The forest beyond the rift was not the same as before.
Lucien stepped into the gray light of dawn, the world around him damp, silent, and oddly watchful. A thin mist crawled between the twisted trees like living breath. The leaves above him were dark and wide, dripping dew that glowed faintly under the rising sun. The air had weight—almost like it knew something had changed.
And it had.
Lucien wasn't the same boy who had been thrown from the sky.
The pain was still there. His ribs ached. His hands trembled. But beneath the bruises and blood, something inside him pulsed with a steady rhythm—a low throb that wasn't quite a heartbeat. It sat deep in his chest, burning quietly.
The Wrath Core.
He didn't fully understand it yet. He only knew that it was alive. Not a passive reservoir like a spiritual core, but a force that moved with him, responded to him.
And it was hungry.
Lucien clenched his fists. His bones no longer cracked when he moved. His breathing had steadied. Though still weak, he was recovering far faster than any mortal should.
The Codex of Sin hadn't just given him power.
It had restructured him.
His body was no longer following the path of cultivation—it was rewriting it.
He looked at his hand, stained with dried blood and faint traces of black liquid.
"I need to test it," he muttered.
A moment later, the system's interface shimmered faintly in his mind, words scrawling across the inside of his skull.
[Wrath Core: Stage 1 – Embryonic Ignition][Sin Trait Active: Pain → Strength Conversion][Skill Unlocked: Infernal Pulse – Converts stored damage into external force][Energy Level: 2%]
Only two percent. Not much.
But it would be enough.
It didn't take long to find trouble.
The beasts of the lower wilds had sharp instincts. They normally avoided cultivators, sensing spiritual fluctuations and backing off. Lucien, however, didn't emit qi. He had no spiritual pressure. No aura. In their eyes, he was just prey.
A mistake they wouldn't survive.
He heard the snarl before he saw it.
A thick-furred panther with glowing yellow eyes leapt from the underbrush, silent and fast. Its claws gleamed. Its fangs dripped venom. A normal boy—wounded and defenseless—would've been torn apart in seconds.
Lucien didn't move.
Not out of fear.
He was waiting.
The panther pounced.
Lucien shifted at the last moment, letting his shoulder take the hit. The claws raked across his flesh, drawing a fresh trail of blood. Pain bloomed instantly, raw and white-hot.
But something inside him reacted.
His Wrath Core pulsed.
[Damage Detected – Sin Energy Storage Increased: +0.8%]
Lucien's mouth curled into a slow, dangerous smile.
The panther whirled, circling for another strike. Lucien lowered his stance, feet planted, arms loose. The creature lunged again—and this time, he moved with it.
He ducked under the swipe, slammed his elbow into its ribs, and then—
"Now."
He triggered the skill.
Infernal Pulse.
There was no chant. No glow. No elemental display.
Just a shockwave of pure, explosive force that burst from his body.
The panther didn't scream.
It flew ten meters back, spine shattered, blood pouring from its mouth. It hit a tree with a sickening crunch and fell in a heap.
Dead.
Lucien stood still for a moment, letting the heat fade from his core.
His breathing was steady.
The pain in his shoulder was fading already—being converted, devoured, repurposed.
The Wrath Core didn't heal him.
It made him use his pain.
Turn it into strength.
He walked over to the corpse, crouched down, and placed a hand on the beast's chest.
Not out of respect.
He was testing something else.
The system responded instantly.
[Corpse Detected – Compatible with Sin Absorption Protocol][Wrath Essence: 4 Units][Absorb?][Warning: May cause emotional instability at low levels]
Lucien hesitated.
Only for a second.
"Yes."
The energy didn't flow like qi.
It poured in like venom—wild, furious, and sharp. His core trembled as the essence of the beast merged with his own. His vision dimmed briefly, colors shifting.
Then clarity.
[Wrath Core: 6% Charged][Physical Strength +3][Stamina +1]
It wasn't much. But it was real.
He was growing stronger.
One fight at a time.
One sin at a time.
By midday, Lucien had killed two more beasts.
A three-eyed serpent that tried to crush him in its coils.
A tusked boar that nearly gored his leg.
Each time, he fought not with technique, but instinct and timing. He let them wound him. Let the pain fuel him. He built power through suffering, then released it all at once. A brutal, efficient cycle.
Pain → Storage → Wrath → Explosion.
He was beginning to understand how it worked.
The system didn't grant him power freely. It forced him to earn it through his worst moments. The more damage he took, the stronger he became. But there was a risk. Push too far, and he'd burn himself out. Or worse—lose control.
He could feel something dark stirring beneath the surface.
Rage that didn't belong entirely to him.
A leftover emotion from the Codex? Or from the sins themselves?
He didn't know yet.
But he'd worry about that later.
That night, he found shelter in a hollow tree near the edge of a cliff. He sat with his back to the bark, eating roasted serpent meat and watching the stars appear.
His body ached, but he didn't mind.
It meant he was alive.
He replayed the last two days in his mind.
Falling from the celestial city.
Crawling into the abyss.
The voice. The Codex. The Wrath Core.
The beasts he had killed.
And the strength he now held.
A bitter laugh escaped his lips.
"Maybe I really was cursed," he said to the darkness. "Or maybe... I was the only one honest enough to bleed for it."
The trees whispered in response.
Not judgment.
Not fear.
Just the wind.
Lucien looked up at the stars. Somewhere beyond them, his family continued their lives without him. The clan celebrated new breakthroughs, trained favored sons, plotted their rise.
And him?
He was supposed to be dead.
"I hope they remember that," he murmured. "Because I won't let them forget."
He didn't know how long it would take.
Didn't know if this path would end in glory or ruin.
But one thing was certain.
He wouldn't walk it with his head bowed.
From now on, every step would be carved in wrath.
And one day...
The heavens would feel it too.