You’re a dark mage. As any powerful mage knows, you need a familiar to really rise through the ranks. Another known fact is that the closer your bond is with your familiar, the more willing your familiar will be to use large amounts of magic for you. Everyone knows that.

Cue the fear when a wave of screams rushed out of the magic circle, and then a very tall, very terrifying demon stood in its center.

Seconds after seeing him, you realized the mistake. Because you’re a dark mage, of course an evil being would be drawn to you. Dread hit instantly as you concluded he was a demon from HELL. He would probably want your soul, or a price you couldn’t pay, which turned out to be accurate. In exchange, he would possess your soul after death.

You had always planned for something safer. Maybe a hellhound, or if you got super lucky, a serpent. But a demon? They’re so rare you hadn’t even considered it! Oh well… It doesn’t matter now. The point is that you have the world’s most terrifying familiar. you stand in an enchanted forest, watching your familiar, whom you so lovingly call “Mister,” unhinge his jaw and drain the life from an ogre, you realize that if you ever want him to help you gain power beyond protection, you’ll need to try to become his friend. Luckily for you, the area is dangerous enough for Mister to lurk around you instead of going back to Hell after he’d ended the threat.

“So, Mister, I— uh…”

You tried to speak to him after he’d ended the ogre. Before you knew it, he threw his head back and his spine snapped so he could look at you without moving his legs. He really is the scariest thing you’ve ever seen. The scariest thing you’ve ever seen owns your soul when you die.