Chapter 23: Chapter 23 – Karma

When Danton finally managed to calm his nerves, he sat down at the table and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll tell you everything I know. But you won’t find the answers you’re looking for here.”

“Anything’s better than nothing.”

“Is that so? Let me start by saying that there are seven legendary swords like Veritas, though many scholars debate the status of the last.”

“Stigma.”

“Yes. Before the fall of the Ashmorn Empire it was considered the seventh of the set, the sword of darkness. It had a rather ominous reputation even then. When the empire fell and several individuals attempted to wield the sword only to perish, it became clear that something had happened. Someone placed a powerful curse on it. It would eat away at the soul and kill the user in short order.”

“How did it end up over here?”

“Collectors, mainly. There are loopholes, people found ways to transport the sword without needing to touch it themselves. No self-respecting warrior would use it as a weapon, fearing for their life. It was sold off to the highest bidder by the new Kingdom that came into possession of it. For years it sat above a fireplace in some noble house. It was eventually stolen, and passed from person to person, leaving a trail of soul-dead in its wake.”

“Until it reached me.”

Danton didn’t seem so certain, “I heard rumours that the Inquisition came to hold it at one point, though now that it is in front of me, I can see that it was false. The Inquisition would never allow Stigma to leave their sight.”

It sounded to me like nobody knew the real truth. It did align with what Cali had told me the previous day, so perhaps her theory was more of a possibility than I initially assumed.

“There is no known way to break the curse. You have only a small time left, I strongly suggest you spend it with friends and family.”

I stared back defiantly, “Screw that. I didn’t come all this way just to give up and die.” Not to mention that I didn’t have any friends or family to spend my last days with. “Can’t I just kill something really powerful and [consume] them?”

He scoffed, “I’d like to see you try. How much experience do you have boy?”

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