Fate is a fickle beast, the most dangerous of its kind, and simultaneously far more difficult to change and far more fluid than anyone would like. Attempting to change it will always result in being humbled, even for the most powerful of beings. The ones born from the most powerful forces of our world, and the one whose birth made theirs necessary, are not exempt from this.

But, even if they can't change it as they wish... There are those, rarely, who stand before it with the chance to alter it.

These rare chances given to individuals by fate itself, these choices granted by destiny...

Do not misinterpret them.

"They are not a gift, they are a Curse."

The slightest change causes ripples that quickly become waves, turbulent forces of alteration that hit everything and everyone in its way. Tidal waves of pure chaos that no one, no matter how strong, can escape. These changes, they become even worse the more sources there are.

"It took only two for our world to become... this."

One was the choice born for distrust of another, one was born for distrust of ones-self. Both born of fear.

Both were quite smart choices for these individuals to make, and no one would blame them for it. But, those ripples, the ones caused by these two choices... They collided. When two forces collide, when two tidal waves of chaos and destiny meet and intersect... What happens to everyone around the point of contact?

"I can still remember what it was like... By the time my lips stopped, by the time I stopped saying it... I barely had time for a single thought before darkness. Then, who knows how long later, my eyes opened, and I saw the result."

"What was it like?"

"Almost dying?"

"No... Opening your eyes and... seeing that."

"... Well, I can't say it was pleasant." A short pause added weight to his words, which was unfortunate, he doubted his lips could handle anything more. "I used to tell myself that I got to decide who I cared about, that I would choose who to save or try to protect..." An ironic smile somehow lifted his expression, born of his desire to laugh at himself. "But looking out at that... It got really hard to keep saying it after that."

There was a deep thumping in his chest, it was a terrible feeling, one that was as unnatural as it was real. What was this pressure? Why was it here? Why couldn't he resist it?

"I have no heart, so why does it feel like something is trying to break out of my chest?"

Fear was a terrible, terrible feeling, and one he was unfortunate enough to have become familiar with. This feeling, he carried it for two individuals now.

"I knew the difference between us would be vast... Just as it was between me and that... Thing... So why...? Why can't I even catch my breath in his presence...?"

He wasn't called the 'King of Curses' for nothing.

Still, even with this fear... This pressure... The offer he was making, it was too good to pass up. How ironic, for a Curse such as him to be making a deal with what was clearly the devil.

"If you manage to land even a single blow on me, I'll do as you say." His voice was terrifying, the perfect mix between a grating rasp and elegant kingly demeanour... Still, only one blow...? The gap of power between them was vaster than vast but... Surely... He could manage even one. "For starters, how about I slaughter every human in Shibuya? Except for one." An even more tantalising prospect. But, who was the one? Did he mean his vessel? Or, perhaps that... Thing... they had just sealed...

"No... I don't believe inside the Prison Realm counts as 'inside Shibuya'."

With hesitation, and the same amount of fear, his mouth opened to accept... Yet, he hesitated further. His words failed to leave him as he could have sworn he heard a noise of some sorts... Like, a water drop hitting a great lake. And a ripple slowly spreading off of it.

"Very well... I accept... but, I would ask-" His eye widened in fear momentarily as the King before him frowned. "-Beg-" He quickly corrected himself. "For a Pact... That way, I have no reason to doubt your word." The great Cursed Spirit nearly went into a fit of panic as sweat dripped down him, Cursing himself in his own mind at his terrible choice of wording. He felt the inclination, the desire to pray for mercy... But, he didn't have to.

Luckily, the King took no offence, instead, he found it entertaining... Perhaps he thought of the Curse of the Land as nothing more than a Jester.

Better to be a clown than dead, though.

"Interesting, very well. We have a Pact. If you can land one hit on me, I will slaughter every human in Shibuya, except one." Normally, the foreign grasping on the Cursed Spirit's soul would make him tense and shiver with uncomfort, but in this instance, he felt only relief that the King before him was choosing to treat him with some modicum of benevolence.

Still, he failed to get even a single word in before the first attack connected with him, and the impossibility of his task was fully made known to him.

"Damn it!"

His grip faltered without even an instant of delay from his opponent's behalf, the man already over ten metres down the alleyway away from him in what felt like less time than a fraction of a breath.

"This is impossible!"

For his risky manoeuvre, the only edge granted to him was a fresh hole in his gut. Staring over at his foe, the young Sorcerer couldn't help but wear a fearful smile as his own weapon dropped to the ground, half from his own choice, half from exhaustion. It was growing clearer and clearer by the second... That this was the end of the line.

Words echoed in his mind. Dying to win, and risking death to win, are two different things.

"I know..."

Even still, his legs crouched slightly, dropping into a tight stance as his arms outstretched, with his fists clenched... Assuming a position that filled his being with fear.

"But even still... This is an opponent I can't hope to beat... Not as I am."

Perhaps, if he had not used his Domain earlier... But, that was only wishful thinking. Activating his unfinished-Domain inside a premade barrier was one thing, but attempting to cast it with only the walls of the alleyway that didn't even enclose them on all sides? That was impossible, for him at least.

"And even if that was an option..."

Had he not used his Domain earlier, he would be dead anyway.

No... This was the only remaining option... His Domain was a card already drawn and used, his reserves of energy were all but depleted, and his opponent was readying an attack that the young Sorcerer was surprised hadn't already come.

In his ear, he could have sworn that he heard the sound of a water droplet hitting a great lake, and the ripple that echoed off of it on the water's surface. It filled him with a peaceful clarity, and in that moment, he let out a breath, one of acceptance.

"With this treasure... I summon-"

The cold and harsh winds upon his back ceased for but a moment as he lulled in the air, the force carrying him flying upwards into the cool night sky fading thanks to the distance he had already travelled. His body, it felt beaten and battered, even if he had already repaired the damage done to it.

"I knew there was a gap in our strength..."

His eye flicked up as a figure bolted into the sky to float above him, a wild grin filled with what could only be described as evil glee plastered on said figure's face.

"But to think it was to this extent!"

His thoughts were rent from his form as the figure leaned closer to give him an even better view of the evil the King of Curses so happily displayed, before his hand was shoved into the Curse's face. He wanted to scream as the King carried him down, the wind returning in even greater power as they barrelled down towards the earth. The great and powerful Curse of the Land... He couldn't even try to strike his foe as they sailed down like this, the speed was too fast for him to be able to move his limbs before they crashed through the top floor of a building, and continued without any loss in speed.

Concrete, metal, wooden furniture, the false humans that stood in their way, anything and everything that was in their way was reduced to rubble as he was slammed face first down through every floor the building had, and only stopped once he connected to the ground.

Dazed by the impact, he barely managed to stumble a few steps away as his jaw hung loose and blood gushed from his mouth that hung open. Confused, his hands moved up to try and force his jaw back up, if only to save what little energy he could by healing his body as it pressed together.

Of course, in his foolishness, he had turned his back on his foe. "The moonlight's shining all the way through." Indeed, it was, and it illuminated them perfectly as the Curse sunk to his knees, still disorientated from the impact as the King spoke from behind him. "It's helping me see your pathetic state more clearly." The insult took him a moment to register, and in that moment, the distance between them closed as the back of his scruff was grabbed, and he felt himself lifted off the ground, hanging like a kitten being held by its mother from the back of its neck. "Come on, now. Keep trying." The words weren't whispered, but they were so close now that he would have heard them easily if they were.

Shame filled him, and he couldn't even turn to look at his enemy as he was berated. "I'll play along with you again and again until I tire of this." Another insult, this time, the clouding of his vision and mind had cleared enough for him to register it properly, as well as the one previous. Even though he prided himself on being able to contain himself, the Cursed Spirit of the Land felt a great fire begin to rage inside him as the King spoke down to him... Then, he felt a strange aura of energy, that of which he'd never felt before. It was distant, which made him surprised at how clearly he experienced the sensation... Even more so, however, was his foe's reaction to it.

"Oh? Now, of all times?" His attention now elsewhere, the Curse thought this the perfect moment to strike the King... However, he hesitated. How would the King of Curses react to being slighted like that? He didn't have to think on that long, as with a casual flick, the Curse was cast aside and his foe vanished into the night, heading after that strange aura of power that resonated elsewhere in Shibuya.

Clawing at the ground, and using both his hands and knees to stand... It wasn't by exhaustion that he struggled to rise to his feet, no... It was a fluster, he was embarrassed, shamed. Not only had he failed to strike his foe even once, but the King of Curses had left to engage with someone else! Was the mighty Curse of the Land so weak that he could not even entertain him!?

"Do I fail, even as a jester!?"

That fire inside him flared brighter, and became a roaring flame as the words of one of his fellow Curses echoed in his mind. No matter how off-kilter or inconsistent, we always act in accordance with our true desires.

Those words... They were correct, or, at least, they should be. Who was he, to question his standing as a Cursed Spirit? One of the True Humans he called himself, yet he rejected what he was in order to believe he was worthy of that title.

The Curse of the Land, the mighty bearer of flames and ruler of the mountains... He was furious, he was filled with a rage that could only be matched by the roaring inferno of a star. No one, not even the King of Curses, was allowed to disrespect him like he just had been.

"My true desire... Right now... Is to be a Curse."

Even if the King had run off to engage with what he considered a greater foe, the Pact between them still stood.

And this time... It would be a True Curse that sought to fulfil its conditions.

Summoning a Shikigami that took the shape of a large insect which took its place upon his back, the creature's wings beat as his own, and carried him from the rubble of the building, towards what could only be described as two sources of energy that made him feel weak... Even with his renewed outlook.

The two combatants darted back and forth, destroying anything in their path as they battled, much to the city's dismay. Hundreds of people were no doubt dying with every exchange, but that mattered not to the Curse of the Land which inhabited the sky. Summoning a great flame into his hands, a scream of rage flowed from his mouth as he fired at his foe from a distance.

The many blasts of flame travelled like bullets or missiles, burning holes through buildings and the earth beneath his foe as he turned and saw the attacks coming. The Curse didn't hesitate in sending more flame towards him, but even still, he couldn't help but be filled with worry as the attacks missed him and the hulking figure that was the King's new foe. For a moment, his previous doubt returned... But, in a strange moment, realisation seemed to flash on the King of Curses face... And he deflected an attack that was about to hit his opponent.

Was it some kind of sense of honour? The Curse doubted it, the King held no such feelings... But, for whatever reason... He didn't want the Curse's attacks to hit the strange figure which stood under a great wheel hovering over its head.

A sick grin spread across his face as he redoubled his efforts and sent even more attacks flying at the thing that was neither Human nor Curse, and the King worked to keep every inch of flame away from the strange creature. Funnily enough, to the Curse, the King's efforts were not welcomed with thanks.

The creature raised its arm and swatted at the King of Curses, a black blade extending from his wrist as he attempted to kill their shared foe... Yet, the King managed to defend himself still.

It was a strange dance. The Curse attacked the creature from afar, the King protected the creature, and the creature tried to smite the King. Eventually, something had to give.

With a wide eye, the Curse watched as the wheel above the creature spun, producing a strangely loud noise as it did. With a sinister grin of its own, the creature again attacked the King, but this time... It connected. Hard.

Going flying for a brief moment, the King immediately soared back towards the thing he battled, which the Curse high above had already seen fit to launch several more of those blasts of fire at. Clearly annoyed now, the King turned and launched an invisible slash at the Curse, rending one of his arms and both of his legs from his body even at this distance. Still, the King managed to reach the creature before the fire did... But the smoke that was produced from those attacks could not be seen through as the Curse watched with bated breath.

But a moment passed before he felt a strange sense on his soul, like a trickle of energy and a surge of connection as the Pact flared. He grinned, he cheered, for he had done it! The Spirit of the Land, the True Curse, the True Human, had struck the King of Curses!

Looking down from above as the smoke cleared, he saw the remnants of the creature now... It had been diced into pieces too small and numerous to count in what appeared to be a fit of rage, and the Curse could see as it began to refit itself back together. Glaring up at him, the King held pure hatred, animosity, and every possibly negative emotion towards the Curse high above him.

But, the words he put to this feeling were not what the Curse had been expecting... Nor were the way his hands orientated as they moved together just in front of his chest.

The Curse of the Land... felt none of his previous joy from his victory as fear filled him once again.

"Domain Expansion."