My First Pet Is a Nightmare God

Chapter 7: You Will Do

The logistics office smelled of stale coffee and old paper, a mundane contrast to the humming runes that lined the walls. I stood in front of the clerk’s desk while he scrolled through my reassignment file on his tablet, his expression one of bored disdain. The man barely looked up as he spoke.

“Support duties, Drax. Cleaning the lower training halls after sessions, running errands for ranked students, inventory checks in the beast supply wing. Nothing glamorous. You start tomorrow at dawn. Don’t be late, and don’t cause any more trouble than you already have.”

I took the tablet he slid across the counter, scanning the long list of degrading tasks. Sweeping up shattered training dummies. Fetching fresh meat for higher-ranked tamers’ beasts. Scrubbing blood and scorch marks from the floors where real students proved their worth. It was designed to remind me of my place or rather, my lack of one.

Behind my eyes, Nyxar stirred with dark amusement. “They give you scraps and expect gratitude. How delightfully predictable.”

I kept my face neutral as I signed the digital form. The clerk smirked faintly, clearly enjoying the sight of another failure being put in his proper slot. “Try not to break anything else. We’ve had enough cracked eggs for one year.”

As I turned to leave, a quiet spark of cold satisfaction bloomed in my chest. They still saw me as the same broken boy from the arena. That illusion would serve me well. While they assigned me to menial labor, I would use every spare moment to understand the power now coiled inside me.

The moment I stepped back into the corridor, Nyxar’s voice returned, smoother and more intimate than before.

“You will do nicely, Lucien. Very nicely indeed.”

I walked toward the outer dorms, the academy grounds bustling around me with mid-morning activity. Students in crisp uniforms hurried between classes, their bonded beasts trailing beside them like living status symbols. A girl with a shimmering wind sprite floated past, laughing with her friends. A boy commanded his stone golem to carry heavy training equipment without breaking a sweat. Every display of effortless power grated against old wounds, but now it also fueled something sharper a calculating hunger.

“Tell me more about the bond,” I said under my breath, careful to keep my lips still. Speaking aloud to an invisible entity would draw unwanted attention, but I needed answers. “How does it work? What can you actually give me?”

Nyxar’s chuckle vibrated through my mind, rich with centuries of arrogance. “Direct. I like that. Most vessels waste time with fear or denial. The bond is simple yet profound. You are the vessel. I am the source. The more you feed me through conflict, through absorbed energy, through the fear and pain of your enemies  the stronger we both become. In return, I grant you fragments of my power. Shadows that obey. Strength beyond mortal limits. Senses that pierce deception. And eventually… evolution.”

“Evolution?” I kept walking, eyes scanning the path ahead. A group of third-year students glanced my way, their expressions shifting from curiosity to mockery when they recognized me.

“Yes. Your kind has its beast evolution systems ranks, skills, forms. Mine is older. Darker. The more you surrender to the bond, the more I reshape you. Your body. Your mind. Your very soul. But be warned, contractor. The line between us will blur. Some pieces of ‘Lucien Drax’ may not survive the process.”

I felt a flicker of unease at his words, but it was quickly overshadowed by the memory of last night’s power rush raw, corrupting, and addictive. The way my senses had sharpened, the way the shadows had responded to my unspoken will. For the first time, weakness felt like a choice rather than a curse.

A tall figure stepped into my path, blocking the way. Kael Thorn. Top-ranked genius tamer, arrogant and admired by nearly everyone. His golden mane lion paced beside him, muscles rippling under sleek fur. Kael’s lips curled into a mocking smile as he looked me up and down.

“Well, if it isn’t the cracked egg himself. Heard they reassigned you to janitor duty. Fitting. Try not to trip over your own failure on the way to scrub the floors.”

His friends laughed behind him. The lion’s golden eyes fixed on me with lazy contempt.

I stopped, meeting Kael’s gaze without flinching. Inside, Nyxar’s presence coiled tighter, eager.

“Move,” I said quietly.

Kael’s smile widened. “Or what? You going to summon that dying rat of yours? Go on. Entertain us.”

The lion took a step forward, growling low.

A cold current rippled through my veins. Shadows at the edge of my vision flickered once subtle, almost imperceptible. The lion suddenly froze mid-step, its growl cutting off into a confused whine. Its ears flattened, and it backed up half a pace, eyes wide with sudden fear.

Kael frowned, glancing at his beast. “What’s wrong with you?”

I felt a small, private surge of satisfaction. Not enough to reveal anything, but enough to remind me that the balance had already shifted.

“Nothing,” I replied calmly. “Perhaps your lion simply senses something you don’t.”

I stepped around him before he could respond, continuing down the corridor. Behind me, Kael’s voice rose in irritation, but the laughter from his group sounded forced this time.

Nyxar’s voice returned, laced with dark delight. “You see? Even their beasts know. They feel me. Soon the tamers will too. But for now… play the weak one. Let them underestimate you. It will make their screams all the sweeter when we stop pretending.”

I reached the outer dorms and slipped inside my small room, closing the door behind me. The space felt less like a prison now and more like a cocoon a place where I could begin to test the limits of what I had become.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I closed my eyes and reached inward, tentatively calling on the shadows at my feet. They responded instantly, rising in thin tendrils that coiled around my fingers like obedient smoke.

A smile touched my lips cold, unfamiliar, and entirely mine.

“You will do,” Nyxar had said.

For the first time, I believed him.

And as the shadows danced silently in my palm, I felt the first real stirrings of what was to come.

The weak boy they had mocked was gone.

Something far more dangerous had taken his place.