Note that actual devils will always follow through with their end, even if their end is a sinister bastardization of the terms. This price can be anything - the Faust's soul, their conscience, their firstborn, their loved ones, their voice, their eternal servitude, or even something that seems completely innocent - but whatever the price, it's something that will render the Faust a lot worse off when it is paid, if not bring them to complete ruin. But whatever the service, whatever the offer, there is always a price. Sometimes it has no practical value whatsoever.
The exploiter can be offering anything from some shiny new Applied Phlebotinum to making a high school nerd popular, to saving your life moments before death. This trope includes both literal Magically Binding Contracts with a literal devil, and crooked deals between any corrupt exploiter (the Mephistopheles role) and a desperate pawn (the Faust role).
The basic story is far, far older, however, with Sanskrit and Sumerian tales of craftsmen making deals with demons for superlative skill, making this Older Than Dirt. It reached its current version in the 16th-century legend of Faust selling his soul to Mephistopheles (who technically isn't quite exactly Satan, but still a high-ranking demon). This trope doesn't even require the Abrahamic Devil any trickster, demon, or evil deity roughly equivalent to Satan can be used. S will guarantee your wildest dreams, if you just sign on the dotted line with your own blood. Want to be a billionaire, Take Over the World, gain infinite power, or just get back at that obnoxious Jerk Jock? Well, mosey on down to those crossroads and Mr.
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