Curselock

Chapter 178: Requirements

Leland spent the whole of the crow contract learning to fly. With Harbinger Halo rank sixteen, he could fly continuously for twenty-six minutes. So, with an hour cool down period for nearly all of his contracts, he could not fly without landing and stopping.

Luckily, Leland now had three flying contracts.

The first was with the Lord of Crows, who had practically given away the contract. The second was with the Lord of the Seraph for an… interesting requirement. The third, which was a dozen or so names down the list, was with the Lord of the Draconic and would take by far the longest to fulfill.

Cursed contract of the Lord of Crows:

Use: Gain access to the spell Crow Wings. Only usable once per hour.

Crow Wings : Summon ethereal crow wings from your back, granting the ability for flight. Speed, moveability, and many other secrets come with practice.

Return: To be left alone.

Cursed contract of the Lord of the Seraph:

Use: Gain access to the spell Celestial Feather. Only usable once per hour.

Return: You can now see the abandoned. Help 15 lost souls to the afterlife within 3 years.

Cursed contract of the Lord of the Draconic:

Use: Gain access to the spell Draconic Revelation. Only usable once per hour.

Draconic Revelation: Summon real draconic wings from your back, granting the ability for flight. Speed, moveability, and many other secrets come with practice.

Using this spell in front of the lesser Draconics may result in a fatal outcome.

Return: Ascend to Draconic.

The contract with the Lord of the Seraph was simple enough. She even had the forethought to show Leland what a lost soul out in the real world looked like. Honestly expecting a familiar androgynous green person like his summons, Leland was a bit alarmed when the shown soul had skin and clothes.

Shrouded in pure white feathers and with somber eyes, the Seraph Lord had said, “The souls you gain power from are the same as this one,” she gestured to the clothes-wearing soul, “other than the passage of time. Souls take years to reincarnate and during that time, they release from their bodies like how you rip them out. A ceremony that takes days turned into moments. Barbaric.”

Leland had replied, “I thought the same thing when Circle of Souls was first handed to me. I thought it was dark magic and, well, I was scared of what it truly did to people. My Lord thought of that, however, and prescribed me the details of reincarnation.”

The Lord held his gaze.

He continued, “… I just don’t understand why you are making this contract with me. I rip souls out of people. Why would you even speak to me? I wouldn’t speak to you if we changed roles.”

“That question alone is reason enough,” the Lord answered. But when Leland didn’t seem convinced, she added, “You are a good mortal, Leland Silver. While I do not consider myself friends with the Lord of Curses, I do hold a certain respect for her. She showed me your resentment and self-limitations for the spell Soul Fire.”

“It’s an awful spell.”

The Seraph Lord didn’t speak on that, instead saying, “My hope is that once you complete this contract with me, you continue to assist lost souls pass on. I do not expect you to search for them, but I do ask if you see one, you help. From now until you’re just a soul yourself, you will see ‘clothed-souls.’ I hope you gain respect for the dead, Leland Silver. That is why I wish to sign a contract with you. Respect.”

And then Leland was floating silently in the Void feeling strange. He was somewhat miffed. He already respected the dead… right?

The contract with the Draconic Lord went much faster. Before speaking with him, Isobel had informed him of many stories of the Draconic. Rare and mostly hidden, those with the “Draconic Curse” garnered power befitting the legendary dragons of old. Having long killed one another, only the legacy the dragons left was their blood. Countless generations had left only a fragment of that blood, however.

Except in the case of the Draconic Curse. With their final farewell to the world, the last dragons consolidated their power and cursed the land with their essence. That essence was spread far and wide, granting power to those who take it. Only a fraction of what once was, but that fraction made kingdoms and ended wars.

And the Draconic Lord wanted Leland to gain that power.

Sitting on a literal mountain of magical wealth, the Draconic Lord spoke with a voice that shook the world, “Become Draconic!”

Leland had blinked a few times. “Uh, that’s what you want from this contract?”

“Yes!”

“In exchange for flight?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

“That… that may take a while?”

“Indeed!”

Scratching his head, Leland didn’t even know if he wanted to become Draconic. Seemed like a hassle to him, especially if the stories were to be believed and the curse made Draconic fight for dominance.

“If I become Draconic, won’t I have to kill other Draconic?”

“NO! A simple misconception! You only have to beat them into submission! Easy!” the Lord boomed.

“And if I am beaten into—”

“You won’t! You will be the most pow—” a hiss cut off the Lord’s sentence. He looked to the side, his scaled face glinting at the light. “Y-you will be fine. If you ascend later after… say, five years? Yes, five years.”

But before Leland could question the sudden change in attitude, he was cast away into the Void contract in hand. While disconcerting, he couldn’t help but feel rather nonchalant about the contract. While the Lord had said five years, the contract didn’t specify that at all. So, technically, he could just not fulfill it and still reap the rewards. He’d have to think about actually becoming a Draconic later, however. That was a big decision.

With three flight contracts ready and nearly an hour of practice, Leland and Isobel flew. They moved like mundane birds at first, slow and mainly under their own power. But once Leland got the feel for it, they picked up the pace.

These contracts were spells, meaning mana and lifeforce affected them. The more he used, the faster he flew. Like a twist of fate, Leland could actually beat Isobel in a sprint-race using mana. Marathon races were out of the question, however, her parasitic wings not needing mana and all that. Adding lifeforce did change the contracts, though.

Harbinger Halo: Binding

Type: Curse (Self)

Rank: 16 (Specialization: A)

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

Contracts last up to 26 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.

“Effects may vary” augmented the wings of each contract, shifting them to a darker hue and also adding to his control. This added control transformed Leland’s face with a smile.

Wind in his face, the rush of the world below, the howl of freedom in his ears, Leland giggled as he slowly lost the fear of crashing. Dipping and diving, leaning forward to gather speed, maybe even flipping to his back and staring at the sky, he did it all, finding pure joy in the magic.

This, this right here, was what he wanted. Lightning mage? Summoner? Those archetypes were well behind him at this point. Flying was where he truly was meant to be. Natural and harmonious. Like living without stress. Without fear. Without… without—

The contract for the Crow Lord ended. Abruptly.

Momentum took and Leland fell. Hurdling was more accurate. Tumbling and rolling, he bit his tongue, knowing what to do. From his hand came his grimoire, the tome floating the perfect distance from him at all times. He willed it to the correct page, and he slammed his palm into the contract with the Seraph Lord.

Pure white feathered wings sprouted with a flourish of light and loose feathers. They were shorter in span than those of the Crow Lord’s, but where two should have been, four rested comfortably. They quickly began working, taking control of his momentum and descent like a hawk catching a dropped fish.

The ground consumed his sight before he launched up, all four wings united in the same goal. He soared, all fears of splattering suddenly gone. A silent laugh escaped his lips, the wind smothering all sound other than a lavish roar. Lifeforce was added, and quickly they dimmed, the light they generated waning into that of a moon rather than a star.

From only a few meters away, Isobel let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t think the fall would have killed him; they weren’t that high up. But she had an incredibly expensive healing potion at the ready. Grateful, she put it back into her inventory ring.

They flew until the Seraph Lord contract ended and the Draconic Lord’s contract activated. Leland, this time, was able to react faster and smoother. While the other contracts created wings out of mana, the spell Draconic Revelations did… not.

They tore apart the skin on his back like cancerous growths. Despite the sound of the wind, they audibly popped into existence, tearing apart his shirt in the process. Scaled and deep red, the wings were webbed and thin enough that light passed through. Small veins contorted throughout, marking them as real. Then lifeforce was added, and they thickened with a purple gleam.

Leland didn’t know if he liked any of that. He liked flying, though, so it was worth it. With a few more ranks of Harbinger Halo, he wouldn’t have to use Draconic Revelations. Simply using the Crow and Seraph Lords’ contracts would bypass the hour cooldown period.

An idea occurred to him: What if I use two flying contracts at once?

That was for later, he knew. His mana was running dangerously low. He had been ignoring it, but his head was pounding. Such was the glee of flying, ignoring headaches was a given.

He landed without grace, falling flat on his face. Luckily the thick grass was rather fluffy.

Isobel landed beside him on her feet. “Nice landing. Out of mana?”

“Yes,” he said, spitting out straw and the occasional bug. “Hour and four minutes is my limit right now.”

“Let me know when you are ready to go again. I want us to get a third of the way to the coast before nightfall. Three days to get to the coast, then a day finding Noir Stone. I expect us to be on a ship in five days.”

Leland liked flying, a lot. But four days of flying non stop? That may be a little much. He didn’t let Isobel know his opinion. He’d just have to deal with it. Isobel’s ire was notsomething he wanted to contend with.