BXBX NOVEL Chapter 86: The Hidden Pact
Janna had already sensed that the amount of soul crystals Jeremy had brought back this time alone was enough to heal ten percent of her injuries.
In that instant, Janna became anxious. "Jeremy, I command you to hand over those soul crystals immediately!"
As she spoke, an aura of divine authority naturally emanated from Janna, making her presence intimidating without effort.
Having been a goddess for countless years, Janna's tone naturally carried an air of superiority and command.
Immediately, Jeremy felt a surge of irritation. Grinding his teeth in frustration, he thought to himself, "Does this woman still not understand that she depends entirely on me?"
With that in mind, Jeremy took a few steps back. Not only did he not hand over the soul crystals as Janna had demanded, but he even seemed ready to turn around and leave.
Janna was stunned.
"How dare you, Jeremy! I command you to hand over the soul crystals at once!"
"Jeremy, I am a goddess! Do you intend to defy me?"
"Jeremy, if you give me those soul crystals, I will forget all past grievances!"
...
Seeing that Jeremy remained unmoved and continued to retreat slowly, Janna grew even more anxious. "This mortal! I've even offered to let bygones be bygones, and he still dares to act like this!"
A wave of unprecedented grievance surged in Janna's heart.
After putting some distance between himself and Janna, Jeremy turned around, casually digging at his ear, and said coldly, "Janna, you still don't get it, do you? If I don't want to help you, there's no way you'll ever escape the Prison of All Souls in your lifetime!"
"If you don't want to accept my goodwill, then stay here by yourself. I'll prove that I can escape this Land of Eternal Night on my own!"
This time, Jeremy addressed her by her divine name directly, showing not a shred of reverence.
Janna, seemingly oblivious to this disrespect, hastily said, "Jeremy, you can't leave! If you go, you'll never be able to return to your world!"
"The Land of Eternal Night has long been set up as a trap by the [Sun]. There's no way a mere mortal like you can break out of it!"
"I can help you! I can!"
Jeremy remained unmoved, glancing at Janna as he said, "Even if I can't escape from the [Sun's] trap right now, I believe that with enough power, I will be able to return someday."
"Teaming up with a goddess whose true intentions are unknown is the real danger."
What Jeremy said were his deepest concerns.
After all, Janna was a goddess. If she fully regained her strength, given their history, it would be a miracle if she didn't kill him, let alone help him escape the Land of Eternal Night.
With that, Jeremy prepared to sever his soul connection with his Substitute Puppet.
He had made up his mind never to return to the Prison of All Souls.
From Jeremy's tone, Janna could easily sense that this time, he was serious.
Immediately, an unparalleled sense of fear enveloped Janna's heart.
Jeremy was right. Without his help, it would take Janna at least tens of thousands of years to recover from her injuries on her own.
By then, the world would have changed beyond recognition, and Janna would have long lost the chance to confront her enemies after finally breaking free.
There's even a possibility that Janna's enemies won't allow her to peacefully recover within the Prison of All Souls.
Seeing Jeremy about to sever their soul connection, Janna gritted her teeth and said, "Jeremy, don't go. I'm willing to sign a divine pact with you, promising never to seek revenge against you from now on."
Hearing this, Jeremy's spirit, which was about to leave the Prison of All Souls, immediately returned to his Substitute Puppet.
With a predictable smile on his face, Jeremy slowly turned around.
Seeing the smile on Jeremy's face, Janna instantly realized that Jeremy had been bluffing her all along!
Jeremy clearly had no intention of leveling up through monster farming to escape the Land of Eternal Night on his own!
In fact, ever since Jeremy discovered that the "Dawn Break" event was a trap set by the [Sun], he had abandoned any plans to complete the event through conventional means.
Not to mention how much time Jeremy would need to reach the power level required to contend with the [Sun].
The time required could be so long that Jeremy might die of old age before achieving it.
From the numerous Sinners who had previously entered the Land of Eternal Night, it was evident that there was something fishy preventing the players from leveling up higher.
Even without these issues, Jeremy wouldn't rely on the [Sun] allowing him to level up at his own pace.
From the very beginning, the only way to escape the Land of Eternal Night was to cooperate with Janna.
Realizing she had been outmaneuvered, Janna ground her silver teeth, her face full of unwillingness.
However, since the conversation had reached this point, Janna knew that if she didn't offer Jeremy some kind of assurance, he would indeed turn around and leave.
Using the small amount of divine power she had barely restored, Janna retrieved a scroll seemingly made of gold from her storage space.
Throwing the scroll to Jeremy, Janna closed her eyes and said, "This is a divine pact. Once it is signed, even a god cannot break it."
"Write the terms of the contract with my blood and leave your soul imprint on it, and the contract will be sealed."
Janna's eyes remained tightly shut as she spoke. Being forced to sign a divine pact with a mere mortal was a first for her.
Upon hearing this, Jeremy immediately used the Eye of Omniscience on the so-called divine pact.
Instantly, the item's information appeared before Jeremy's eyes:
[Item Name: Divine Pact]
[Quality: Golden (Divine)]
[Description: An artifact used for forming contracts between deities. Once signed, even gods cannot break it.]
[Hint: Laugh heartily three times before using the Divine Pact to write a hidden clause into the contract.]
An expression of ecstatic joy flashed in Jeremy's eyes!
For a moment, Jeremy's fingers trembled ever so slightly as he held the [Divine Pact].
Jeremy thought to himself, "If I can write a hidden clause, then I could potentially make Janna serve me as her master!"
The idea of having a beautiful goddess as a slave would make Jeremy laugh in his sleep.
Unfortunately, this was clearly impossible.
It wasn't that the contract terms couldn't be written, but Janna's pride was such that if she discovered she had become Jeremy's slave, she would likely self-destruct on the spot.
After some thought, a new idea suddenly struck Jeremy: "Wait, if the contract terms are written this way, it could work perfectly!"
In a flash, Jeremy had come up with an almost flawless plan.
Without further hesitation, Jeremy approached Janna with the Divine Pact in hand.
Janna's divine blood, required for writing the contract, was all over her body.
Strangely enough, despite the unknown length of time that had passed since Janna had been injured and imprisoned in the Prison of All Souls, the divine blood on her body showed no signs of coagulating.
As Jeremy crouched down, an exquisite and enduring fragrance wafted to his nose.
Following the scent, he realized it originated from the divine blood on Janna's body.
Just a single whiff invigorated him immensely.
For a moment, Jeremy's throat involuntarily gulped, and he felt an overwhelming urge to lick the divine blood.
Fortunately, since his mental attributes had surpassed ten thousand, his willpower had grown significantly stronger. In just a few moments, Jeremy managed to suppress this somewhat twisted desire.
Jeremy hesitated briefly before extending his finger to swipe some of the golden blood from Janna's unusually fair arm.
In the next instant, a streak of golden blood stained Jeremy's fingertip.
Janna's body involuntarily shuddered.
Never in her life had a mere mortal touched her body.
Unfurling the Divine Pact, Jeremy quickly began to write.
"Divine Pact Clause One: After the contract is signed, the goddess Janna shall not seek any form of revenge against Jeremy."
"Divine Pact Clause Two: After the contract is signed, Jeremy must collect soul crystals for the goddess Janna until her injuries are fully healed."
"Divine Pact Clause Three:..."
A peculiar thing happened when Jeremy began writing the third clause: each word, written in what seemed like molten gold, would vanish the moment it was inscribed.
From time to time, Jeremy would swipe his finger over areas on Janna's body where the divine blood was more abundant.
Each time he did this, Janna would reflexively shudder, even though Jeremy touched were not particularly sensitive—mostly arms and legs. Nonetheless, an indescribable sense of humiliation caused a slight blush to creep up Janna's cheeks.
Finally, Jeremy finished writing the contract's terms.
Looking at Janna, who lay there with her eyes still closed like a lifeless fish, Jeremy hesitated for a moment. Then, gritting his teeth, he quickly collected a few drops of divine blood and stored them in his storage space while Janna wasn't paying attention.
Clearing his throat twice, Jeremy said, "It's done."
Janna immediately opened her eyes and demanded, "Unroll the contract. Let me see what you've written."
With a nonchalant expression, Jeremy unrolled the Divine Pact.
Seeing the straightforward two clauses written on the Divine Pact, a hint of joy appeared on Janna's face. "Very well, let's sign it as is!"