Mira swallowed.
"...You come here often?"
"Nope."
"Then why—"
"Can’t tell you," West said while raising a finger. "That would violate the secret."
She stared at him for a long second, then sighed dramatically. "Fine. But be careful."
"Deal."
She turned to leave, then paused, glancing back over her shoulder.
"Get home safe, okay?"
West’s expression softened just a bit. "Always."
Once she was gone, West waited another full minute, scanned the area and listened for any sign of life.
Silence...
No footsteps... No lingering presence.
That was good.
He stepped deeper into the industrial site until he reached a wide, open clearing surrounded by collapsed warehouses. The ground was cracked but stable.
There were no civilians, no cameras, no gang territory markings...
"Perfect."
West exhaled slowly.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let’s do this properly."
This wasn’t the ruins so there was no pressure of imminent death...
This time, he could choose without hurry.
West stood still, closed his eyes, and focused inward.
He felt those invisible extensions rooted deep within his core, stretching beyond reality itself. He guided them outward, gently at first, then with growing clarity.
The moment his two branches came alive, the world changed.
When he opened his eyes again, the industrial site faded into the background, replaced by a strange, overlapping vision.
Thousands upon thousands of doors floated in an endless void, suspended like fragments of stained glass in a cosmic ocean.
Some were colossal gates carved with glowing sigils... others were small, barely large enough to fit a human hand.
Colors bled into one another: crimson, violet, gold, obsidian, emerald.
Each door bore a presence with will...
With something waiting behind it.
West didn’t rush.
Last time, desperation had chosen for him.
This time, he observed.
He felt a pull to certain doors but some felt too heavy, too ancient, too overwhelming...
He ignored those immediately, worried he’d summon another divine being.
Others felt... thin... too weak. Not worth the effort so he ignored those as well.
Then there was one which had a deep, earthy green door. It was tall and solid, etched with crude but purposeful markings. It didn’t glow brightly but it felt... grounded and balanced as opposed to overwhelming.
West stepped closer.
The door responded, vibrating faintly, as if acknowledging his presence.
"This one," he murmured.
He reached out... and the moment his hand touched the surface, the door swung open—
The world immediately snapped his consciousness back to this plane as an heavy thud shook the ground.
West’s eyes flew open and standing before him right now, was a towering feminine figure.
She was at least ten feet tall with broad and imposing silhouette.
Green skin stretched over lean, defined muscle that weren’t overly bulky but powerful, like a seasoned warrior who relied on refining their body to a state of balance.
She wore layered medieval-style garments consisting of dark leather reinforced with metal plates and long cloth panels with slits along the sides for movement. Runes were stitched into the fabric, faintly glowing and on her right hand was a staff nearly as tall as she was.
It’s head was crowned with a rough crystal that emitted arcane energy.
Her face was unmistakably orcish.
Prominent tusks curved upward from her lower jaw. Her nose was broad, her brow heavy and her faintly glowing amber eyes bore standard intelligence.
She was not attractive by human standards but she was impressive.
The system chimed.
---
<[ Summoned Entity Identified ]>
Name: Gor’thala Rune-Bearer
Race: Orc
Class: Warrior Mage
Status: Uncontracted
---
Gor’thala planted the base of her staff into the ground with a resonant boom.
The air itself seemed to thicken.
She looked down at West with her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Human," she spoke with a deep and resonant voice, layered with arcane undertones. "Why have you summoned me to this plane?"
West’s face bore a serious look as he responded straightforwardly.
"I want a contract."
Her brows rose a fraction.
"So direct," she mused. "Interesting."
She circled him slowly, cracking the concrete beneath her boots with her heavy footsteps. Her gaze dissected him... from his posture to his breathing to his aura to his intent...
"Your energy is pure and vibrant," she said after a moment. "Unpolished, but... dense."
West blinked. "Dense?"
"You carry more than you should," she clarified. "Power compressed. Unrefined."
He took that as a compliment.
"I need a summon I can rely on," West said honestly. "Not someone who’ll abandon me or wipe out a city because they sneezed."
A corner of her mouth twitched.
"Practical," she said. "I approve."
Then her expression hardened.
"But I will not be bound to a weak summoner."
West nodded. "Fair."
Gor’thala lifted her staff, causing the crystal to glow brighter.
"If you wish to contract me," she said, "you must prove yourself."
West braced. "How?"
"I will summon one of my own," she replied calmly. "Defeat it."
West stared in confoundment.
"...Wait."
She tilted her head.
"You can... summon something too?"
"Of course," Gor’thala said flatly. "What kind of warrior mage would I be if I couldn’t?"
West rubbed his face. "So let me get this straight. I summon you. You summon something. And I fight that thing. If I win, you agree to a contract."
"Yes."
"And if I lose?"
Her tusks glinted as she smiled.
"You live," she said. "But I leave."
West exhaled sharply.
This was not how he imagined his first official contract going.
Still...
This was better than a goddess snapping reality in half.
"...Alright," West said, planting his feet. "Show me what you’ve got."
Gor’thala raised her staff and runes ignited along its length.
A circle of green-gold light expanded across the ground, conjuring spinning symbols as arcane energy swept across the surroundings.
West’s instincts rang alarm bells as something began to emerge from the circle.
"So," he muttered under his breath as his eyes locked on the spinning symbols. "My summon’s summon..."
Gor’thala’s voice echoed calmly over the rising power.
"Survive, summoner."
The moment Gor’thala finished her incantation, Green light bled into the summoning circle like liquid fire, and the ground beneath it groaned as if it were about to cave in.
The arcane symbols twisted, warping outward, and then—
BOOM.
West’s eyes widened.