[Location: Sub-Tier 6 – "The Forbidden Market"][Access Granted via Chaos Rank #4,123][Time Remaining Before Auction: 02:11:37][Warning: Divine Eyes Active – All soul bonds visible to gatekeepers]
The entrance to the Forbidden Market wasn't carved into any mountain or nestled in a ruin.It was hidden inside the shadow of a falling star.
Ren Zian and his team stood before a massive crater pulsing with violet energy. Above them, the remnants of a fallen astral tower shimmered, flickering in and out of visibility — its gate guarded by six cloaked sentinels whose faces were mirrors.
Each reflection showed something different. Lyra's showed a burning city. Arin's reflected the sky cracking. The chrono girl's mirror was blank — unreadable.
Ren's reflection? It smiled back. Bleeding.
[Checkpoint Triggered – Soul Reflection Test Initiated][Do You Deny Who You Were to Become Who You Must Be?][Answer Required: Yes or No]
Ren didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
The mirrors cracked.
The sentinels stepped aside.
And the gate… opened.
The Forbidden Market welcomed him.
Inside, it was worse than he'd imagined.
This wasn't just a place of divine commerce — it was a theater of cruelty. The ceiling was the inside of a collapsed star, burning quietly. Stalls floated midair, manned by cloaked figures with too many eyes. Souls, artifacts, and even time itself were being auctioned.
In one stall, a man offered a bottled childhood — stolen from a sleeping boy in the human realm.
In another, a goddess bartered dream fragments harvested from suicidal poets.
And in the center arena, glowing cages floated in glass orbs — each containing someone once divine, now condemned.
Ren's fists clenched.
"They're selling fallen gods," he murmured.
Arin stepped beside him, eyes hard. "Not just gods. Rebels. Survivors."
A sharp tone rang out.
[Auction Segment: WAIFU CLASS – Tier B+][Item 004: "The Veiled Blade" — Former Princess Assassin of the Shrouded Dynasty][Starting Bid: 6,000 Chaos Points]
A slender woman with silver hair and crimson eyes knelt in silence as bidding flared.
Her wrists bled where divine chains dug into them. Her mouth was stitched shut by glowing thread — not physically, but spiritually. She was awake. Watching.
And completely voiceless.
Ren's system pulsed.
[Resonance Detected: Veiled Blade Compatible with Pact Core][Mission: Rescue via System Override or Bid Disruption]
"Another one," Ren muttered. "Another they silenced."
A voice echoed from the platform.
"Next bid: 8,200 Chaos Points! From Chaos Rank #86 – Prince Lorien!"
A ripple of tension flowed through the crowd.
Prince Lorien. A name Ren knew from the Chaos Rankings — a rich, spoiled celestial-blooded tyrant who specialized in buying pacts and breaking them, turning waifus into empty husks to feed his "Unity Core."
Lyra spat. "That bastard."
Ren's jaw clenched.
[Option 1: Attempt Legal Bid – Cost: 8,400 Chaos Points][Option 2: Disrupt Auction via Chaos Glitch – Requires Power Surge + System Breach][Warning: May trigger Arena Combat if detected]
He didn't hesitate.
"Option 2."
[Chaos Glitch Initiated – Disrupting Soul Chain Broadcast][Error Injected: "Pact Already Claimed"][Authority Conflict Triggered]
The auction halted.
A flicker of static broke the platform's glow.
Suddenly, the woman's chains cracked — not fully, but enough for her eyes to snap open wide.
She saw him.
And for the first time, something like hope flickered in them.
[Alert: Conflict Registered – Duel Initiated][Combatants: Ren Zian vs. Prince Lorien][Battle Type: Soul Arena – Winner Takes Waifu Pact Rights]
The floor vanished.
Ren was dropped into a silver arena shaped like an hourglass — space fractured around them.
Lorien floated above the sand, golden robes trailing behind him. He was beautiful in the way monsters sometimes are. Pale skin, angelic smile — but his soul was stitched with darkness.
"You again," Lorien said. "Auction Thief."
"You again," Ren echoed. "Trash prince."
Lorien's eyes narrowed.
"You've interfered for the last time. These women were chosen. You're nothing but a bastard with a glitch system."
Ren smiled. "Then beat me."
Lorien raised a hand.
[Skill Activated: Divine Pulse – Shockwave Field][Effect: Slows enemy reaction by 30%]
Ren's body staggered.
But he gritted his teeth and activated his counter:
[Skill Activated: Pact Fusion Shield – Quad-Core Sync][Effect: Emotional Boost + Immunity to Mental Effects for 6 seconds]
The ground cracked.
Their blades met.
The battle was brutal — not in its pace, but in its intention.
Lorien fought to crush. Ren fought to free.
Blow after blow, he pressed Lorien back, absorbing hits but never falling. Every strike he landed pulsed with one name:
Eira.
Lyra.
Arin.
And the girl in the cage.
At last, Ren drove his fist into Lorien's chest, sending him flying into the glass arena wall.
[Combat Result: Victory – Ren Zian][You may now claim: The Veiled Blade][Pact Unlocked: Locked State – Requires Consent + Soul Unbinding Ritual]
Ren stood over the beaten prince.
"You ever touch another soul like that again," he said, voice cold, "and I'll make sure no auction in the multiverse will accept your name."
Lorien vanished with a snarl.
The arena collapsed.
Ren found himself standing before the Veiled Blade again.
This time, she was kneeling.
But not in submission.
In choice.
He stepped forward and reached out.
Her chains trembled.
Then broke.
[New Pact Forming: Veiled Blade – Name: Nyelle][Class: Assassin-Royal • Soul Status: Partially Damaged][Skill Unlocked: Phantom Slash – Once per day, execute undetectable attack][Pact Limit Warning: 5 of 5 Reached – Chaos System Evolution Approaching…]
Ren caught her as she fell forward into his arms.
"Another one saved," he whispered.
Lyra joined him, eyes burning.
"You just made a hundred new enemies."
Ren looked around at the audience—dozens of divine elites watching from above.
He smiled.
"Good. That's still not enough."