The grand hall shone with sacred light—golden chandeliers hanging like halos, marble floors gleaming beneath velvet carpets. Clerics lined the walls, heads bowed in reverence. Massive stained-glass windows cast holy rainbows across the chamber. Trumpets sounded, filling the cathedral-like space with echoes of glory. Confetti fluttered from above like blessings from the heavens.
A hero had been summoned.
But not just one.
Four circles of divine magic blazed on the marble platform—each etched with ancient glyphs and burning with otherworldly energy. The ritual had only been meant to call a single savior, but the magic had... overreacted.
Four figures knelt in the light, blinking into the world of swords and sorcery, coughing from the sudden shift in air, in gravity, in existence itself.
And one of them… was wrong.
---
"Four Heroes… Blessed be the Goddess!"
King Aldren stepped forward from his ornate throne, arms raised. His voice boomed like thunder, but his smile was too perfect—too sharp. A mask made of expectations.
He examined each of the kneeling figures with calculated interest. "The Spear of Valor… the Blade of Dawn… the Bow of Judgment…"
He reached the fourth.
"And the Shield—?"
He froze.
The fourth figure struggled to his feet. Iron chains clinked with every movement, wrapped tight around his wrists, ankles, even his throat. The ends dragged behind him like the weight of a crime he hadn't committed. His black hair was messy, damp with sweat, hiding a pair of pale, empty eyes.
"…Kairo Valen," the boy said hoarsely. "Where… am I?"
The hall fell silent.
No weapon materialized in his hands. No divine aura shimmered around him. The system's summoning glyphs gave no glow, no affirmation.
Just the chains.
---
"There's a mistake," one of the ministers hissed, panic lacing his voice. He stepped toward the glowing glyphs, scanning them with trembling hands. "This one… has no artifact. No title. No blessing. He wasn't supposed to be summoned. He's… corrupted."
Gasps followed. Whispers crept through the chamber like rats in the walls.
"A summoning error?"
"An anomaly."
"Unclean."
The Spear and the Blade, both tall and handsome, exchanged a glance of wary superiority. The girl with the Bow, elegant and ethereal, took a step back.
Kairo's heart thudded. He looked at the chains. They weren't just heavy—they were tightening. Slowly, almost lovingly. Like they didn't want to let him go.
"Wait—what are you talking about? I didn't ask to come here!"
A noblewoman descended the steps from the throne. Her golden hair glistened like starlight, her eyes cold as frozen lakes. The Princess. Radiant. Respected. Ruthless.
"You must understand," she said softly, her voice floating like music. "Only the fated four may become Heroes. You…" Her voice trembled with feigned regret as she touched the chains. "You are a summoning distortion. A spiritual error."
Kairo flinched. "I'm a person. Not a glitch."
But the chains dug deeper into his wrists, as if offended by his denial.
The Princess sighed. Then drew a silver dagger from her sleeve.
"It means… you don't belong."
---
Steel clashed.
Guards in ceremonial armor surged forward before Kairo could react. He barely got a word out before a gauntlet slammed into his stomach. Air fled his lungs. Another blow cracked across his face. Blood flooded his mouth.
"Wait—!"
"The Goddess will forgive this error," the Princess declared, her tone flat and practiced. "But it must be corrected. The aberration shall be cast into the Outer Exile."
A final order.
The chains around Kairo's neck flared with power.
And then—
Darkness.
---
When Kairo woke, he was face-down in mud.
Cold rain poured from the sky, battering the trees above. Wind howled through the twisted forest like a wailing child. His body felt like it had been dropped from a cliff. Every muscle screamed. His skin burned.
The chains were still there.
Heavy. Tight. And… warm.
Like they were alive.
> [System Error Detected…]
> [Reconfiguring Summoning Bond…]
> [New Path Established: CURSEBEARER]
Class: Shackled Hero (UNDEFINED)
System Core: Pain Sync Protocol – Active
> Warning: Subject's soul is unbound. Curse Evolution possible.
---
Kairo coughed violently, blood and rain mixing on his lips. He scrambled backward, slipping in the mud, eyes wide.
"What the hell is this…?"
The chains pulsed in response. One link glowed faint red. Another, violet. Symbols began forming across the metal surface—sigils that flickered like dying stars.
Then… the growl.
A low, rumbling snarl echoed from the trees. Eyes opened in the dark.
Beasts.
Three of them. Wolf-like, but wrong. Twisted. Half-rotted, half-mad. Their eyes bled. Their fur hung in patches. Their teeth were too long, too sharp. Cursed beasts drawn to cursed prey.
"No, no, no—"
Kairo stumbled up. No sword. No magic. Just rusted chains and shaking legs.
The first wolf lunged.
CLANG!
A chain snapped forward like a whip, striking the beast across the snout. The creature yelped, stumbling back in surprise.
> [Chain Pulse Activated: Primitive Reflex]
Kairo stared, stunned.
"Did I do that…?"
The second wolf didn't wait. It pounced.
Kairo raised his arms out of instinct—
A chain lashed again, this time wrapping around the beast's throat. It thrashed, snarling.
> [New Skill Unlocked: Bind Lv. 1]
Effect: Restrains target for 3 seconds. May induce Pain Feedback.
Pain exploded in Kairo's ribs, like something inside had cracked.
He screamed.
The wolf collapsed, convulsing.
The third beast turned and fled.
---
Kairo collapsed to his knees. Rain soaked through his torn clothes. His fingers were numb. His chest burned with every breath. Blood mixed with mud, and the taste of iron clung to his tongue.
But he was alive.
He had no idea how.
> [System Update: Curse Level 1 Achieved]
Unlocked Curse Skill: Pain Mirror (Locked)
Condition: Survive 3 lethal encounters.
"This isn't a gift," Kairo muttered. "It's a punishment."
He stared at the chains. They rattled like they were laughing.
---
Far away…
In the palace's obsidian tower, the Princess stood before a glowing crystal orb.
Static danced across its surface. Images flickered—chains, blood, wolves.
"He survived," she whispered.
A masked figure stepped from the shadows behind her. "Should I deploy the Black Hounds?"
"No," she said with a cruel smile. "Let the world break him. Let the curses consume him. If he survives that…" Her eyes gleamed. "Then maybe… he'll be worth using."
---
Back in the forest, Kairo dragged himself beneath a hollow tree, shivering violently. He curled against the roots like a dying animal. Rain dripped through the leaves. The chains coiled beside him like sleeping serpents.
His teeth chattered.
"I don't know what you are," he whispered to the system, "but if you're going to torment me…"
He clenched his fists.
"Then give me the power to make them regret it."
---
> [Curse Evolution Path Confirmed.]
Curse Type: Sentient Chains
Soul-State: Mutable
Instability: Rising
"Welcome, Cursebinder."