Oh, what a tragic outcome (2) 

His father caught his body before he could hit the ground. 

Augustus was terrified when he examined Horo. He originally thought this was something done by the supreme he had just killed in one strike, but when he felt Horo's forehead, he knew it wasn't that simple. 

There was a mark on the right side of Horo's forehead. It was small enough to fit between his eyebrow and hairline, and it looked like a small tattoo of a kudu horn. 

Yet, this small mark radiated such a malevolent aura, with a quality resembling a god's divine energy. When he examined the mark with his energy, he felt an extreme repulsion force, and then he heard the words of Valdramelech.

"In the name of the lord of the abyss and the abyss itself, I Valdramelech the Eternal Corruption, Supreme of Curses, sacrifice half of my power along with this horn to curse all descendants of the one who has slain mine."

He felt a sense of despair after hearing those words. He knew that this so-called "ancient supreme" was way beyond his league, and he didn't have the means to save his son. 

This was a curse by a being on the same level as gods, maybe even higher gods, and the curse was meant for an entire lineage, but he only had one offspring. This meant all of the curse and its power was focused on Horo. 

At least at first thought, he didn't, but when he had a certain thought, his eyes turned sharp with a light of conviction and will beyond his own understanding. 

Next, he formed a spearhead with his hand and pierced his own chest. He grabbed his shining, crystalline, blazing heart and chanted in a special language only sacred knights who were with the church knew of. 

The language of gods. 

"I, demigod of the Glazed Flame, Augustus, follow the will of the gods and their will only. But today, I shall follow my own as I sacrifice my Sacred Heart to my descendant to neutralize the curse within him. I beg the gods who have blessed me to gift me power to stand a chance."

When he finished speaking, he snatched his heart out of his chest and raised it high. 

After a couple of seconds, it was as if the gods truly responded to his will.

The clouds spread above him and golden light shined through. As the light landed on him, his heart absorbed and all and its flames and light intensified as it beat viscously, as if it was still within his body. 

He held it up until the clouds closed and the light vanished. 

He suddenly smashed the heart into the right side of Horo's chest, but instead of busting his chest open it just phased right into it. 

It had become a mark on Horo's chest. 

When he was done, Augustus passed out himself. He wouldn't die because he was already a demigod and could reforge his sacred heart, but he needed to be taken to a divine pool because he did something that wasn't as simple as destroying his heart. He sacrificed it. 

A figure appeared in the sky not too long after this whole ordeal. 

....

While all of that was happening Horo was in deep darkness once again, the same darkness he only experienced after death. 

And his ever-accompanying module began with the notifications.

"Your body and soul has been cursed and corrupted"

"Curse too powerful resulting in immediate death of physical body"

"An outside influence is attempting to enter your soul"

"The intent from the influence wants to protect and preserve your soul" 

"Affect resonates with your desires, effects manifested"

"Due to your soul being protected by the intent and divine energy from the [Sacred Heart] The remains of the heart absorbs the Eternal Aura of Corruption Curse Mark…. "

" [Eternal Cursed Heart] is born"

" [Eternal Glazed Flame of Corruption] is born"

"Tree of tragedy absorbs both"

"Since your soul has overcome this calamity it allows the Tree of Tragedy to begin its second evolution"

"Tree of Tragedy returns to seed form to absorb the benefits gained from passing the calamity and begin its second evolution..."

"Your origin bound Tree Of Tragedy has Evolved into your Soul Guide"

The Tree like tattoo that previously looked like a withered thin black tree, that stopped at the middle of this Horo's back area on his soul was now looking like the sturdy tree that left the seed on his mother. 

It now covered his whole back, and is extremely thick with thick branches that brached into thinner branches, still as black as a lightless abyss, and looked vividly realistic as if it was three dimensional. It even moved like a real tree would now.

Another difference is now the branches had leaves that looked like flames that, and there are night blue and glazed, they had dots that were very small, but shining like flickering stars in the void changing between black and white. The Tree had a translucent object shaped like a heart at the top of the trunk, and it looked like glass that shined as bright as a sun, but the brightness was dulled because its crystal like qualities reflected the abyss that was surrounding it which was the tree itself. 

One last notification came.

"Due to the physical body for this soul perishing the Soul Guide will now take this Soul back to its origin"

....

The person who appeared in the sky above Horo and his dad, was the sword god. He had arrived just as Horo's dad performed an action that he thought would save his son, but it only saved his soul. 

He watched Augustus pass out and sighed. He knew it was nothing that could be done to save Horo, but he also knew his soul was fine. He was about to approach the two unmoving bodies, one dead and the other alive, when something strange happened. 

Horo's body was shrouded in a black that was darker than the void, and it felt opposed to everything in existence. Next it crumbled into nothingness. 

The sword god appeared next to Augustus, and lifted him up while saying "Oh, what a tragic outcome, may your soul thrive elsewhere my precious pupil."