[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]

Judgement comes easily in a world where everyone can see your soul with their own eyes. In this world, most human beings have Soul Candles worn around their neck that allow them to access divine magical abilities called Candle Arts. Red, blue, green, orange, yellow, these Soul Candles come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes that reflect the power and alignment of the wearer. The most sought after candle, however, is the Holy Candle. In a desperate attempt to cultivate more of these Holy Candles to fight the Shadow Gods, the Goddess Atraya opens a link between worlds, allowing 'Second-Worlders' to forge a powerful Soul Candle of their own.

Or at least that's what the flavor text says…

The Holy Candle Online is the best-selling VRMMO of its type, celebrated for its world depth and groundbreaking non-player character AI. Naïve adventurers set out in the name of Atraya with the hopes of defeating the Shadow Gods and all their minions. Yuna, however, has plans of her own. Instead of blindly following the masses into an age-old holy war, she has forged her own path in this oh-so divine world. By day she masquerades as the beautiful Lady Yuna Roseheart. By night she lurks in the shadows as the infamous "Twilight Rogue". Yuna planned to never let herself be a pawn of the gods and their followers.

However, when she is commissioned for a heist far above her pay grade she painfully learns that she was a pawn all along. She is given a second chance to change her destiny. Yuna sets out to turn her dark Twilight Candle into something more. With the help of her new friends, and a reluctant teacher, she hopes to become powerful enough to stand against those that have wronged her.

(Cover information: The character on the cover is Poet, the ex-paladin. That mark on his back is the mark of excommunication from the Paladin's Guild. He is holding a Sacred Candle, the ultimate and final most form of a Holy Candle. The fallen swords represent his past incarnations/hosts.)

(Note: This story entirely takes place within the virtual/Isekai world. There are no external/'IRL' scenes in this story.)