The Branded

The Branded is a playable sin in Yoltrund and acts as a "hard mode" setting.

About
While not specifically mentioned in the story, the Branded are added to the game as an extra level of difficulty. The Branded acts as all Sins of Yoltrund and on any scene, it acts as the sin for that scene. This makes every scene change according to the sin and make all dialogue respond as well as any death result in permanent loss of the save file.

Brand
"To commit the sins of the King is to be touched by the King himself. Those who are branded are eternally cursed as their souls will never be pure."

Described by the King
"And I can see it in your eyes, a dark shadow grows within you. An evil that festers like maggots to a wound. This must be purified from you, and it will take the hottest and darkest flame I can muster. You will know nothing but blissful pain."

Trivia

 * The Sage of this sin is not known, but it is assumed that it is Arylos due to his mark appearing on the Mark of the Branded.
 * Because of the fact that any death will result in failure and loss of the player's save, this sin is only recommended to the most dedicated or those who have researched the game ahead of time.
 * It isn't confirmed as of yet, but it is possible that selecting this save will prevent the player from achieving a "victory". The King seems to talk about this sin as if it cannot be cleansed so it may be that the King won't let the Soulless One out of Yoltrund and might devour him or imprison him for eternity. Nothing about this will be known until Canto X when the player meets Arylos.