Bab 4: A Pact Is Made
Sui Li groaned as she felt her body being stretched, squeezed and pulled in different directions.
The inside of the portal was complete darkness so she could not see anything. There was nothing more terrifying than the unknown.
"Please… please… let this end… let this end… I can't…" Sui Li hoarsely pleaded to anyone who was listening.
There was no reply.
She could not help but close her eyes and pray that it would be over soon. That mysterious creature was a heartless bastard.
Without any warning it opened up a black portal and tossed her right in. Sui Li had no idea where the hell it led or what was waiting for her on the other side.
Everything was just happening too quickly.
She barely had any time to process the fact that she had been chosen as an agent for an organization known as the Time Space Authority.
And yet somehow, she was now being sent off on her first mission without any cheats or gold fingers.
A helpless burst of laughter escaped Sui Li's mouth as she contemplated the absurdity of the entire situation.
Kill dangerous individual capable of destroying entire planes of existence?
Fuck that.
At that moment Sui Li made an important decision…
She decided to just give up.
It would not be a big deal to fulfil the wish of the original owner of whichever body she had to enter in order to complete the mission.
But as for the main objective to hunt down those villainesses… well she had already died once so it wasn't a big deal to die again.
In the worst case, she would simply return to that endless white void and spend the rest of eternity floating lazily.
As she reached this realization, Sui Li suddenly felt a lot better.
It was an unexpected blessing to be able to live again so she might as well enjoy her second life freely before she was inevitably fired.
Sui Li felt a mysterious force tugging at her body and then she was abruptly hurtled towards an unknown location.
She opened her eyes to find herself in a tiny room no bigger than a regular bedroom with plain white walls.
A single light bulb was hung in the center of the room which provided dim lighting and occasionally flickered.
Sui Li was currently sitting down on a simple wooden chair that creaked ominously with any small movement that she made.
In front of her was another wooden chair but there was someone or rather something hovering directly above it.
What the heck was that?
Sui Li cautiously leaned away from the strange creature that resembled a floating white cloud of gas.
"Are you the one who can grant my wish?" a feminine voice asked in a confused tone.
Sui Li glanced around the room in shock as she tried to find out which direction the sudden voice came from.
"Are you the one who can grant my wish?" the voice asked a second time.
There was no one else inside the room except for herself and the floating gas cloud.
Wait… was the cloud talking to her?
"Yes… I am the agent…" Sui Li hesitantly replied.
She genuinely had no idea about what was going to happen next.
The mysterious creature said that she needed to negotiate a deal but how was she supposed to do that?
The floating cloud trembled violently and to Sui Li's surprise it began to compress. Gradually the gaseous mass formed the shape of a woman.
The light bulb suddenly went out and the room plunged into total darkness.
A few moments later the lighting came back, and Sui Li saw an attractive woman sitting across from her on the wooden chair.
Fierce was the first word that came to Sui Li's mind as she saw the woman stare at her with a cold expression.
She was a western beauty with short cropped blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and sharp angular facial features such as high cheekbones and a hooked nose.
The strange woman was over six feet in height with a lean muscular physique. The muscles on her arms and legs were firm and toned.
Every inch of her exposed skin was covered in scars and bruises that displayed her battle experience.
She wore a set of white armor that covered part of her body but oddly enough not her limbs.
Holy symbols and markings that Sui Li could not recognise had been etched onto the surface of the armor.
A picture of the sun had been painted in the middle of her chest guard.
There was an aura of killing intent surrounding her body that made Sui Li feel a little bit uncomfortable and truthfully… a bit scared as well.
As Sui Li stared at the strange woman, she was also being observed and a frown soon appeared on the woman's face.
"My name is Claire Blanlyn," the woman introduced herself and gave a polite bow with her hands held across her chest.
"Yes… um… my name is Sui Li, and I am the agent assigned to you…" Sui Li quickly replied.
"Pardon me for my rudeness but you do not seem to be very experienced," Claire noted with a cold expression on her face.
It was a bit harsh, but Sui Li could completely understand where she was coming from.
Frankly this fierce knight looked as though she was better suited for the job of killing a villainess.
Sui Li assumed that it would be a simple matter for someone of her skill to quickly strike down and kill in cold blood.
Sui Li thought carefully about what to say next and eventually decided that honesty was probably the way to go.
"I'm sorry but this is actually my first mission, and I may not be as experienced as the other agents in this department," Sui Li confessed truthfully.
"But I can guarantee that no matter what happens in regard to my main objective, I will do my best to complete your wish first."
There was a brief moment of silence in the room as the female knight stared at her for several long minutes.
Sui Li waited patiently but was secretly a bit annoyed that Claire wasn't saying anything.
Did she approve or not? Actually, what would happen if the negotiation failed?
Would she be sent on another mission? Or would that nasty creature simply kick her out of the department without a second chance.
These questions lingered in Sui Li's mind as the minutes passed by.
Finally, the female knight let out a heavy sigh and leaned back against the wooden chair.
"Well… it doesn't matter since my request is simple," Claire spoke calmly while crossing her arms across her chest.
"Don't break my vows and become a paladin worthy of serving Varion the Lord of Light."
A bitter expression flashed across Claire's face and Sui Li briefly glimpsed an endless abyss of self-hatred and regret.
Claire's voice suddenly lost its confident tone as she whispered softly,
"I am no longer worthy of being a paladin. In my hubris I turned my back on my lord and I paid the price for my betrayal."
"Promise me… promise me no matter what happens… you will fulfil my vow."
Sui Li could clearly see the desperation on her face as this powerful female knight bowed her head and begged for help.
"I promise you," Sui Li solemnly spoke as she stretched her right hand outwards.
Deep blue runes appeared out of thin air and surrounded her hand. Sui Li was surprised to discover that once again she was now frozen in place.
Claire grabbed her outstretched palm without hesitation and a strange power flowed between them.
Sui Li could see her body gradually turn translucent and another black portal opened up from beneath her feet.
The last image that she saw before she vanished from the room was the grateful smile on Claire's face.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
HopelesslyRomantic
HopelesslyRomantic Hello my dear readers,
The first arc will begin tomorrow. I'm really excited to put my own twist on a familiar tale.
Thanks for reading! :D
Hadiah
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