Chapter 73: The Sin Crown Awakens
The vault trembled.
A thunderous silence followed the final blow, broken only by the slow hiss of melting stone and fading embers. Kael stood at the heart of it all, his body steaming with the afterglow of battle. Divine flame curled across his shoulders and chest like a second skin, but now they burned steadier—controlled. Not a fire of destruction, but of dominion.
[Wave Cleared — 437/437 Entities Eliminated]
[EXP Gained: +500,000]
[Sin Points Gained: +20,000]
[System Notification: Sin Tier Advanced — Initiate → Warlord]
As the last soul dissipated, a crown of crimson light formed above his head. Not physical—but unmistakably real. The vault groaned in acknowledgment. The Sin Crown had awakened.
[New Trait Unlocked: Crown of Dominion — Passive]
[All Sin Skills gain +25% potency. You may designate a Sanctum: grants bonded partners +10% regeneration and +5% EXP within.]
Kael exhaled, and the flames parted like reverent servants.
He looked to his hand, now covered in a lattice of black runes that shimmered with red. "I've become the sovereign of this fire."
But he wasn't alone.
A pulse of shadow slipped through the vault's boundary. Selene stepped into the space like a ghost of moonlight. Her eyes widened at the scene: smoldering wreckage, coiling divine fire—and Kael standing at the center of it like a godborn.
"Kael…?"
He turned, blinking away the last glimmer of combat intensity. "Selene. You felt it."
She walked toward him slowly. "Everyone felt it. You shook the fabric of the dimension. Evelyne almost tried to force her way back in."
He smiled faintly. "She would've made it. She's more flame than frost now."
Selene paused before him, her hand reaching up to his cheek. "You've changed again. There's power in you I can't track… but I can feel it craving something more."
Kael leaned into her touch. "I'm learning to wield it. Not to be consumed by it."
"And what of us?" she asked, softly. "Are we still your anchor?"
He looked into her silver-lit eyes. "Always."
Their kiss was soft—slow—and filled with everything unsaid. In that moment, the Crown flickered dimly, recognizing something stronger than conquest: connection.
[Sin Points: 10,000,000 / 100,000,000]
[EXP: 245,760,000 / 491,520,000]
[System Level: 35 — Moonglade Tier 7/9]
Outside the Vault
Thalaria was pacing. "She's been gone too long."
"She's fine," Nysera said, though her gaze stayed fixed on the rift. "Kael's heartbeat hasn't stopped once."
Valeria murmured, "No. But it's changed tempo."
Evelyne stirred from meditation. "He's ascending again. Can't you feel it?"
The rift pulsed with new energy. Lightning cracked in the distance. Thalaria's hair stood on end.
"Something's happening," she said.
Moments later, Selene emerged, hair windblown, aura slightly overwhelmed—but her smile was clear.
"He's okay," she said.
Thalaria tilted her head. "And?"
"He awakened the Sin Crown."
Dead silence.
Valeria's fingers tightened. "He's becoming more than just powerful. He's becoming… inevitable."
Evelyne exhaled deeply, both proud and terrified.
STATUS WINDOW: KAEL VIREN
System Level: 35
EXP: 245,760,000 / 491,520,000
Realm: Moonglade Realm — Tier 7/9
HP: 49,800 / 49,800
Mana: 58,200 / 58,200
Stats (with buffs):
Strength: 780 × 2.1 × 2 = 3,276
Endurance: 740 × 2.1 = 1,554
Willpower: 760 × 2.1 = 1,596
Charm: 844 × 2.1 = 1,772
Intellect: 655 × 2.1 = 1,375
Dexterity: 730 × 2.1 × 2 = 3,066
Sin Points: 10,000,000 / 100,000,000
Sin Tier: Warlord Rank
Bonded Wives:
Selene — Skyshatter 9/9 (Moon/Shadow)
Evelyne — Moonglade 8/9 (Ice/Lunar Flame)
Thalaria — Sunbound 3/9 (Lightning)
Nysera — Skyshatter 1/9 (Blood/Curse)
Valeria — Skyshatter 3/9 (Nature/Wind)
Pet Panel:
Emberfang — Flame Tiger Cub (Tier 3)
Vira — Sky Serpent Hatchling (Tier 2)
Cultivation Realms:
Initiate
Essence Drawn
Veinwoven
Soulroot
Starforged
Sunbound
Moonglade ← Current
Skyshatter
Worldpiercer
Heaven's Echo
Celestiaflame
Worldbreaker
Eternal Crown
Primordial Ascendant
15–18. Origin Flame (Locked)
Next: Chapter 74 — The Vault's Final Trial