Soul Bond

Transmission & Vectors

People can become Soul Bond by either attaining some magical weapon or equipment that has a soul in it or by a divine being forcing it onto them. A Soul Bond cannot form if the being trying to bond has a physical body in the mortal realm, they need to be incorporeal. In order for a divine being to form a Soul Bond, the host body must be strong enough to handle the power of a god.

Causes

Because most magical equipment is created through the use of souls, they usually are sentient. The magical equipment can choose whether or not it wants to be known by its wielder. Another way people become Soul Bonded is by it forcibly happening to them by divine intervention. A divine can either insert themselves or one of their servants into a mortal in order to strengthen or start a cult, attain influence on the mortal world, to weaken or destroy a rival cult, or for some other miscellaneous reason.

Symptoms

Though there are usually no physical changes in the exact moment the Soul Bond is secured, the mental and magical effects are felt immediately. The host will sometimes not be aware of the bond, but the bonder will be aware and can choose whether or not it wants to be known. If the bonder and the host are aware of each other they will be able to talk to each other through thoughts, the magical ability of both of them will increase exponentially, bonder can sometimes manifest as a hallucination to the host, the bonder can physically touch the host but not anything else unless they are in control of the host's body, and both beings retain their personalities, creating a mutual relationship between the two. The effects of such a relationship have yet to be recorded by any magical or scientific group.

If the bonder decides not to make their presence known they relationship can turn either into communalism or parasitism. A communal relationship usually just results in the host just getting a lot of magical power without having a voice in their head. In a parasitic relationship, either the host or the bonder will try to eat the other's soul in order to gain power. This kind of relationship is common among Soul Bonds with divine beings like devils, daemons, angels, or the gods themselves.

When a god creates a Soul Bond with a mortal, the god will almost always completely take over the host's body, ending any free will for the host. Though the god can't put there full power into the host body, the power of the host will increase to that of a demi-god, creating a sort of pseudo-god. When this bond is formed, the host will usually be called the Avatar of a God and it will undergo some physical changes, depending on which god is inhabiting the Avatar.

Treatment

A person(s) or god(s) can sever the Soul Bond by overpowering the more powerful soul in the bond. This can be tougher if both souls are trying to reject the separation, if one soul has been completely or mostly taken over by the other, or if the one attempting to separate the souls is a mortal.

Prognosis

Normally most Soul Bonds are parasitic, as daemons can easily Soul Bond with almost any mortal being. If it is a Soul Bond through the medium of magical equipment then there will likely be either a communal or no Soul Bonding.

Sequela

In parasitic relationships, the bonder will change the host's body over time to look more like them, which can result in Avatarism or Daemonization

Affected Groups

Everyone

Prevention

There ways to ward off daemons and devils. Magical equipment is rare so the likelihood of getting a Soul Bond from this is very low. It neigh impossible to stop a god from bonding with unless you have help, or are as strong enough as a fraction of a god's power, as a god can only put so much of their being into the Mortal World

Epidemiology

Soul Bond is always an isolated event

Type

Supernatural

Origin

Divine

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Unique