The land of ash slept beneath an empty sky. Charred trees stretched like skeletal arms toward pale red clouds, and no wind dared whisper in this dead place. A lone figure walked slowly through the wasteland—his steps silent, his golden eyes dimmed with thought.
Ray's breath steamed in the cold underworld air, his black-and-red fur caked with soot and dried blood. Though his body pulsed with power, his soul felt chained.
He had evolved. He was stronger.
But not strong enough.
He had tasted Sin—a fragment of Wrath, torn from a corrupted beast deep in the Third Veil.
But now he understood: that Sin was impure.
---
A Demon's Limit
Ray recalled the conversation with the masked entity—the one that gave him the Wrath mission.
> "The nobles evolve through true human Sin. Their bodies are vessels for the worst of mankind's essence. That's why they are born kings."
> "The rest of you? You take scraps. Imitations. Shadows of what was meant to be consumed."
Ray clenched his jaws at the memory.
He had evolved from Lower-Level to Small Demon, then clawed his way to Medium-Level. Every step had been earned through battles soaked in blood. He had endured the fangs of dire beasts, the poison of crawling shadows, the judgment of flame-eyed devils.
But none of it made him equal to a noble.
Because their power didn't come from effort. It came from access.
And Ray was tired of being denied.
---
The Gate
There was a legend whispered by dying demons. A forbidden tale most dismissed as madness.
A Gate—hidden within the walls of the Fifth Hollow—one that connected the Underworld to the human realm. Sealed by ancient sorcery, it was said to open for only thirteen seconds every lunar cycle.
Ray didn't believe in myths.
But desperation sharpened even foolish hope into resolve.
If it existed… and if he could find it… he could cross over.
And steal True Sin.
---
The Mission
The sky rumbled.
The familiar white-masked figure descended again, this time rising from a pool of black mist. Its voice was colder now, distant and calculating.
> "You seek a path forbidden."
Ray stood his ground. "You said I could rise. You didn't say how."
> "Because the cost is death. If a demon crosses the Gate without permission from the Lords, they will be hunted—by both humans and demonkind. A rogue. A heretic."
Ray's growl was low, steady. "Then I'll die trying."
> "Even if you survive the journey, you will find no safe Sin. Humans are guarded. Their darkest Sins lie buried. You will need to hunt. And you will need to be subtle."
"I am no brute," Ray said. "I've evolved with discipline. I'll adapt."
The figure was silent for a long moment. Then it extended its skeletal hand again.
A crystal floated, shaped like a shard of moonlight, etched with infernal runes.
> "Then go. This will lead you to the Gate. It opens in three days. Fail… and your soul will not be reborn."
Ray took the crystal.
And ran.
---
The Fifth Hollow
The Fifth Hollow was a realm long abandoned by demonkind. A fractured land of cliffs, haunted by silence and time.
Ray arrived at the edge of a chasm—miles deep, its walls lined with silver roots. The crystal pulsed. A heartbeat in his mouth.
He followed its rhythm.
The wind howled from below.
At the chasm's base, hidden behind layers of illusions and protective sigils, lay the Gate.
A black door, framed in bones that constantly rearranged themselves. Faces whispered in the wood. The moment Ray touched it, the runes flared to life.
It was real.
Ray's heart thudded. This was it.
Three days.
---
Preparation
He made camp inside a hollowed stone tree. His body burned with restlessness, but he forced himself to conserve energy. He hunted only once, draining a shadow hound that prowled the edges of the Hollow. He meditated. He strengthened his shadow magic. Practiced cloaking his scent, muffling his movements.
Because crossing the Gate wasn't the end.
It was the beginning.
He would arrive in the human world with no allies. No safe zones. No guidance. If he was spotted, he'd be exterminated. Hunters in that world were said to wield weapons of holy fire and cursed steel—designed to purge demons instantly.
And yet, he needed to find a human…
A truly broken one. Someone drowning in Sin. Someone whose inner corruption was so potent that it leaked from their soul.
Someone whose darkness was ripe.
---
The Crossing
When the third night came, the Gate stirred.
It groaned as if in agony. Runes hissed and cracked. Chains peeled away into nothingness. The bones clicked into a fixed pattern for the first time in centuries.
Ray stood before it, his breath slow. His heart was racing.
The door creaked open.
Light spilled out—not gold or silver—but a blinding white, so sterile it hurt to look at.
He stepped forward.
And was pulled through.
---
The Human World
Cold.
Ray emerged into a world that stung his senses. The air smelled too clean. The sky above was dark blue—not crimson. The stars were quiet. Peaceful. The ground was paved in stone.
He crouched low on instinct.
Buildings stretched around him—tall towers of glass and steel. Cars passed in the distance. Neon lights blinked with human symbols. He was in some kind of city.
He quickly leapt into the shadows, hiding behind a dumpster in a dark alley.
This was dangerous.
He couldn't afford to be seen. His size was wrong. His eyes glowed. His scent was otherworldly.
He activated his Cloak—an ability he'd refined with stolen magic—and faded into shadow.
His body shimmered, blending into the alley like smoke.
He moved.
---
Hunting Sin
For hours, Ray wandered the streets. He kept to shadows. Observed.
Humans were strange. They smiled even when their eyes were hollow. They walked with others but looked alone.
He passed a man shouting into a phone, veins bulging with rage. A woman who pocketed stolen items from a store. A group of teenagers bullying a smaller boy in an alley.
He sensed Sin.
But it was minor. Fragments. Impure.
He needed something deeper. Darker.
Then… he found it.
A man in a long coat, walking through a park. Alone. Head down. Every step trembled. The air around him smelled of decay—not physical, but spiritual. Regret. Guilt. Hatred.
Ray followed silently.
---
The man entered a run-down apartment complex and climbed to the top floor. His aura was sickening—filled with Wrath, but also Despair. He was planning something. Something evil.
Ray could feel it.
He slipped through an open window and waited.
Time passed.
Then the man knelt in the corner, whispering into a broken photo frame. Tears streamed down his face. He spoke to no one.
> "They never paid. Not one of them. They hurt her and laughed. And now I'm the broken one."
Ray's eyes narrowed.
> "Tomorrow," the man whispered. "I'll go back to the school. I have the gun now. I'll make them understand."
Wrath. Guilt. Vengeance.
The man was a storm of Sin.
Perfect.
Ray emerged from the shadows.
---
The Sin of a Human
The man screamed. Fell backward.
Ray lunged—shadow and claw, fangs bared.
But he didn't kill him.
Not right away.
He pinned the man down and pressed his fangs into the side of his neck—not to break flesh, but to bite into his soul.
And then…
He fed.
---
It was nothing like the corrupted creature Sin.
This was raw. Burning. Human.
He saw flashes of memory: a sister in pain, a justice denied, a heart rotting in silence.
Ray's vision burned crimson.
His body convulsed.
The man collapsed, unconscious, not dead. But drained.
Ray stumbled back, panting.
And then it hit him.
---
System Message: You have absorbed a True Sin: Human Wrath.
Sin Purity: 97%.
Evolution Path Unlocked: High Demon Class – Pre-Requisite Met.
Warning: Evolution will cause mass energy release – concealment required.
---
Ray's body began to tremble.
His muscles surged. His bones cracked. Wings began to sprout from his back—made of mist and blood. His claws extended. His fur shimmered with hellfire.
He was evolving.
But he couldn't do it here.
Humans would notice. Hunters would come.
He had to get out.
---
Ray leapt through the window and darted through the city, his form flickering in and out of visibility. Sirens echoed in the distance. Lights danced overhead.
The Gate would open again—for a brief moment—at the next blood moon.
He had to reach it.
---