Everything snapped open as the awakening of the bloodline tried to conform my very sense of reasoning. Rather than empowered, I felt… irritated.
Annoyed.
The bloodline dictated a certain spectrum of what’s right and wrong. Righteous and true. Unbending, not like the old hag.
A rule of what's right and what's wrong.
It told me to burn every sinful being, as it tried to form its own consciousness, that their embers will give me us more power, so we can help others straighten their ways.
An example, and a judge.
Annoying really. Rejecting the foreign thoughts in my very soul, it screamed causing flames around me brighter, even forcing its remnants to form a cohesive consciousness but alas, with the host rejecting its very existence, it was eventually snuffed out as if it wasn't there to begin with.
I felt no remorse for the kindling, if it was a friend maybe I would try to understand, but I was never one to tolerate the reasoning of others.
More so, if they try to force it on me.
Probably some remnant gift of a fallen one, or an awakening deep within my blood, but I didn't really care.
I couldn't care less if their whole world burned or if their life fell apart, circumstances pushing them to do the horrible things that they did.
Nor to the woes of the now dead kindling that wanted me to burn every sinful being it finds. Even if it granted me power, I extinguished all of it. My flames belong to only me.
The kindling, burned to ashes then my body devour what’s left of it.
The incomplete kindling of a soul that tried to form inside of me. Now gone.
For I am myself, and what I deem to be right is right.
My values may change overtime, but it is my own.
It is, my own and there for enough for my world.
Righteous for my own interests,
Condescending against anyone else,
I feed on those whom I deem to be sinful so that I can walk among those who stand in the right.
I am my own.
A Devourer the sins I deem.
A Glutton of unfounded reasoning.
…
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---
> **[Bloodline | Title] Beholder of Unbridled flames, Upholder of Twisted Morality, The Untangled Sin Eater**
> + Collects and Devours the Souls of the fallen that you have deemed to be sinful and use their impurities to temporary boost your level. Uses a percentage of the devoured Origin Essence equivalent to temporarily raise your level. (Stats are automatically distributed
> equally for each temporary level gained).
> + Note: The buff slowly diminishes over time as each devoured soul is cleansed.
> + Consumes souls you purified. Allows you to purified souls as either a supply of life or mana or use their remaining existence to rebuild one of their former skills and temporarily use it as your own. (Disperses after use.)
---
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
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I smiled as I read the description that popped up. As if NOIM was deliberately pausing time, just so that I could read the notification properly, the bloodline doubling as a title confirming it’s uniqueness.
The description of the passive skill granting even more meaning to the quest description of this whole trial.
Burn the practitioners of the tainted… The System wanted me to cleanse these… sinful beings.
I couldn’t help but giggle to myself as I read again the description.
As intimidating as the title was, being labeled as some sort of seflish arsonist and a glutton really did paint me on the more evil end, yet the description was just about right.
I wasn’t some rightful person who binds himself and others through a predefined right and wrong. Yet I have never liked to be on the wrong side of things.
A rather selfish person who pushes his reasoning towards others.
Not forceful, but just within reason.
And that reason and by extension morality is simply twisted from the beginning.
Defining my actions,
defining what I am.
…
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---
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As Time moved forward again, I grabbed the heart in front of me, looking at the tainted Elven Patriarch’s eyes, gently smiling at him holding the heart as sincere as I can, before mercilessly crushing it into pieces, burning it as I activated the full blast of what my mana would allow.
Burning the heart in front of his eyes, as well as the devoted lunatics. It took seconds before my kick registered to him even still bewildered, as he crashed back to the altar, my mana into flames, now spreading allover the place.
The wisp of soul, the old hag backed away from the alter as it screamed in agonizing frustration the flames now affecting her. As the changes I've undergone ignored all Invulnerabilities inherited by the sinful.
Measuring the increase of my stats as my flames expanded more and more, I immedietly lunged towards the unsuspecting devotees. My enhanced physique as well as perception, along with the continous use of **[Scan]** allowing me to dodge skills and projectiles. Easily overwhelming the unprepared dark elves, enabling me to rip and burn them apart with ease. Not even seconds later bedore seven or so, we're killed. Not giving them a chance to even retaliate.
Swirls of orbs of souls paused for a split second before an untangible pull from my bloodline guided them to fuse towards me. The accumulation of seven weak spirits granting me an additional 2 temporary levels, empowering me even further as I continued my assault.
With the surprise being over however, the remaining darkelves took gear. Dark sentient mana screaming in their veins as they used their accumulation of souls to boost themselves. Some even matching me by sheer stats, it was futile however.
Just by pain brought about by my flames along with the excruciating nature of the dark mana their circulating, some of the dark elves simply flailed in the ground unable to mute their senses. Attacking everything and everyone surrounding them.
Using the opportunity as well as all of my accumulated buffs, I slowly trickled down their numbers.
From time to time I would convert purified souls into skills, the random abilities I gained either helping me or simply getting getting replaced, as I found that I can only have one temporary ability at a time.
Still, the abilities of these tainted elves proved to be helpful, with their abilities leaning towards either destructive empowerment of their body, which suits me just fine because of the help of my regenerative capabilities. Multiple elves casting ensnarement or stun debuffs, which almost killed me if not for my overly enhanced physique and perception being able to simply break through low-level skills.
One by one the elves died, the old hag screaming tainted elven gibberish as she floated just in front of the accumulation of deformed souls, somehow gritting her teeth through the pain of having her soul burned alive. The nature of my mana spreading towards these souls as soon as I deemed every single of them as harbinger of sins.
I took delight in the bloodshed. The hypocrysy of everything Cracking unconvinced laughter, that passed right through my battle face.
As I myself burned their victims. Not caring a single shred, as I converted and purified all of them into my skill.
These souls have been twisted, tainted and brought into unbearable heights of pain to the point that the existence of their mere resentment could be used as a substitute for mana.
They would simply serve as nourishment of these darkelves, or even this old hag. There for they are tools for evil. Hence they too should burn.
_giggle_
“YOU FUCKING HYPOCRITE!”
The old hag screamed in agony as she continued burning, pain and madness in her eyes. Turning back and fort between the burning souls behind her as well as the dwindling number of lunatics whom by now I figured was worshiping her.
With the Patriarch the only one standing, he retreated back towards the old hag, some sort of telekinetic skill blasting me far into the wall of this Tree whole altar made of deformed bodies. Souls grabbing onto me but quickly unhanding me as soon as my mana singed their suffering frail hands, my eyes not leaving the patriarch and the old hag for even a second as the patriarch turned his back to me as he prayed towards the burning old hag.
“Blessed mother who protect us from true death… I beseech your presence. I the patriarch of the Wailing Couldron kneel in front of you. Please… please… oh blessed mother…”
“Help me avenge my kin… Help me show this heretic your promise of salvation. Let my existence be an example of our path and undying devotion.”
“Blessed mother your have helped me survived throughout my lifetime, and I beseech your presence once again. Please…”
“Use me as your vessel to punish this heretic infront of me.”
“Help me show our scattered kin what it means to follow your greatness.”
…
An ominous feeling wrenched all over me as the burning souls swirled towards the tainted patriarch, untill all of the burning souls fused with the him, before again scattering apart. The souls moving all over the place, the tree like altar made of body parts seemingly absorbing them, almost making me think that the souls vanished, if not from the thin thread of mana discovered by **[Scan]** loosely tying everything back towards the patriarch. The souls seemingly in a more physical state though now for some reason immune to the flames created by my mana.
The old hag mumbling unintelligible words. As a literal sky encapsulated opened from above. The rain and thick dark clouds masking inaudible words and eyes as I felt precesnces watching from some soulfoul state.
In turn I looked back at the sky, then towards the patriarch who’s body is now twitching from overloading itself with power. He somehow now captured the old hag’s smile even mumbling the same words in synch with the burning old hag from behind.
I grinned as I took it all in. The hag was probably a high leveled entity mascarading as a savior of these lutanics. And by the looks of it, it wanted to make an example out of me.
We both paused before I broke out in a mad laughter. The savior from true death? Would this fucking quest get any better. The old hag and the patriarch screamed some words but it couldn’t overshadow my laughter. The other side of the coin again painting me in a overbearing light.
But I didn’t care.
I have long declared these lunatics as sinful beings opposed to my own selfish reasoning.
For that their bodies shall burn and their souls devoured.
‘Devourer of sins…’
‘An arsonist and a glutton…’
‘An enemy of judgement, an incarnation of a selfish end….’
‘The untanggled sin eater…’
Dying phrases carried by the remnants of conciousness extended in my mind, making me laugh even brighter as I extinguished the lingering final pieces of my bloodline’s conciousness. Making me sigh in relief as the influence finally subsided.
…
“Watch as I dismember this heretic with the power of our blessed mother!!!”
I watched the patriarch lunge towards me, at a speed surpassing even my currently empowered self. I looked at him then towards the old hag, my mana burning everything but my eyes cold with frozen rage. A headache storming in as I unmeaningly marked hundreds of watchful souls as ‘sinful’.
Time slowing down as the patriarch shot out tendrils of tainted blood and soul from the tip of his fingers, waking me up from my stupor. As soon as one of the tendrils hit my thigh. Just in the nick of time to avoid being skewered by the rest.
My flames instantly exploded, both healing me and allowing me to spread mana and create flame that crawled towards the patriarch.
The patriarch mumbled something about my upcomming end but I simply smiled as the pain thankfully woke me up from that fucking headache. My face grinning as I imagined myself burning this sinful place on live soulful television.
‘And here lies the ashes of the tainted elves, that once clung to their blessed savior.”
I declared in whispher, as I charged forward and burned everything to the ground.
It was finally time for a boss fight.
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To be continued.