THE RED SAVIOR’S SACRIFICE
The source is left a hollow vessel, a ghost in their own skin.
"Black magic," a voice rasped from the shadows.
I jumped, the book nearly sliding off the bed. An old man stood by the window, his eyes clouded with cataracts but sharp as needles. The record-keeper.
"It’s not just a transfer, boy," he whispered, leaning on a cane made of driftwood. "It’s a theft of the soul. It requires a drop of blood and a vessel—something to hold the stolen power. It leaves a scent of sulfur and rot on the one who takes it. Why are you digging in this grave?"