After reading it, Nocturne showed an interested look.
Luke smiled and said, "Sixty years, for a demon like you, is naturally just the blink of an eye, not worth mentioning, right?"
"That is true."
Nocturne did not deny it. There was a faint smugness in his tone.
To humans, sixty years might be very long.
But to him, in truth, it would pass in the blink of an eye.
He possessed a near-immortal life, so naturally, he did not place those sixty years in his eyes.
However, the current Nocturne did not want to stay in this damned place for even another moment.
He wanted freedom tomorrow!
No, he wanted freedom immediately!
He carefully sensed it. On this seemingly simple contract, there was indeed a special aura. That must be the method this brat had added to it.
But it did not make him feel any danger.
Thinking of this, Nocturne could not help laughing inwardly.
Did this brat truly think that relying on a contract reinforced with magic would be enough to restrain him?
Had he forgotten what Nocturne was born from?
This made Nocturne recall things he had already nearly forgotten.
Back then, he had been born because a group of shadow mages wanted to control the evil thoughts of the spirit realm. He became their puppet, controlled by them, and used the spirit realm to wantonly cause slaughter and destruction.
However, as his understanding of the spirit realm deepened and his strength grew, the restrictions those shadow mages believed were utterly reliable had already begun to fade from Nocturne's body.
That was right. He had easily broken free from their control, then turned around and killed all those shadow mages.
Later, in the physical realm, a human dark mage attempted to become his master through a similar method. The condition was that he could help Nocturne come to the physical world.
Nocturne happily agreed.
The human mage thought he could easily control Nocturne and make him bring disaster to the land. However, after Nocturne arrived from the spirit realm, the first thing he did was kill that mage.
The so-called restrictions of dark magic had long since been easily broken by Nocturne.
So, in Nocturne's eyes, the contract before him was like a child's toy, crude in every way.
He even suspected that this brat had put less effort into it than that dark mage had.
But that was not important. To Nocturne, this was an opportunity.
As long as he established contact with the spirit realm, he would be able to grasp a way to break the seal on his body. This was the confidence he possessed as a high-ranking demon.
For now, however, he still needed to play along.
Nocturne withdrew his gaze from the contract and frowned, amusement showing in his little black bead-like eyes. "Kid, do you really take me for a fool?"
Luke's expression did not change, and he asked curiously, "What do you mean?"
"This contract only says that I have to obey your will, but it doesn't say what you have to give me in return. Just freedom? You think that is enough?"
He pointed out the contract's unreasonable nature.
It only stated that Luke would return his freedom after sixty years, but did not say what else he could obtain beyond that.
This was clearly an unequal, one-sided contract.
"I see."
Luke nodded in realization. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Then what are your conditions?"
Nocturne said calmly, "My condition is that I can help you deal with this Dreamnet or whatever it is. But I must have at least three hours of activity time in the spirit realm every day."
He knew these two humans clearly had concerns about letting him move freely in the spirit realm, but he was deliberately bringing it up anyway.
This point could be placed openly on the table as a bargaining chip. It would depend on which side had more confidence in their own methods.
Otherwise, just looking at the contract's contents, he needed to unconditionally obey Luke's commands.
If Luke forcibly ordered him to leave the spirit realm after finishing the Dreamnet, then he would absolutely be the side that suffered.
Sure enough, just as Nocturne expected, Luke slowly frowned, his face full of concern and thought.
After a while, Luke shook his head. "No. Three hours is too long."
He wrote his worries right on his face.
"There is no time in the spirit realm. To you, is three hours really long? It will pass in a blink just the same."
Nocturne's tone was faint, and he held himself very high, like a master negotiator controlling the table.
He was completely unlike the cowardly little black dog from before.
In other words, he was putting on an act.
Naturally, he knew that three hours was impossible to negotiate successfully, so he had named an unreasonable time right from the start.
Now, it depended on where this brat's bottom line was.
"You understand the spirit realm far better than we do. What if you use the channels of the spirit realm to go back to your old business and hurt other people?"
Luke voiced his concern, then gave his condition. "One hour at most, and during that hour, you cannot harm innocent people either. If you agree, I will add this clause to the contract right now. If you don't agree, then there's nothing to discuss."
Nocturne's expression did not change. He pretended to think it over for a while, then finally nodded. "Fine. I agree."
After all, everything was only an act. What he ultimately wanted was simply to return to the spirit realm.
When the time came, he could use every method at his disposal to find a way to escape.
This contract, in his eyes, was nothing more than wastepaper.
Luke had Frey bring over pen and paper, then added new content to the contract: Nocturne would have one hour of free activity time in the spirit realm, but during that time, he could not harm innocent people.
After both sides confirmed there were no problems, the signing ceremony began.
Luke wrote swiftly and neatly, signing his full name in Party A's section, then placed the contract in front of Nocturne.
"Your turn."
He seemed to still have something he could not let go of and was still frowning in thought.
Nocturne laughed inwardly and did not give him any more time to think. He pressed his dog paw against the red ink, then slapped it onto Party B's signature section.
At this moment, he had already thought about what he would do after going to the spirit realm.
Humans were still ignorant in the end. They could not understand what the spirit realm meant to him.
After so much pretending, the act was finally over. The dawn of freedom was right before his eyes, and Nocturne was extremely excited.
Yet in the next second, he saw something strange.
The dog paw print he had pressed onto the contract actually began to change. As the lines shifted and flowed, they ultimately transformed into two words.
Nocturne.
The little black dog's eyes widened. He did not understand why such a change had occurred.
Another second passed, and an ominous feeling suddenly appeared deep in his heart.
There was a kind of restriction and suppression far beyond his understanding taking root deep within his soul at a terrifying speed, growing wildly and brutally.
It seemed to be a power from a higher dimension of life than his own. No matter what means he used, he could not understand it or resist it.
His soul began to tremble. At this moment, the Eternal Nightmare felt deep fear.
From this contract, so simple that it could not possibly be any simpler.
He actually foresaw the outcome of violating the contract. His soul would be directly torn apart, crushed into complete destruction.
Irreversible. Irresistible.
He had originally believed that the spirit realm would be his hope of liberation. Yet there was a kind of despair so absolute that before he even reached the spirit realm, he already knew his hope had become faint.
This was the terrifying feeling this contract brought Nocturne.
At the same time, he felt that some kind of strange connection had appeared between him and Luke.
From the other party came the same irresistible pressure as the contents of the contract.
"You, what did you do?"
Nocturne's eyes widened. For the first time, fear appeared in those little black bead-like eyes.
In an instant, he understood that once this contract was signed, it would become something he could not resist at all.
How could the physical realm possess such a horrifying, completely law-defying, one-sided contract?
Even the strongest binding magic should not have such a powerful, even terrifying, effect.
And what was even more frightening was that this had come from a human prince of a mortal kingdom.
One had to know that before two months ago, this country had been in a state of absolute prohibition toward magic.
Yet now, the restriction Luke had taken out had directly overturned Nocturne's entire worldview.
Only two seconds had passed, but Nocturne already felt intense regret for what he had done two seconds ago.
He understood that this contract was absolutely not a joke. From this moment onward, he would become a slave who completely obeyed Luke.
Although his own conditions had been written on it, at this point, what use were those conditions?
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
Why had it turned out like this?
Nocturne roared inwardly, but his soul was still trembling under the contract's terrifying pressure.
At this moment, however, Luke completely changed from his earlier hesitant, worried, and uneasy expression. Instead, he revealed his signature smile. "Looks like you already understand. This contract isn't as simple as you thought. You should also know that the contract has now taken effect."
Nocturne swallowed with difficulty and forced out a smile. "I may have spoken a little loudly just now. I apologize."
On the surface, he was apologizing. In reality, he had already cursed Luke to hell and back in his heart.
This damned human brat had actually played him!
If he had known this contract was so terrifying, Nocturne would never have signed it even if he were beaten to death.
Sixty years. For the next sixty years, in front of Luke, he would have no room to resist whatsoever.
Even if the seal on his body were directly removed!
"Weren't you having a great time negotiating terms? Weren't you acting pretty impressive just now? Didn't you think you had me completely figured out?"
At this moment, Luke reached out, grabbed the little black dog by the scruff of his neck, and roughly lifted him up, then smiled at him.
In Nocturne's eyes, that smile was nothing short of terrifying.
If he could sweat, Nocturne's face would already be covered in cold sweat. He forced out an ugly smile and did not dare make a sound.
"Also, you seemed pretty unhappy with me in your heart just now."
Luke's light, casual words made the little black dog tremble again.
Damn it. Could this contract even sense his inner thoughts?
If he could, Nocturne really wanted to slap himself right now. If he had known earlier, why had he been so confident? Why had he acted so high and mighty?
Luke did not care about these little things right now. He casually tossed the little black dog away and said, "From now on, you can enter and leave the spirit realm as you please. Stay as long as you want. Then hurry up and finish the Dreamnet. I'm giving you three days. Understood?"
The little black dog's heart stirred, and he immediately lay on the ground and said, "Understood."
Enter and leave the spirit realm at will?
This made Nocturne's ash-dead heart show signs of rekindling.
He still held a sliver of hope. If he had more time, perhaps he could find a way to break this contract.
Was this brat really that confident in letting him go?
After leaving the Dreamnet laboratory, Frey also voiced her concern. "Your Highness, are you really going to allow him to freely enter and leave the spirit realm? You must know, that place is his domain."
She still understood demons somewhat. Demons often had some mysterious and unpredictable abilities.
In other words, although they had sealed Nocturne through some method, they knew nothing about his situation in the spirit realm.
No one knew what would happen if Nocturne were allowed to return to the spirit realm.
Luke smiled dismissively at this moment. "Don't worry. At least for these sixty years, he won't be able to turn the world upside down."
How could he not trust something produced by the system?
If even this could not handle Nocturne, then Nocturne turning the tables would be inevitable sooner or later anyway.
Besides, Nocturne was not one of the Ten Great Demons, and he did not have the ability to overturn the board.
Sixty years was already more than enough.
As for what happened after sixty years, that could be discussed when the time came.
For now, the Dreamnet matter was basically as good as settled.
Hearing Luke say this, Frey stopped thinking too much about the matter. She naturally trusted Luke's abilities completely.
If Luke said this matter was handled, then it was handled.
As they walked, Luke said, "You still need to tell that dumb dog how to handle the various details of the Dreamnet."
Frey nodded and replied, "Yes."
After seeing Luke outside, Frey turned and went back.
When she returned to the underground laboratory, the little black dog was lying on the ground with his eyes closed, while his consciousness had already entered the spirit realm.
To many people, the spirit realm was an extraordinary place, close at hand yet impossible to touch or see.
In truth, this place was the other side of the physical realm, more fantastical and more pure.
There were also creatures here. Or rather, spirits.
Otherwise, Nocturne would not have been born in the spirit realm back then.
Some people with powerful consciousness could enter the spirit realm in spiritual form, or connect with the spirit realm to achieve cultivation or other effects.
Cultivating in the spirit realm was often faster than in the physical realm.
However, only a small number of people could accomplish this.
Many mages could also enter the spirit realm through magic.
This was also a place where many demons dwelled, because human consciousness would reflect back into the spirit realm. Evil thoughts were the same. Greed, lust, killing intent, these were often the stones that gave birth to certain demons.
But likewise, human goodwill would also give birth to many beautiful things in the spirit realm.
The spirit realm was endlessly profound. Its wonders were no fewer than those of the physical realm.
At least, after many years, Nocturne's return to this realm gave him an incomparably familiar feeling.
He felt that the world was vast, and he could at least be considered "free."
Yet when he stood between heaven and earth here, Nocturne froze awkwardly.
For the first time, he felt such clear confusion.
He actually did not know where he should go.
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