Chapter 3: The First Sacrifice
The ascent from the bowels of the Abyss of Silent Bones was no longer a desperate crawl for survival. For Cyan Valerian, it had become a triumphant march.
The air in the upper tunnels was thinner, colder, yet it felt strangely sweet against his skin. Beside him, Elara—the Shadow Saintess—glided with a ghostly elegance. Her tattered rags had been replaced by a gown of shifting smoke and starlight, a manifestation of the dark mana Cyan had shared with her.
"The Gate of Penance lies just ahead," Elara whispered, her voice weaving through the whistling wind like a silken thread. "It is the only exit that leads directly into the Valerian Duchy's southern borders. They keep it heavily guarded, not to keep the monsters in, but to ensure no 'trash' ever crawls back out."
Cyan's blue and violet eyes pierced through the gloom. "They wanted me to rot in the dark. They wanted me to be a forgotten memory. Every step I take toward that gate is a nail in their coffins."
As they rounded a final, jagged obsidian pillar, the narrow tunnel opened into a massive cavern. In the center stood a colossal gate made of reinforced black iron, etched with glowing white runes of "Holy Protection."
But it wasn't the gate that drew Cyan's attention. It was the small fortress built around it.
Atop the battlements, a dozen guards in silver livery stood watch. And in the center of the courtyard, bathed in the artificial glow of a massive holy crystal, stood a man Cyan knew all too well.
Commander Hektor.
He was a titan of a man, nearly seven feet tall, encased in "Sun-Forged" plate armor that gleamed with an annoying brilliance. A massive warhammer, crackling with golden lightning, rested across his broad shoulders. This was the man who had personally overseen Cyan's "disposal."
"Who goes there?!" Hektor's voice boomed, echoing off the cavern walls like a physical blow. "The Abyss is closed to all but the dead! Identify yourselves or be purged by the Light!"
Cyan stepped out of the shadows, his boots crunching on the frost-covered stone. He didn't hide his face. He didn't hide his aura.
Hektor squinted, his hand instinctively gripping the handle of his hammer. "That face... No. It's impossible. Prince Cyan?"
A collective gasp went up among the guards. They leaned over the ramparts, their crossbows trembling in their hands.
"I told you, Hektor," Cyan said, his voice carrying a haunting, dual resonance that seemed to vibrate the very air. "I would return to collect the debts owed to me."
Hektor's shock quickly turned into a twisted, ugly sneer. "You... you actually survived? I should have crushed your skull myself instead of trusting the fall to do it. But look at you... those markings... that eye. You've truly fallen into depravity, haven't you? You've sold your soul to the demons just to crawl back to a world that hates you."
"Sold my soul?" Cyan laughed, a dark, melodic sound that made the guards' hair stand on end. "I didn't sell it, Hektor. I evolved it. The 'Light' you serve is nothing but a mask for weaklings like you."
"Blasphemy!" Hektor roared, his holy mana erupting in a blinding golden flare. "Men! Fire! Kill this abomination!"
A rain of silver-tipped bolts hissed through the air. Each one was blessed to pierce the hide of a demon.
"Elara," Cyan muttered, his expression bored.
"My King," she responded with a predatory grin.
With a wave of her pale hand, the shadows on the ground rose like a living wall of obsidian silk. The bolts hit the shadows and simply... vanished. Not a single one touched Cyan.
"My turn," Cyan whispered.
He vanished.
To the guards, he was a purple blur. To Hektor, he was a nightmare manifest. Cyan appeared in the center of the courtyard, the ground cracking under the sheer pressure of his landing.
[Skill Activated: Sovereign's Command (Passive)]
The guards atop the walls suddenly felt their hearts seize. Their knees buckled, and their weapons fell from their lifeless fingers as they collapsed in sheer terror. They couldn't move. They couldn't even scream.
Hektor, protected by his high level, managed to resist, but even he took a step back. "What... what kind of sorcery is this?"
"It's not sorcery, Hektor. it's authority," Cyan said, walking slowly toward the giant.
"Die!" Hektor lunged, swinging his massive hammer in a horizontal arc. The golden lightning shrieked, tearing through the air with enough force to shatter a castle gate.
Cyan didn't dodge. He raised his left hand—the one covered in the glowing purple tattoos.
CLANG!
The cavern shook. Dust fell from the ceiling. Hektor's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Cyan had caught the massive, enchanted hammer with his bare palm. The golden lightning hissed and died as it touched his skin, absorbed into the violet markings on his arm.
"Is this the 'Holy Power' you're so proud of?" Cyan asked, his grip tightening. The reinforced silver of the hammer began to groan and warp under his fingers. "It feels... empty."
"Impossible! I am a Level 25 High Paladin!" Hektor screamed, trying to pull his weapon back.
"Level 25?" Cyan's violet eye flared. "Then you should provide a decent amount of experience."
Cyan's hand shot out, grabbing Hektor by the throat. The giant man was lifted off the ground as if he weighed nothing.
[EYES OF LUST & RUIN - ANALYSING TARGET...]
Target: Hektor (Hypocrite of the Light).
Secret Sin: Has murdered three squires to hide his embezzlement.
Current Fear Level: 98%.
Processing Sacrifice...
"Please..." Hektor wheezed, his face turning a sickly purple. "I was only... following orders... Victor... Victor forced me!"
"Everyone says that at the end," Cyan whispered, his voice cold as the Abyss. "But the System doesn't care for excuses."
[Skill Activated: Sin Absorption / Core Devour.]
A horrific sound filled the cavern—the sound of a soul being shredded. Dark purple tendrils erupted from Cyan's palm, burrowing into Hektor's armor and skin. They sought out his Mana Core, wrapping around it like starving vipers.
Hektor's body began to wither. His muscles shriveled, and his golden aura was forcibly sucked into Cyan, turning into dark, potent energy. The "Sun-Forged" armor turned black and brittle, crumbling like ash in the wind.
It was a slow, agonizing process. Cyan felt the rush of power—the stolen mana being refined by his Heart of Ruin and distributed through his veins. It was intoxicating. It was better than any drug.
With a final, bone-chilling snap, Hektor's Mana Core shattered within his body. His eyes turned grey, and he went limp.
Cyan tossed the husk aside like trash.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
First High-Sacrifice Confirmed.
Absorbing Exp...
Level Up!
Level 0 -> Level 3 -> Level 5 -> Level 7!
Stats Increased: Strength +15, Agility +12, Intelligence +20.
New Skill Unlocked: [Shadow Extraction] - (You can now raise the shadows of those you kill to serve as mindless soldiers).
Sin Points Gained: +2,500.
Cyan stood in the center of the courtyard, his aura now so thick it felt like physical weight. He looked at the guards who were still paralyzed on the walls.
"Arise," Cyan commanded.
From the shadow of Hektor's shriveled corpse, a dark, distorted figure began to crawl. It looked like Hektor, but made of shifting ink and purple flame. It knelt before Cyan, its head bowed.
"Welcome back, Commander," Cyan mocked.
He turned toward the massive Gate of Penance. With a single thought, he released a pulse of dark energy. The reinforced iron didn't just open—it disintegrated. The "Holy Runes" screamed before flickering out into nothingness.
Outside, the moon was high in the sky, silvering the forest of the Valerian borders.
"Three days until the coronation, Elara," Cyan said, stepping out into the fresh air for the first time as a Sovereign. "By the time we reach the capital, I want this entire province to know that the King of Sin has returned."
Elara bowed deeply, her dark eyes reflecting the moonlight. "The shadows are already moving, my King. Where shall we strike first?"
Cyan looked toward a distant glow on the horizon—the nearest border city, Oakhaven. "A city full of 'pious' nobles and a temple of the Light. It's the perfect place to start our collection."
As they disappeared into the woods, the only thing left in the cavern was the silence of the dead and the shattered remnants of a 'Holy' gate. The hunt wasn't just beginning—it was accelerating.