The priestess held the dagger to the sky once more, and the light from the crystal grew blinding. The air around them crackled with energy, and the siblings could feel the power of the constellation in their very souls. The crowd stared in awe, whispering prayers to the goddess who could grant them life or death with a whim.

Shin's desperation grew into a fiery rage. He couldn't just stand by and watch Katy be taken away from him. He had to do something, anything. He pushed his way through the crowd, ignoring the pain of elbows and shoving bodies, his eyes never leaving the dais. "Katy!" he roared, his voice raw with emotion.

The priestess looked down at him, her smile unyielding. "You dare to challenge the will of Devota?" she sneered, and the crowd gasped as the light around her grew darker, the air thick with malice.

Shin's legs felt like they would buckle under the weight of his fury. "Take me instead!" he shouted, his voice hoarse. "I'll take her place! I'll do anything!"

The priestess's smile grew colder. "The will of Devota is absolute," she said, her voice echoing through the silent plaza. "The sacrifice has been chosen."

Shin stumbled forward, his vision blurred with tears. "Please," he begged, his voice breaking. "Please, take me. Spare her."

Suddenly, the selection song transformed into a deafening roar, the very voice of Devota herself resonating through the plaza. The crowd dropped to their knees, trembling in fear and awe. The priestess's eyes widened in shock, and she was forced to release Katy's hand as the dark power of the constellation surged around her.

The high priestess stumbled backward, her eyes darting to the sky as the stars above the city swirled and danced in a frenzied pattern. The constellation of Devota, lazed with an unbridled fury that seemed to shake the very fabric of the night. "You dare to question my will?" she bellowed, her divine voice reverberating through the air, making the very stones tremble , a presence like a judgment filled the plaza with a beauty to shiny for a human to watch like a mirage.

The priestess on the dais cowered, her eyes wide with fear and reverence as she stared at the cosmic spectacle. "Forgive me, your majesty," she murmured, her voice quivering.

The swirling stars above grew still, and Devota's gaze fell upon Shin. The air around him grew heavy, and he felt a presence that was not of this world, a power that could crush his soul with a thought. "You wish to challenge me?" she asked, her tone amused. "A mere mortal seeking to bargain with a god?"

Shin's knees buckled, but he forced himself to stand tall, his eyes never leaving hers. "I do," he said, his voice a defiant whisper. "I'll do anything to save my sister."

Her voice broke through the divine thunder of Devota's presence, and the constellation's gaze shifted to her. "Ah," she said, her tone softer, almost gentle. "The love of a sibling. How quaint."

Then, to the crowd's collective horror, Devota's expression transformed into one of amusement, her eyes glittering with malicious mirth. A laugh, deep and echoing, rolled from her heavenly mouth. It was a sound that could make the strongest of hearts falter, a sound that spoke of a power so great it could bend reality to its whim. "Very well," she said, her smile never reaching her eyes. "Your love is... endearing. But it is not enough to change what must be."

The priestess's eyes narrowed, and she stepped closer to Katy, her hand tightening around the dagger's hilt. "The time for bargaining is over," she said, her voice cold and final. "The sacrifice has been chosen, and it is you, Katy.

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With a swift, brutal motion, the priestess brought the blade down, and Katy's scream tore through the night, raw and agonized. The crowd watched in horror as the life drained from her eyes, her body convulsing as the dark power of Devota consumed her.

The world around Shin slowed to a crawl, each moment a lifetime of pain. The color drained from his vision, leaving only the stark contrast of shadow and light, as if the very essence of his world had been stripped away with his sister's life. He watched, transfixed, as the priestess held the dagger high, Katy's lifeblood glistening in the torchlight, a grisly trophy for the capricious goddess above.

The crowd's cries of despair and anguish were muffled whispers to his ears, the only sound that truly resonated was the thunderous pounding of his heart, echoing the scream that had been torn from his own chest. His legs felt like lead, his body a prison of grief and rage. He could feel the very fabric of his being unraveling, torn apart by the injustice of it all.

Shin watched as the priestess lifted the crimson blade, still dripping with Katy's lifeblood, towards the heavens. Above, Devota's eyes gleamed with sadistic glee, basking in the power she wielded over them. Her laughter, a chilling symphony of malice, was the last thing Katy heard before she was cruelly silenced.

As the light from the crystal podium dimmed and the priestess stepped back, the podium's glow faded, and Katy's limp form descended to the ground. With her final breath, she reached out to him, her hand trembling. "Shin..." she murmured, her voice barely a whisper. "Please, be happy."

Then, just like that in a span of a second, she was gone. The world around him shattered into a million pieces, each shard a jagged reminder of the pain that now consumed him. The crowd's cries of mourning were a distant echo in his mind, drowned out by the deafening silence of his shattered heart.

Above, Devota's smile faded, her eyes cold as she addressed the priestess. "This... this is not how a sacrifice is made, is a holy virtue so how can a mere mortal disturb like this," she said, her voice a mix of disappointment and anger. "Your incompetence is intolerable."

The priestess staggered back, her eyes wide with fear. "My queen, I—"

But before she could finish, a roar of pure, unbridled fury echoed through the plaza. Shin's body was a blur as he broke free from the stunned crowd and sprinted towards the dais. "I will Kill you!" he bellowed, his voice resonating with a primal strength that seemed to shake the very foundations of the city.

With a swift, almost inhuman movement, The priestess sent a magic arrow soaring through the air towards him. The projectile moved with a preternatural speed, a streak of light in the dark sky.

Shin felt a burning pain in his side, and suddenly, his world went topsy-turvy as his left arm fell to the ground, separated from his body in a spray of blood. The crowd gasped in horror.

The priestess's magic had struck true, the arrow slicing through flesh and bone as if they were mere shadows. He looked down at the stump, his mind racing with shock and pain. The blood spurted from his wound, painting the cobblestones a gruesome crimson.

Shin's scream of agony was primal, a sound that seemed to resonate with the very fabric of the universe. It was a sound that could shake the stars themselves. The crowd staggered back, their eyes wide with horror as they realized that the boy's Tragesy had not been spent, but had only just begun.

The priestess's expression was one of triumph, her cruel smile widening as she watched, a priestess power can bring down a country , so a mere mortal can only evaporate in front of them.

But it was Devota's laughter that truly sent shivers down the spines of the onlookers. It was a sound like the crack of a thunderstorm in a quiet night, a cacophony of mirth that seemed to mock the very essence of their sorrow. The constellation's form grew larger in the sky, her laughter echoing through the heavens, a taunt to the gods themselves.

As the deity's amusement grew, the priestess stepped back, allowing the dark magic that fueled the sacrifice to dissipate. The light from the crystal podium winked out, leaving only the flickering torches to illuminate the scene of carnage. Katy's lifeless body lay before the dais, a testament to the cruelty of their world.

The crowd stared in shock and horror, their prayers silenced by the brutal display of power. But amidst the chaos, the only sound that resonated through the plaza was Devota's laughter, growing softer and softer until it faded into the night. The stars that formed her visage in the sky began to drift apart, as if the very fabric of the cosmos was distancing itself from the act of cruelty it had just witnessed.

Shin staggered, clutching the stump of his arm, his eyes blazing with a fury that seemed to outshine the dying embers of the selection fire. The priestess stepped down from the dais, her gaze locked on him. "See what a god is?" she spat, raising the dagger that had claimed his sister's life.

The world around him grew dark, the edges of his vision fading to black. His legs gave out, and he crumpled to the ground, his strength seeping away with the warmth of his lifeblood. The priestess approached, the tip of her weapon hovering just above his chest.

But in the dark, mysterious shadows had gathered in the far corner of the plaza, a figure emerged, smiling at the macabre scene unfolding before it. It was a being of indeterminate form, a swirl of shadows and mist with eyes that gleamed like polished onyx. The air grew thick with anticipation, the very essence of the forbidden "Interesting".