BROTHERS TOGETHER: US AGAINST DOOM

Life-bound Curse

Learning that he had inherited the Heavenly Constellation Lightning from Ruger, Constantine was on cloud nine. But then his mood suddenly plummeted as he hurriedly tried to calm himself down.

Constantine did not lose his mind to euphoria, and he was still conscious enough to hear the rest of Ruger's words.

"You're blessed, but you're cursed too!"

That was what Ruger said to Constantine, and hearing it gave him ominous feelings that all was not well.

Looking at Ruger apprehensively, Constantine asked, "What did you mean when you said I was cursed? Did I inherit something else from you, apart from your powers?"

This day was really set up to be a bad day for Constantine. it was not enough that he found out his soul was fused with another person's soul. But now he might have also inherited an unknown curse because of this.

The joy that Constantine felt previously from inheriting the Heavenly Constellation Lightning was quickly dampened because of this.

Ruger smiled at Constantine's question and replied to him.

You've finally calmed down, eh? I thought you would have gone on for a while longer. After all, not everybody has the chance to change their fates like you did, kid. Why don't you celebrate more while I watch?"

"I want to see the look of despair on your face as it is consumed by horror when I finally tell you about the curse you inherited from me."

Ruger had a sinister look on his face as he spoke, and he looked spooky and creepy. It looked like he was trying to frighten Constantine.

But by now Constantine was already clear on the fact that Ruger enjoyed tormenting him and watching him suffer. He didn't know if it was because he got off on doing that, but Constantine was determined not to let Ruger enjoy himself at his own expense.

Keeping a straight face, Constantine said, "Just get on with this so I can go... I can't bear staying in your presence for a moment longer."

"It sickens me!"

'There, two can play this game,' Constantine thought.

'Since you want to disgust me, then I'll disgust you in return. Let's see who can disgust the other more.'

Constantine was having a field day like this. It had to be known that he was a teenager with access to the internet and on the internet, there was no limit of toxic and vile people...

Any teenager that spent an average of two hours on the internet every day would know how to reply to toxic and vile comments, especially when they could remain largely anonymous on the internet.

Constantine was the typical teenager that had an unhealthy internet presence and he had also had to put up with Baron's increasingly cynical attitude. Constantine had long learned how to make quick comebacks to toxic remarks made against him. Unlike Ruger, who was solely focused on training during his life and neglected to learn the finer arts of quirky retorts and witty comebacks.

Ruger, who saw that he could not bait Constantine but had instead ended up insulted in return, kept quiet for a moment. Eventually, he decided to ignore what Constantine had said and finally replied to his earlier question.

"You asked if you inherited a curse from me... my answer is yes!"

"You have indeed inherited the initial curse that I had to bear all my life from the moment of my birth."

"This curse should be very familiar to you. You should have already guessed it by now and if you haven't, then you're dumber than I thought!"

"I am talking about the soul-bound contract that I share with my lifetime companion, Vader. I told you previously that I could still sense the presence of Vader's soul and he was still alive. It is because of this life-bound contract that I am able to do this even in my current state. since Vader is still alive, that means the contract still exists and since my soul has fused with yours, you have also inherited this contract and your soul along with mine is fused with Vader's."

"How is it... are you afraid yet?"

Was Constantine afraid yet? The truth is that he was absolutely terrified!

This was the worst thing he had ever heard of in his life...

Not only was his soul fused to Ruger's, but it turns out that there was also another soul bound to his own. Worst still was that unlike how his soul was fused with Ruger's, where he at least gained some benefits and control over the situation, having his life bound to Vader brought no benefits to Constantine at all and he had absolutely no control over the issue.

Constantine was freaking out right now!

Looking at Ruger in disbelief, Constantine asked, "How is that possible... I thought your life-bound contract would end when either one of you died and the other would also follow along. Technically, you're not alive, right? Although your soul is fused with mine, I have already assimilated most of your soul into mine, so you can't be considered being alive, right?"

"Why is the life-bound contract still active when you are technically dead?"

This was the truth... from what Constantine could understand, when a person possessed another, it was the process of killing the person's soul and consuming it into yours to become your own soul. The person who ends up with their soul being consumed and fused was dead in every sense of the word.

Although there were some cases like Ruger's where a trace of their will would still be alive in their soul, they were still not considered being alive. This will was nothing more than a lingering thought that would dissipate without something to contain it.

As for what could be inherited from another person's soul, only those things that were inherent to that soul could be inherited. That means that a person's memories or any of their abilities that came from their soul would be inherited by the other person.

As for things like say, a technique that was conducted on the person later in life but was not born from their soul, it would not be inherited and would simply vanish.

This was what Constantine understood after assimilating with Ruger's memories and learning a bit about the issue of soul possession. But now that he heard that he inherited something that was not intrinsic to Ruger's soul, Constantine was at a loss as to how to explain it.

Ruger looked at Constantine, who was having a nervous breakdown right now and he was very pleased.

But he still spoke to him seriously as he said, "What do you know? Possession is not something that can be understood simply because you know a thing or two about it, not to mention that you know shit about the subject. The soul is a domain that is still full of mysteries, even in the firmament that I come from, and the wonders that surround the soul are too profound to be completely understood."

"But even still, my clan has a powerful understanding of the soul and they were able to come up with the life-bound contract that could bind two people's souls together until death. This contract is not something that just anybody could break. Trust me, a lot of people have tried only to fail, myself included. At the end of the day, this contract is too profound and impossible to completely understand and it is also difficult to break."

When Ruger finished speaking, he looked at Constantine with pity in his eyes.

Finally, he said something that left Constantine reeling with shock and anger.

"The life bound contract is the most powerful technique ever created by my clan. It is powerful and mysterious and fille with profoundness that it is almost impossible to break. Many have tried to come up with different ways to break the contract, to no avail."

"Why do you think we are in this predicament in the first place?"