Confused about what Master meant, I reached out for the gauntlet.
("No...! My child...!") [???]
Whispers entered my ears, sending a chill down my spine.
("Kill them all! Leave none alive!") [???]
There came the addition of background noise, along with the shifting of voices.
("P-please spare me!") [???]
Screams and fire, explosions and the scent of blood, crying and wrathful yelling. I heard all types of voices, so much so that I retracted my hand.
"...Master? What was that?" [Solace]
Master looked at me with a grim expression.
"You must've heard the voices of its previous users. This is a cursed weapon, but also something that was my partner many years past." [Vincent]
I wasn't too sure of what to say.
"You wanted me to use a cursed weapon?" [Solace]
Master nodded.
"Its abilities are extraordinary. Should blood fall upon it, its strength will increase." [Vincent]
"...And the curse? Other than hearing voices, what else does it do?" [Solace]
"Nothing. It's simply so powerful that many will become drunk with power, causing them to have an untimely death." [Vincent]
I looked at Master with a strange expression.
"I don't know if I really want it." [Solace]
"It will be fine as long as you don't become complacent." [Vincent]
"Well, I also don't want to be hearing voices all the time." [Solace]
"The voices are proof that the weapon hasn't accepted you yet." [Vincent]
I tilted my head in confusion.
"...What? You're telling me that thing is alive?!" [Solace]
"Indeed." [Vincent]
Master put on the gauntlets, which caused it to change in color. It shifted from the blood-like crimson to a pure white, and began to change form as well.
"Isn't that...?" [Solace]
Its new appearance turned into white gloves, just like the ones Master usually wears.
"One of its abilities allows it to change its looks while retaining its overall strength. You can only do this if you are acknowledged by it." [Vincent]
He then took the gauntlets off, forcing it to return back to its original form.
"Give it another try." [Vincent]
I looked at it with conflicting feelings, but I still reached out in the end.
("I won't let you live in peace! I'll curse your entire bloodline if I have to!") [???]
I closed my eyes as my hand approached it. Visions appeared in my head vividly, and I began to feel the situation as well.
("Get out of here you disgrace!") [???]
I saw the user of the gauntlets get kicked out of a village, forcing him apart from his loved ones. He was just a young boy, sent off without a single cent to his name.
("You... I've found you...!") [???]
I witnessed a man donning the gauntlets with bloodshot eyes. He faced a man holding a blazing spear. Perhaps he was going to take revenge?
("My dear child... Don't cry... Your father is here...") [???]
I watched a man on the verge of death clutching the cold body of his newborn child. Looking around, it appeared the man had faced quite the ordeal considering the corpses that littered the ground..
("This is terrible... Would not rate this a ten out of ten.") [Solace]
The visions continued, that is, until I touched the gauntlets. The visions suddenly vanished, and I opened my eyes.
"The whispers... They're gone?" [Solace]
Master smiled at me with a proud face.
"As expected of my disciple." [Vincent]
Though he said that, all I felt was a tinge of sadness.
"Master, were there any good endings for the users of this weapon?" [Solace]
"Yes. Albeit rare. I do hope you arrive at an ending you are satisfied with." [Vincent]
"..." [Solace]
Strengthening my resolve, I took the gauntlets into my own hands.
"...As a cursed weapon, does it have a name?" [Solace]
"Why don't you use |Appraisal| to check it?" [Vincent]
"Hm." [Solace]
("|Analyze|.") [Solace]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Name: Vermillion Eclipse
Categorization: Gauntlet
Age: 421
Lives Slain: 7958
Status: Cursed
Unique Skills: |Bloodthirst Lv. 30| |Deathly Whispers Lv. 20|
Skills: |Shapeshifting Lv. 10|
Titles: |Blood Demon| |Weapon of Massacre|
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
After checking its status, I had to blink twice.
"...This thing is over four hundred years old?" [Solace]
"Indeed." [Vincent]
"...Why does it have a title?" [Solace]
Master shrugged.
"It's a living thing is it not? The gods can give a title to whoever they please.." [Vincent]
"And those lives taken?" [Solace]
"The culmination of its many uses." [Vincent]
I was speechless.
("Master really handed me quite the weapon, hasn't he...?") [Solace]