immediately looked down, examining himself.

“Your Highness, your body is perfectly fine,” Eve reassured him.

Linley was not a night elf. Hera’s investigation concluded that he could see the Twin Moons Wheel because the night elves regarded him as their leader. Linley symbolized the collective will of that segment of the night elves, and this will allowed him to see the artifact.

“They want you to see the Twin Moons Wheel,” Hera said. “That’s the only explanation.”

Linley’s face lit up. “Then I can use the Twin Moons Wheel?”

“Regrettably, you are not a true night elf,” Hera replied, shaking her head. She didn’t deny the possibility, but it would require years of research, and time was short—they weren’t prepared for that yet.

Linley’s face fell. “Then why did you drag me over here?”

“We want to entrust the Twin Moons Wheel to you, but unlike its previous bearers,” Hera said, handing Linley a contract scroll. He unrolled it, seeing that Hera and the Twin Moons Wheel had already settled the details.

“Oh, it’s all clauses that benefit you—so I can’t even draw power from it. What good is it to me?”

Linley fumed after reading the scroll. He’d known Hera wouldn’t be so generous. Every term favored the night elves; if he signed, he’d be more a nominal custodian than the artifact’s true master.

“Your Highness, this is the contract that best serves all three parties,” Hera said to Linley. “If you agree, I’ll owe you my life from now on.”

“What would I want with your life…” Linley was about to refuse when a sudden crackling noise filled the ruins. All the night elf mages lowered their staves and knelt.

“Boss, please agree!”

“Boss, if you accept, our lives are yours!”

The mages raised their faces, gazes fervent.

“Hmph…are your lives really worth that much?” Linley snorted, a bit overwhelmed by the scene.

But after a moment’s thought, he walked toward the altar. Their lives might not amount to much, but the arrangement wasn’t entirely disadvantageous for him, either. The Twin Moons Wheel was, after all, a divine artifact—something for nothing was still something gained. Even if he couldn’t use it, he could always use it to clip his nails.

“Boss agreed!”

Cheers broke out among the night elf mages—they knew he would accept.

“Quickly!” Hera commanded. “Begin the ceremony!”

The mages picked up their staves and began chanting in low, solemn tones. Each face was filled with piety.

Around the altar, six-pointed star arrays began to swirl like whirlwinds. Linley walked up, facing the Twin Moons Wheel.

“Never thought you’d accept their terms,” the artifact remarked, glowing with white light. “The contract is only valid as long as you live. I have an eternity ahead of me; I can endure this.”

“Ah—then you may be disappointed. I intend to live a long time,” Linley replied. As he gathered his thoughts, the Twin Moons Wheel vanished before him.

He floated in midair, gazing down on a blood-soaked battlefield crowded with night elves.

It was the moment, after the fall of the old age, when the frail night elves forged their contract with the Twin Moons Wheel.

Linley realized he was witnessing the history of the night elves. Scenes revolved around the artifact, unfurling before his eyes—rare were the moments of happiness. Most of their history was saturated with pain, humiliation, betrayal, and struggle.

In five centuries, kings of the night elves changed hands frequently. Witnessing such history would leave anyone feeling sorrowful and hollow.

After the long parade of years, the Twin Moons Wheel appeared before Linley once more.

He reached for it, and behind him stood a night elf he had never seen before.

“Before you take up the Twin Moons Wheel, you should consider carefully,” the elf warned. “To become its master is to walk toward a tragic end.”

The night elf showed Linley a vision of his own demise after claiming the artifact.

“–––No.”

Yet this only steeled Linley’s resolve.

Even in the face of apocalypse, he reached out unflinchingly.

“Are you sure about this?” The night elf seemed perplexed.

“To hold the Twin Moons Wheel is to cease being human…”

Linley’s hand met a barrier in front of the artifact; he couldn’t reach it. He turned around. “Let me guess… Your name is Merlin?”

“No…”

“If not, then what are you doing here?” Linley snapped. “You’re making me watch all these sentimental movies just to be a glorified caretaker!”

“Don’t waste my time. I’m not Saber, and you’ll have to try harder to trick me!”

The night elf was at a loss. In five hundred years, all sorts of people had seen those visions, each reacting differently, but never had a boy like this shown so little emotion.

“You watched all that history—didn’t it make you sad or miserable?”

“…What does that history have to do with me?” Linley had never been moved by such things. “Enough nonsense. Remove the barrier.”

He reached again for the Twin Moons Wheel, and this time, succeeded.

The instant he grasped the artifact, the night elf’s voice echoed in his mind, reciting the eight clauses of the contract.

[One] The bearer may possess the Twin Moons Wheel, but may not draw power from it.

[Two] The Twin Moons Wheel shall no longer consume the souls of night elves, and within the contract, all powers save for healing are forbidden.

[Three] The bearer must protect the Twin Moons Wheel from being devoured by monsters.

[Four] The bearer must protect the night elves from annihilation at the hands of the forest elves.

[Five] After the contract is sealed, the Twin Moons Wheel shall proclaim the bearer as the king of the night elves.

[Six] The contract may not be unilaterally breached; if breached, the violator becomes the other’s servant.

[Seven] Once these terms are fulfilled, the parties may in the future negotiate new contracts.

[Eight] Should either party die, the contract is immediately void.

“I’ll ask you once more,” the night elf said. “Do you truly accept these eight terms?”

Without hesitation, Linley pulled the Twin Moons Wheel free.

A pure white light illuminated the ruins, shining into the heart of every night elf mage.