Soul Sacrifice AU
It’s been a year since the crown prince disappeared. It was the advisor who swore to look for him, who instructed the Shield to stay put. No matter what. A reluctant promise.
Now with the two of them still missing and the reports of ever more civilians succumbing to daemonhood every day, Gladiolus Amicitia has shed his title as Shield, broken his word and taken up the mantle of Hunter.
He will find them. He will save them. As many times as it takes.
The life of a hunter is a thankless one.
Only a select few family lines are gifted the ability to use magic, and even fewer choose to take up the path of a Hunter. Those who do are burdened with the responsibility to keep the rest safe from the daemons which plague the lands--
Daemons who were once humans. That hulking beast was once someone’s daughter. Someone’s husband. Someone’s parents. That’s where the choice of a Hunter comes into play.
Only a corrupted soul can become a daemon, they say.
The source of a Hunter’s magic throbs within their right arm. Once a daemon is defeated, the human soul within must be sacrificed or saved. Saving is only a temporary measure-- they will inevitably revert to their monstrous form in time. Such is the price they pay for the hubris which cursed them to begin with...
If sacrificed, their soul is sealed away in the Hunter’s right arm, used to strengthen the magic within. It is the Hunter who must then bear their cursed burden. Some report hearing whisperings from the souls. A Hunter who takes too sacrifices will fall to the culmination of curses, becoming something rumoured much worse than daemons.
Most fall to madness long before then.