Silence filled the sealed room.
Kael zipped up his tunic with practiced nonchalance.
"There you go."
Yue was glaring daggers at him, her pride clearly wounded.
"Mortal," she hissed, "this will have consequences."
Kael didn't flinch. "I'm ready for anything."
She suddenly laughed—low and cold.
"Very well. We'll see... in time."
Kael's patience was thinning.
"Just tell me how to get out of here."
"You must bind with my sword," she said, her tone calm but laced with something unreadable.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"You're deceiving me again."
"I'm not," she replied smoothly.
"You simply need to cast the binding spell."
Suddenly, the system's voice resounded in Kael's ears—clear, mechanical, and final.
[Detected that host has subdued cursed sword spirit. Do you want to initiate binding?
Note: Spirit must verbally confirm intent to bind.]
Kael's smile curled—slow, dangerous.
Almost predatory.
He turned to Yue, and she felt it instantly.
A shift in the air.
In him.
Something wrong.
"So," Kael said softly, "you'll bind with me… right?"
Yue's gaze narrowed.
"Yes… but only if you know the binding spell."
Inside, she smirked.
'It's a rank 5 incantation. No way a mortal like you knows it.'
Kael gave a nonchalant shrug.
"Cool.
Just say, 'I want to bind with Master Kael.'"
Her expression froze.
"What?"
Kael casually moved his hand toward his zipper again.
Yue's eye twitched.
"…You are insufferable."
A sinking feeling coiled in her gut—the quiet, creeping sense that this might be the worst mistake of her long, cursed existence.
But she shook her head, defiant.
What am I afraid of? A rank 1 magician? Please.
After a tense pause, she muttered—through clenched teeth—
"I… want to bind with Master Kael."
[Does host wish to bind with the soul of [Yue]?]
Kael didn't hesitate. Heck yes, he thought.
[Confirmation received. Binding initiated…]
A low hum filled the sealed room as arcane symbols lit up beneath
Kael's feet, circling outward in pale, flickering light.
The air tightened, vibrating with unseen force.
Yue's eyes widened slightly.
'w-Wait... this is a s-Soul-binding?'
She hadn't expected it to feel like this.
Kael stood calmly in the center, shadows dancing around him like threads spun from dusk itself.
Suddenly, Yue screamed—a raw, furious, echoing wail.
"Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
Kael, deadpan, whispered back,
"Oh yesssssssssssssss."
Moments passed in a blur of energy and sound until, finally, the room fell still.
[Binding successful.]
[You have acquired Rank 1 Soul Weapon: Dreamweaver.]
[Note: Soul Weapon evolves as host increases in rank.]
Kael exhaled, then turned to look at Yue.
She was now fully materialized—sitting on the cold stone floor, head bowed, hair shadowing her face.
"…How?" she whispered.
"How did this happen?"
She looked like she'd taken a psychic punch to the soul.
Kael frowned.
That hit her hard, he thought.
He took a cautious step forward, intent on offering… something.
But before he could speak, Yue looked up.
And laughed.
"hahaaaaa.....HAHAHA"
Low, broken at first—then rising into something wild, sharp-edged, and unsettling.
Kael froze.
Something shifted in the air.
[Notice: As the host has successfully linked with a cursed sword, the curse has now partially transferred to the host.]
Kael blinked.
"…Wait. The curse is real?" He frowned.
"I thought that was just… a dramatic name."
The system responded with cold indifference.
[Curse Registered: Godbreaker's Mark.]
[Description: You have angered the forgotten gods and disrupted the balance.
The peace once guarded has been defiled. You are now marked.]
[You will be hunted by their followers—without rest, without mercy.]
Kael stared at the message, his throat dry.
Then, with a sound that tore through the silence—raw, desperate—he screamed,
"Noooooooooooooooooooooo!"
The sealed room seemed to shudder.
From the shadows, Yue's voice echoed back—cold, triumphant, almost amused:
"Oh yesssssssssssssssssssss"