Chapter 8: The Eyes That Undid the Flame
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Kael stood still.
The shattered shrine behind him steamed from divine blood and black fire. The wind had gone still. Even Thalaria's blade no longer hissed in her grip.
Only she moved.
She emerged from behind the black altar — the Priestess.
Her very presence quieted the world.
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She was not beautiful. She was... sacred.
Her hair was molten gold, thick braids woven through with crimson silk and faintly glowing threads of spellscript.
Her skin pale, not from weakness, but from purity refined over centuries — marbled with faint veins of sun-kissed magic.
Every movement was measured, not timid. Like a high priestess in a temple made only for gods.
She wore torn crimson robes, embroidered with forgotten sigils. The fabric clung to her like it, too, feared being cast away.
Her wrists were still bound in silver chains etched with divine warnings — yet the way she stood… unchained everything else.
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She looked at Kael.
And everything changed.
Her lips parted. Her breath caught.
The man before her, bloodied, burnt, unbowed… carried a flame older than the gods.
"Who… are you?" she whispered.
And her heart, untouched for centuries, began to race.
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Kael raised his hand, exhausted but curious. The Crown pulsed at the back of his neck.
[System Command: Initiate Scan → Target: Shrine Priestess]
A wall of heat rushed into his skull.
> [ERROR]
Target name: Sealed by Celestial Protocol
Cultivation Realm: — ??? — Unable to read
Threat Level: Exceeds Crown Authority
Divine Seal Detected – Celestial Flame? Sovereign? Abyssal? Unknown.]
Kael's head swam.
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And then the Crown whispered something else…
"You are not strong enough… yet."
His vision darkened.
The world tilted.
His knees buckled.
"Kael!" Selene's voice was distant.
He fell forward.
But not onto the ground.
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The Priestess caught him.
Her arms wrapped around his burned body, glowing lightly where her fingers touched his skin. Heat flowed into him—not from power, but from her heartbeat.
She looked down at him.
Eyes filled with confusion.
And hunger.
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"Why do I feel this way…?"
"What are you doing to me…?"
"Who let a man like you walk into my cage…"
She closed her eyes.
And smiled.
"...please don't die before I find out why I want to be yours."
> [Kael has reached Sin Limit – Full Physical Collapse]
[System Backup Activated – Knowledge Core Unlocked]
[Displaying Crown of Sin's Cultivation Realms Guide…]
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NOTE:---
[CROWN OF SIN – CULTIVATION REALMS
There are total of 14 realms where
Realms 1–10 (Each has 9 Stages)
1. Mortal Vein Realm
2. Soulkind Realm
3. Bloodcore Realm
4. Moonbind Realm
5. Celestial Flame Realm
6. Sovereign Realm
7. Dominion King Realm
8. Worldbreaker Realm
9. Crown Saint Realm
10. Abyss Lord Realm
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And then after Abyss Lord Realm there are another 4 realms which is these and instead of tier Each has Ranks among them : Low / Mid / Upper / Peak but each rank diffrence in strength like heaven and earth.
11. Voidheart Realm
12. Sin Origin Realm
13. Ancestral Crown Realm
14. Throne of Endless Flesh]
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"To conquer the world, you must first conquer what the gods abandoned."
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Kael's body rested, unconscious.
But even as he slept, the Priestess sat beside him… fingertips tracing his chest, her pupils dilated with emotions she hadn't dared feel since the world forgot her name.
"Why does my heart burn… when it's always been cold?"
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End of Chapter 8