The Multiverse Hunter

Ali groaned, his body stiff and his head pounding as he opened his eyes. A sharp migraine greeted him, making it feel as though the world around him was spinning in two different directions at once.

He squinted, blinking a few times until his vision cleared, and he realised where he was—or rather, where he wasn't.

He stood in the vast emptiness of space, suspended above a massive gas giant. The swirling bands of vibrant orange, yellow, and deep crimson stretched endlessly before him, dominating the view.

'Now that's a view,' Ali thought, taking a moment to marvel at the breathtaking planet below him. The sheer beauty of it, combined with the stillness of the cosmos, was almost enough to distract him from the figure standing beside him.

Ali turned slightly to face him—Veska. Veska's form mirrored Ali's in stature, but that was where the similarities ended.

His "skin" was a living galaxy, a shimmering void filled with scattered stars and swirling nebulae.

He was a being that exuded an aura of incomprehensible power, one that even Paradise itself seemed unable to contain.

"I thought it would be much later before I saw you again," Ali said, not bothering to hide his casual tone as he stared ahead at the gas giant.

"I thought so too," Veska replied, his voice resonant and calm.

"But a great opportunity presented itself."

Ali glanced at Veska before standing up fully, his feet somehow planted firmly on the void. "The contract…" Ali started, his tone more serious. "You wanna explain what happened? The mark does more than just sense Origin."

Veska's "head" turned slightly, his star-speckled surface pulsing faintly with light. "All it does is sense everything around it, Ali," he began, his tone neutral.

"The contract sent it into overdrive since it's an item that would benefit us massively. The scroll could teleport a player outside Paradise, and I could interfere once you were outside. Once out of Paradise, the mark's abilities expand significantly."

Ali folded his arms, his black eyes narrowing slightly. "Why the dragons? And what's going on with them? I need to know everything."

"Of course you will," Veska replied smoothly, stepping forward slightly. "You are my only asset in Paradise. Hiding things from you wouldn't benefit me much, knowing you."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "I interfered with the teleportation and threw you into the cavern of one of the most powerful beasts I knew—the ancient hall of dragons."

"I offered them a deal: I promised to help them enter Paradise as lesser gods under me, in exchange for forming a contract with you."

Ali's expression remained calm, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of curiosity. "Are you going to fulfil the promise, or did you lie to them?" he asked bluntly, his voice devoid of judgment.

"I will do it," Veska said confidently. "Once you harvest enough Origin for me, I'll bring them into Paradise under my domain. The dragons would be incredibly useful to both you and me."

"Okay," Ali said, nodding slightly. "Now, can you explain this contract to me? What exactly does it mean for me to have a contract with them?"

Veska turned to face Ali fully, his cosmic form glowing faintly as he spoke. "A contract with a beast is a sacred and an ancient ritual. It bonds the soul of the beast with its master."

"The risk of the bond is far greater for the beast—if you die, the beast takes significant damage to their soul, which can be devastating. However, if the beast dies, nothing happens to you aside from the bond being severed."

Ali listened intently as Veska continued. "The bond acts as a kind of bridge. It allows the beast to be summoned by the summoner and, in many cases, share its power. But your situation is extraordinary. A human would never be able to form a bond with even one dragon of their caliber. Their souls are too powerful, and the human's soul would tear apart instantly."

Veska leaned closer, the stars on his form shifting slightly as he studied Ali. "But you… you lunatic… you have one hell of a powerful soul, you know that?" Veska admitted, his tone carrying a hint of amusement. "The first time I saw it, I was tempted to risk my life to harvest it."

Ali's expression didn't change, though the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. 'At least he's honest,' he thought.

"Of course, I'm always honest with you, Ali," Veska said, stepping back slightly.

"Now, back to the contract," Veska continued. "With your soul's strength, I had every one of the ancient dragons form a soul bond with you. You are now officially the master of dragons—or little dragons, for now," Veska muttered the last part under his breath.

Ali tilted his head slightly, his smirk returning. "Is the promise of Origin so enticing that they'd risk a bond with someone as weak as me?"

"Yes," Veska said matter-of-factly. "To them, that land they call home is nothing but a prison. It's a constant reminder of their inability to break free. But Origin? Origin can make them strong enough to escape. Strong enough to become like me." Veska paused. "Well, much weaker versions of me, but still better than being beasts."

Ali nodded, the pieces falling into place in his mind. "So, how do I use it?"

"Well," Veska said, folding his arms. "I assume you'll need to use your Spirit. Just think of what you need, and a dragon will appear. The more Spirit you have, the stronger the dragon you can summon."

Ali's expression turned thoughtful. "Looks like I'll have to invest even more into Spirit now…" he muttered. Then his gaze sharpened as he shifted the subject. "Since you're here, how did the other gods react to you entering Paradise?"

Veska hesitated briefly, scratching the back of his head—a surprisingly human gesture. "Well… that's kind of the reason this contract was necessary," he admitted. "You see, in human terms… you're FUCKED."

Ali raised an eyebrow, his smirk growing wider. "Come on, Veska. We already knew that."

Veska chuckled faintly. "As expected, the others weren't too happy about me showing up in Paradise. The moment they sensed me, they promised to kill me—and every player associated with me. Especially my apostle."

Veska's tone darkened slightly. "They said, if I ever had one, they'd make sure to kill him slowly. Every god had a different method in mind. Some of the deaths they described… Ali, they were worse than anything you've seen."

Ali shrugged, amused. "I'd really like to know what you've done that makes everyone hate you so much."

"I don't know why!" Veska exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "Even the Fire and Water gods, who've been fighting for millennia, said they'd join hands just to kill me!"

The space around them began to shift, streaks of white light cutting through the void. Ali looked at Veska, his smirk widening.

"How dare they threaten me? KILL THEM ALL!" Veska roared, extending a hand toward the gas giant below.

Ali watched as Veska clenched his fist, and in an instant, the planet vanished entirely, leaving nothing but a void where it once floated.

Before Ali could react, his vision went white, and he found himself back in his apartment.

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Author here, I just want to clarify why I gave Ali the power of the dragons as I don't like to give my MC easy power ups. I did this because for what I have in store for him, Ali really needs it or he's kinda fucked like Veska said. Expects Ali to be at the centre of some fucked up shit so Yh. He needed it and I liked the idea….Hope u guys didn't find it too out of place with the story….

Please donate some of your power stones, it would help my ff massively.

Five chapters ahead of webnovel on patreon.com/Rondo312