To Sin Is Divine

The forest reeked of blood.

Kael walked quietly along a narrow path, the shadows of dying trees dancing around him. The sun hadn't broken through the clouds in days—not since he escaped the Holy Capital. Smoke still lingered on his cloak.

Behind him, the world was hunting.

Ahead, something waited.

His system pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat in his chest.

[Nearby Signature Detected: Potential Virtue Host]

"Tracking affinity… 87% match."

"Virtue: Kindness."

Kael stopped at the edge of a clearing.

Corpses lay everywhere—villagers, burned wagons, shattered weapons. A massacre, barely hours old. Blood soaked the ground in streaks and pools.

And at the center…

A demon knelt in silence.

He looked nothing like the monsters described in the Church's scrolls. No horns, no fangs, no madness. Just a boy—no older than seventeen—covered in cuts and blood, cradling a wounded human child in his arms.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

The child whimpered. The demon held him closer and whispered something. Gentle. Almost like prayer.

[Act of Kindness Detected]

[Virtue Resonance Level: High]

The boy's hand glowed with pale blue light. Healing magic—not the kind powered by wrath or gluttony, but something ancient. Controlled. Pure.

Kael stepped forward. A branch snapped under his boot.

The demon's eyes shot up—one glowing orange, the other sky blue.

"Don't move," he growled. "I won't let you hurt him."

Kael raised one hand. "I'm not here for the boy."

"Then you're here for me," the demon said. "Same as the rest."

His fangs showed now. Power flared behind his voice. He stood slowly, placing the child behind him.

Kael didn't draw his blade.

"You healed a human," Kael said. "Even though they probably tried to kill you first."

The demon blinked. "What of it?"

Kael's voice was quiet. "That's the stupidest thing you could've done."

The demon tensed—then saw Kael wasn't mocking him. Just stating truth.

"What's your name?" Kael asked.

The demon hesitated.

"…Zayne."

"Zayne," Kael repeated. "Do you know what you just did?"

Zayne's brows furrowed. "Saved a life?"

"No," Kael said. "You committed heresy."

[Virtue Identified: Kindness]

[Compatible Host Found]

[New Ally Acquired: Zayne – Bearer of Kindness]

Zayne flinched. "What… the hell was that?"

Kael stepped closer.

"The Church calls your power unnatural. They'll send inquisitors to kill you by sunrise."

"They already tried," Zayne spat. "Burned the village while looking for me. That boy's mother—" he clenched his fists—"she gave her life to protect a demon."

He looked down at his hands.

"I don't understand anything anymore."

Kael nodded slowly. "Then we have something in common."

Zayne looked at him, eyes sharp. "What are you?"

Kael stepped into the light.

His silver hair caught the dying sun. His tattered cloak fluttered like a burned flag. Gold flickered in his irises—like divine fire smoldering under ash.

"I was a knight," Kael said. "Now I'm just… someone who refused to burn."

Zayne's gaze lingered on the sigil forming faintly on Kael's hand: a circle broken into seven glowing pieces.

"That symbol…"

"Virtue," Kael said. "Not sin. Not pride or wrath. The ones they buried."

Zayne's lips parted slightly. "You're like me."

Kael nodded. "We were never sinners. Just forgotten."

Zayne looked down at the child behind him. "He's unconscious. Can't travel yet."

"I'll carry him," Kael said.

Zayne hesitated. Then stepped aside.

Kael knelt and gently lifted the boy. The child stirred but didn't cry.

"Why are you doing this?" Zayne asked. "You don't know me."

Kael met his eyes.

"Because you showed mercy to someone who couldn't return it."

[Virtue Points Gained: +5 Kindness]

Zayne stared at him. The glow in his hands faded.

Then, a sound echoed through the trees.

A low, war-horn blast.

Kael's grip tightened.

[Hostile Signature Detected]

"Sin-Blessed approaching. Type: Wrath-class Inquisitor."

Zayne's eyes widened. "Already?"

Kael turned. "We move. Now."

Zayne stepped beside him, summoning a glowing blade of compressed light. "Guess introductions can wait."

Kael smiled faintly.

"Welcome to the war."