I started chanting.

The Cursed Item Security Guard was pulled out of my Inventory Rune along with chains.

The heavy iron clinked and scraped the ground as the eight ends of the chains shot out and buried themselves deep into the dirt with a dull thud.

The Cursed Item hung between them, bound tight.

Its appearance had changed again.

It wasn't just a shadow with a skull face anymore.

Its body was made of writhing black worms, each one made of fear itself.

It had four arms now, and its movements twitched in unnatural ways.

'It's still changing. If it keeps going like this and regains its eldritch form, these chains won't hold it for long,' I thought.

Luckily, it would take time before that happened.

Besides, I planned to bombard it with Positive Energy from today, which would slow its change even more.

I stepped closer until I stood right in front of it.

Its three faces turned toward me, all of them watching.

"I want to make a Binding Vow with you," I said and placed my hand on its shifting form.

The reaction was instant.

"C-Capture the s-subject," it stuttered, voice trembling like static made from fear itself.

The sound crawled into my ears and made my eardrums ache.

My hand was thrown back by a sudden jolt of energy.

The attempt at a Binding Vow broke apart immediately.

"Alright, if you don't want to make a Binding Vow now, that's fine," I said and shrugged.

I turned away and began to activate the Positive Energy gathering array.

The trees rustled softly around me.

To the naked eye, nothing changed.

But when I activated my Hollow Eyes, I could see thin white strands forming in the air.

They flowed toward the marked points around the Cursed Item, drawn to the rune array like threads to a web.

I deactivated my Hollow Eyes before looking at the Cursed Item Security Guard again.

"If you change your mind about the Binding Vow, let me know," I said calmly.

Then I walked over to Yuna, who was watching from a distance.

"When are you going to summon the God?" she asked.

"When this Cursed item agrees to the Binding Vow. After that, I'll summon the God," I replied.

She nodded, looking down at the ground where my rune array glowed faintly.

Her eyes followed the faint lines of the Failsafe Burn runes and the Kill Switch runes I had added earlier.

"You even added Failsafes. How long until the whole array disappears on its own?" she asked.

"One month. After that, everything here will burn out completely. I can also erase it anytime using the Kill Switch runes," I said.

Yuna flew down and brushed her fingers near the glowing lines.

"Lord of Shadows, where is this Positive Energy coming from? I thought this place was supposed to be where Positive Energy gathers naturally, but this feels… normal."

"It is a normal place," I said. "The array doesn't create Positive Energy. It's a God Summoning Array. It opens a path between me and the God I'm calling."

To create this rune array, I had to use all the alchemy materials I had.

I converted the Deputy Director's remains into dust and used all of it, leaving behind only a small portion for later use.

Of course, the materials were still not enough.

So Yuna had to enchant the whole rune array.

Something like this took too much mana, but Yuna's energy limits were off charts. She could use heal and enchant all day and not break a sweat,

Seeing her confused expression, I explained, "To make the array work, I needed an energy source. I didn't have enough materials or energy to do it on my own. So I decided to let the God provide the energy."

Yuna straightened up slowly. "You're… using the God as the energy source to of this array?"

"Yes."

Her eyes widened.

"Please tell me this is a dream."

"I'm sorry to say it isn't," I said with a chuckle. "Anyway, normally I would need to make Positive Energy myself, but I don't have enough power for that at my current rank.

"So instead, I created a passageway.

"The array connects this place to the God's location. Once connected, the God pours Positive Energy through it. I just direct that energy where I need it.

"The Gods normally wouldn't provide the energy.

"But they are locked away by the Major Hidden Clans, and will happily use this chance to leave their locked house," I said.

The locks the major Hidden Clans had placed on Gods were powerful.

That was why I was summoning a strong God.

The locks barely held him, and with a slight nudge from my rune array, he could escape.

And be summoned here.

"I see. That's a good plan. No, wait—it's not!" Yuna frowned. "If the God is providing energy, they'll be angry if you delay their summoning. You don't even know how many days it might take for the Cursed Item to accept you."

I adjusted a few runes, checking the limiter I had added earlier.

The limiter restricted how much Positive Energy could flow into the God Summoning Array.

The small amount that did enter was being redirected into the Positive Energy gathering array, which was used to keep the Cursed Item Security Guard suppressed.

Until I removed that limiter, the God wouldn't be able to send enough energy to fully open the path and summon himself here.

Would that make them angry?

Maybe.

Did I care?

No.

There was a reason why Hidden Clans had chained down these gods in the first place.

"It's fine. I'll just tell the God that the array malfunctioned. That's why it took longer," I said. "

Yuna looked at me, incredulous.

"You talk about lying to gods like it's normal."

"It is, kind of," I replied.

She rubbed her temples.

"Which God are you summoning anyway? These arrays work best when built in a place tied to the God's nature. You built this one in a forest, so… God of Forest? What are their other domains?"

"Forest. Clothes. Hunt. Beast. Protection. And Abundance," I said.

"Clothes?" she repeated. "That's… a powerful domain. Everyone in this world wears clothes. That means most people are unknowingly sending faith to this God. That would make them very strong."

I nodded. "Exactly."

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