[Location: Inner Courtyard of the Church of Faith – Soul Suppression Zone, Active][Time Remaining Until Sacrifice Ritual: 00:02:11][Status: Covert Mode Disabled – Combat Likely]
Ren's breath hitched.
Below the dais, the girl he had sensed—the one whose soul was sealed—was being led to a circular emblem of glowing white ash. She didn't resist. Her eyes had gone glassy. Passive.
The cleric raised the dagger higher.
"Let her soul ascend freely. Without taint. Without chains."
Aria's whisper was ice. "That's not soul release. That's forced severance. They're going to burn her spirit tether while it's still forming."
Ren didn't wait.
[Shadow Fold Technique – Activated]
The world dipped into near-darkness as Ren vanished from normal perception. In one breath, he was in the courtyard. In the next, in front of the girl.
The dagger came down.
Clang!
Ren caught the blade between the edge of his sickle and the haft of his forearm guard. Sparks flew.
The cleric staggered back, robe fluttering. "Blasphemer! You dare interrupt a Rite of Sanctification?"
[System Alert: Suppression Field Resisted – Duration Remaining: 00:10:32][Combat Mode: Engaged][Enemy Identified: Inquisitor Loran – Rank: Low Acolyte | Soul Rank: Flame-Sworn Initiate]
"Yeah, I dare," Ren growled. "And you call this sanctification? Looks more like murder with extra steps."
The crowd gasped. Several monks scattered. Others formed a protective circle around the courtyard's periphery.
Aria appeared beside him a second later in a ripple of cold light, sword already drawn. "We're taking the girl. And we're not asking."
Loran's eyes glowed gold. "You... I see it now. You carry the scent of the dead. You're one of them—a Reaper-bound."
A horrified gasp rippled through the clergy. A woman fainted. One monk knelt and began chanting counter-spells.
Aria's gaze narrowed. "They know what you are now, Ren. No turning back."
Combat Sequence: Reaper vs. Flame-Sworn
Loran unleashed a cascade of white-hot glyphs, each forming a sigil midair and detonating with pulses of soulfire. Ren ducked under the first, rolled through the second.
[Soul Vision Activated][Detected: Anchor Sigil Behind the Dais – Linked to Suppression Field Core][Targeting it will disrupt the ritual.]
Ren kicked off a stone pillar, flanking left. He hurled his sickle—now a whirling arc of black light—at the anchor glyph. It struck with a hiss of inverse flame.
[Suppression Field: Disrupted][System Limiters: Offline][Reaper Aura Unleashed – Minor Corruption Spread]
Instantly, Ren felt his strength surge. Soul threads danced around his fingers like veins of shadowlight. He stepped forward—and his shadow lunged before him, slicing Loran's leg with ghostly fangs.
"AHHH!"
Loran crumpled, clutching his calf.
"Stop the boy! He's infecting the sanctum with Death Qi!" a priest cried.
Three monks leapt toward Ren—chanting exorcisms and wielding soul-burn charms.
Aria intercepted them in a flash.
Her blade sang.
The first monk fell with a gurgled cry, the second staggered with a severed tendon, and the third barely dodged a decapitating sweep. Aria's movements were surgical—no wasted motion.
[New Trait Progress: Shared Combat Flow – Sync Rate: 34%][Temporary Buff: Reflex Resonance +12%]
Ren grabbed the girl and yanked her from the burning glyph-circle. Her body was cold, her soul signature flickering like a candle in a storm.
"System," he snapped. "Can we fix her?!"
[Emergency Protocol Available: Soul Stabilization Pulse (Requires Host Qi)][Warning: Will drain 80% of your current spiritual reserve.]
"Do it."
His hand glowed.
He pressed his palm to her sternum.
A pulse of dark-blue light rippled outward. Her eyes snapped wide—no longer blank.
The seal shattered.
She screamed—but it was alive.
[Spirit Potential Restored: Latent Pact Signature Detected]
[Spirit Candidate: Elen – Soul Type: Phoenix Bloom (Dormant)]
[Compatibility: 78%]
Retreat and Revelation
Aria covered their flank, her blade cracking against Loran's ceremonial staff. The cleric's robes were charred, his righteous fire sputtering. "This heresy will not be forgiven! The Flame sees all!"
Ren didn't reply. He grabbed the girl—Elen—and sprinted for the outer corridor.
Aria followed, kicking a brazier to ignite a barrier behind them. White fire collided with black shadow in the hallways as the cathedral roared with alarms and holy chants.
Back in the Forest – One Hour Later
They collapsed under a rocky outcropping miles from the Church.
Ren leaned back, gasping. The System remained quiet—tired. Drained.
Elen was unconscious, but her pulse was steady.
"That was reckless," Aria said, panting. "You realize what we just did?"
"We saved her."
"And made enemies of a continental faction. The Church rules three provinces."
Ren looked at Elen's resting face. "Then we better get stronger. Fast."
System Update: Critical Alignment Shift
[Faction Hostility Triggered: Church of Faith – Status: Hunted]
[New Title Acquired: Heretic Reaper]
[Effect: +10% soul recovery when in consecrated or hallowed zones. Also increases enemy aggro radius in religious sectors.]
[Soul Bond Initiation Available – Elen (Phoenix Bloom)]
[Decision Pending…]