Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine

Your pact with the Cursed King grants you access to Malevolent Shrine, a powerful Domain Expansion. This technique allows you to summon a skull-adorned shrine that slices through all within its reach, but at a cost to your energy and technique stability.

Malevolent Shrine: As an action, you summon a large Buddhist shrine adorned with skulls and choose one of the following manifestations for your Domain Expansion. You must maintain concentration on the Domain as if concentrating on a spell.

1. Open-Air Manifestation: The shrine manifests in the surrounding airspace without forming a barrier. In this form, the area of effect is a 200-foot-radius sphere centered on a point within 120 feet. By allowing an escape route, you form a binding vow that vastly increases the shrine’s range. For 1 minute, the shrine has an HP of 60 and is immune to all conditions. Each creature of your choice within the radius must make a Dexterity saving throw (save DC: Warlock Spell DC) at the start of their turn or take 6d10 magical slashing damage from Dismantle or Cleave, depending on the creature’s toughness and resilience. Creatures entering the radius for the first time must also make this saving throw. When the shrine's HP reaches 0, the Domain collapses early.

2. Barrier-Sealed Dimension: The shrine forms a 60-foot-radius pocket dimension centered on you, enclosed by a semi-permeable barrier with 50 HP. The barrier is vulnerable to attacks from outside but resistant to attacks from within. This barrier restricts creatures inside from leaving by non-magical means but allows you or any creature you permit to exit. For 1 minute, each creature of your choice within the barrier must make a Dexterity saving throw at the start of their turn (save DC: Warlock Spell DC) or take 6d10 magical slashing damage from Dismantle or Cleave. When the barrier’s HP reaches 0, it shatters and ends the Domain.

3. Relentless Assault: Once during the shrine’s duration, you may use an action to amplify its cursed energy. Each creature of your choice within the shrine must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, they take 10d10 magical slashing damage and are knocked prone; on a success, they take half damage and remain standing.

Technique Burnout: Expanding your Domain strains your innate technique. After the Domain ends, your cursed technique is exhausted and unusable for 1 hour. Attempting to activate your technique during this time results in burnout, failing to activate and risking severe strain. Recovering from burnout requires time, as if waiting for an overheated engine to cool. No magic or Reverse Cursed Technique can accelerate this recovery. However, you may choose to Force Recovery by damaging the technique’s engraving in your mind and healing it with Reverse Cursed Technique. This allows immediate recovery but causes lasting damage, prohibiting any further use of Domain Expansion until you finish a long rest.