Chapter 1 A wide grin extended on Ryder's face as he walked forward. He was invited a few days earlier—now it was his turn to begin the ritual. By that I mean, The Ritual of Familiar. It was indeed, finally his turn to contract a familiar beast from the "Astral Shadow" plain. As he stepped into the building, a sudden burst of wind swept across his face—the aura radiating from the conjuring room to its enclosure was simply overwhelming. It wasn't comforting in any way; in fact, it felt like walking into a thunderstorm... Not like he've walk through a thunderstorm before, but you know... The invisible energy radiating was making his hair stand. But still, despite the discomforting pressure of the aura, he still felt like his body was being drawn toward the direction of the conjuring room. "Freaking hell..." Ryder murmured under his breath, trying to maintain his composure. The last thing he wanted was to look weak in front of anyone, especially given his expectations. After ei

This whole situation was offering Ryder more benefits than anything else.The fact that a human soul had no limit meant he had no fear of adding an extra summoning beast.Visiting the devil's plane as a whole was not common. As a chosen one of the black mark, if he was going to survive, it would be a waste not to enjoy the privilege to the fullest.The beast in front of him, despite being so small, was still a devil beast. Its strength was on another level.Since he was given the choice to allow this beast into his soul without any downside, he was more than happy to agree. "Fine," Ryder nodded, trying to project calmness despite the fear etched in his eyes. "I agree to your terms. Bind with my soul and guide me to the Dracogon."The devil-viper bunny's eyes gleamed with mischief. "Smart choice, human. I've been watching you since you arrived, I knew you were different. Most unmarked humans would have run screaming when they see me.""Run when they see you," Ryder reasoned. "Who would

The Astral Shadow Plain is made up of multiple smaller plains. About how big these small plains can turn out to be, it is easily three to four times greater than the biggest planet in the galaxy Ryder came from.It can also be relatively small, like the Dracogon's domain, which is just as big as a whole country back on Ryder's planet, Terra.The Dracogon's domain, despite its relatively small size, holds within it a power that would make even the mightiest beings pause.Each demon, even the weakest, can cause great chaos if brought to earth untamed. This fact isn't just for the Dracogon plain but also for other black mark exclusive plains owned by demon monarchs.In the Astral Shadow, powerful beasts with incredible destructive capabilities that are also feared by many other beasts can create their own plain or dominate a free plain.After creating or dominating their plains, some introduce Astral wanderers beasts into them, making them free for any beast to enter and exit at any time,

Luxy simply stared; that is all he could do right now. He stared, puzzled and surprised at the new information he was gaining from Hollow, his crimson eyes reflecting a sincere surprise. The revelation hit him pretty hard, learning that a human could be marked right from birth, and more shockingly, Ryder was marked by the Dracogon. To be honest, just like Hollow stated, he had no clue about why he suddenly changed. For eons—literally eons, because time in the Astral Shadow Plain moved differently than in the human realm—he had been just like the other obedient servants in the Dracogon's plane. A good little devil-viper bunny, following orders, keeping his head down, never questioning the natural hierarchy that placed him as a mildly useful servant. And then, suddenly, one day, something inside him had snapped like a twig. The urge to resist, to push boundaries, to see what would happen if he disobeyed the most feared entity in his district. He believed he did this due to bo

Temperature fluctuated wildly—sweltering heat one moment, a more intense heat the next—coloring the plane in with multicolored light.Plants withered and crumbled to dust while the ground beneath cracked.The climate itself was malfunctioning.Lesser demons and devils present in the plane were all tumbling through the air like leaves in storm.All these intense presence that consumed everything was as a result of the Dracogon making his way downward.Even Hollow, who wasn't present in the physical plane but rather inside Ryder's soul, could feel it."I guess this is where the whole story changes. I am afraid I won’t be letting you go from my grasp, even if it means battling the Dracogon." Hollow spoke inside Ryder's mind, slowly disintegrated into particles and flowed away until he disappeared.There was something Ryder noticed in the demon monarch's mental voice but what exactly it was was still hard to tell. Was it uneasiness, or perhaps... concern?No, that couldn't be right. Demon