This sleek hand crossbow, seemingly made of black rimed crystal, almost of horns like in its texture; pulses with dark red and black magic and connects you to its essence. It looks faintly broken, a dark sticky teal liquid pouring from it, demonic ichor overflowing from within. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.

Curse. This item is cursed. As long as you remain cursed, you cannot discard the weapon and you feel an insatiable urge to keep it in your person at all times. If separated from your person, it immediately teleports back into your pocket or pack, and you take 5d6 psychic damage. Each time after the first time you take the damage this way, the damage increases by 2d6.

You can use Intelligence, instead of Dexterity, for attack and damage rolls made with this weapon. Furthermore, this crossbow can generate its own ammo if you don’t have any, causing you to ignore the Loading property on it; and it has 2 charges, which replenish on a short or long rest, and you can expend to cause either of the following effects:

Dread Bolt. Whenever you deal damage to a creature with the crossbow, you can expend a charge, causing the arrow to be wreathed in black and crimson flames. The attack deals an additional 3d6 necrotic damage and the creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or become frightened of you until the end of your next turn. 

Abyssal Shroud. Whenever you use your Uncanny Dodge feature, you may partly shroud yourself with black, cold and dry mist, expending a charge. Space within a 10 foot radius sphere centred on you becomes filled with black mist and darkness until the end of your next turn or until you attack. A creature with darkvision can't see through this darkness, nonmagical light can't illuminate it, but you can see through it as if it was bright light.

Additionally, this weapon yearns to consume life. Whenever you reduce a hostile creature that has a soul to 0 hit points, or a creature that has a soul is reduced to 0 hit points within 10 feet of you, you can use your reaction to do one of the following:

Feed. You regain an expended charge, regain hit points equal to your level and you gain temporary hit points equal to half your level.

Empower. You can move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks and make one attack with the weapon at a creature within range. This attack benefits from your Sneak Attack, no matter what; and if it reduces a hostile creature to 0 hit points, you may Empower yourself once more (no action required), as you become more and more like the weapon with each kill.

Raise. You twist the soul into a foul monster from the Abyss. The corpse is immediately boiled in ichor, and a Demonic Thrall rises in its place. It is a Medium Fiend with a vaguely humanoid shape, a myriad of horns on its head, completely featureless and made of almost black and slightly teal sticky demonic ichor. It lasts for up to 1 minute or until you dismiss it (no action required), and it has an AC equal to yours, 1 hit point and immunity to all conditions. If it has to make a saving throw, it uses your saving throw bonus for the roll. It occupies its space and it takes its turn immediately after yours, which it must use to move towards a hostile creature within 30 feet of you and make an attack with its claws, using this crossbow for the attack and damage roll. If there’s no creature within range, it instead moves up to 60 feet closer to the nearest hostile creature. Whenever the Demonic Thrall dies, you gain temporary hit points equal to half your level.

Proficiency with a Hand Crossbow allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.

Notes: Bonus: Magic, Cursed, Ammunition, Light, Loading, Range, Vex