It was nighttime in the Central State, and the amount of human traffic was lower than usual. On this boulevard, a young man with gaunt, handsome features was walking fashionably along with his stylish black suit, white gloves, and suave tophat.
He would look comical to most if not for how his features perfectly complimented his style of dressing, making him seem less like a cosplayer and rather an English gentleman who was out for a walk, humming a lovely tune as his mind was on various things.
Amidst his stroll he passed by the entrance to a small family restaurant, which had a young woman dressed in a bunny suit standing outside to attract customers.
“How long do I have to wear this shitty fucking- Holy shit!” The woman was muttering angrily under her breath until she noticed the young man pass by her. She was stunned by his handsomeness and his outlandish look, making him seem like the major actor of a movie who was passing by her, a side character.
She then shook her head and extinguished her cigarette before hurriedly catching up with him. Beat her to death with a string of silk, and she still wouldn’t be able to tell you why she had acted like this. After all, it’s not like she was ugly nor desperate.
The fact that she had been hired to stand around in a bunny costume outside the establishment was testimony to the fact that she had the looks and assets to make it work.
However, the decision to do so wasn’t solely hers. In fact, she was deeply influenced by her subconscious to reach out to this outlandish man as if her life depended on it.
“Hey! Wait up!” She called out as she tried to catch his shoulder.
“Hmm?” As if planned, he turned at the exact time to prevent the lass from touching him, making her miss him while still remain standing.
Then, the young man gave a charming smile. “How can I help you, Madam?”
Now that she was close, the woman could only pause as she took in the specific features of her target. A slender face without any pronounced skeletal protrusions, fair complexion, smooth skin like a baby, and two dim red eyes that smoldered with intelligence.
She shook her head to snap out of it, noticing that she was blushing a little. Then realization had hit her, she had suddenly stopped a complete stranger without any real reason, making her want to facepalm.
What exactly was she going to say here?
‘Hey, I just met you, and this craaazzzyyyy, but here’s my number, so call me maybe??’
The very idea was ludicrous. As such, she could only quickly think of something to say that wouldn’t screw her over.
“I couldn’t help but notice that good sir is well-dressed and very affluent! I was wondering if you might be hungry and would perchance try the cuisine at our Livingstone Family Restaurant?” She quickly spat out while acting cute, then sexy.
Her target’s smile never left, and his eyes never roved her body as the others did. Rather, he eerily kept staring at her, straight into her eyes, as if he could see through her soul itself.
It left her feeling uncomfortable to a great extent, but she did not find herself able to muster the will to leave, despite her womanly instinct telling her to do just that. A girl standing in the night wearing a provocative outfit wouldn’t be able to have a great night without some good sense of danger.
Finally, the young man took his eyes off her for a second to gaze at the establishment behind her, and the woman could have sworn that she saw a flash of disdain in his eyes.
“I thank you for the offer, beautiful madam, but I’m not famished at this time.” He answered with a smile as his attention returned to her.
“Oh, I see…” The woman murmured, feeling deflated for some reason.
“However, there is no harm in introducing ourselves to each other. It is always better to make a friend where you can, no?” He offered kindly.
“Right, yeah. Sure.” The woman felt like life had entered her once more and became energetic.
“My name is John Smith, though others might also know me under my moniker ‘The Showman’. What about you, dear madam?”
“Well, I’m Rebecca Livingstone. My friends call me Becca or Becky, whichever they like.”
John Smith smiled and took off his tophat and made an elegant bow. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madam Rebecca.”
Rebecca smiled at his antics, which she found novel. “The pleasure is all mine.”
“Now that we are suitably acquainted, would you like to indulge me in a certain activity I particularly enjoy?” John Smith asked with a wide grin.
Seeing that grin and hearing those words, Rebecca instantly understood what he was trying to say. She was surprised such a man would be so straightforward, but then again, it was kind of refreshing in a way.
And it’s not like she chased after him because of a reason not aligned with this anyway. It wasn’t her first thought, but attraction naturally led to copulation at some point.
It was just how direct and unwilling both parties were to avoid the bullshit that wastes time in-between. Rebecca was long savvy of that kind of thing as a socialite, and she hated the so-called ‘talking stage’ the most.
And yet, at the same time, she felt miffed by the idea of doing it so quickly and at John Smith for suggesting it. The natural first thought that popped into her head was: ‘does he think I am easy to get?’
“I’m not sure if I want to do such a thing so soon. We hardly know each other, and it’s best if we take it slow.” Rebecca replied with a neutral smile.
She felt that this was the best response. Enough to let him know that she wasn’t averse to it, so he should work hard to win her approval, but also enough to let him know that she wasn’t an easy target for him to play with.
She was doing what most confident women did, setting the rules herself. What separated average dudes from the fuckboys was that the former played by the rules, while the latter often broke or bent the rules.
Both of them had different consequences for the woman in question, which was why both types of men ‘enjoyed’ differing reputations and differing success rates.
John tilted his head in confusion, something that made Rebecca’s heart thump. “I don’t think my activity requires deeper kinship. I just want us to play a game of Abstract Trade.”
Rebecca froze for a split second, then she blushed so heavily that her face almost became like a cooked lobster. She had been slightly peeved for being profiled as an easy girl by him, but it turned out she had profiled him as a sleazy guy.
There were many things that could embarrass a person, being exposed in public as a liar, thief, criminal, cheater, etc. Also, being naked in public or having your insecurities be mocked in public.
But nothing – nothing!! – in this world stung more than having your hypocrisy shown. 99 times out of 100, having one’s hypocrisy exposed led to violent reactions, even moreso than being embarrassed using the aforementioned categories.
So Rebecca was feeling very bad right now, so to gloss it over, she quickly agreed.
“Sure, we can play that game. What’s it about?” She asked quickly.
John smiled with pleasure at her agreement and calmly explained. “Abstract Trade is a fun game where I take on the role of an Abstract Merchant and try to sell you an Abstract Concept you need or want, in exchange for another Abstract Concept you possess.”
Rebecca seemed interested genuinely in this. “Oh, so sort of like a ‘Deal with the Devil’? You offer me things like eternal life, better sexual prowess, etc. , and I give you my soul, years of my life, or my ability to feel happiness?”
John spun on the spot and clapped once, his eye showing delight. “Madam Rebecca, meeting someone with as sharp a mind like yours is truly refreshing. You can’t even imagine how many times I had to slowly explain the concept of this game to others. If you don’t mind, in the future, I shall use your words to explain it to others.”
Rebecca lifted her chin slightly at being praised, enjoying it thoroughly. “It’s nothing. So, what do you have to offer, Mr. Merchant?”
Seeing that she was into it, John beamed. He hurriedly removed his tophat and fished into it like a magician before removing three cards. He gazed at them and read them one by one before showing an intrigued expression.
“Well, I have prepared three possible deals for, though I’m afraid I shall only allow you to pick a single one. The first is to meet a person who will give you a lifetime’s worth of love, in exchange for all the love of your next lifetime.”
“The second is to be granted an opportunity to enter a world where you’ll be able to become as powerful and as rich as in your wildest dream, but you will have to sign a soul contract with me for 100 years of indentured servitude.”
“The third is to experience the greatest pleasure of your life in exchange for your sense of touch for the rest of your life after that.”
Rebecca hummed as she touched her chin. ‘This is pretty astute. I want love, money, and good sex, and I’m surprised that he knows this. … maybe I really am just a basic bitch, and he uses the same trick on every girl?’
Rebecca couldn’t help but giggle as she came to that conclusion. In the end, she took the second card without thinking too much.
‘If I had money, I wouldn’t have to do what Dad says and wear this stupid thing because we’re in the red.’ She thought as she held the card in hand.
Rebecca would have instantly thrown away the card if she saw that John’s red eyes had become pitch black with hints of purple the moment she took the card.
“Are you certain that this shall be your final choice?” he asked in a strange tone, using his tophat to mask his eyes.
Rebecca paused, feeling that she was about to make a pivotal decision in her life, but shrugged away the weird supernatural sensation. Rather, she nodded and held the card thoroughly.
“Yep, this is the one I choose.”
John’s body shuddered, which surprised Rebecca before the impossible happened. He raised his head, showing his mutated eyes and a creepily wide grin that stretched out like some sort of joker.
Before she could comment, a black aura burst out of his body, enveloping the area around them like a thick miasma. Behind John, the image of a giant balance scale appeared.
The card in Rebecca’s hand flew out and entered one side of the balance scale, propping itself there. In front of Rebecca, a contract made of some weird and starchy-looking paper appeared, along with a quill.
The words on it were squiggly and ugly, but she instinctively understood them as she took a closer look. The contract was a slave contract which would gave away her soul for the next 100 years!
In that time, if she dared to disobey or go against the orders of her master, she would have her soul consumed by him for nourishment!
Rebecca was about to back away and run, but found her body to be frozen, making it so that she could only scream internally and watch with horror as her body signed the contract smoothly and easily without her input.
The moment it was done, the contract jumped onto the other side of the balance scale and the weight became equal. With a deep and almost calming tone, John Smith declared:
“The trade is complete, and the scale is balanced. Thank you so much for the successful Abstract Trade, dear Rebecca.”
He then bowed, and the supernatural phenomena disappeared, John himself returned to his handsome and suave looks. Rebecca, who regained control of her body, backed away crazily till she fell on the grass in front of her family restaurant in shock.
“A devil… you’re a devil!” She almost screamed hysterically.
“In part, yes. However, it’s too late for you to be disturbing the sleeping people, isn’t it? Be quiet for a bit.” John commanded as he wore his tophat and smoothed his suit.
Rebecca was about to say more, but found her mouth snapping shut despite her best wishes. No matter how she moved or clawed at her mouth, it wouldn’t open, nor could she make any gurgling or throaty sounds.
It was like her voice box had been switched off completely, something which spooked her deeply. She gazed at John with teary eyes, who decided to explain with a smile.
“A soul contract is different from a mind contract or a physical one. Both of them require input from me for your punishment to work, and they usually work with the deterrence of fear.”
John patted both his arms and continued. “However, I did not contract with your mind, nor your body. I contracted with your soul. Your current mind is too weak to communicate or control your soul, but it can do vice versa. Understand?”
Rebecca understood. The reason she couldn’t speak was because her soul had to obey his orders lest it be consumed, and her soul – whether consciously or subconsciously – feared this, it passively controlled her body to do whatever John wanted.
No, even her mind was not exempt from her soul’s control, so if he told her to excitedly bark like a dog and love the feeling, she would genuinely do that.
Realizing this, Rebecca’s heart fell into despair. Knowing that she had literally sold her soul to the devil was making her want to kill herself on the spot… but could she even do that?
“No, you can’t.” John replied casually.
Seeing Rebecca’s scandalized look, he nodded. “Yes, I can read your mind, but it has nothing to do with the soul contract. You see, I am what you would call, a ‘special person’.”
“First, stand up, and then listen. Good. What makes me so special is that, as you have just witnessed, I possess the ability to make deals with anyone using Abstract Concepts, but I also have some basic psychic abilities like telekinesis, telesthesia, and more.” John revealed to Rebecca, who rose to her feet mechanically.
“Believe it or not, I’m neither demon nor devil, though I have the blood of the latter, allowing me to use their abilities. My subconscious calls this specific type of devil lineage a ‘Broker’. As you have described that makes me the deal-making type of devil.”
“However, unlike the stories, at least my words are not treacherous, and I pride myself in that my deals are not backstabby. You paid the price to lose your soul for 100 years, but you seem to have forgotten that you were supposed to gain something for it.” John reminded her with a strange smile.
That’s right!
Rebecca’s eyes lit up! She was supposed to gain an opportunity to acquire power and wealth like never before!
John smiled widely. “Meet me at the Purgatory Offices in the Business District tomorrow at 8 am. That’s your lucky chance. Miss it, and you will have wasted your soul’s freedom.”
Saying this, John turned around and walked away fashionably, the exact same way he had appeared, leaving the confused Rebecca to stand in the darkness, wondering what her fate would be…
……..
“Well, for a first deal, I’d say that went pretty well.” John spoke to himself as he removed a spotless white handkerchief and wiped his forehead of sweat.
John clenched his fists and gazed at his reflection in a shop’s window. He couldn’t help but smile weirdly at his fancy garb, aware that he preferred wearing baby jeans and a plain t-shirt just a day ago.
However, after being fired from his job for trying to raise the staff against the cruel management, he had hit rock bottom. In his despair, his negative emotions congealed and seemed to have awoken to something within him, causing power and pain to course through his body.
His bed was still bloody from the physical transformation that occurred to make him look this handsome, but he was not too far from his old self.
He had then been compelled by a strange force to buy these clothes with the last of his money and stroll around during the night, as if preying for food. And he had just had his first meal, something he was just as confused by as Rebecca.
Everything he did was through instinct, it had just felt right. But now that it was over, he felt a bit weirded out, as anyone else would.
John then tilted his head strangely when he noticed his reflection in the mirror changed, from having red eyes to pitch-black eyes with no cornea. His reflection smiled lightly and spoke in a strange, tempting voice.
“John Smith. After so long, you have finally awoken as my Inheritor. I have already gone through your memories, and find you lacking of my power, but the will of Lucifer is not mine to disobey.”
“Nice to meet you, too. Are you the source of my new power?” John Smith asked calmly.
“Yes and no. The power you used belonged to the Dark Angel Inheritance, of which you’re of the Broker class. Most usually awake the Succubus or Incubus class, so you are rare.” The apparition answered with interest.
“Dark Angel Inheritance? Broker?” John Smith repeated these terms in his mind with interest, partly understanding them somehow.
“I am of the Serpent God Inheritance, and I represent one of the 9 God Serpents of the Upper God Serpent Array. My name is Eden, and I am the God Serpent of Illusions and Enchantments.” The apparition greeted with a bow, reminiscent of what John Smith had done earlier.
“Interesting. Well then, Eden, what’s your purpose? And what’s my purpose in that?” John asked while rubbing his chin.
“As my Inheritor the two of us are one, so OUR purpose is to seek out our progenitor and become his right-hand helper in this new era. It’s our duty to assist him in all things he does.”
John then made a cool gesture while waving his open palm.
“Well then, good serpent, lead the way.”
