He paced around the room, bouncing between his feet in an over-stimulated manner as the Soul's transparent window trailed him.
'This—what is this?!'
His eyes weren't lying to him. The Soul Points had absolutely doubled since the activation of his Curse, resulting in him being twice of the Level.
As he repeatedly clenched his fists whilst staring in disbelief at the staggering numbers, he didn't know what to believe. He had known of Skills empowering the Soul and its Soul Points but having them double was foreign to any Climber.
Especially when it felt like the ability had no repercussions.
Jace felt like he could punch through walls, or actually, ram his entire body into them and emerge unscathed. If there wasn't a present moral compass in his mind, then every object and furniture in his room would have been in shambles. Sadly, the new capabilities of his Soul was confined in the luxurious room with only his imagination and temptations.
It was impossible to stay still, having thirteen new points added into his Soul, it felt like the weight of the power was consuming him.
Yet, he wanted to savor every second of it.
Jace began to be intoxicated by the Curse, swinging his arms and fists around as if he was brawling against an invisible enemy. A cackle escaped from his mouth by the absolute speed his wild attacks were moving through the air. He desperately wanted to see what it felt like, about how his knuckles would cross against another Climber's face.
'This isn't a Curse! It's a Blessing in disguise!'
For what felt like a minute of relishing the brimming power in his Soul, he had forgotten one simple yet detrimental rule from his pitiful life.
If something truly came that easy, it always followed with a cost.
His Soul Points returned to its original sum, abruptly cutting his surge of exhilaration, and settled him back inside the former shell of his body.
'It's gone, just like that? I thought this was a Curse—'
Then Jace collapsed to the floor, falling into a world of pain. The same torturous trial he had endured in the cavern met him again, convulsing his body in erratic shocks that ruptured each of the nerves inside him.
His cries were silent, and only mustered a hoarse choke through his agony. There was something warm streaming from his nostrils, mouth, the ducts of his eyes, and even his ears. For a second, he couldn't explain the dripping sensation, until he realized there was blood leaking from every orifice of his body.
With his thoughts somewhat intact, he caught the glimpse of the Soul flickering into his blurring eyes.
[HP: 1/130]
He wanted to desperately call for help, but his voice was only muffled by the continuous chokes of spurting blood in his throat. Nobody could hear him. Because why would they? Jace was forever toyed by the Tower and his Soul, he should have known that from the very beginning of his journey.
But neither had that meant he allowed his life to be purposed for mockery. He always fought back, against the Tower and his Soul, and remained defiant with an undying resolve.
The Void never scared him and it wouldn't now.
Jace gritted his teeth, flipping his body over and coughed another round of congested blood. He reached his arms further, weakly crawling towards the towering drawer that stood above him.
He remembered placing a health potion on top of it, just like other crappy inn that he had lived in. It was the same vial that Erin had given to him because she worried about his injuries.
That was going to save him now. Her spare of attention was his savior from the Void.
He pulled his body closer to the drawer, afraid that the slightest wince of pain would steal his singular point of HP away. His legs were completely useless as he dragged them against the wooden floor. His arms, however, had enough strength to move.
And his mind had withstood the torture a second time.
Though, as he pushed with his elbow, reaching with his other hand atop of the drawer, the stretching pain had come again. Every second of struggle was another agonizing trial. He was already past his limit and yet he refused to succumb to his Curse, despite a singular point clinging for life.
The stubborn Climber's vision finally blurred, and darkened, as his muscles became limp and dropped near the drawer. The potion had just been a few inches but had felt miles for his pathetic effort.
Jace's face planted on the floor, embracing the cold wood with a steady stream of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
'I'm…dead.'
His eyes closed on their own as he accepted the many regrets and mistakes that had led to such a miserable death. With the final joke, he had to assume the Tower had finally blessed him with a gift.
In the end, he was fooled, and that had cost him everything.
***
Jace wearily blinked his eyes, irritated by the peering sun that shined through his windows. For a few seconds, he didn't know what initial thoughts to process first.
Was the Void this necessarily bright? And even so, why did he feel awake? A Climber was supposed to dissolve into nothing, joining the Void along with the countless monsters they had slain.
But as he stared blankly into the wooden floor, he was safe to believe his body felt solid. Everything was solid. He was in a world, in a Floor, laying motionless inside the room that he purchased at an inn.
'Can…I move? Am I alive?'
He pulled his left hand into his eyes, testing the coordination between his mind and body. Nothing had seemed to be wrong. He was still alive.
Jace had survived from the Void again.
After a few minutes of strained groans, he managed to rest his body on the side of his bed, wondering how long he had been unconscious. Though, his first glance at the aftermath was what caught him off guard.
There was an unimaginable spill of blood that seeped into the wooden floors, where he had writhed in agony, and traced all the way to his drawer. It was a great relief that he chose to live in a private and expensive room so nobody had to witness the scene.
Jace coughed, wiping the small spittle and dried blood from his mouth. With his vision finally stable, he opened his Soul and checked the main concern.
[HP: 24/130]
His health was no longer a single digit, regenerating by the time he had fallen unconscious due to the pain. But, as he narrowed his eyes towards the lines of his Curse, he intended to do what needed to be done.
He summoned (Curse of Unbridled) onto his palm, staring deeply into the crimson flame that had promised him power. If only he had known the Curse would take everything in return.
The Active Curse would never be applicable in any fight. In other words, it was more harm done to him rather than a benefit.
'Get out of my Soul!'
Jace squeezed his hand, gritting his teeth in anger as he tried to crush and discard the Curse away. He wanted the damned thing to be gone, even if the exhilarating surge of power had brought him a sense of pleasure, it wasn't worth being reduced to a crippling state.
It was unfathomable to think such an ability would ever be useful against a monster or any Climber.
Then the crimson flame began to let out muffled, disembodied roars within, the same chorus of agonizing voices that he first heard from its original slime.
Jace didn't care. He wanted to cast it out of his Soul. If the Curse wanted to beg for mercy, then it chose the wrong person to inhabit its power.
Though, no matter how hard his hands were clenching to the crimson flame, the Curse wouldn't extinguish. It was like the Curse was alive, also inherently resisting its fate into the Void.
Sweat dripped from his brow from the prior exhaustion he had to endure from the Curse's drawback. He couldn't destroy the Curse.
'Dammit!'
He exhaled, catching his breath as the crimson flame disappeared through the air. It wasn't likely that his fatigue had affected the Curse from being removed from his Soul. He was certain that he could crush (Blessing of Starch) at any moment without any resistance.
Without having more of his thoughts trying to figure out the way to rid the Curse, he steadily rose from the wooden floor and held the nearby drawer for balance. His legs were working again, to say the least, but he still had trouble holding himself up.
However, the silver sword had worked to be an amazing fashion of a walking cane.
Jace turned away his attention from the health potion resting on his drawer and focused on a much dire goal.
He was terribly hungry, and at the same time, his energy was approaching dangerous levels of starvation. The metallic and bitter taste of his saliva didn't make it any better.
Leaving the stained blood of his agony behind, Jace walked out of his door and wished to forget any of it happened, then headed back into the pleasant shine of Sun Valley.