She nods, accepting my explanation. There will come a time when I’ll have to tell Moe the truth about my family and…the curse of my birth. But I’d rather not do it now.
I clear my throat. “The next one is the Hunger Domain. Consumption of power, magic, and life force.”
“Doesn’t that describe the typical immortal? From what you said, all immortals consume energy from around them.”
“Not quite. While we do consume energy from the environment and from…souls… I think this refers to a different type of energy.”
“Huh?” She frowns.
“When someone uses their abilities, they transform energy into that ability. I think a wielder of the Hunger Domain can take that ability, turn it back into energy and absorb it.”
“Oh. That’s quite a handy ability to have.” She nods.
There’s an additional description, so I read on.
“The wielder devours incoming spells and rune energy, converting them into personal strength. The wielder may also consume luck or misfortune. With mastery, one may influence fate—exchanging people’s fates or stealing them for his own.”
“That’s… unsettling,” she mutters.
“I’ve never heard anything like this before so I’m hoping this is a rare domain. I don’t think I ever want to meet someone who can just steal my fate.” A shudder goes through my body at the mere thought.
Like the Dominion Primordial, the Hunger Primordial has his own prayers. In this case, He presides over rituals, curses, luck and misfortune.
“The following incantations may be used to get the blessing of the Hunger Primordial, though it’s not a given that He will answer back.
By the Seven.This one is general. It may improve spells and rituals and doesn’t require an exchange.
By the grace of Him who consumes, He who is never full, He who is blessed with unlimited energy.This prayer is aimed directly toward Him so He will personally bless a ritual or spell. But he will ask for something in return.
There is one last incantation.
In the name of He who wields good and back luck; whose all-seeing-gaze covers the land.This one is particularly for good luck or to cast bad luck curses onto other people. The book states that there are levels of exchange depending on the magnitude of the ask.”
“Good thing I’ve only ever prayed to the Seven for luck and not to Him. I don’t think I’d like to know what those exchanges entail.”
I nod. “Me too,” I murmur.
“Inferno Domain?” Moe reads the next one, her brows going up. “That sounds ominous.”
“Violent destruction fueled by emotional intensity.” The description is shorter, but sharper.
“You haven’t met anyone with this domain,” she notes.
I shake my head and continue reading. “Hellfire manifests as both weapon and extension of the wielder’s state. Power increases in direct correlation with emotional agitation. Loss of control often results in exponential amplification—and self-destruction.”
Moe leans back slightly. “So the angrier you get, the stronger you become?”
“And the more likely you are to lose control,” I add. “I’m not sure what it would be like to face someone with this domain. On the one hand, I can capitalize on their loss of control. But if that makes them stronger…”
“I think we should hold onto this book for a while. I’ll transcribe all the domains on a blank paper so we can think about battle strategies against each.”
“That’s a good idea. But you forget one thing. There’s also the levels. Those impact the manifestation of the domain the most. And aside from that, there are individual differences that we can’t account for.”
She shrugs. “At least it’s better than going into battle blind. Especially as you start tackling stronger opponents.”
“All right. We can buy a blank notebook tomorrow.” I scan over the text and resume where I left off.
“He also has two other incantations besides the general one.He who burns with Eternal Wrath, the Calm in the face of the Storm, He who cleanses with Fire, The Eternal Purifier.This one is used to invoke His control over emotions.
