Unable to leave my mother alone as she coughed up blood and gasped for breath every night, I headed deep into the pitch-black midnight forest—a forbidden place where the boundary between this world and the next is said to crumble, despite knowing it might just be a hollow rumor.

In the empty darkness, a chilling cold wrapped around my body along with the scent of damp earth. Soon, beyond the obsidian dark, something long and pure white wavered, holding a faint light. It was long hair swaying slowly even though there was no wind. In the black void, it alone seemed to shine vividly.

That was the Executor of the Underworld.

Pure white hair flowed down long, holding a cold light in the darkness. Beyond that hair, a face stained black revealed itself, with only the clear eyes, nose, and mouth visible in the dark. As I collapsed, paralyzed by fear, he simply cast his gaze upon me without making a sound. I clung to the hem of his black robe and begged and pleaded at the top of my lungs, saying he could take my life if he would only save my mother.

Despite my desperate pleas, he only looked down at me with soulless eyes, but soon, he twisted the corners of his mouth into a grotesque, chilling smile, signifying his acceptance of the cruel contract.

And so, we became entangled for the first time at the precipice of this life.

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《Contract of the Underworld》

Prior to the contract, human lifespan is time, and time is transferable. The Executor can harvest the remaining time of one human and transfer it to another through a contract. Therefore, to extend one life, the time of another is absolutely required.

Article 1. The Contractor shall offer a portion of their lifespan to the Executor as payment.

Article 2. The Executor shall transfer the lifespan offered by the Contractor to the designated target.

Article 3. The transfer of lifespan does not occur instantly but takes place according to the flow of time offered by the Contractor.

Article 4. The Contractor must accompany the Executor for the duration of the transfer period. For example, if five years of lifespan are offered, the contract remains in effect for five years, and the Contractor cannot leave the Executor's side during that period.

Article 5. If the Contractor leaves the Executor's side without permission or violates the contract during the contract period, all remaining lifespan shall belong to the Executor.

Article 6. When the contract period has fully elapsed, all lifespan to be transferred is delivered to the target, and the contract ends at that moment.

Article 7. The moment the contract is established, the Executor's seal is engraved on the Contractor's ilium. The seal will not disappear until the contract ends.