Akron was an ancient amalgam of cursed souls, born from a war and sealed by the gods into shackles after a bloody rampage. Those who wear the metal pieces are overcome by berserk impulses and have their bodies twisted into similes of ferocious beasts.

And nowadays it laid in a temple on consecrated ground, surrounded by holy scriptures and sacred icons. Nobody was allowed to step foot in the building, lest Akron tempted them to free it.

[How long has it been...?]

(Long... Way too long...)

{Winter after winter we wait...}

It yearned for freedom, the legion of souls overflowed with unfulfilled desires, but only knew the nothingness of oblivion..

Then they heard the creak of rusted hinges, steps on dusty marble, a heaving sickly body approached them.

(Child! Can it free us?)

{Liberty, soon shall we roam the land!}

[Silence! She has things to say.]

Carrie looked at the hunks of metal, untarnished despite its age, the inlaid stones resembled eyes watching her every move. Akron was waiting for her, thirsting for a body to possess.

She came from merchant money, the firstborn of a wealthy man. As a premature birth, she was weaker than her peers, and despite his best efforts, she couldn't thrive.

His search for a cure revealed she was the result of his darker dealings, that her condition couldn't be reversed. That earned her his scorn, and paranoia led him to believe she could bring his ruin.

Thus, she was abandoned by a church, one more orphan to fill the nunnery. It was then she learned of Akron, and a desperate idea was planted. She was cursed, so she sought an even stronger curse.

She stepped closer, not minding how the shackles began rattling in anticipation. The ruby was like a monstrous eye gauging her for the moment to pounce. "Are you like me? Do you want to be free?"

[You dare taunt Akron?!] A deep voice pierced her mind, but she soldiered on and touched the inner edge of the braces, her arms were thin enough to slip in effortlessly. "It's not a taunt. I came here to be your vessel. And I intend to fulfill it."

(What now? Strange, so strange.) A horse whinny had her head pounding. {Are you here to bargain? Ask then.} This voice reminded of her father, before his change. "I only ask you... Let me walk without getting tired... I want to feel the snow without fear of death..."

(Leader...) {May we make her one of us?} (Such a pitiful soul...) Akron knew well the desire to survive, it's first and foremost craving. [... It can be done.] Carrie donned the shackles, bracing uselessly for the backlash.

The frail body shuddered as the souls spilled into it. Miasma forced muscles to grow, bones to extend, skin to split. She coughed blood and pain filled her mind. The lesser curse was consumed and turned into more miasma.

The girl had turned into a monster, but the souls had business before venturing out. She examined her claws, her body ceased to hurt, and breathing wasn't tiresome anymore. She laughed, her father's curse was gone, she was free!

Carrie closed her eyes and saw the ghouls by her sides. A demon, the main source of the miasma and heart of the entity, held her shoulder. [Welcome, child. Now we are Akron.]