The Greatest Sin is Weakness
When I came to, I wasn't sure where I was, who I was, or why I was here. And what exactly was I wearing?
Looking down, I wore a decrepit black cloak, covering my whole body, seemingly ancient, of indiscernible quality.
Before panic could take root, fragments of truth returned to me. My true name: Starless. I instinctively remembered the soul sea, Prestige, Names, Tiers, Virtues and Sins, and, above all, what I truly desired.
Revenge.
Cold-blooded murder.
I wanted to kill my six companions.
I wasn't sure why. The time I spent with them had been some of the best years of my life. Yet, the desire was buried so deep within my heart, I knew it had to come from the very core of my soul.
As Starless looked around, He realized he was locked in a large, red-black stone box. It looked ancient, and oppressive. There was only one small door, and inscribed upon it, in messy handwriting, were the words:
"You cannot be contained.
Challenge the first trial for the first virtue.
Once you clear the trial, you should be able to open the door.
Never forget the six who have betrayed you.
If all else fails, invoke the name ....."
The last line had been scratched out violently though, as if it was never meant to be written.
The door, lacking a doorknob clearly didn't seem to be able to be opened forcefully—at least before Starless had gained his first virtue. Nevertheless, he rammed his small body into the door, to no avail.
Starless then turned his attention inward, diving into the soul sea to check his inventory—if he had any Names or virtues. Though the result made his heart sink, it was understandable.
Zero virtues.
Eight sins.
And one of them was unfamiliar.
Sin of Weakness
The bearer of this sin bears the fate of the universe.
[Forgotten Tier Sin]
While Starless didn't know exactly what the "Forgotten Tier" meant, deep within him, he knew something about it was horribly wrong. That explained the pressure he felt when looking at it.
Still, Starless wasn't exactly surprised. He hadn't challenged any trials... yet. At least, not that he could remember.
To add flames to the fire of turmoil he was experiencing, something else was odd about his situation.
Memory loss.
It was glaringly obvious. Whatever happened before he'd woke up in this stone box was gone. The harder he racked his brain to remember what had transpired before he ended up in this stone box the harder it got to even think about what had happened.
Pushing that matter to the back of his mind, he examined his list of Names.
There were three.
The first was a sword named Nola. A non-tiered weapon, exuding an overpowering and refined aura. Non-tiered Names were very rare, and the Prestige only allowed such designation for things that didn't fit any known category.
What shocked Starless more was the Asura-ranked Juvenile Fairy Queen sealed within it. The knowledge felt... too natural. As if she had always been there, waiting for his return.
he didn't linger though.
he moved on.
The second was a Blessing. Though starless wasn't entirely sure what it was, he knew it could save him if he was ever stuck between a rock and a hard place. Though it was reusable, the cost after the first use was absurd! Priced at 1,000,000 core soul fragments!
Even a hundred core soul fragments would set someone up for life—if they chose to integrate them into their soul, they could gain power enough to challenge three trials if they weren't lacking in talent.
The third—and last—Name within me was:
***
[Superior Divine-Tiered Item]
The Broken Mask of the Forgotten God, Oblivion
Description:
The last uppermost part of the mask of the Forgotten God, Oblivion.
1. Reduces user's presence.
2. Provides powerful mental defense.
3. Grants a 30% boost to growth speed and potential.
4. Allows invocation of Names up to two tiers higher than the user's own, up to a maximum of Divine Tier, at the cost of soul fragments.
5. Mask is soul-bound and irremovable.
6. Can change mask and hair color at will. Can additionally become invisible at will.
7. Allows viewing of Name tiers and capabilities below Divine rank.
Soul Fragment Cost for Invocation of extra tier:
One tier: 10 soul fragments
Two tiers: 1 core soul fragment
Costs are doubled per user tier. User is currently [Rankless.]
***
Currently activated Status Effects:
1. Backlash active: User exerts 5x less status.
2. One [Divine] Name sealed: Pay one Divine Name to unseal.
***
While the mask didn't exactly make Starless stronger on the surface, the benefits were immense. Mental defense was already very rare and sought after, needless to say, extra name-tier invocation was even rarer.
The mask itself was sleek and smooth to the touch. It was all black, seeming to have been carved out of obsidian, covering the uppermost part of his face.
His vision felt sharper through it, almost as if it had not always been a part of his face. Though, maybe he was imagining things.
Or maybe the mask remembered a version of him that he had forgotten.
Viewing others' Name tiers? This was quite the unexpected boon. Currently in the outside world, the names that could do this could be counted on one hand, and all belonged to the people in power. They were also of extremely high tier, usually Superior epic or inferior Legendary.
As for the sealed Name—it would remain that way for a long time. A Divine Name was already a distant dream. The highest name humans had publicly inherited thus far? Inferior Legendary Tier.
A far cry from where he stood.
***
I moved to the next set of floating black stone tablets—combat mastery. I was praying for something, anything. A sword without skill was just dead weight.
The moment I approached, the tablets lit up—not dimly, but brightly. Blindingly. Etched into the stone were the words:
***
[Asura-Rank Forgotten Combat Technique]
Swords of Ruin
Creator: Starless of Gluttony
Description:
A rigid, extremely high-speed sword style composed of twelve techniques. Balances offense, defense, body enhancement, and mental refinement. Later techniques evolve from earlier ones for maximum efficiency.
Each sword technique is unlocked by performing the previous technique at 100% completion rate, ten times.
Beginner Techniques:
First Sword: Ten-Year Void Chop [Unlocked]
Second Sword:[Locked]
Third Sword:[Locked]
Intermediate Techniques:
Fourth Sword:[Locked]
Fifth Sword:[Locked]
Sixth Sword:[Locked]
Advanced Techniques:
Seventh Sword:[Locked]
Eighth Sword: [Locked]
Ninth Sword: [Locked]
Perfect Execution Techniques:
Tenth Sword: [Locked]
Eleventh Sword: [Incomplete] [Locked]
Twelfth Sword: [Locked]
[Twelfth Technique added via invocation of O■■■■■■] [Locked]
***
Combat techniques had various ranks, and Asura rank was near the top, Only directly under Divine.
The fact that my name was listed as the creator of the technique implied that I had been extremely powerful before I lost my memories--Only I didn't know how powerful. I felt almost ready to challenge the first trial, but before I did so, I wanted to get a feel for my first sword technique.
I returned to my soul sea and selected "Learn Technique."
The information and short demonstration on how to execute the ten-year void chop quickly entered my mind . Starless promptly summoned Nola and swung.
It was a bleak motion. Just a downward slash. But the arc it carved in the air had a strange elegance.
Completion rate: 57%.
To exhibit a technique's full power, One would need to hit 85%. Anything lower was just a poor imitation. The difference between 85% and 100% was small—extra polish, some efficiency. But 100% was required to unlock the next technique.
Starless then began swinging Nola in the same repeated motion, each time slightly improving his understanding of void chop.
It was… exhilarating. Starless felt like he could do it forever.
But then—
"HEY YOU! STOP SWINGING ME! UNHAND ME!"
A voice shrieked in my mind, interrupting my training.
My eyes twitched.
How dare this annoying voice interrupt me!
"HEY! WHO ARE YOU CALLING ANNOYING?!"
"How can you hear my thoughts?! And you're still interrupting me?!"
"Beats me! But stop calling me annoying already!"
"Fine. Who are you? And where are you? I thought I was alone."
"First of all, the name's Nephim. Got it? Good. Second, I'm sealed in the sword you're swinging. Third—STOP SWINGING ME!"
I froze.
"Wait. You're the Asura-ranked Juvenile Fairy Queen? Nephim? Sealed in Nola?"
"Yes! Ugh, humans are so dumb. This is why I hate lowly—HEY! STOP THAT!"
I spun Nola wildly, cackling.
"STOP! I'LL TAKE IT BACK! I LOVE HUMANS! THIS FAIRY MEANT NO DISRESPECT!"
Her voice turned woozy, almost like she was about to vomit.
I smirked.
"Stupid Fairy! This is what you get for being annoying!"
This was the first—and likely only—time in the near future that I'd get to put an arrogant, high-tier being in their place.
"You DARE! Fine! I won't talk to you anymore. Oh, and just so you know—I know all your secrets! I'll tell everyone!"
"Anything but that!" I gasped, pausing mid-swing.
But after a beat, I realized something. There were three likely possibilities.
Possibility one was that she could talk to others and knew my secrets. Possibility two was that she couldn't talk to others, but still knew them. Possibility three was that she only knew what I actively thought at her, rendering her ability to speak to others useless if she even could.
The third seemed most plausible. She spoke telepathically, after all.
Still…
"Hmph."
"…Nephim?"