Bloodied Soldier

It was strange. Soul seemed to be disinterested in the cursed and its accompanying skill. It was just like a regular ability in his own eyes. However, he was feeling slightly on edge, considering the ominous message he had received. "The faint miasma of a beaten and bruised warrior lurks inside of my mind, huh?" Soul asked himself with a curious look on his face. He needed to test that out later.

"Now, I'm gonna ignore what just happened, if you're alright with that," Soul told Amanda, who stared at him confusedly. What had he read...was it bad enough for him to want to forget? He had said it out loud, and it almost sounded like something had cursed him. "I mean, I'll probably forget in a while anyway, but what was up with what you said? Were you trying to curse someone?" Amanda responded as Soul pointed his finger at her. "It doesn't matter. Now, stand still. I'm taking your Corruption away from you. After all, it was only temporary help." Soul reminded her, the black substance from her hand slowly pulling away from her body. Soul watched as the Corruption peeled away, returning to his own black mass.

"No, I was reading the description of the curse that was just inscribed upon me. When I absorbed that Blood Warden, I was cursed with something called the 'Curse of the Bloodied Soldier'. I have no idea what that curse intends to do to me, but I can be sure that it won't be so pleasant. After all, if it's a curse, surely it won't be a good thing." Soul responded before smiling. "Fuck it, let's give this shit a try. I want to see what makes these curses so special." Soul said out loud, his eyes shining a violent red for just a second as he activated the curse.

Suddenly, the world around them changed. It still retained the same shape, but everything seemed to be made out of various organs, all of them still pulsing. It was as if they had just been ripped from the body of a human. Amana looked frightened for her life, her mana quantity going higher than ever before. Soul looked around, trying to find something strange that he could exploit. He turned around, planning on studying the wall, only to see a large corridor that was the height of the wall. However, it was only wide enough to fit a group of three closely packed individuals. Soul stuck to the right wall as Amana decidedly walked along the left. They were curious as to what was down this hallway. It was still pulsing with the stench of human blood lingering everywhere, but it was a way to go.

However, after around thirty seconds of walking, the hallway was suddenly cut off. It was as if a part of it had been deleted right before their eyes. Soul stopped immediately, but Amana kept walking forward, unable to stop herself in time. She fell forward, Soul grabbing her by the wrist. "Hold on there, Amana. You don't want to fall down there. After all, it looks like a purely empty void there, doesn't it?" Soul pointed out, showcasing the black void as a tourist attraction. "And now, you have the infinitely falling black area of death. Would you care to jump down into it and try to peer into the deep abyss at the bottom?" Soul asked rhetorically, knowing very well that the answer should be no.

"However, I can't seem to explain why the floor was deleted. At least, it just magically vanished." Soul continued, turning around. He was met with the deathly stare of a bloodied humanoid, swords and arrows sticking through his body. Soul was shocked, even for just a brief second, and this allowed the monster to push Soul backwards towards the abyss. Soul fell towards his everlasting drop, but his body hit an invisible floor, stopping him from falling. However, when he tried to put his hands on this barrier, he realised something. He realised that there was nothing from him to grab on to. This wasn't a floor, but it was a barrier that the warrior controlled. He ruled over everything here.

"You were the one that absorbed me. You're the one that inherited my curse, aren't you?" The warrior asked, his voice deep yet raspy at the same time. "Yes, I am. You decided to curse me since I thought it'd be better for me to absorb you than for you to live as a servant. Think of it as a special kind of mercy, where I DON'T want you to suffer." Soul explained, much to the distaste of the soldier. "You gave me such unwanted death. You could have at least let me expose my neck more so it'd at least feel honourable." The soldier complained.

"Well, while you were a Blood Warden, you didn't really seem like you wanted to die, trying to offer service in place of death. Usually, you'd just accept your death naturally if you were in that situation, so don't go pulling this on me." Soul responded. "Now, explain to me how I'm meant to get up. I could teleport, but I want to see if there IS a way to get up."

"You're bluffing. You can't teleport. You would have done it in our fight or even while you're here." The soldier chuckled, watching as Soul disappeared. This caused him to shut up immediately as he turned around, only to see Soul staring him in the face. "Not the most pleasant sight, is it?" Soul responded, unsheathing his sword. "If you wanted a better fight, you could have just asked." Soul informed him before swinging at the bloody swordsman. "Terrible form, you know?" The soldier responded, dodging out of the way of his sword strike, although only barely. "You rely too much on your speed and raw strength."

"Yeah, but I've never had proper training, so I'd say I'm doing pretty well for myself right now," Soul responded, his sword glimmering in the ambient light, "Come at me!"