The Guild Master's silence stretched, a heavy, suffocating blanket in the otherwise well-appointed office. His eyes, fixed on my face, were no longer just curious; they were calculating, assessing. My twin brother, Juts, stood beside me, oblivious to the silent battle being waged. He was still a child dreaming of acceptance. I was a man who knew better.
Finally, the Guild Master broke the silence. His voice was low, and his words were measured, each one a stone on a scale. "Dax Jackal... you've cleared the monster population around this city, just that?" He gestured towards my gauntlet, the faintest flicker of envy in his eyes. "And with a Common Gauntlet at that? Preposterous."
I didn't flinch. "I am who I say I am. The monster population is proof. Your own logs will verify it."
He leaned back in his chair, a thin smile playing on his lips. "Perhaps. But a man with your talent... what do you want from me?"
"Registration," I said simply. "A place in your guild. Access to your resources."
The smile on his face widened, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I see. You are a threat, not a potential asset. You're too young to be bound by the guild's rules, too cunning to be trusted. A man like you, with this kind of power, would only bring chaos to the city. I cannot allow it."
I had anticipated this. No established power would welcome a wild card like me. I was a loose cannon, an unpredictable variable that could disrupt their entire system. But I had a plan, a simple, brutal plan to force his hand.
"You have two choices, Guild Master," I said, my voice as cold as ice. "You can give me what I want, and I will be a powerful ally. Or you can refuse me, and I will be a far more powerful enemy. The choice is yours."
The Guild Master's eyes narrowed, and his hand moved subtly towards the hilt of a sheathed sword on his desk. "You threaten me, a man of my standing? You are just a boy. I will call the guards, and you will be thrown into the dungeons. You will rot there until you tell me all of your secrets."
"I don't have time for a fool's gambit," I said. "You're a hunter, Guild Master. You know what it takes to survive. You know that a man with nothing to lose is the most dangerous kind of enemy."
I looked at Juts, who was still bewildered by the conversation. This was the moment. The moment where his innocence would be shattered, and he would realize the true nature of the world. "Juts, my brother. What do you want?"
Juts, still clinging to his childlike innocence, looked at me with a mixture of confusion and fear. "I... I just want to be a hunter. I just want a place to belong."
I sighed, a cold, humorless sound. "There is no place for us to belong, Juts. There is only a place for us to conquer."
The Guild Master, seeing his chance to intimidate us, stood up, his hand now firmly on the hilt of his sword. "Guards! Seize them!"
But before the guards could burst through the door, I made my move.
I placed my hand on Juts's head, my gauntlet's energy pulsing with a dark, sinister power. I had a secret that only a few people knew in my past life. A secret that would prove my identity and force the Guild Master's hand. I activated the gauntlet's ability, and a dark, obsidian energy flowed into Juts's body.
Juts screamed, a sound of pure agony and terror. He fell to his knees, his body writhing in pain. His gauntlet, the common, mass-produced artifact he was so proud of, began to glow with a dark, sickly green light. It was an ability I had discovered only in my past life, a forbidden technique that was considered to be a curse. I could channel the energy of my artifact into another, strengthening their abilities, but at a terrible price.
The Guild Master's eyes widened in horror. He knew what I was doing. He had heard of this ability before. It was a dark, ancient power that only a few people knew, a power that was so terrible it was considered a taboo.
"You... you are using a forbidden art!" he stammered, his face pale. "You are... a Soul-Binder."
I smiled, a cold, cruel expression on my face. "I am what I need to be, Guild Master. You have seen what I can do. I can give him a place in your guild, a place where he will be a powerful hunter, a man who will be a credit to your guild. Or... I can destroy him. The choice is yours."
The Guild Master, seeing the pain on Juts's face, the sick, green light that flowed through his body, knew that I was not bluffing. He also knew that a Soul-Binder was a force to be reckoned with. They were a threat, but they were also a source of great power.
"Stop!" he commanded, his voice filled with a mixture of fear and rage. "I will give you what you want. But on one condition. You will join my guild, and you will be bound by its rules. You will not harm anyone in this city, and you will not use your abilities for your own gain. Do you understand?"
I released Juts, and the sick, green light faded from his body. He was still in pain, but he was alive. I looked at the Guild Master, a cold, calculating look in my eyes.
"I understand," I said. "But you have to understand something, Guild Master. I will not be your pawn."
He said nothing, his eyes fixed on my face, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. He had just made a deal with the devil, and he knew it. He had just given me a place in his guild, a place where I would be a powerful hunter, a man who would be a credit to his guild. But he also knew that he had just let a monster into this city.
I looked at Juts, who was still on his knees, his body trembling. He was confused, frightened, and bewildered by what had just happened. He was still a boy who wanted a place to belong. But he was also a pawn, and I was his master.
The game had just begun.