Chapter 40: The First Summon

Draven sat cross-legged on his bed. He pushed his mana into the black tattoo on his right hand.

VWOOM!

The world dissolved. He arrived in the center of the Astral Server. The endless void stretched out in every direction. Draven stood on the polished obsidian floor. He was ready to test his godly authority.

He willed a glowing interface into existence. The server allowed him to search for any soul currently residing in Bastion Seven. He typed in a specific name.

Sirius Statanham.

He was the undisputed Don of the underworld. He controlled the black markets. He owned the smugglers.

He was a ruthless and brutal man. But Draven knew his deepest weakness from reading the original novel.

Draven selected the name and initiated the astral pull.

FWOOSH!

A body materialized in the air and crashed hard onto the obsidian floor.

THUD!

Sirius Statanham groaned. The Underworld Don wore a sharp tailored suit. A nasty scar ran down the left side of his face.

He instantly rolled to his feet with the practiced grace of a veteran killer.

Sirius raised his hands. He tried to summon his dark magic.

Nothing happened.

His eyes widened in sudden panic. The ambient mana in this dimension completely ignored him. He was totally powerless.

"What is this?" Sirius demanded. His voice echoed into the infinite darkness. "Who brought me here? Show yourself!"

Draven did not manifest as a human. He used his absolute control over the server to shape his astral projection.

He appeared as a massive and shifting void of pure darkness. He had no face. He had no human features. He was simply a tear in the fabric of reality.

A heavy and godly pressure flooded the area.

Sirius dropped to his knees. The sheer weight of the aura forced his head down.

He could not comprehend the entity standing before him. His mind screamed that he was in the presence of a true deity.

"Welcome to the Embracing Hands," Draven said. His voice was deep and layered. It vibrated directly inside Sirius’s skull. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Sirius gritted his teeth. He struggled to look up at the shifting shadows. He had experienced powerful beings in the Bastion 7. He was the Don of the Underworld.

He knew what was happening in the Bastion like it was his own playground.

’Never in my Life have I ever felt this helpless! This person... No! This entity is not something I can handle. If they wanted my Life, I would have been dead a long time ago. Because summoning me here with some weird methods, which I cannot comprehend, I should just play it safe for now. I cannot die yet. Not until..’

"Are you done thinking your way out? Did you find a way to get out of this situation?" Draven asked.

"Who are you? Are you a God?" Sirius asked with a trembling voice.

"What do you want from me? I have money. I have absolute control over the black markets. Take whatever you want."

"If I wanted to take your life, your empire or your money, you would already be dead and I would have been gone before you can even think about it," Draven replied coldly.

"Oh! It would definitely be a peaceful death. Death, where you feel nothing. But Death shall not be bestowed upon you, son!" he continued.

"Power can force obedience. It cannot buy true loyalty. I brought you here to offer a deal."

Sirius swallowed hard. The terror in his chest warred with his natural instincts as a businessman.

"A deal?" Sirius asked cautiously. "What could an entity like you possibly want with a mortal sinner like me?"

"I want you to do a job for me," Draven stated. "In exchange, I shall bestow saving grace upon your son."

Sirius froze entirely. The color drained from his scarred face.

"How do you know about my son?" Sirius whispered. His voice cracked with raw and desperate emotion.

"I know everything," Draven lied smoothly.

"I know he suffers from the Rotting Blood Curse. I know you hide him in a fortified basement. I also know you plan to seek out the Medicine Sage on the eastern side of the continent."

Sirius stared at the void in pure disbelief. Only his most trusted lieutenants knew about the Medicine Sage expedition.

"You will never reach the Sage in time," Draven warned him.

"Your son will die in exactly three weeks. The journey takes two months."

Tears welled up in the hardened mob boss’s eyes. He slammed his forehead against the obsidian floor.

"Please," Sirius begged. He abandoned all his pride.

"Please save him. I will do anything. I will burn my own empire to the ground if you ask it."

"The cure is simple," Draven explained.

"The curse requires a neutralizing agent. You do not need a legendary sage. You just need a Silver-Vein Root. It grows abundantly in the toxic swamps of the Wildlands. Boil it with purified water and feed it to him."

Sirius looked up. His eyes burned with frantic hope. He had spent billions of credits looking for a cure, and the answer was a simple wild root.

"I will send my best scavengers tonight," Sirius swore quickly. "What is your price, my Lord?"

"Tomorrow night, I have a pest control operation at the Academy," Draven said. The dark void shifted and swirled with his murderous intent.

"I need you to use your bribes. Manipulate the guard rotations at the Vanguard Medical Ward. Create a massive blind spot on the VIP floor at exactly midnight."

Sirius did not even hesitate.

"Consider it done," Sirius promised fiercely.

"I own three captains in that sector. The floor will be completely empty. The security cameras will experience a convenient malfunction."

"Good," Draven said.

He raised a shadowy hand. The godly aura intensified.

"Do not fail me, Sirius," Draven commanded.

"If you secure the hospital, your son lives. If you betray the Embracing Hands, I will erase your entire bloodline from existence."

VWOOM!

Draven snapped his fingers. Sirius Statanham was instantly ejected from the server.

Draven stood alone in the dark void. The heavy pressure vanished. The godly act dropped completely. He let out a dark and satisfied chuckle.

"Hell Yeah! The underworld Boss is in my hands!" Draven exclaimed.

"It’s quite exhausting to act like a God! Alright then! Next step is..."