The drago fitfully over the few days, trying and failing to heal. Sometimes, it would rub hard against the walls of the dingy cavern, trying to knock the sword free. Sometimes, it even mao almost succeed, too. Mostly, it would just y there, yowling in pain or patiently digesting the bde draihe heat from its body one pulse of its gia at a time.

  The bde didn’t care. It simply stayed full, p the riddle of its existes o devour Life Force had not gone away, but its host was strong, and its situation was unique.

  So, whe felt the thing’s massive heartbeat start to flutter, it left its reservoir full for a day or two to allow it to recover. The only thing it cared about was when the giant, fiery beast moved toward the entrance of its cavern and attempted to fly away.

  The st thing that the Ebon Bde wanted was for this thing to leap from this rocky crag and dash itself on the rocks below. It might have been a sixty-foot-long lizard from snout to tail, but it wasn’t half s as it had been the night it had fought its previous wielder.

  So, as soon as it had thoughts of leaving, the bde would choose another expensive upgrade and start draining again to disce the beast. The first two times, it chose Improved Siphon. Spending 500 for Improved Siphon 5 was an easy decision. It had wahat upgrade fes. Improved Siphon 6 was a harder choice, but only because a thousand was an awful lot of Life Force that the beast would o replenish.

  Improved Siphon 5: It is enough simply to touch small animals now to drain them plete. Increase the Life Force drained per blow from 7 to 15.

  Improved Siphon 6: A horse or even a goblin might be drained pletely by the smallest blow. Increase the Life Force drained per blow from 10 to 20.

  As it took each upgrade, it felt its bde lengthen both times. Even if it couldn’t see it, it also felt the ruhat ran along the length of its bde shift and squirm to aodate the ges. Every time it selected an upgrade, its form was slightly restored. It was growing in power, as well as in size, and was more of a hand and a half bastard sword than a proper long sword for a weakling like Ren.

  That restoration didn’t matter, to it, nht now. In the end, all it cared about ower. Well, that, and keeping the dragon pinned in pce like a rabbit in a snare. Increasing its drai do that, that much faster.

  The numbers were flying now. At times, they moved too fast for it to keep track of them.

  Those upgrades also both unlocked new brang options for it to study. This was not a plete surprise, a, it still ied the bde because it was given no prior warning ahead of time that such a thing might be a possibility. Increasing its ability to Improved Siphon 5 gave it the option of Parasitik, and the following day, when it increased the ability again to Improved Siphon 6, it gained access to Aura of Hunger.

  Parasitik: 100 Life Force. Why bear the cost for your existence when your wielder could do that for you? This ability prevents you from falling to zero as long as you are wielded by someone, but it still does not allow you to drain your own wielder.

  Aura of Hunger: 250 Life Force. Your huransds your touch. It reaches out, grasping for more, and ever be sated.

  Allows you to Siphon 10% of the Life Forally drained from a blow over the course of a minute from up to three oppos within tehis ability ot affect your wielder but be selectively targeted.

  Unfortunately, all of that feverish draining was enough to almost kill the gia that it was leag from the sed time. Its internal furnaces finally started to grow cold. As a result, it curled every tighter where it had fall he door when it had stopped it fr to fly away. It did that in an attempt to keep some of the warmth that the Ebon Bde was siphoning from its soul but it was useless.

  The bde didn’t want that. Not when it had an endless well spring of energy here. So, it stayed patient for the better part of a week, allowing it tain enough of its strength to move around again, however weakly.

  Of course, that lethargy also made the bde realize that it’s upgrade, could well be its st for a while, so it waited patiently, while it sidered its options. Further upgrades to Improved Siphon and Increase trol were impossible at the moment, no matter how desirable. Repair Soul 2, oher hand, was affordable, if only barely, but the bde had no wish know more. Not yet, not until it uood the fragmentary images that it had experiehe first time.

  Parasitik: 100 Life ForceAura of Hunger: 250 Life ForceEmpower Bde: 250 Life Forcrease Reserves 6: 250 Life Forcrease Senses 2: 300 Life Forcrease e 3: 600 Life ForceRepair Soul 2: 1000 Life Forcrease trol 3: 1500 Life ForceImproved Siphon 7: 2000 Life Force

  Everything else, was substantially affordable, but rgely uing. The bde had no wish to stay awake longer by draining its wielder with Parasitik, or to see the world more clearly so that it could better study the metallic shit stains that covered the walls of this cave with Increase Senses 2.

  All it really wanted, was more trol, or more reserves. Yet, for some reason, it kept ing bapower Bde. Out of the descriptions on all of its abilities, it was the most inscrutable.

  Empower Bde: You are more than just steel. All you o do is ma your true nature. (one of several paths will be chosen upoion. Other paths may not be started until the first path is pleted.)

  Truthfully, it wasn’t sure what it would be getting from the deal. It didn’t like mysteries, but no matter what it tried the option yielded up no more information.

  Still, no matter how many times it sidered getting other options, it was Empower Bde that called to it. After a week of deliberation, it finally decided take the gamble.

  Instantly, a new windoeared, and the runes on its bde fred darkly with a bck light. That made the dying dragon it was still embedded in squirm unfortably. The Ebon Bde ighat and focused on its new options.

  You are still broken, but there are many ways to bee whole. Shards of your true nature have been unlocked. Which path will you choose. Blood, Death, or Vengeance?

  Blood - Harvest more from Life Force - squeeze every drop from your victims in the pursuit of power.

  Death - Rob power from the corpses of the dead as well as the bodies of the living.

  Vengeance - Not all deaths are the same. Gain more power from g those who have wronged you or your wielder, and rebang the scales.

  (Each path is a itment, and new paths may not be started until older ones are plete.)

  The bde’s first instinct was to go for Vengea might not have uood the images it had see tried to repair its soul, but it did know that someone had wro. Still, it resisted that impulse.

  I have no idea who to seek out to inflict my vengeanor no way to seek them out, it seled itself. As much as it would be a foolish choibsp;

  O had phrased the problem in those terms, the choice became a simple os instincts told it that Vengeance was the correct path, and its logic told it that Blood was the best choice, sidering how badly it wao sughter. Iuation it was currently in, though, her of those was the correct decision.

  Right now, it could feel the wheezing breath of the dragon. It had let the gia suffer as long as it could, but in anrade or two, it would grow still and cold. If there was any energy left to be salvaged after that, it would be from Death.

  When the bde selected it, its glowing runes fred a sed time, with bck-purple light. Instantly, another s appeared.

  Death is the natural ending of life, but it was not the end for you, nor will it be the end for your victims. The path of Death allows you to cim those souls that are not already cimed by the gods or sworn in allegiao devils, and with higher levels of Death alig, even those bonds may be broken.

  The path of Death allows you to harvest souls. Those souls may be kept to advance further along the path or verted into Life Energy as you desire.

  The Path of Death: Level 1 -> 3 souls of men -> to reach Level 2.

  Level 1 Powers:

  Drain Soul: Harvest the souls of your victims for ter use.

  vert Souls: Devour a soul for its stituent essence.

  For a moment, the bde was disappointed. Souls of men? It thought in disappoi, so then taking this to feast even further on a dragon was meaningless? As soon as it did that, though, another windoeared.

  Not all souls are created equal, but even the smallest of animals have one, waiting to be harvested. There is certainly a hierarchy, though, and not all souls are suitable for real adva.

  Least Souls: These are wispy, vaporous things that vert into Life Force almost immediately.

  Animal Souls: These souls tain more energy and hold their shape when taken, but are good for little.

  Lesser Monster Souls: Most monster souls are of the lesser variety. It would take 20 monster souls to equal the soul of a man.

  Greater Monster Souls: The greatest of monsters has a soul that is only one-fifth as strong as a man. These souls are necessary to plete the Path of Death.

  The Souls of Men: These souls are vital to any number of forbidden rites and easily vertible to about a hundred of Life Force as hese souls are necessary to plete the Path of Death.

  The Souls of Great Men: A few of the stro men, most elves, and other elder races will have souls that are several times more powerful than the souls of en.

  Dragon Souls: Depending on their age, Dragon Souls be ten to twenty times more powerful than on souls. These souls are necessary to plete the Path of Death.

  God Souls: Rare and nearly impossible to obtain, these souls aren’t even harvestable without great skill and signifit progress along this path.

  For a moment, the bde was overloaded at the sheer level of information it was being bombarded with, but in the end, it learned several things, including the fact that Gods were out there somewhere. Somehow, he felt like at least some of them were to bme for its current predit, too, and that only aroused its need for vengeance further.

  The new developments gave it much to think about, and after refleg for a time on it, the magic that fueled it cobbled together a character sheet of sorts, which was informative, even if it wasn’t quite sure what that was.

  The Ebon Bde

  Life Force: 1000/1000 Soul Ste: 4/14 Siphon: 10-20

  Path: Death, Level 1

  Reserves: 5 - Yemstone is rge but cloudySiphon: 6 - Your bde is sharp but tarnished.e: 2 - Weak. Your hilt is twisted and loose.trol: 1 - Weak - Your runes eroded and worn.Senses: 2 - Dim - Your hilt is tarnished.Soul: 1 - Broken - You don’t uand yourself or your past.

  Powers: Drain Soul: Harvest the souls of your victims for ter use.vert Souls: Devour a soul for its stituent essence.

  It was disappointed by what it read. It felt strong, but in the grand scheme of things, it khat it was barely more than awake. Real strength would take signifit time to achieve.

  It will also require the grip of a strong wielder, it realized. I have feasted on the beast for a long time, but if I y here fotten for decades, will I even remember all that I have learned when someo picks me up?

  It didn’t know the ao that, and it didn’t want to find out. Unfortunately, it would have to. Even though it was careful not to drain any more life from the dragon, six days ter, after it had been in the cave for nearly two weeks, it saw the message it had been dreading.

  You have cimed 1 dragon soul!

  The beast had been still for days and growing cooler. Without the sudden feeling of the soul burning within it and the message associated with it, the bde might not have realized that the dragon had passed. However, now that it had, it o decide what to do .