Traces of The Sovereign Sin

Chapter 7: Seeds of Envy

The shadows of the alleyways were long and jagged, cast by the dying embers of the Golden Dragon Pavilion. Kael moved through the narrowest paths, his hood pulled low, while Isabella paced beside him, her boots clicking with an annoying rhythmic precision against the cobblestones.

"You really didn’t have to burn the whole building, you know," Isabella remarked, her voice hushed but carrying its usual edge of pride. "A simple beheading would have sufficed for that oaf Chen."

"He was a weed," Kael replied shortly. "I told you. Weeds need to be uprooted. The fire ensures nothing grows back in his name."

"And now we’re skulking in the dark like common cutthroats," she complained, adjusting the leather strap of her cloak. "I’m a Dragon Princess, Kael. This environment is… stifling."

"It’s stealth, Isabella. Get used to it," Kael said. Suddenly, his head tilted. "Do you feel that? The air. It’s changed."

"I feel the humidity and the smell of garbage," Isabella snapped.

[Alert: Harmonic resonance detected. Distance: 50 meters.]

"The System?" Kael whispered.

[Warning: A new Sin Signature has been detected. Primary Essence: Envy. Strength: Raw, unstable.]

"Lyra, can you feel this?" Kael asked, as the violet shadow of the Empress materialized for a moment in the mist.

"Oh, I feel it, Sovereign," Lyra’s shadow giggled. "It’s sharp. Like a needle. It’s the sound of someone gnashing their teeth in the dark. Pride looks at the mountain and wants to be the peak, but Envy? Envy wants to pull the mountain down to its own level."

"Where is it?"

[Location: Back of the Slanted Stone warehouse. Sector 4.]

"Let's move," Kael commanded.

They turned the corner into an even narrower passage. The sound of shouting reached their ears—sharp, arrogant voices followed by a wet thud and a cry of pain.

"Look at the genius! Look at the 'Golden Pupil' of the outer court!" a voice sneered. "Why aren't you mimicking our moves now, Ren? Where’s that legendary sight of yours?"

"Give it… back…" a strained, youthful voice gasped. "The Mirror Sight scroll… it took me three years to write the manual…"

Kael signaled for them to stop behind a pile of crates. He peered through the gap. In the middle of the yard, three disciples in Pure Cloud robes were standing over a boy who looked no older than eighteen. He was gaunt, his robes rags, and his legs were twisted at an unnatural angle. One of the disciples held a parchment roll above his head, taunting the boy.

"The manual belongs to the sect, Ren," the lead disciple said, a man named Hakan with a cruel, thin face. "A cripple with ruined meridians shouldn’t be hoarding 'forbidden' techniques. Our Head Disciple, Chen, will find much better use for it than a dog like you."

"Chen is dead," the boy named Ren spat, blood trailing from his lip. "The pavilion burned. I saw it. I saw the ghost come for him."

Hakan laughed, kicking the boy in the ribs. "Ghosts? You’ve finally lost your mind! Chen is in the Core Circle now. He’s a god to people like you. And since he likes pretty things, I’m taking your Mirror Sight to him as a gift. It’s not 'yours' if you can't defend it."

"He stole the principle from my brain!" Ren shrieked, his eyes—unnervingly pale and reflective like glass—flaring with a sudden, dark light. "He broke my legs because he couldn't replicate it! You’re all thieves! All of you!"

"I don't like his eyes," one of the other disciples muttered. "He looks like he’s trying to swallow us whole."

"They're just eyes. He can't use them if I gouge them out, right?" Hakan drew a small jade knife. "Since you’re so fond of 'watching,' let’s see how you do without sight."

Isabella stepped forward, her hand on her hilt, but Kael caught her wrist.

"Not yet," Kael whispered.

"Why? They’re scum, even by human standards," she hissed.

"Watch his aura," Kael pointed.

Around the boy, the air wasn't glowing like Isabella’s or Kael’s. It was… eating the light. The shadows around his feet were twitching, growing claws of their own.

[Analysis: Vessel of Envy found. Target Name: Ren. Special Trait: Mirror Sight (Inhibited). Condition: Spirit broken, hatred at maximum capacity.]

"Give me the knife," Hakan snarled, kneeling over Ren.

Kael stepped out of the shadows. "I’d put that down if I were you. The stain of dragon blood is hard to wash off, but the stain of a coward is permanent."

The three disciples spun around, their eyes wide. They didn't recognize Kael’s face in the dark, but they saw the Sovereign aura—a deep, violet pressure that made the air feel like lead.

"Who… who are you? This is Pure Cloud business!" Hakan shouted, his voice trembling despite his bravado.

"Business is closed for the night," Kael said. He didn't even draw his sword. He just walked forward. "You stole something that doesn’t belong to you. Give the boy his scroll."

"This cripple? You’re defending a piece of trash?" Hakan laughed nervously. "Do you know who my Elder is? If you touch us, the whole sect will—"

"I’ve heard this speech before," Kael interrupted. "Isabella?"

"With pleasure," she murmured.

She vanished. In a single silver flash, she appeared between the two side-disciples. A double-handed strike of her hilt slammed into their solar plexuses. They folded like paper, collapsing to the ground without a sound.

"Wait! No!" Hakan scrambled backward, but he hit the warehouse wall.

Kael was already there. He reached out and snatched the jade knife from Hakan’s hand, snapping it like a dry twig. He took the scroll from the man’s belt.

"You… you’re the one who burned the pavilion," Hakan whispered, terror finally settling in. "The Heretic."

"Run," Kael said softly. "And tell Wu that the trash he threw away is coming to burn his palace next."

Hakan didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled over his unconscious friends and vanished into the night.

Kael turned to the boy on the ground. Ren was staring at him, those mirrored eyes reflecting Kael’s purple aura. He wasn't crying; he was studying him.

"Why?" Ren asked, his voice a hoarse croak.

"Because I hate thieves," Kael said, handing the scroll back to him.

Ren reached out with a trembling hand, but instead of taking it, he slumped against Kael’s boot. "It’s useless now. My meridians… they’re powder. The Mirror Sight… it needs a foundation of Qi. They took my body, they took my future… even if I have the manual, I can't do anything."

"Is that so?" Kael knelt down. "System, analyze the damage."

[Report: Severe atrophy. Meridians crushed by an external 'Orthodox' pressure. Healing possible via Sin Reconstruction.]

"You were a genius, weren't you?" Kael asked. "You could see a technique once and know exactly how it worked."

Ren looked away, his jaw tightening. "They called it 'Mirror Sight.' The Elder Wu wanted it for his grandson. When I refused to give him the core formula, he… he said my talent was a 'disturbance to the peace.' He crushed my legs in front of the whole hall. And then they told everyone I was a thief who stole the technique from the library."

"It’s a familiar story," Kael said, his eyes darkening.

"I hate them," Ren whispered, his nails digging into the dirt. "I want to watch them burn. I want to see Wu realize that every bit of progress his grandson made was a lie. I want them to know… I’m the one who should have been at the top."

"That’s it," Lyra’s shadow whispered, circling Ren like a predator. "Feel that? That’s the seed, Kael. It’s the purest Envy I’ve seen in a millennium. He doesn't just want power; he wants the status that was stolen from him."

[Prompt: Would you like to offer the Path of Sin to the candidate?]

"Ren," Kael said, grabbing the boy by the collar and forcing him to look up. "If I told you I could give you back your legs, and something far greater than that 'Mirror Sight'… would you follow me? Even if it meant being hunted by every 'good' man in the world?"

Ren’s eyes flared. "They’re not good. They’re just louder. If you give me the chance to take back what’s mine, I’d march into the void for you."

"Good." Kael pressed his thumb against Ren’s forehead. "System. Begin the Sin Transfer. Activate [Technique Mimicry] for the host by siphoning Ren's talent."

[Warning: Transfer will be agonizing for the vessel. Proceed?]

"I don't care about pain!" Ren screamed, sensing the violet light gathering in Kael’s hand. "Do it! Make me whole or let me die!"

A blinding flash of purple and dark-green energy erupted. Kael felt a sudden rush of information—movements, katas, flows of Qi he had never practiced, all of them becoming as clear as if he had spent a hundred years studying them.

[Seed of Envy: Successfully Implanted.]

[Skill Unlocked for Host: [Sovereign Mirror] – You can now record and replicate any technique used by an opponent within a 10-level range.]

[Vessel Progress: Ren (Envy). Status: Undergoing Meridian Reconstruction.]

The boy fell unconscious, his body convulsing as the dark energy began to reshape the broken bones in his legs.

Isabella stood back, watching the scene with a mix of fascination and disdain. "Another one, Kael? First the Empress, then me, and now a crippled thief? You’re collecting quite the museum of misfits."

"He’s not a thief," Kael said, standing up. "He’s a mirror. And right now, the Pure Cloud Sect needs to look at itself."

"He won't be able to walk for days," Isabella noted.

"He’ll walk sooner than you think," Kael said. "Lyra, can you keep the vitality flowing through the link to his legs?"

"It’s a heavy drain on your pool, Sovereign," Lyra’s voice replied. "But I like him. He’s much more honest than the lizard princess."

"Be silent, violet trash!" Isabella snapped.

"Wait," Kael said, looking up at the roof of the warehouse.

[Alert: Sovereign Presence leakage. An observer is near.]

A silhouette stood against the moon. A woman wearing a dark veil and robes lined with gold coins—extravagant, yet silent. She held a folding fan made of obsidian feathers.

"Quite a performance," she said, her voice like the chime of golden bells. "Burning the pavilion was one thing, but cultivating a 'Sin Seed' in broad daylight? You have courage, Sovereign. Or you’re very, very stupid."

Kael gripped his obsidian hilt. "Who are you? Another one of Wu's lapdogs?"

The woman chuckled, descending from the roof with a grace that made her seem to float. "My name is Seraphina. And unlike the boys you’ve been fighting, I don't care for the Pure Cloud. I care for profit."

"Greed," Kael whispered.

"She has the mark, doesn't she?" Isabella asked, her silver fire beginning to glow at her fingertips.

"A pleasure to meet you, Princess," Seraphina said, bowing with mocking elegance. "But I’m not here to fight. I’m here to negotiate. You want the Sun-Vein Shard, don't you, Kael?"

"What’s your price?" Kael asked.

"Oh, I think you have plenty of things I want," she said, her eyes glinting through the veil. "Starting with a sample of that unique energy you just gave to that boy. But first… we should probably move. Hakan didn't just run. He called the Inquisition."

As she spoke, the heavy ringing of a bronze bell echoed through the town.

"The Purification Squad," Isabella hissed. "They don't negotiate, Kael."

"Let them come," Kael said, picking up the unconscious Ren. "The Mirror has a few things it needs to show them anyway."

"Into the shadows then," Seraphina smiled, gesturing toward an underground cellar. "Let’s see if your Pride can handle the debt of a Merchant."