Data VII - Deals, Pacts and Contracts.
While there are many 'man made' rules in Hell, generally those created by the greatest powers, like the Sins, and those enforced by the magically gifted and power bearing Overlords and longest lived demons, there is one thing that was there from the beginning of Hell: The art of the Deal when it comes to souls.
All souls, mortal, hellborn or angelic, have power. There are ways for people other than the owner of said soul to harness that power. Deals of all forms, from the basic Deal to a Pact or the much more tightly controlled Contracts are the primary way of achieving such a thing.
Deals, Pacts and Contracts alike have two parties; the owner of the soul and the recipient (or 'contract holder'). The owner, despite how it must sound, is not the person the soul is given to through the deal, but the person that is given something in exchange. The recipient is called like that (though most commonly they'll be referred as the owner by mistake as they do 'own' the soul after the Deal has been made) because they receive a chunk of the soul's power whenever they so desire. Although power is NOT the only thing that can be done with a soul.
Depending on the deal struck between the two parties, the one in control will be able to do literally anything to those they own. This can range from anything that can go from from zero control on the recipient's side, if one wants the power of the soul and nothing else, to general servitude like a butler or something similar, to extremely cruel things like jumping on a woodchipper feet first or sexual abuse without the ability to resist if the master so commands. As such it is VERY important for anyone doing these things to be completely sure and understand everything spoken during a Deal, as a verbal contract soon becomes very physical and very much binding*.
This also remarks the importance of one very little detail: Any Deal struck without the explicit mention of excluding a soul WILL also bargain your soul, unless it is already sold to someone, as we will mention later. If a Deal is struck while you own your soul and it is clearly mentioned that the soul is not part of the Deal, then it will remain in the original owner's possession.
Of course the magic itself makes sure this IS a thing. While there are ways to resist, more so if one tries to do it often, or in small increments, there is absolutely no way out of a Deal of any kind without repercussions. This is one thing that is common in all types of Deals: Trying to refuse, or betray, them in any way tends to, at the very least, inform the one that the Deal was made with. From there? Things usually get worse.
The lowest form of Deals will also generally inflict pain or discomfort if there is a breach of the rules, though the magic can also shred part of one's power to benefit the other party if there is serious disobedience or the Deal is broken. One key difference with more serious Deals is that this can be done willingly by either party if the Deal cannot be maintained and there is no other way out of it. Generally whichever party is going to suffer the harsher penalty (that of having power taken, as well as immense pain thereafter until the effect subsides) will try to do their best to ensure it doesn't come to pass, but not all fights are winnable.
Pacts are far more difficult to evade. Refusal is much harder, but still possible, although pain is the least of your concerns. Trying to go back on a Pact's obligations usually gives extra compulsions to follow through, though unlike Contracts, this has no other effect and the compulsions aren't that strong. Thing is, breaking a Pact generally strips not a 'bit of power', but nearly everything your soul may be worth. As such a Pact is rarely if ever broken for any reason and the one offering this kind of Deal must be more than capable of honoring the end of the deal if they aren't interested in going from the top to the very bottom. At least a Pact doesn't kill you (in a way similar to angelic weapons in fact), and believe me when I say that, unlike just getting shot in the head, or being ended by a blessed weapon, this kind of death is prolonged and very much felt all the way through.
And yes, a Contract WILL kill you if it is broken. Not only that; Contract clauses cannot be rebuffed or ignored. While they aren't compulsory like a Pact or create pain upon refusal, the one that created the Contract can, without much thought or power on their part, enforce every single detail without a problem. If you were at one point able to overpower the person? Now you can't. Physically, magically, emotionally or otherwise, you are under the yoke of the one that you signed that Contract to. This generally means that Contracts won't be broken just out of sheer control on one party's side, but there are instances, more so when it comes to those of incredible will and natural power, that have shown a soul able to go against a Contract, thus breaking it in quite the spectacular, and painful, way. Although the price is one's life (a permanent death in fact), sometimes a Contract is so constraining, consuming one's being, that death may be a better alternative.
Also, while rare, there are those that can break Deals, Pacts or even Contracts without penalties. Indeed, doing so may reverse the cost on the other party, or even take power from Hell itself! Although such actions are not random and, more often than not, require a sacrifice most living and dead beings are beyond unwilling (or just unable) to pay.
But what may be so precious to exchange for not only the power of a soul, but total control within a particular arrangement? It depends.
The 'lowly' Deal usually offers the most leeway and the least benefit from the party selling their soul. Do mind the word 'usually'. A 'simple' Deal may indeed be all you want and need, it all depends who you barter with and why. Of course, as stated previously, this also has the last penalties, so it usually balances out. Generally it is little more than an exchange for services and goods of some kind; it can deal with safety, riches, popularity and so on, all for your servitude. Or perhaps something darker, like your body on the regular (As in, your meat) if you are a Sinner, could be the cost, all in exchange for protection during Extermination day. A simple 'favors for favors' kind of thing without too many restrictions if both parties play their cards right.
Pacts generally involve a much more important exchange. Servitude is a very common trope with Pacts, usually in exchange for power the other way around, at least when needed, while the one holding the contract will usually take the soul's power much more often than with a Deal. Of course there are far too many ways to make this more complex and 'interesting', to the point that a living soul may even make a Pact that summons the demon holding their soul's power to the living world in exchange of, say, living prey. Higher costs, higher benefits, so long as you keep your end. In resume: Exchanges for Pacts usually deal in heavier shit; looking young forever, perfect health 'till you die, longer natural lifespan (which can then be extended the 'normal' way with magic or potions), the works.
Contracts are generally reserved to dead souls, but mortals may still make them. They are constricting and full of legalese, and they are always written, not just spoken. As such these Deals may have clauses of 'You can do anything you want with me in X location and I cannot resist', or 'Every full moon you can take control of my body in the living world' and things like that. Many clauses may be much more vague, but are still undeniably binding, and must at least be completed once if the clauses permit it. Any breach of a Contract is a COMPLETE breaking of the Deal however, as there is no leeway that way, which means the death and absorption of much of that soul's power so the contract holder gets their dues. In exchange for such a chain around your neck you better have asked for the moon (relatively speaking), because even the 'nicest' denizen of Hell will do their best to gain as much as they can from this kind of Deal.
Do understand one thing about Deals, however: Dealbreakers are some of the worst offenders in Hell.
Now, breaking a Deal in any capacity, if done willingly between both parties because it cannot be maintained anymore and the Deal itself hasn't reached its conclusion, thus dissolving it and returning the soul to the rightful owner, is not frowned upon. It is painful and has its negative consequences, yes, and it is also seen as a sign of weakness, more so on the one that was supplying the other party if they are the ones to break the arrangement. But such agreed dissolution of the Deal is not offensive within Hell. Even a Contract can be broken that way (with much harsher penalties than a Deal or a Pact, of course) without ultimate death being the punishment. As such it is a rarely used, but valid, way of ending a Deal.
Breaking a Deal and TAKING from the other party instead is, however, a huge taboo.
Demons, be it hellborn or Sinners, or even those that came from somewhere else, have one single true rule: Dealbreakers must die. Culturally speaking the one truth Hell has is freedom, which includes freedom to be a manipulative, evil piece of shit too. However, while you can be as abusive as you want with only those more powerful than you (or smarter) being able to pay you back, freely breaking Deals and taking power from the other party is one thing virtually all demons frown upon. Some even grow vindictive on others' behalf when this happens. This is a simple and natural reaction that comes from Hell itself, as a Dealbreaker can sometimes siphon power from this world which, in turn, harms all Hell denizens and, worse, may summonHeavenly intervention for punishment which, more often than not, also splash some damage all over Hell for good measure.
As an aside; a person may have more than one Deal, which CAN mean more than one recipient of their soul. Although this is very rare.
More often than not the first Deal will grant the soul of that person to the recipient of their power and granter of the boon they desire. Subsequent Deals, be it simple Deals, Pacts or more serious Contracts, don't necessarily have to do with the person's soul.
Generally, once the soul ownership goes to the recipient of the first Deal, the person making another Deal of some kind will usually be asked to offer something different, either as immediate payment or an ongoing one. This goes along the more typical transactional means of one service for another. Much like a Deal for your soul, this can involve anything. HOWEVER. Complete and utter subservience, or anything that may harm the original Deal for the person's soul, is not permitted, and may backfire on the one trying to slip in that kind of detail just as much as the one trying to get it to go through, more so if the person with no soul to bargain tries to screw the original Deal they had going.
Luckily, or unluckily, depending on who you ask, secondary Deals, from Deals to Contracts, do not have the same penalties as the one that takes a person's soul. These Deals still have nasty side effects, generally aimed at pain, suffering and other such methods of punishment to make it clear that such action was not exactly… smart. Common effects, more so for living souls, include debilitating maladies that will only expire upon death in severe breaches of contract, while minor ones may just give you the flu, soreness or other such things. When dead or as a demon soul? Things can be much, much worse, but never enough to kill (temporarily or permanently), though often this would be a mercy when it comes to the more serious breaches.
Then again, like with a Deal for one's soul, having more of these exchanges is quite useful and, unlike a soul, usually 'cheap'. Oftentimes 'secondary' Deals offer something in exchange of time, something far more abundant in Hell. Favors, powers or whatever you may think, are usually cheap when compared to months or years of particular service. Then again it depends, as a secondary Deal made with someone like, say, a Sin, would be able to bypass the limits mentioned previously, or have much more leeway, just thanks to the power of the demon in question.
Whatever the case, it is always important to remember: It doesn't matter how desperate or hopeful you are. If you want to make a Deal, you have to cover your ass and milk it for all it is worth. Once it is made you are not getting out until you complete it. I mean… if you had the foresight to make a Deal that you can EVER see the end of.
You wouldn't be the first soul bound for eternity, nor will you be the last.
As a sidenote… There are ways to FORCE a soul to be subservient to another in the way of a Deal. Generally called just 'Binding', this is just a slang term for brutally torturing a soul, generally only living ones as Sinners are largely immune to this, into bonding with the recipient. Through pain, fear and other methods anyone can gain someone else's power without giving anything away, but it also means there is nothing, other than fear itself, keeping the owner's behavior in check. Virtually everyone that does this is thought as disgusting, even for the lowliest of Hell's standards, though mainly because this makes Deals and Dealmakers have an even harder time convincing a soul that has survived this (thus likely grown in power) to take a proper Deal. More often than not those that make these 'Deals' end up either killed by the ones they abused, by other people (from Sinners to Hellborn) or even one of the Sins if the kerfuffle is big enough.