Chương 2: CH1
{Daemon's POV}
It didn't take me long before the melancholy of an unknown identity faded.
Admittedly, time is a concept that was relative to changes in ones perceivable environment before machinery that indicated it existed so the lack of both made it hard to determine the passage of time.
Nevertheless, the screen in front of me remained even as the mental voice faded from my memory, existing as a form of mockery to this life of servitude I was now supposed to live through.
I had long finished reading through the contents of the contract. From now on, my life belonged not to me but to the beings who would decide how I act for their own amusement.
My world... and all the others were simply things for their own entertainment. The despair, joys, and trauma that all of life went through were nothing more but a pasttime to these unknown beings.
I was expected to now act in their favor, carrying out actions that would bring about events that they wanted to happen, regardless of what I myself wanted.
I was basically a slave to fate now, given limited ranges of freedom that'd depend on the being who contracted my services. Should I fail to fulfill the given task or directly go against their wishes, my life would be forfeit to their whims.
Of course, this "industry" protected its employees too, but that protection simply extended to the preservation of the matter of existence and life these being called "Ichor".
This meant that my contracters were free to punish me, but only to a degree where my will to live and sense of self isn't impaired.
'Well, what exactly do I do now?' I thought to myself as I watched in silence the purple sky that hung over me.
[The answer to that is quite simple, no?] The robotic, yet playful, voice replied to my thoughts as the contents of the screen shifted to an interface that offered a variety of tabs.
Analyzing the screen in front of me, the tabs "Home", "System Shop", "Multiversal Trade", and "Commissions" were presented in front of me.
The first tab was, simply enough, an overview of my current wellbeing, listing down numerical values for various aspects of my self like Health, Endurance, Strength, and more.
The second and third tabs were grayed out, offering no change to the interface even as I repeatedly tapped on it. The fourth tab, on the other hand, was divided into two categories that each had their own sub-tabs.
The two main categories were divided into "Open Contracts", and "Specialized Contracts" which were, obviously enough, meant to separate the commissions I'd "accept" in the future.
To accept commissions from the open contracts tab was entirely voluntary while specialized contract are tasks specifically designated for the being's chosen "performer".
Specialized contracts are investigated with scrutiny by higher powers in the industry to make sure of their feasibility for the chosen performer and lacked the nature of being voluntary should they pass the screening phase.
Performers with specialized contracts were bound by their contract with the industry to complete it under threat of punishment. In what form these punishments came, I didn't know, but I had no plans of ever experiencing it.
Commissions, regardless of what type, provided incentives that came in the form of the system's currency, items, or abilities that find their origin in the world chosen by the contractor.
Incentives given upon completion of specialized contracts relied on the difficulty of the changes wanted by the contractor, and the council's arbitration.
Open contracts, on the other hand, only gave as much as the contractor offer, leaving it entirely on the hands and desire of the contractor to see those changes manifest in an isolated timeline.
Each worldline the performers are expected to intervene in are copied from templates that are free of any external intervention.
Once a contractor has chosen the world it wants, a copy of that world is given and remains on time stasis until a performer is found.
Should the performer's intervention satisfy the contractor, the timeline is then given to the performer upon the end of the contract with a record of events being given to the contractor for their enjoyment.
On the other hand, should the changes not be satisfactory to the contractor, well, the isolated timeline is reset to a designated point of deviation and continue or reset to a point of beginning where a new performer will be assigned.
Honestly, a lot of the inner workings of how this industry functioned still eluded me despite the amount of times I poured over the contract which was to be expected.
I doubt something powerful enough to create separate universes would reveal its secrets to people in my position.
It was then that the thought of my origin returned to the center of my mind. Would I be able to return to my world one day by using the system's benefits... maybe I could even be sent there by a future contract?
I immediately tapped on the open contracts tab and used a "Search" feature, typing down the word Terra as it was all that I knew of my origin. Surely the word Terra in Terra-504 stood for something important, right?
Unfortunately, the interface in front of me remained empty even after I specifically searched for the word "Terra-504".
'Yeah... I should've known this would've made things too easy...' I thought to myself before placing a palm over my face as I laughed self deprecatingly.
I cleared the search tab of the words that I had typed in and found multiple contracts reappear, its contents constantly changing as "performers" aside from myself accepted them.
In all honesty, it'd be nice to have someone more experienced to talk to. How did they get past this feeling of emptiness? What motivates them to accept open contracts in the first place?
And most importantly... can we ever go home? Surely these performers have a reason to accept these contracts aside from the unknown contents of the System Shop and Multiversal Trade, right?
What's stopping them from simply mentally detaching themselves from their bodies aside from the rare specialized contracts?
I'd assume the system coins and incentives we are given upon completion have little to no use to us while we're in this remote island so what use do they have?
Are the other performers simply afraid of the punishment that they'd receive should they fail the specialized contracts that they force themselves to complete these commissions for a better chance of succeeding?
And if they are afraid of these punishments to the extent that they'd put themselves on a position of risk, would I too soon follow suit?
~DING~
...
It was with these thoughts that the sound had pulled me from my stupor, forcing me to stiffly look toward the "Specialized Contracts" tab that was undoubtedly a different shade now from the rest of the interface.
I forced my hand to move closer to the screen, shakily bringing a finger closer and closer until the interface's contents changed to what would be my first task.
My breath hitched and paused as I read the words aloud, the sound of my rushing heartbeat filling my ears as I felt a tiny bead of sweat slowly slide down my face.
[A Witch's Wish]
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