Sin Collector Cultivator

7. Scent of Regret

Arion held the empty crystal bottle, then dropped it. The clinking sound of glass shattering on the marble floor seemed to mark the end of Serafina’s old life. Around them, black smoke still billowed from the remains of Mama Jinn’s body, which had just been devoured by the System.

[Emotional Analysis: Scent of Regret.]

[Quality: Pure (Abyssal).]

[Effect on User: Stabilizes Malice energy fluctuations. Reduces risk of mental degradation by 20%.]

"So potent," Arion murmured, his nose sniffing the air that now smelled like rain falling on a pile of ashes. "It almost surpasses Lyra’s hatred."

"You threw away my last medicine," Serafina spoke, her head still bowed, messy strands of hair covering her weary eyes. "I spent the rest of my life brewing that poison from rotten roots in the basement. It was the only 'kindness' I could offer this place. A quick death for all of us."

"Death is an escape for the weak, Physician," Arion stepped forward, his boot crushing the shards of the crystal bottle. "My System does not allow potential this great to simply evaporate into the ground."

Lyra entered the room while sheathing her still-vibrating sword. She looked at Serafina with a complicated expression, caught between disgust and pity.

"You intended to poison yourself and everyone in this building, Serafina?" Lyra asked. "That is a cowardly act for someone once known as the Pearl of the Kingdom."

Serafina laughed bitterly, her thin shoulders shaking. "Pearl? That title died when the King drew his last breath and the Sun Sect accused my concoctions of being a curse. They stripped away everything—my honor, my family, even my right to die in peace. In this city, kindness is a commodity with no market value unless it can be squeezed into karma."

"An interesting story, but I’m not here to listen to past dramas," Arion interrupted coldly.

"Of course not," Serafina replied, looking up and meeting Arion’s gaze with her weary gray eyes. "You came to 'harvest.' I can feel the power you possess. You are a predator of emotions, aren't you?"

[System Notification: Target possesses high spiritual awareness despite her sealed Cultivation. Recommended: Exercise caution during soul interactions.]

"Why, Arion? Why are you interested in her?" Lyra stepped closer, her eyes flashing purple with a jealousy she didn't even realize she felt. "She isn’t a fighter. She’s just a broken woman who can’t even defend herself."

"She is the Vessel of Regret, Lyra," Arion answered without looking back. "You are an explosive hatred. You are my sword. But her? She will be my lungs. Her regret is so immense that it can absorb the cosmic poison from my soul before it destroys me."

"So you need her to 'filter' the trash in your head?" Lyra scoffed. "Incredible. Your collection of monsters is becoming quite complete."

"You are part of that collection too, remember?" Arion shot Lyra a sharp look, making the sword-maiden fall silent and snort in annoyance.

Arion turned back to Serafina. "Rise. This brothel is no longer your home."

"And where should I go?" Serafina asked hollowly. "This entire city is a prison for people like me. Outside those doors, my name is 'Forbidden Sinner.' Not a single temple will grant me sanctuary."

"I have no need for sanctuary from those fake temples," Arion said. "I am offering a place within the shadows. A position where your regret is no longer a burden, but a power to change the flow of karma."

"You’re talking about that 'Chain,' aren't you?" Serafina pointed to Lyra’s wrist, which was adorned with a black chain tattoo. "I see it. You two are connected by something darker than death."

[Honesty Detection: Serafina is becoming interested in the promise of power. Moral Ambivalence: 45%.]

"Buy her, Arion. Do it quickly before the stronger city guards arrive," Lyra whispered, her eyes constantly alert toward the entrance. "The scent of this 'Red Silk' is already starting to mix with the smell of soldiers' iron."

"I am not buying her with money," Arion leaned down, his face now level with Serafina’s. "Serafina, tell me. When they dragged you to this place, when they forced you to cast aside your physician’s oath to satisfy the lust of elders you once considered holy... what is the one thing you regret most?"

Serafina remained silent for a long time. Her breath was heavy. The air around her seemed to freeze, and the scent of her regret intensified tenfold.

"I regret not poisoning the water supply of the entire capital when I had the chance," she whispered, her tone calm yet lethal. "I regret saving thousands of lives that then stood on the roadside and spat on my head as I was dragged to the gates of slavery. My greatest regret... is that I was ever a good person."

Arion smiled widely. A smile that would make anyone’s skin crawl.

[Condition Met. Malice Sync: 100%.]

[Cosmic Correction: Vessel of Regret confirmed.]

"A perfect answer," Arion said.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy armored footsteps echoed from the outer hallway.

"In here! The owner is dead! There is an aura of darkness!" a voice shouted.

"Arion, we have guests!" Lyra unsheathed her sword again. Her shadow blade now looked hungrier. "Seven warriors from the Order of Pure Light. Mid-level Life Foundation."

"Hold them for a moment, Lyra," Arion did not budge from in front of Serafina.

"Are you joking?! Fighting seven at once in this cramped room?" Lyra hissed.

"You have your chain, Lyra. Draw a little energy from my chest. You will never lack strength as long as I am behind you," Arion commanded.

Lyra gritted her teeth, but then her eyes widened as she felt a surge of dense black energy flowing through the tattoo on her wrist. She felt strong. Too strong.

"Fine! But don't blame me if this building collapses!"

Lyra dashed out of the room just as the door was smashed by a warrior’s sledgehammer. An explosion of energy occurred in the hallway—the sound of clashing steel and human screams filled the air as the background to Arion and Serafina’s conversation.

"Look at that," Arion pointed toward the commotion outside. "That is the 'Justice' of your world. They don’t care about you, Serafina. They only care about the fact that their 'property' has been disturbed. To them, you are a lost asset."

"I am not an asset," Serafina hissed, her voice now colored with a rage that began to ignite her regret.

"Then, give me your hand," Arion reached out.

Serafina stared at the hand. The hand of a young man who looked fragile yet held hell within him. Slowly, she placed her slender fingers—roughened by forced labor—into Arion’s palm.

"If I follow you, will I still have to see this hypocrisy?" Serafina asked.

"No. You will be the one to extinguish it," Arion replied.

[Initiating Second Karma Chain Procedure: Regret Chain.]

[Initiation Cost: 15,000 Malice Units. Remaining Pool: 6,700 Units.]

[Warning: This process will force the target to remember every pain in her life to form the connection.]

"It will be painful, Serafina. Very painful," Arion whispered.

"Pain is the only thing that reminds me I’m still breathing," Serafina replied with surprising resolve.

A gray light suddenly radiated from where their palms met. Arion felt a powerful 'suction' on his soul—Serafina began to pull the weight of darkness from him, but in exchange, Arion channeled his system’s black aura into Serafina’s damaged meridians.

Serafina shrieked. Her body convulsed. Memories of her family’s death, the slander in the palace, and the nights in the brothel spun in her mind like thousands of razor blades.

In the outer hallway, Lyra screamed as she split the last knight’s shield with a single strike that destroyed the entire wooden wall.

"Arion! Hurry up! The entire city garrison will be here in five minutes!" Lyra shouted. Her body was now drenched in the knights' blood; her aura was no longer pure but hollow and terrifying.

Arion didn't hear her. He was busy binding the soul.

Suddenly, a new symbol appeared in the air before Serafina’s forehead—a mark shaped like a teardrop encircled by a thorny chain. The mark slowly sank into Serafina’s neck, right beside the faded rose on her skin.

[Synchronization 50%... 70%... 90%...]

Serafina fell limp into Arion’s arms. However, her gray eyes, which had previously been dull, now held a terrifying gray glint.

[Second Karma Chain Integration: Successful.]

[Skill Unlocked (Serafina): Essence Conversion. The ability to transform suffering into instant regeneration.]

[Status Bonus: Arion gains the passive 'Poison Immunity' effect from the Second Vessel.]

"How do you feel, Physician?" Arion asked, looking into the woman’s eyes.

Serafina’s breathing was stable now. She looked at her hands—she could feel every drop of poison in this building, every seed of disease in the air, and most importantly, she could feel Arion’s heart beating in sync with her own.

"I feel... like I want to cry. But I no longer have tears," Serafina said flatly. "I only feel a thirst for redemption."

"Good. Because your first test has just arrived," Arion stood up and looked at the shattered door.

A tall man in full golden armor with energy wings on his back stood there. Garrison Captain Xandros—a general of the Late Foundation level who was nearly reaching the Golden Core realm.

"My name is General Valerius," the man spoke, his tone filled with an authority that choked the air. "I was sent to purge the heretics defiling the sanctity of the Blessed City. Whoever you are... your sins have reached the limit of the heavens."

Arion chuckled. "Sins? You speak of sins to someone who has just turned regret into his power?"

Arion glanced at Serafina. "Serafina, this general has an old wound in his heart. A wound he covers with holy energy every day so he can continue to pose as a hero. Can you feel it?"

Serafina closed her eyes for a moment, her new senses working at the speed of light. "A wound from scorpion poison ten years ago. He let his troops die just to obtain a single antidote for himself. The scent of his regret... it stinks like a carcass buried under flowers."

General Valerius’s face changed instantly. "How dare you insult me, you slut!"

"Listen, General," Arion stepped forward, the chain on his forehead glowing dark purple. "The scent of your regret... is very sweet to your new master."

[System Notification: New Mission initiated—The Massacre of Xandros.]

[Objective: Absorb all Malice units from the city's power structure.]

"Lyra!" Arion called out.

"I’m already here, Arion!" Lyra landed beside him, her eyes hungry for a fight against a stronger target.

"Get ready. We have two chains now. Let’s show this 'civilized' city what it feels like to drown in their own regret."

Serafina stood gracefully beside Arion. Her white robe fluttered, now slightly stained by the dust of darkness. She no longer held a bottle of poison. She didn't need it. She was the poison now.

"Please, General," Serafina smiled for the first time—the smile of a physician ready to dissect a soul. "Let me treat your hypocrisy."

The floor of the brothel began to tremble as black and silver energy met in the air. Today, the City Without Light would truly learn that the only way to cleanse sin is to face it... or be swallowed by it.

[System: Skill Initiation—Domain of Despair in 3... 2... 1...]