A Contract from the Gods

Theus felt as though he had been struck by a sledgehammer, and his vision began to darken.

He spat out a mouthful of blood and felt pain throughout his body. He feared he would not make it.

The human body was far too frail.

But just as he vaguely sensed death about to descend, a warm current suddenly flowed through the Symbiotic Pact, rapidly repairing his internal organs.

"What is this...?"

"The Symbiotic Pact is absolutely equal. Earlier, I was severely injured, so it drew upon your life force to heal me. Now, this is my repayment to you."

Ash's voice came from nearby. It seemed much weaker than before. The pact must have drawn upon its life force to heal Theus just now.

"As long as neither party is drained dry by the pact in an instant, it will slowly distribute the injuries between both sides."

Tsk. So he had passed out earlier only because he was too weak. Otherwise, the Symbiotic Pact was actually more advantageous to him, since Ash's life force was far greater than his own.

After resting for a moment, Theus raised his head and looked around.

The shattered remains of Ash's clansmen rained down from above. They had created a massive explosion at the cost of their lives, perishing together with the Ghost Ship.

The Fishmen truly feared the Abyssal Trench. After releasing the Ghost Ship, they had not continued their attack.

The Cursed gathered together in silence.

They looked at Ash, waiting for it to explain.

Ash nodded at Theus, then began explaining the principles of water pressure.

As it spoke, the eyes of these Swollen Monsters gradually widened.

"Water pressure? Our curse is actually water pressure?"

"Unbelievable... impossible... but it does seem that no clansman has ever tried entering the Abyssal Trench."

"Who would come here? Entering the Abyssal Trench drives you mad!"

Theus suddenly had a thought. He had heard them mention more than once that entering the Abyssal Trench would drive one mad.

He could understand there being danger. Even the strongest creatures had to face death. But what did going mad mean?

Could this place be rich in certain chemical substances capable of causing mental illness?

A Swollen Monster stepped forward and gave Theus a slight bow. "You are indeed an exceptionally learned wise man. Whether your speculation is correct or not, you have earned our respect and friendship."

It then looked at Ash. "Ash, we are willing to believe you. During the link just now, we saw the calmness and resolve in your heart. We are willing to trust your judgment, but you must tell us: what made you certain that he is a god?"

The Swollen Monsters grew somewhat restless. Theus noticed many expectant gazes directed at him. This race had suffered under curses and enslavement for far too long. They longed for salvation to descend, yet were also afraid to believe it could be true.

They truly hoped Theus was a real god.

Unfortunately, I will disappoint you. Theus gave a bitter smile.

He was merely an ordinary person. With a little cleverness and luck, it was already enough if he could help these pitiful creatures. How could he possibly be a god?

And... Theus frowned. He instinctively disliked the word "god."

As a transmigrator, he would rather see mortals control their own destinies than be manipulated by some god.

Ash stepped forward. Theus had shared quite a bit of its life force through the Symbiotic Pact just now, and it was visibly weakened, yet its eyes remained full of resolve.

"I signed a Symbiotic Pact with him. You already know that." Ash looked around. "But there is one thing... the pact was formed directly."

The sea instantly fell silent.

"Formed directly... what does that mean?" a young clansman asked curiously.

"Exactly what it sounds like. I proposed a pact to him, and the pact was formed. There was no explanation, no communication... In the instant of Mindlink when the pact was formed, I learned that he did not know the details of the Symbiotic Pact."

"Mindlink cannot lie. In that instant, I could glimpse his heart."

"He truly did not know about the Symbiotic Pact."

They froze. Only after a moment did they understand what Ash meant, then they all turned shocked gazes toward Theus.

Only The Cursed understood what this truly meant. They exchanged glances, and when they looked at Theus again, their eyes were filled with reverence.

Ash swept its gaze around. It knew no one would question Theus's identity anymore.

"A pact formed directly—this is a contract from the gods!"

"A god... it really is a god..."

"The legends were actually true..."

"A pact that can truly be formed directly exists!"

Theus was somewhat stunned. Why had these Swollen Monsters suddenly changed their attitude?

"Wait, I still don't understand—why does accepting it directly make me a god?"

he asked, confused.

The surroundings fell quiet. Ash turned to him. "Lord, the pact is absolutely equal. The fact that it could take effect before I had even explained it means only one thing—you accepted everything about the pact."

"This has never happened before. Accepting every aspect of a pact unconditionally means having no fear of any risk within it."

Theus opened his mouth. He truly had not feared the pact's risks—at worst, he would die. It was not as if he had never died before.

But he could not exactly tell these Swollen Monsters that he could descend at will. That would sound even more like something a god could do.

A small voice sounded out:

"I still don't understand. If he were a madman who wasn't afraid of death at all, couldn't he also sign the pact directly?"

The clansmen looked over.

"Monica, you're still too young. You haven't had much contact with Symbiotic Pacts." A clansman beside her moved closer and gently patted her back.

"A pact is the embodiment of reason. Those who have fallen into madness cannot form one. As for not fearing death..."

"No matter how fearless a person is, there will still be a trace of hesitation in their subconscious. Even that tiny hesitation cannot escape the pact's law of absolute equality."

"Moreover, at the instant the pact is formed, both sides can glimpse each other's hearts."

"Of course, the most important point is this: the prophecy clearly states that the newly appeared god will directly cause the pact to be formed, just as in the past."

Ash nodded. "Yes. Everything matches perfectly, without the slightest discrepancy."

The Cursed had only heard of a pact being formed directly in ancient legends. According to those legends, when the gods formed a pact with them before they left their homeland, it had been formed directly.

In those legends, that was the first member of their race, as well as the first Symbiotic Pact ever formed.

Therefore, in the eyes of The Cursed, only the gods could directly cause a Symbiotic Pact to be formed.

—The gods knew all things, and the gods did not care about the cost.

Later, their race lost its homeland, lost its gods, lost their normal bodies, and lost far too much. They did not know how many years they had spent sinking into ruin.

And now.

Ash turned back to look at Theus. It felt its blood burning within its body. This was The Cursed's new god, and he had even told it the truth about The Cursed.

It lowered its head and looked toward the Abyssal Trench.

The Deep Sea—perhaps that was The Cursed's Promised Land.

Hope, salvation, gods... this man was everything to The Cursed. They could not lose their god again.

Resolute, fearless will surged within its chest. From the moment the Symbiotic Pact had taken effect, Ash had known its destiny.

It would protect its god.

No matter the cost.