As Rin and Chris turned to leave, Thrúiowre called, "Wait. Do you not want to stay a while longer? I would not mind resisting you, if you wanted a challenge."
"Pfft!" Rin exploded into laughter, hugging Chris's waist from too much guffawing.
"Haha, it was exactly as you said, Chris. He's super bored!"
Then as Rin faced him, his hair began to turn golden at the roots, leaving the deep blue hair at the rest.
"Sure, Thrúiowre. I'll play with you…"
***
Back to the present.
The memory faded like smoke to the sulfur wind, then Rin blinked, back in the scorched plain, his blood still drying on his chin.
Inferna and Munganda still supported him on either side, their hands gentle but firm on his arms. His left arm still throbbed under Munganda's subtle violet healing glow, his bone slowly realigning with soft pops.
"I understand you, Thrúiowre," Rin said to the Void Keeper as his maids helped him stand properly, "But I can't even heal myself right now without ticking off GoG. So I can't play with you at the moment…"
"I… See…" Thrúiowre glanced at a volcano stirring from afar, the lava bubbled higher in its crater, red light flaring against the dull sky. "It cannot be helped, then—"
"But!" Rin interrupted them. "Has anyone ever told you to leave this toxic job of yours?"
"Inconceivable! I shall cut down whoever suggests such a thing!" Their voice shook the terrain. Dark rocks cracked under their foot, and distant lava rivers surged in angry pulses. "No one else can do this work better than I! There must be balanc—"
"Hey, Thrúiowre, make a pact with me," Rin suddenly asked.
He knew Thrúiowre was hardheaded and stubborn, but he had to try.
Rin shrugged off his maids' support and took one unsteady step forward. Inferna's hand hovered near his elbow, ready to catch him anytime. And Munganda's violet glow dimmed as she watched him move, worry etched into her face.
"You won't have to give up your job, and you will see more of me if you wanted."
Rin continued, standing on his own now.
"I bet you don't know what ice creams are; you don't know what it feels like to watch people have fun, and you lack the warmth of family. I used to be like you once—lonely and not feeling like I needed anyone but myself… but now I see my wrong, and I assure you, you will too. Come with me."
Rin stretched forth his hand, as golden light erupted from his palm, pure and warm despite his battered state.
The light wove itself into an ancient carving; intricate runes and interlocking sigils that floated between them like a bridge of starlight.
The pattern extended outward, with ornate lines reaching toward Thrúiowre's massive form, stopping just short of the Titan's armored chest.
"Make a pact with me… I'm sure I'm your only visitor, anyway. No normal person would try to orthodoxly cross dimensions knowing you sit here all the time."
The golden carving swayed softly, casting warm reflections across the black obsidian ground. Lava rivers hissed in the distance, but the immediate area around them grew strangely still; it was as if there was no wind, or tremor, but only the quiet hum of the forming pact.
***
Rin's voice carried warmly across the scorched obsidian plain, the golden light still wavering from his outstretched hand.
The ancient carving hovered between them; runes interlocking like a chain of starlight, warm and steady despite the dull volcanic rumble in the distance.
"Kiyoshi Rin. Do you assure me… that you would never grow tired of me and abandon me after a while?" Thrúiowre's deep voice was softer now, almost hesitant, as the starry red glow inside the helmet dimmed to a fainter color.
'Ah, so that was what happened that led you to be the Void Keeper, huh,' Rin pondered silently.
Indeed, the Titan's loneliness wasn't new; it had always been there, buried under their self-ordained duty and armor.
Rin just hadn't expected it to speak so plainly.
Perhaps, Thrúiowre was not the Void Keeper at a primal time on the past.
"You looked at me and my followers, and you wanted what we had… That is what you'd get… And, yeah, I get to fight someone strong more frequently!" Rin's tired and bloody grin returned, brightly genuine.
Thrúiowre regarded him for a long moment, then the Titan stepped forward. One massive armored hand rose slowly, with their palm open. The golden carving flared brighter, with lines stretching to meet the Titan's touch.
Thrúiowre had accepted the invitation and the light encompassed them and Rin.
The glow swallowed both of them in a warm waterfall of light; golden threads wrapping around armor and flesh alike, binding without heavenly force.
Rin felt the familiar tug of a pact sealing, but this one was different: more ancient and heavier. The only pact that felt close was the one with Chris.
Then GoG rang out;
«Success: Kiyoshi Rin and Thrúiowre, the Void Keeper, are now bound by a Master and servant pact. [Storage Space] have successfully evolved into [Void Pocket.] The Lewd Meter has also dropped to 5%. Few minutes until master is turned into bacteria»
"Eep! I'm sorry!" Rin cried to GoG, as the chime echoed in his skull like a warning bell.
Thrúiowre, however, wondered what voice spoke in their mind just now, the Titan's red glow for eyes dilating in confusion, and their head tilting as though listening to a distant sound.
Later on, Rin asked Thrúiowre to change their appearance, like his other followers did, to not attract attention.
"You're scary, plainly put," he confessed.
The Titan nodded at his request.
Then black fog rolled from the seams of their armor, quite thick and swirling, while swallowing the massive form whole.
When the fog settled, what remained was a lovely beautiful lady in full dark armor, now about the size of a normal person.
She removed the helmet and her extremely dark hair flowed out like ink as she shook her head. Her eyes were ghostly red, like a dark sky filled with red stars dotting it; deep, infinite, and luminously enchanting.
"Uhm… You were a girl?!" Rin was stunned, as GoG explained to him:
«Explanation—