To Sin Is Divine

The chamber was silent.

Thick curtains sealed out sunlight. Candles burned blue instead of gold. Holy scripture scrolls had been torn from the walls, replaced with mirrors—dozens of them—each one reflecting a different battlefield, a different rebellion, a different crack in the Church's perfect façade.

Lucien stood alone, hands behind his back.

He didn't blink.

He didn't breathe.

He just watched.

Velharem: Fallen.

The Wrath Throne: Destroyed.

Inquisitor Calder: Killed.

Public sentiment: Slipping.

His enemies had done what no one else had managed in centuries.

They had united the Forbidden Virtues.

And worse…

They had made the people believe again.

Lucien turned slowly.

Behind him, five figures stood in a semi-circle.

Each wore robes of the highest order. Some bore scars. Others wore masks. All were killers.

The remaining High Inquisitors.

"Report," Lucien said.

The first stepped forward—tall, thin, lips sewn shut.

Inquisitor Irlin – Lust Class

"The southern frontier temples have collapsed," he whispered telepathically. "Their priests are defecting. Entire districts are flying the old symbols."

Lucien didn't speak.

The second stepped forward—her arms covered in jewels.

Inquisitor Varra – Greed Class

"The economy's splintering. Merchants are refusing tithe. We've resorted to magical coercion. The people are choosing charity over control."

Lucien walked past her.

"Fools," he said quietly. "You taught them to measure worth in gold. Kael teaches them to measure it in sacrifice."

The third Inquisitor stepped forward—draped in veils.

Inquisitor Morn – Sloth Class

"Our agents in the north refuse to act. They say movement is meaningless. They've begun to speak… of peace."

Lucien turned sharply.

"Then burn the agents."

The fourth Inquisitor hesitated.

She was young. Too young.

A prodigy from the inner cloisters.

Inquisitor Selin – Envy Class

She trembled. "The people… want to be like them."

Lucien's eye twitched.

Like them.

Like Kael.

The Mirror of the Heretic

Lucien waved his hand. One of the mirrors shifted.

Kael stood on the battlefield of Velharem, his blade still glowing, surrounded by the people, flanked by the Bearers of Virtue.

"They see themselves in him," Lucien whispered.

"He bleeds. He falls. He rises."

He pointed to the reflection.

"But he is flawed. And I will show them that flaw."

The mirror cracked.

Plan Genesis

Lucien turned to the circle.

"It's time," he said. "To destroy their faith from within."

He raised his hand—and the air warped.

Seven sin-seals hovered above his palm.

Each represented a counterpart to Kael's Bearers.

"I will forge the Seven Unholy Mirrors," Lucien declared.

"Sin-bound reflections of the heretic's rebellion. Each one designed to break a virtue."

The Inquisitors gasped.

Selin stammered, "But that would require forbidden soulcraft. That magic was locked after the—"

"After the last war?" Lucien cut in. "Then unlock it."

He crushed one of the seals in his hand.

[Forbidden Rite of Fractured Grace – Activated]

"Begin construction: Sin-Clones of the Seven."

Lucien's eyes blazed with violet flame.

The Trap is Set

He turned back to the mirror—Kael still standing tall, unaware.

"You brought together the Virtues," Lucien said softly.

"Soon… you will face yourself."

He stepped into the center of a new ritual circle.

"I will speak to him directly."

The mirror flared.

Back in Velharem

Kael stood outside the ruins of the Sin Cathedral, overseeing cleanup. Zayne healed the wounded. Ren distributed food. Ten trained the civilians. Serah organized a new guard rotation. Elyan prayed.

Then it happened.

Every mirror in Velharem shattered at once.

The sky turned black.

"KAEL DRAVEN," a voice boomed from the heavens.

"DO YOU HEAR ME, HERETIC?"

Kael turned slowly.

"I hear you, Lucien."

A glowing sigil appeared in the sky—Lucien's face etched in divine flame.

"You think yourself righteous?" Lucien said, voice laced with contempt. "You think the world belongs to virtue?"

Kael didn't respond.

Lucien smiled coldly.

"Then face what I've prepared."

"For every virtue… there is a sin that knows you better than you know yourself."

The sigil flared—

Seven black stars shot into the sky, arcing in seven directions.

Each carrying a shard of twisted power.

Each one destined to become a Sin Mirror.

Kael's Reaction

The team gathered around Kael.

Zayne looked shaken. "Did he just mark us?"

Serah whispered, "Seven sins… made to break us."

Ten stepped forward. "Then we hunt them first."

Kael's blade gleamed in the broken sunlight.

"No," he said.

"We wait."

Everyone turned to him, confused.

Kael looked at the sky—where Lucien's sigil still burned.

"We let them come to us."

He stepped forward, his voice calm but full of fire.

"Because this time…"

"We're not defending the world from the Church."

"We're defending it from ourselves."