“Take your time explaining it. I want to understand what I’m dealing with before I wield you. You understand me?” Val said.
Voidslayer remained silent for a moment before humming sadly, “I grew too strong a curse for my wielder to handle. So I forced him to abandon me.”
This revelation meant that the Voidslayer had broken the bond it shared with its previous owner itself.
Val’s brows furrowed.
He knew little about spirit swords, having mostly heard about them through the mouth of others. Special-grade cursed artifacts were incredibly rare – so much so that he had never come across one in his current 16 years of life. In fact, they were so rare that even Joshua, an advanced ranked warrior, and the Queen’s dog, had never personally encountered one. Now, thanks to the Voidslayer, Val knew these artifacts could have a form of ego, make decisions on behalf of their masters, and even sever the bond they shared with their owners if they deemed it necessary.
It was priceless knowledge that help him understand that if he did something that would cause it to dislike him, he risked the chances of losing ownership of it.
He needed to know more about it to make sure something like that doesn’t happen. A weapon like this that could continuously grow was too rare, and he didn’t want to lose it.
Scratching his chin, Val asked, “Why did you do it? Could you explain more?”
“It’s a long tale,” the Voidslayer responded. 𝔬𝓥𝑳xt.𝓒𝑜𝗆
“Go on, I’m listening,” Val encouraged as he nestled in the sofa in the living room of the haunted house comfortably.
“My previous owner was my creator. He was like a father to me. He treated me well, feeding me every cursed sword he came across. Each time I consumed a cursed sword, I grew in power, but with this increase, the force of corruption within me also intensified. Under his immense care, when I reached the level of a special-grade cursed artifact, this corruption became so overwhelming that my previous owner experienced severe side effects whenever he wielded me.
“Despite this, he cared deeply for me and was unwilling to break our bond. He had grown attached to me, but it wasn’t one-sided. As a cursed sword, I was innately selfish and unreasonable but I had come to worship him as my own god. I couldn’t bear to watch him suffer due to my presence, so I severed our connection myself. In doing so, I saved his life, but I was too ignorant and almost got him killed.” The Voidslayer explained to Val.
“What does breaking the bond have to do with endangering your previous owner’s life?” Val asked curiously.
The Voidslayer said, “Forcefully breaking the bond with my previous owner damaged my soul so severely that I lost control over the tremendous force of corruption within me. It took advantage of my weakened state to suppress my spirit deep within and overtook my body. That day a Demonic-grade cursed sword was birthed and it tried to kill my previous owner!”
“Then what happened?” Val asked. This conversation was proving to be extremely useful. After all, he now even knew how a demonic-grade cursed artifact was created. He wanted to prolong it a little longer, believing he would gain more out of it.
Under Val’s continuous urging, the Voidslayer continued where it left off, “My previous owner was no pushover. He was one of the thirteen strongest bloodline users of that era. He was a force to be reckoned with with an array of cursed artifacts and skills at his disposal. Although it was hard and took more than 3 days, he defeated the Demonic-grade cursed sword. That’s about it.”
“You say your body was possessed by the Force of Corruption. How did you get it back?” Val asked. This was the only thing that didn’t make sense to him.
“In an attempt to help me regain my consciousness, my previous owner stripped my body of its powers. This greatly reduced the force of corruption within me, allowing me to subdue the rampaging force of corruption and take back control. However, the ordeal left me reduced back to my original state, unfit for him to wield. A level-2 cursed sword had no place in a battle between peak-level powerhouses. And I didn’t want to grow stronger as I knew it would only force him. So I begged him to choose a new cursed sword and put me down. It was painful but I made him discard me!”
Val thought that its story did make sense. Although its previous owner could help it regain its strength by feeding it other cursed swords, they would face the same dilemma. So it was better to just let it be.
“Where is he now?” Val asked.
“He had to leave, journeying to face threats far more horrifying than the Durcalians, alongside his comrades. Before he left, he told me that I would belong to whoever recognized my true value and sealed me. Before I was sealed, the last thing I remember is that he assigned his family the task of safeguarding me, fearful that in the wrong hands, I could cause a catastrophe. Since then, I have been in a deep slumber until you awakened me.”
“That’s quite the history you have there,” Val said as he processed the Voidslayer’s past without much difficulty.
Then, a thought struck him, prompting him to ask, “By the way, who was your previous owner?”
A man who could create such a rare cursed artifact that could evolve to become a special grade was bound to be not simple. Val wanted to know more about him.
“His name was Assam,” the Voidslayer replied.
“Assam!?” Val’s eyes widened.
Assam was the right-hand man of Valerius and had played a significant role in the war that repelled the imperial army of the Durcal Empire that had tried to invade the kingdom ages ago!
Val realized that Cedric was not lying. His ancestor was indeed a powerful bloodline user who had helped establish the kingdom, and this cursed sword was an old relic.