Butterfly Kiss

Their guide stopped them. As his finger moved towards his lips, everyone started listening. There was a sound, similar to the waterfall splashing on the rocks. But there shouldn't be any water here.
"Whatever happens, don't move at all, we're gonna wait it out. They won't hurt you unless you hurt them," his words sounded ominous, but no one wanted to argue.
As soon as he finished, the noise approached them. It was a swarm of butterflies, their wings almost as black as the darkness around them. They flew close to their bodies, their faces, and their eyes, barely missing them. Ignoring a reflex to swat them away was a true test of their willpower.

Shadow angels are a species of a butterfly native to the Dark Halls. One of their most well-known traits is their extraordinary fragility. Anything other than a soft touch causes their wings to crumble and turn to sharp needles. Being pierced by them, while not painful or dangerous by itself, involves a high chance of getting afflicted with a curse called by a name of a Butterfly Kiss.

Symptoms

As soon as his hand hit the butterfly, the insect broke into millions of pieces. The others could see as a shadow starts to form before his eyes, forming an upside-down image of its wings. He was now cursed.

After one of the butterfly needles pierces one's skin, the first symptom shows up in a matter of seconds. A mark that resembles an upside-down shadow butterfly shows up in front of the eyes of the affected person. It looks like they are wearing a veil or a Venetian mask made out of shadows. The "mask" is incorporeal and partially transparent, enough so the others can still see the face of the cursed one underneath. The cursed person doesn't see the mark in front of their face unless they look at their reflection or photos of themselves.
Once the mask fully forms the curse progresses. At this point, the affected one stops being able to perceive any kind of darkness and shadows. For them, everything seems to be evenly (but dimly) lit. This gives them the ability to see much farther than any other people in the Dark Halls, but it also leaves them extremely vulnerable, as, without the help of others, they won't be able to avoid the hunger of the darkness of the Halls.

Treatment

There is only one way to get rid of a Butterfly's Kiss and that is to completely lose one's sight in any possible way and then regain it. In the Dark Halls, this could be achieved in many ways, the most common being visiting the Halls which take away one's sight, or making a deal with one of the powerful creatures living in this realm. But asking for their help is always associated with a high price to pay.

Prevention

"Remember, move slower than molasses."

The best way to protect oneself from the curse is to completely avoid Shadow angel swarms. If one still needs to pass through their territory, they have to do so either inside of a tightly covered caravan cart, wearing heavy armor, or by moving slowly and carefully. In the last case, it is still advised to wear at least some shoes with reinforced soles as sometimes one can find dead butterflies on the ground beneath where they flew by, and the dead specimens are still capable of afflicting one with the curse.

Shadow angel by Revyera

Origin

Natural

Rarity

Uncommon

Uses

One of the caravan guards had that weird veil in front of her eyes. Once in a while, she pointed into the darkness, saying something about creatures traversing the Halls. In contrast, we could only see blackness surrounding us. Somehow, I felt that was for the better.

While the cursed individual would be completely defenseless in the Dark Halls by themself, in a group, they can quickly become a valuable member. Those with the Butterfly Kiss can see through the darkness, making them perfect scouts, lookouts, guards, and Seekers of loss.
Since most of the settlements want to have at least one of them employed, some people, who don't want to move too much and who want job security, decide to get themselves cursed on purpose.

Butterfly kiss symptom by Revyera