Hello everyone!
Long time no see sorry for the long silence! I've been away on vacation with my family in China, and between the travel, jet lag, and catching up on everything I missed back home, I haven't had the time or energy to sit down and write. I'm finally back and (mostly) recovered, so thank you all for your patience. Updates will be coming soon—I've missed this world just as much as you have!
Nine's Own Goal had thirty-five members now.
Not bad for a clan that started as a punchline.
But today, no one was focused on growth, recruitment, or base-building. Not even the guild prank channel was active. Everyone was watching one thing—and one thing only.
The World Champion Tournament.
YGGDRASIL's biggest stage. Its deadliest game.
Out of the dozen players they'd sent into the qualifiers, only two made it to the finals of their respective worlds.
Touch Me.Absolute Sin.
Everyone was still cheering for Warrior Takemikazuchi—he had made it to the semifinals before being sliced out in a brutal 3-2 loss—but now, all eyes were on their most terrifying member.
Today was Sin's final match.
The chat in their guild was buzzing.
Ulbert: I got the popcorn. Let's see him go full divine horror.Peroroncino: I still think he should've added a glowing mouth. For intimidation.Yamaiko: Shhh it's startingMomonga: He's fighting on the Asgard server?Blue Planet: LOL. He picked the god server. That's petty and I love it.
Yes.
Sin had signed up to fight for Asgard—one of the top servers in YGGDRASIL, and also one of the most hostile toward heteromorphic players.
The irony was delicious.
In a world of radiant gods and angelic beauty, Asgard's World Champion would be a floating, faceless monster—a heteromorphic Archangel of Judgment, custom-forged to tear gods apart.
Sin had picked it on purpose.
For the drama.
For the narrative.
For the pettiness.
And because he liked the thought of wearing their crown in silence while the rest of the server lost its collective mind.
The arena was massive—set high in the divine city of Valhalheim, built from golden pillars and celestial sky-bridges.
The crowd was deafening.
Thousands of avatars packed the stands, avatars from every server spectating via crossworld mirrors. Players cheered. Streamers screamed. A dozen esports channels switched their overlays to full-screen.
Absolute Sin has entered the arena.
The holy platform beneath him shimmered like sunrise.
He floated in.
Slow. Silent. Faceless. His wings unfurled behind him like a latticework of blinding flame. He didn't glow as much as burn—holy light leaking from every pore of his towering form.
"It's him.""He's actually here.""Dude looks like the final boss of a MMO about grief.""THAT'S ABSOLUTE SIN IN YGGDRASIL AAAAA—"
He said nothing.
But the weight of his presence made the crowd quiet.
His opponent spawned across from him.
A lithe Valkyrie class player. Max agility build. Stacked evasion. Divine buffs already toggled.
Fast.
Sin knew her type.
He'd built a spreadsheet for this.
And this? This would be fun.
[SYSTEM: World Champion Final – Asgard Server]Begin Match.
The Valkyrie vanished the instant the timer dropped.
So did her buffs.
She reappeared mid-air—caught in the edge of a cancel field that had exploded from Sin's body on spawn.
[Divine Rejection Field] — Passive: Negates pre-battle buffs within 12 meters.[Law of Judgment] — Aura: All enemy healing effects are halved, all damage over time effects stack faster.[Eyes of Verdict] — Trait: Any action performed by the enemy is stored and increases the potency of counter-type reactions.
Three passives. No cast time.
Just existence.
Her health dropped by 7% just by breathing near him.
Sin didn't move.
He didn't need to.
His build didn't rely on speed. It didn't rely on flashy movements or chase mechanics. His agility was a joke. He couldn't dodge. He couldn't run.
He didn't have to.
Because he controlled the map.
The Valkyrie darted across the sky in divine arcs, wings trailing golden stardust.
Sin just watched.
Each strike she made was flawless—optimized combos, high-speed execution, pre-mapped routes based on low-agility targets.
It was textbook PvP meta play.
And Sin? Sin let her land the first hit.
Just one.
A blazing spear tip slashed across his upper shoulder.
His body flickered—light bending unnaturally.
His health dropped… 0.9%.
She smiled.
The crowd exploded.
"She got him!""He's too slow!""Valkyrie got this in the bag!"
Sin just tilted his head.
If he had a face, he would've smiled.
She rushed again. Faster this time.
He let her land another hit.
[Punishment Stack +1]
[Stack +2]
Every hit built a trigger.
Every movement she made—he memorized.
Not visually.
Mechanically.
[Judicial Archive] — Skill: Every interaction adds a data point. After five stacks, the user may pre-cast any counter at perfect timing, ignoring cooldown limitations.
She didn't know it yet, but she was loading the gun pointed at herself.
Sin extended a hand.
[Heavenly Clause: Null Vow]A line of golden light erupted across the field. Her buffs vanished again.
"Wait—he canceled mid-match? That's illegal!""No it's not—it's Sin, it's probably legal AND awful."
She tried to escape. Flicker-step. Displacement charge.
Didn't matter.
[God Slayer – Mark: Karmic Wound]
His blade materialized—one long, glowing lance of compressed judgment. When it struck the platform below them, the entire arena vibrated.
Her HP chunked.
40% gone.
Just from proximity.
She blinked.
Backed up.
Buffed again—using a hidden class trait from the Valkyrie's third job path.
Perfect Rebuff.
Sin's screen lit up with new skill markers.
He watched. Measured. Calculated.
"He's not chasing. He's… waiting?""Is he letting her win?!""No. He's bored."
In the guild chat:
Momonga: Is… is he actually getting pressured?Ulbert: Nah. He's baiting her.Peroroncino: I've seen this before. He's gonna reverse sweep in 3… 2…
The Valkyrie struck again.
This time, Sin dodged.
Just one step.
Perfectly timed.
[Punishment Stack: Release]
Her entire command queue locked up.
[Sanction Field] activated. Every stored action now rebounded into her movement script as interrupts. The speed advantage she had relied on? Turned into glitches. Stutters. Delays.
She blinked again—displaced.
He was already there.
Sin was standing where she would land before she landed.
[Divine Execution – Phase 3: Spiral Writ]
He moved like a predator in slow motion—calculated, clean, terrifying.
One strike.
Two.
Three.
Her health dropped below 10%.
The crowd went silent.
"That wasn't even animation canceled. That was just… inhuman.""How the hell does he time that without macros?""He's not reacting. He's predicting."
The Valkyrie staggered back, gasping for mana.
Sin stared at her—halo dimming slightly.
And then, for the first time that match… he spoke.
Just one line:
"You shouldn't have relied on speed."
But even as he raised his sword again, even as his light pulsed brighter and the end approached—
he slowed.
He backed off.
Just a little.
Letting her recover.
Giving her space.
In the clan chat:
Tabula Smaragdina: He's toying with her.Herohero: He's stalling.Touch Me: He's making it dramatic for the audience.Ulbert: He's doing PR. Bastard's farming viewer engagement.Sin: (In guild chat):)Let's make it interesting.
The match wasn't over.
But the shift was clear.
Sin had gone from passive to dominant. The arena no longer belonged to both players.
It was his.
Every move, every breath, every gleam of divine judgment that flashed off his blade—
was deliberate.
And as the Valkyrie came at him again—trying one last time to outmaneuver the monster made of light—
Sin tilted his head.
And smiled.