The landscape was bleak and shadowed, its dark earth seemingly untouched by sunlight. Twisted roots jutted from the ground with seemingly independent thought, though no trees stood anywhere nearby.

On the highest hill stood a woman clad entirely in black. Her long silver hair flowed down her back, and she wore a black mask marked with deep golden stripes that gave it a fractured appearance. In her hand was a plain sword, its blade luminous, outshining the stars themselves.

Those white eyes cut through the gloom, fixed on the countless warriors charging her. They came with dread etched on their faces, yet propelled by a rage too deep to fathom.

***

Halo jerked awake as the bronze screen flickered frantically in his eyes, appearing and vanishing, appearing and vanishing, at least a hundred times in rapid succession. The maddening repetition should have dropped him to his knees.

But the warmth that came with consuming a Sin Fragment, that fleeting moment of silence and peace, barely lasted a second. Yet having it repeat so rapidly made all the willing torture worthwhile.

He finally dismissed the screen with reluctance, only for it to pop up again a minute later.

***

[ Your clone has been exhausted. Would you like to give it energy? ]

Price: 20 Sin Fragments.

| Yes | No |

***

He sighed.

The conclusion was obvious from the kill count alone. It was Dark Saint. What unsettled him was realizing she'd become powerful enough that restoring her energy demanded twenty Sin Fragments.

True, with her kills added to his, he'd reached roughly a thousand Sin Fragments now. That was only one-tenth of what advancement to the next Assassin rank required. Twenty fragments should have been negligible.

Each fragment spent felt like a loss, though. But he needed Dark Saint functional, and letting her recharge naturally could take gods-know-how-long.

'Yes…'

As soon as the word formed in his thoughts, the screen vanished and the troublesome woman started taking shape.

The moment she materialized, her disappointment was palpable. She pulled off her mask and sank onto the bed.

"Don't you think you should ease up? Seven hundred Sinners gone… and now a hundred humans. Even you can't keep that up forever."

Halo said and began leaving his bed.

"It's not my fault. Serving the God of Darkness drains my energy more than it does others. I didn't realize battling that many people would hit me this hard."

Halo could feel the cockiness in her eyes.

"Besides, I intend to help you build an empire, and everything I have will be yours as well. But for that to work, you need the authority to back it. You need to reach the rank of Assassin, and quickly."

Halo sighed.

"I never asked for any of that. I asked you to search for Jihriel."

Child of Manipulation rested on the bed, her long silver hair flickering across its frame.

"I've already dispatched a few people to dig up every piece of information on him. They understand I'll kill them if they delay."

Halo didn't know why, but even through his cold nature, he still smiled.

"What makes you so sure Jihriel is the one who can help you understand your transmigration? I can do everything he does… maybe even more."

Halo gave her an indifferent look.

"There isn't an obvious reason… I just think that with him, I'd get access to the kinds of places and people who might finally help me understand."

Saint abruptly rose to her feet.

"Great. My clothes made the trip, but the sword didn't. Perfect."

Halo turned to her, confused.

Truth be told, he didn't understand how his clones disappeared fully clothed and materialized the same way. It was just another inexplicable aspect of his True Ability.

"Are you sure you were holding it?"

She shrugged.

"When my energy was depleted, I saw nothing."

Halo began leaving the room, and Saint followed behind.

"I will have to get that sword back. It's a legendary sword, you know?"

The Shadow of Death had more pressing concerns than Dark Saint's petty grievances. His Sin Fragment count kept climbing.

While meditation was his only defense against the corruption, the fear that it might one day swallow him whole never left him.

More pressing was today's appointment. Aeliana. An entire night together. Their tenuous bond might shatter tonight, or he might not survive it at all if she'd decided to eliminate him.

But he was prepared. At least.

"That's a cute roommate you've got there, Master."

Saint said and began hurrying toward Iris the moment they got downstairs.

Iris was taken aback for a moment. She was nervous in Dark Saint's presence.

"Huhh… that's an interesting one."

Once Dark Saint finished speaking, Halo left to find breakfast. He understood her interest in Iris well enough. If Iris's mental defenses weren't as strong as his, Dark Saint had probably already read her. That spelled trouble for the Child of Sacrifice.

He stopped to consider that. Her mind-reading operated on the same principle as the Chaos Eaters: they both fed on chaotic, undisciplined thoughts. What if she knew something significant about them?

He returned shortly after, satisfied. The scene awaiting him, however, was utterly bewildering.

Dark Saint and Iris were absorbed in chess, chatting and laughing with easy familiarity. Halo had expected Dark Saint to torment the socially inept Iris, but it seemed their exceptional minds had connected immediately.

"I didn't know the Dark Saint was one of your clones, Halo. That makes it even harder for me to believe you're anything but strong."

Iris smiled.

Halo met her with silence.

It was good that Iris had finally found an intellectual equal to engage with, but they had more pressing matters to address.

"Saint, have you heard of the Chaos Eaters?"

She glanced at Halo for a moment and shrugged her shoulders.

"No. Don't tell me to research that, this is your Purpose not mine."

Halo sighed.

"I need you for far more important matters… their methods resemble the very technique you use to probe thoughts. I assume you've heard of them."

She finally gave Halo her part of her attention.

"What do you mean?"

"They can only attack those with loud and indisciplined minds."

Her glowing white eyes narrowed slightly behind her mask.

"StoneHaven isn't all that popular, you know? I wouldn't have even known this land existed if it wasn't for Shattered Perks… but if I had to guess, this has to be the work of someone formidable, since the gods considered it a threat."

Halo took in her assessment with growing dread. Clearly, a powerful entity was pulling the strings, Sinner's creation on this scale proved that. But Dark Saint considering someone strong? That was genuinely alarming.

Still, this was something they needed to face head-on.

"Iris, we are sticking to what we planned, okay?"

As soon as he spoke, he began leaving the room, his duties calling.

Iris nodded.

"Checkmate!"

Child of Manipulation said enthusiastically.

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