Zoukar' The Mad

In never-ending darkness, his consciousness hovered around. Nothing other than loneliness and pitch-black surroundings could be seen.

"Did I die due to my blunder of half entering the circle? If I knew such a thing could happen, I would rather not have stepped even half inside the magic circle," he thought inwardly.

In that never-ending darkness, a bright gleam shone from a bit far from his current position. That shine attracted him while captivating his consciousness. Kazuma had no other option but to check out that thing.

"At least let me see what that thing is! What could be worse than death for my consciousness living in this nothingness?" he pondered inwardly.

Gradually, he approached that brightness and that gleam blinded him for a while as he lost his vision. That moment felt like another moment of darkness for him until some chants entered his ears.

"Oh! My Lord, please accept my offering of a worthy soul for my heed [Soul Speaker]."

Kazuma opened his eyes to find himself in a dark cave with a creepy old man dressed in a purple robe. His hands were in the air as if praying for something, while one of his hands held a staff with three skulls at the top.

Even that much wasn’t enough for him to be creepy, so he wore a skull necklace around his neck. He chanted some strange things in an unfamiliar language, which Kazuma could somewhat understand.

Another weird fact was that Kazuma was present within a small circle lined by skulls and flames as if in a ritual. As he gradually scrutinized the area, everything seemed larger than it was supposed to be.

"I don't have much height but it should be sufficient, so why is everything big as if I'm some sort of dwarf all of a sudden? Keeping that aside, who the hell is this weird black magician cosplay man?" he said inwardly.

Although the cave was also dark, the flames lit around him provided aid in watching things more clearly. That man suddenly stared at Kazuma and chuckled sinisterly.

He said with a creepy smile, "Hahaha... My magic is successful even under these conditions. I'm the best black magician! What if no one accepts the fact that my creation and results could prove my claims!"

He again began to laugh eerily on his own. Listening to his laughter, Kazuma thought this cave must have been devoid of any life. That's why this man’s ghoulishly laughing created an echo of his weird voice.

That man came a bit closer to Kazuma and sniffed him. That action somewhat frightened and disgusted Kazuma. Why would a man sniff another only if there wasn't some strange fetish he had?

Nothing happened the first time Kazuma tried to stand up and ask the strange cosplayer a question. He was dismayed by that action. He was perplexed by his inability to either talk or stand on his feet.

"What happened? Why am I unable to speak and why don’t I feel anything in my body?'' he screamed inwardly.

As his head jumbled with all sorts of questions, that man again chanted something before Kazuma, "Oh my lord! I wish to grant this creation of mine the name ‘Astroth’. Please provide me with enough magic to complete this task."

A bright gleam shone from Kazuma’s body, and he could now feel his body down the head. Likewise, he screeched to check whether he could speak or not. However, all he could blurt out was a strange animal squealing, not a word.

He expected his body to at least work; conversely, it was even weirder than his voice. He felt his paws and short limbs attached to an even shorter body than a human’s. A small tail slithered down his ass while an odd protruding flap flapped over his back.

He screamed inwardly, "What is happening? My body is gone, and I possess a strange reptile animal."

He was inhabiting the body of some strange animal with scales and height around a puppy, which he had never seen in any books or social media, or the internet, confirming this animal to be rarer than rare. Yet that fact didn't help Kazuma much to begin with. Even if he was an animal now, knowing what actually happened was his desire for the time being.

"Am I transported or summoned? Is this reincarnation because I thought I died for a while at that point?" he wondered.

Then the robed old man spoke to Kazuma, "You are Astroth now! I had a hard time resurrecting this body. Obey me from now on. Bow to show me you are under my command."

"Are you insane or something? Why would I bow to some senile man?" he asked himself as he bowed to the man on all fours with some strange reflex.

"What the? My body is moving on its own!" he screamed in bewilderment in his head. He tried to resist the command, but a striking pain emerged within his body, splitting his head asunder.

He squealed in pain and withered around!

That man chuckled and said, "Don't try to resist. I have placed a soul binding on you. I was in dire need of a guardian and found this divine body here, so I called a soul to inhibit this dead body. I'm amazed at how the body didn't decompose in such a place. It's the most spectacular specimen I've ever seen in all my years of travel. If I had other options, I could have experimented patiently. However, the situation did not allow it. And about your binding, Until and unless I called a human soul by chance, you cannot deny my orders. I'm not even concerned about that happening since I called a worthless soul from nothingness, hence a human cannot be summoned... hahaha."

His statements baffled Kazuma since he never thought such things could be possible. However, the man before him just declared himself the master of this strange reptile body. The fact that Kazuma could never deny him was bizarre, but the ray of hope was also hidden in the man's remarks.

He didn't know that somehow Kazuma traveled to nothingness and this man had summoned a human soul here. The remarks about worthlessness still hurt Kazuma a lot. As he tried to speak, only squealing sounds emerged from his voice box.

"At least I can someday deny his orders if his explanation is right. But why is he speaking to me? Aren't I supposed to be an unintelligent animal? His way of speaking somehow resembles mine. I talk a lot when I'm by myself. Maybe he’s lonely or something. But wait, he said, a dire need and some circumstances. Where are we in reality?" Kazuma pondered.

Also, Kazuma had qualms about this man’s laughter. It was as if the whole world was mocking Kazuma, who again proved to be worthless in this situation. He pondered his existence for a moment.

Meanwhile, that robed man put his hands inside the pockets of the robe and picked up a scroll-type thing. He smirked and glanced at Kazuma. With a momentary pause, he said, "You’re not much help now, That's why, for the first time, I'm going to invest a lot in something I don't know much about. I would keep you alive if I received better than my investment."

He gradually opened the scroll and ripped it apart, aiming toward Kazuma. Kazuma was shrouded in warm flames with a gleam, frightening and panicking him to his core.

"Was that magic? But wait, is this man trying to burn me alive after learning I'm not what he wanted? " He said inwardly.

The flames were extinguished in seconds, leaving only smoke. Kazuma swirled around to check his body parts, which were far from being burnt. His amazement had no bounds since he first time saw real magic, keeping his strange possession aside.

"That's flame magic! I gave you the basic foundation to use flames to help me effectively," that man said.

"So I can use magic, huh? I would be more overjoyed if I could somehow again be transported back to my old body," Kazuma sighed.

"Before I give you something more profound, you should know my name to make your bond stronger," the old man said.

"I'm one of the reigning black magicians of the world, Zoukar the Mad. Bend before me, oh fallen one." He spoke and continued his chants.

With a slight bow, Kazuma had to bend hesitantly and a strange mark engrained on his forehead marked the proof of his enslavement, which resurfaced some bitter feelings inside Kazuma.