Curselock

Chapter 118: Rank Two

Without further ado, Leland read through the changes brought on by his rank-up.

Name: Leland Silver

Legacy: Curses

Archetype: Acolyte of the Curse Lord

Specialization: Binding

Overall Rank: 2

Fracture:

Type: Curse

Rank: 11 (C+)

For a single target, break a random bone in their body with a 55% chance to break a second.

Crow Massacre:

Type: Curse

Rank: 11 (B-)

Call upon the ethereal familiar of the Lord of Curses.

Summon a full murder of 15 ethereal crows to attack targets for up to 2 minutes.

When all crows are present and attacking the same target, their beaks and talons are enhanced.

All resultant damage dealt by the crows bleed the target for an additional amount over 10 seconds.

Curse of Collapse:

Type: Curse

Rank: 11 (B-)

Pull the target towards the end, bringing them one step closer to the Lord of Death.

Exhaust the target for up to 3 minutes, lowering their speed by 50%.

Targets under this curse deal 11% less damage to you.

Harbinger Halo: Binding

Type: Curse (Self)

Rank: 11 (Specialization: A)

Strike a dark accord with a presiding Lord, calling their aid.

Contracts last up to 20 minutes. If terminated early, the cool down period is decreased.

Up to 2 contracts may be acted upon at one time.

Contracts that produce direct spells, curses, abilities, incantations, and/or passive effects that deal with mana, may have lifeforce partially supplemented. Effects may vary.

Circle of Souls:

Type: Curse

Rank: 11 (B+)

Call upon the souls of the Damned, channeling the power of the Lord of Souls into an area.

Encase the souls of those within 50 yards, siphoning their lifeforce while chaining them to this reality.

Fully consume a soul to increase your magical potency by 10% for 1 minute.

Held lost souls may now be given to a soul of the Damned as payment for a task.

Damage dealt to one target with the circle is duplicated on all targets inside the circle for 10% effectiveness.

Soul Fire:

Type: Curse

Rank: Max

Ignite a lost soul.

Soul Fire’s strength directly correlates to the strength of the soul used. You are the Calamity.

And lastly, Leland went over his current contracts. Luckily, a page summarized them all.

Contracts:

Lord of Magic: For the duration of the contract, all magical abilities are increased by a factor of 5%. Only usable once per hour.

Lord of Spirits: For the duration of the contract, all magical abilities take on a single intended spiritual effect. Only usable once per hour.

Lord of the Moonless: For the duration of the contract, all works of art shine with the light of the moon. Contract is usable once per hour.

Lord of Nature: For the duration of the contract, access to the spell, Touch of Regeneration, is available. Contract is usable once per hour.

Lord of Water: For the duration of the contract, access to the spell, Shield of Water, is available. Contract is usable once per hour.

Leland closed his grimoire and looked at his friends. “I think I need to contract with more Lords.”

Jude snorted.

A thought occurred to Glenny. “Oh by the way, I think I’m immune to the Light Architect’s corruption.”

“What?”

“Remember that yellow liquid from the scorpion nest? Well, let’s just say that it doesn’t make the best lotion.”

Leland hesitated, but repeated, “What?”

“Like my father always says, Leals,” Jude began. “Sometimes a man’s got to have soft skin.”

This time Glenny and Leland said, “What?”

Jude just shrugged. “Sometimes it’s important.”

“Whatever,” Glenny said, rolling his eyes. He turned back to Leland. “I need to find more things to adapt to. Sightless King, head wounds, corruption. I wonder if I’ll have some kind of corrupting aspect to my abilities now.”

“You haven’t tested anything yet?”

“No, we were too focused on you. Remember, you almost died?”

Leland went red. “Right, thanks by the way. I’m glad to have you two as friends.”

“Likewise.”

“Of course, Leals. Even if you are annoying sometimes.”

“Hey!”

Glenny laughed.

The Lord of Magic and Lord of Curses stood beside each other. In the far distance, a green star burned with the intensity of a supernova. Its power sundered the land around it, breaking apart all that the Toy Maker had once created.

“So that’s it.”

The Lord of Curses glanced over. “Is what it?”

“Another one of us dead.”

“He was never one of us. He was only in pursuit of knowledge and power for his toys. A shame, really.”

The Lord of Magic shook his head. “It really is a shame, isn’t it?”

“Power corrupts the mind. Greed corrupts the soul.”

“I’ll say. Just look at it. It’s huge!”

A smile overcame the Lord of Curses’s face. “That’s nothing. The second Lord of Magic’s soul was much, much larger. I did the calculations once and found that it took up a third of her entire domain.”

The current Lord of Magic whistled. “How large do you think my soul is? In comparison, I mean.”

The ancient Lord patted him on the back and turned to walk away. “You’d be lucky if you measured up to half.”

He stayed stiff from the answer for a moment. He expected to be less powerful than the second, but that much? He still had a long way to go, even in divinity.

Teleporting back to his mentor’s side, he asked, “The second Lord of Magic, what was she like?”

“Crazy, for one. But warm and sweet. A shame what happened to her. But she reaped what she sowed,” the Lord of Curses said.

As they walked, the divine cosmos passed by soundlessly. They moved around worlds and galaxies, traveling far faster and further than most could fathom.

Now far behind, the soul of the Toy Maker sat restlessly. At least, until the Lord of Curses decided the vile Lord’s domain was fully razed. Only then did a soul of the Damned move to collect.

It grew from the ground like a mountain over hundreds of thousands of years, fully forming at a height that could end cities with a single crushing step. It didn’t hesitate to follow its master’s order, snatching the Toy Maker’s lost soul like a child grabbing an escaping ball. The soul of the Damned then fell into the world, forever leaving the land desolate.

“I wish I could have met her,” the Lord of Magic continued.

The Curse Lord snorted.

“Why the laugh?”

“Because she’d have hated meeting you.”

“Why?!”

“Because she was always enthralled with her current project. Meeting people, especially other Lords, was not her forte.” The elder went somber. “In a way, that’s what got her killed. Socializing or the lack thereof.”

The Magic Lord hummed. “Going back to the Toy Maker, are you sure what you did was alright? Socializing goes both ways and I don’t want to see you dying either. Killing a Lord has ripples, regardless of your status with the others.”

“Child, I am old. My choices have made ripples millions of times over. Killing the Toy Maker because he attacked one of mine, the only one of mine, is a given. If any other Lord has a problem with that, they will come, and I will be ready.”

“You’ll be ready? Even to fight off a horde?”

She snorted again. “They don’t call me the Calamity for nothing.” She then sighed, long and slow. “At least this way Leland is protected from Lordly meddling.”

“Some will see it as a challenge.”

“And others will see it as a warning.”

“But I’m—”

“Child, everything is fine. At least for now. It will take years for the Toy Maker’s allies to make their moves. Preparations, especially against me, take time.”

The Lord of Magic inhaled slowly. “I just worry about your kin. Leland is still so weak.”

“Yes, yes. But he’s specializing in something truly unique. He has time to gather contacts, most of which will be bursting at the seams to get in his good graces.”

The look of realization overcame the Lord of Magic. “Oh. That’s devious. The threat of you is a great bargaining chip, huh.”

The Lord of Curses smiled.

After the Lords of Magic and Curses disappeared from the Toy Maker’s domain, multiple figures appeared in the shattered remains. They didn’t speak, they didn’t communicate. They didn’t even acknowledge one another. They only had one reason for being there, to salvage anything that was left.

Long after the scavengers left, three figures appeared independently. This time, however, the figures gathered. They spoke of plans and potential futures, but eventually they left after an argument about how to proceed.

Two of the figures appeared sometime later, conversing independently from the third. The two agreed and quickly left to prepare.

With that, a figure revealed itself to the emptiness of the Toy Maker’s domain. It cawed once, shedding its camouflage before passing through the boundary between realms. It arrived a universe away, directly on the shoulder of its master.

“I see,” the Lord of Curses then said, scratching her familiar’s feathers. “Maybe I should take a stroll.”

As if on cue, the ground parted beside her and thousands of souls of the Damned entered her domain. They were the size of giants and each held lost souls that radiated power like miniature suns. They were her arsenal, her weapons, her Calamities.

“Now, which to choose.”