"I only wanted to live…"

Justin wanted to live for his family—for the ones he cared about most—so he could return home one day. That desire turned into obsession after witnessing death for the first time.

First it was with Adam, and then during the Dungeon Rescue of Brutus, he witnessed even more people perish. Despite performing his role well, he found himself at the edge of death so may times.

To many, he was always the optimist—the jovial guy with no care in the world.

But inside… he was being torn apart.

He had countless nightmares of death that it eventually caused him so many sleepless nights. All of this compounded, becoming worse by day.

Until…

'I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!'

Justin grew desperate.

So desperate in fact that he made a deal with Adrien at the time, after being offered a way to preserve his life and escape death.

He would need to become an Undead—a high-class one, of course, but still an Undead.

With this new change of race, he would be immune to fatal damage and a lot of Status Conditions that would adversely affect humans. He would no longer need to sleep, hence preventing the nightmares from plaguing him.

Best of all… he would become stronger.

With all of these on the platter, there was already very little chance that he could refuse. However, Adrien also threw one more thing into the mix.

"I'm working on something that'll get all of us home. Join my side, and you can be a part of it."

That sold it for him!

There was no way he could refuse at that point… even if the cost of the deal was his life itself..

The price he had to pay to attain his desires was to relinquish the one thing that could cause his demise—his Soul.

**************

"As an Undead, as long as you have your Soul intact, you can't really die. Since it belongs to Adrien and it is in his possession, one can even say it benefits you the most since any attacks on your Soul wouldn't kill you anyway… is what you tell yourself to feel better about your entire arrangement, isn't it?" Ater's question poked right into Justin's heart, but the boy could say nothing.

If he did so, his demise was inevitable.

"With this arrangement, only Adrien can kill you since he has your Soul hostage. I'm sure you've made some pre-existing arrangement that prevents you from doing some things… such as telling me the details of such an arrangement. Doing so would alert Adrien, and he wouldn't hesitate to finish you off since you're nothing but a tool to him."

The more Ater spoke, the more Justin felt pricks in his heart. He got everything right, and the very thought that someone could figure it all out without him opening his lips to say a word was frightening in itself.

It only made the helpless boy wonder just how much Ater knew about.

"Selling your soul for returning home… that sounds so poetic." Ater seemed to be making fun of his decision, but Justin did not regret it one bit.

He could count at least three instances where he would have already died without the perks of being an Undead. He didn't regret his decision since it helped him live this long.

If only he hadn't gotten caught, then… then maybe he would have actually…

"What if I told you that I could break these shackles holding you back… even making you stronger in the process?"

Justin's eyes widened and his brows were raised as he heard this.

After hearing all that Ater had said, and seeing some of the things he could do, there was no doubt in Justin's mind as to the capabilities of this man.

Even judging from his incredibly confident demeanor, it was clear that this man could back up his words.

The question, however, was why?

"Why would you choose to go this far for me?" Justin spat out.

He was a traitor who backstabbed everyone and was working secretly for a deserter. He hid his strength in critical moments, and even though it was likely that he could have prevented Eric's death, he did no such thing.

Even he hated himself for all of these, and yet…

"I quite like you, Justin. I believe you have potential, and I suspect it's why Adrien chose you as well…"

"R-really?"

"Of course not. Pfft! You're just easier to manipulate because you have things you hold dear, and a very strong desire to achieve your dreams." Ater laughed, causing Justin's slightly hopeful face to crumble in an instant.

He never once thought of himself as special or especially intelligent, but this was the first time hearing that he was easy to manipulate.

"Listen well. The most difficult people to control are those who have nothing to lose. As long as stakes exist, there will always be those who can see them."

Justin didn't even have the chance to process what Ater said before he was bombarded with another volley of information.

"I am the person you've been talking to all week, not Adrien. I'm certain he doesn't know the recent occurrences in the Capital. Even if he does, it is only to the extent that Master does, which is why I've intentionally limited the information I distributed… just in case…"

"Y-you were—?!"

"Yes. I have been observing you for some time too. Adrien's little dog… sniffing for clues and information for your owner. Well, I don't want that for you, Justin. You deserve better, you know?"

"W-what? Isn't that what you're trying to turn me into? A loyal dog?"

"I'm more of a cat person, you know? But that's besides the point." Ater shrugged those words away as if they were nothing.

"I want you to be my subordinate, Justin. I treat my subordinates well, you know? And if you agree… everything you desire will be yours."

Justin watched Ater in silence, waiting for a few moments before getting the inevitable question.

"So… what do you say?"