Chapter 001: The Kingdom of Graverstien

Sin.

Most cultures recognised a form of it but to them it was some nebulous metric for which the divine judged the lowly mortals. A marker that decided who was evil and who was just. Some believe it to be even lesser than that; just a set of actions that go against the mortality which made sentient life special.

To those with knowledge of the occult, true knowledge of the occult and not some random guesses made by a scam artist, knew it possessed far more than that. For context is required in order to fully grasp just what sin is. All beginning with the makeup of a soul - specifically the outer layer.

A soul, in of itself, is important as the link between the mind & body while also containing the essence of the being in question. Possessing a blueprint for the physical body which also constituted the main and most delicate part of the soul. Commonly referred to as the quintessence.

From that quintessence comes the spiritual energy - the energy of the soul - or simply spirit. It acts as both a barrier & resource to help protect the quintessence which is often what people mean when they talk about the soul. That is not to say that the spirit is not as important as the quintessence, though.

Only through mastery of spirit can one allow their quintessence to ascend into immortality.

Souls themselves can't be destroyed however they can be split as well as having them be "wiped clean" during the process of reincarnation.

It was a fate that mortals often were fearful of with many sayings such as "good men die young" foretelling the lengths some of them would go. Ironically this is where sin comes in. Sin is actually a form of spirit and is generated through the actions of the person in question - dying their spirit using their negative karma.

Some prefer it as corruption to the soul however only newborn babies could avoid generating a little sin since karma doesn't care about perspective. Actions as small stepping forward and unknowingly sending vibrations through the ground that break some worm eggs? That was enough to generate sin.

For the longest time sin didn't amount to much, however.

That was until the demon primarch of the primordial blood, the progenitor of all demons, overturned all worlds by engulfing them in war. A war so great that it still mars the realms with its scars. From this she found an opportunity to cut out an entire section of the heavens for herself.

Creating a space around the cycle reincarnation which she tapped into to create the largest change since the Adjudicator Titan first created existence. She made the demons and the demon realm. A place where sin fell from the cycle of reincarnation where it was then converted into demonic energy or used as the universal currency by the demons.

The demons themselves were best understood by a common saying; there are two ways a demon knows to solve all their problems. By striking a deal or by striking their problem. Far more chaotic than any other race but also the most orderly despite that.

Few demons even possessed the ability to lie.

They respected all forms of "strength" and that included some that many look down on; such as the skill required to craft or cook. To them there was little difference between a warrior who could cleave through mountains, a scholar who knows the truths of the universe or a seamstress who can make a pretty dress that all want to buy. All of them had mastered their skills so all of them were strong.

Most of their existence can be called a golden age that just got more polished as the aeons rolled by and those they could make deals with expanded. Although demons were restricted in the other realms that didn't stop them from being summoned. Even when the costs were high.

After all… They guaranteed quality no matter the task.

Those who sinned in life could even find themselves falling into the demonic realm after they found themselves in the cycle. As such their numbers only grew. More frightening was their ability to respawn in the demon realm as long as they still possessed enough sin to pay the toll.

Although some rumours stated that was merely a tax that allowed them to keep all their memories as lower tier demons never decreased in numbers despite their… Less wise choices. A fact that made many wonder just how much sin their one true divine demon emperor possessed.

They were the source of all demonic energy.

Unfortunately that was only until 7 years ago when their mighty divine demon finally managed to convert the powers of her detestable sister for themself. Once more freeing her absolute mind to understand intricacies of their most terrifying creation after the demons themselves. The power of curses.

Developing an art that turned sin into real power while making demonic energy truly unmatched in just how fearsome it could be.

Allowing one to bend body, soul and mind to their whims.

It was at this peak where their brother by blood took advantage of her trust in their deal - using their hunger for blood to temporarily weaken them . Ambushing her with his cowardly numbers. Leading to them vanishing without returning to that mighty empire & their most loyal vassals unable to take over.

The realm was naturally more stable than others who lost their ruler but cracks appear in even the sturdiest of steel. Especially with some taking advantage of her absence. For how long they actually remained absent…

That was yet to be answered.

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"As you already know; we are proud nobles of the Graverstien family and use our summons to spread the teachings of our most fair god. He has granted us a lot which includes ridding the world of the divine demon of legend recently. Even before that he gave us… The voice of heaven."

Within a carriage, bouncing uncomfortably on the stone floor, sat a little blueish silver haired girl in a beautiful dress that mixed blue with white. She looked up at a decently well built (if a bit pudgy around what should be his edges) man. Stars practically shining in her green eyes.

The seven year old girl even managed to ignore the ache in her bottom.

"You have likely seen it a few times but its main purpose is to reveal our capabilities to both ourselves and those in our surroundings. Not letting those commoners trick their way into positions they are not fated to be in according to god's omnipresent will. We'll get into that more later, okay?"

That girl happily nodded but remained quiet. She obviously wasn't much of a speaker yet more than made up for that with her willingness to silently sit there hanging onto every word he said. A sight that made her father quite proud of her; the makes of a perfect noble woman no matter how one looked at it.

"We have several attributes recorded and the minimum you can get is -G while the highest theorised by some of our brightest priests are triple A. Some even say a +AAA may be possible. Personally I have never seen or heard anyone getting anywhere near that. "

"But papa's summon is so strong!"

Such praise caused the man to scratch the tip of his nose - smugness practically radiated off him as he was more than happy to take the admiration of this smart daughter of his.

"Well that's only natural since I am the Duke of Strauss; a family that has been dedicated to summoning since the dawn of time. Our gift has always revolved around that. There is no way that any meagre commoners could match up to the gift of our family with my wyrm being unbeaten!"

Spreading his hand in front of him as he decided to show off a little more in front of his daughter.

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Carl Strauss

<| Immortal Duke of Graverstien Kingdom |>

Vitality: FF [+D]

Strength: GGG [CC]

Defence: G+ [-C]

Dexterity: F+ [E]

Agility: GGG [-E]

Intelligence: -F 

Wisdom: GGG 

[Regeneration: C]

Straus Wyrm Summoning [★★★★★★★☆☆☆]

Allows The User To Summon Their Own Personal Wyrm While Being Granted The Lesser-Dragon's Power Based On The Level Of Relationship Between Master & Summon.

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"If you pay attention you can see that, under my name, I even have a personal title due to my accomplishments against the heathens."

"Waah… So that's your gift… So many stars…"

"Even before my accomplishments we were actually a marquis family yet I was allowed to bed your mother to gain royal blood; allowing us to become a duchy."

Thinking of his wife brought a certain type of grin to his face that shouldn't be seen when in the same room as a child; the very reason why the girl had a lot of siblings. His thoughts lingered on the first time he had been rewarded her hand. Her arrogance didn't last very long against him but it was still there at times.

Compared to her he had raised his daughters are truly good women - his future son or sons-in-law would no doubt be thankful for his hard work. Thinking about the power each represented brought a smile. He soon would be able to sell this one off for all sorts of benefits now that it's her seventh birthday.

"Now that you are seven you can handle unlocking the voice of heaven but first we're going to receive the blessing of a priest. This'll bring god's attention to you and help you get the best gift possible. It's something that those inferior people would never do for their children."

"I-it's really so expensive… Are you sure you want to do that?"

Once more the duke just nodded his head with satisfaction at his parenting style.

"Don't worry; you'll more than make up for it in the future."

Turning out the window as he saw no more purpose in speaking to that daughter of his. She was a good little pawn but that was all she was - he could hardly have a proper conversation with a woman. He was a fair and good man but there was no need to play pretend.

The journey proved to be a boring one so he was just thankful that he could be distracted with his plans for the future.

It was hard not to be excited since even he had to admit that little girl held a lot of potential.

After a few minutes he found himself relieved upon seeing the massive marble cathedral, filled with golden inlining & large colourful glass windows, that sat in the distance. It was clear that the donations to the church had been well used. Or perhaps it was due to the various businesses they invested in?

Either way it didn't matter to him since he gave what amounted to pocket change for himself; they could spend that however they'd like. What he was more interested in was that people were actually waiting for him at the steps. A sight that caused his chest to puff up even though it was only natural.

"We shouldn't keep a servant of god waiting for us!"