[@TheWizardLizard]

Not a problem. I do like to throw in small things peppered into the story. Hence if it was well hidden, I have accomplished my task :)

And "Independent Contractor" indeed. Both certainly aspire to see an end of the world. Although Zhystkrexas prefers the long, slow, game. I mean as something he would say "I have hungered for eons. I can wait a few millennia for a feast." That being said, I'm sure they have a mutual agreement to get on with it, and Kil'Threx can contract Zhystkrexas' support in return for the right to devour everything and anything that falls to sate his insatiable hunger or something of that nature. That said, perhaps Zhystkrexas began as merely a motive force, that is, how hunger and desire were primal instincts that drove the universe (consider the atoms seeking to find a more stable electron configuration, etc). Then Kil'Threx somehow managed to warp the entity into something darker with his creations. Creating evil, and thus introducing hunger beyond satiation. Thus in a way I suppose Kil'Threx has "created" Zhystkrexas.

And of course Zhystkrexas would be interested in Trenton's soul. A powerful soul empowers him even more. Trenton after all, seems to be a man after Zhystkrexas' own heart. Another hedonistic rake who drinks when thirsty, eats when hungry, but for all the joys it can give him, he is still empty, and hungers for more. And Zhystkrexas, being the generous malevolence that he is, would give Trenton what he wants to indulge his friend's every wanting desire. All done such that he may get Trenton to agree, that in the unlikely event of the Pirate's death, his soul would be surrendered to Zhystkrexas, and unlike most souls trapped within his collection, be allowed to sail the seas as a collector of souls for Zhystkrexas (i.e. a Davey Jones from PotC). It's a win-win for both parties right? Zhystkrexas would offer him such an "insurance policy."

After all, Zhyst isn't a fighter but a crafty politican, a shrewd businessman, and cunning negotiator. And Good help is so hard to find these days.