Three days after the Gate of the Fallen God trial, the Dawn Nexus was no longer quiet.
News spread like wildfire.
A system-wide update had rewritten the rules of faith.
> **[Divine Seal Fusion System – Fully Unlocked]**
> • All surviving Faithholders may now choose:
> – Pure Alignment Enhancement Path
> – Divine Seal Fracture Path
> • Fracture Path requires a Trial of Devotion, successful fusion of a God-Fragment, and unlocks:
> – Second Skill Branch
> – Faith Alignment Flexibility
> – Custom Godmandate Perks
Lin You sat at the edge of the Divine Seal Core Plaza. His hand rested gently on his chest, where the green, vine-like sigil of Qingshen pulsed faintly. Ever since awakening **Verdant Domain**, he had felt something different inside his seal—like a second breath, a heartbeat that didn't belong to light… or shadow.
It was something else.
A rhythm that pulsed with nature, with persistence.
> **[You have been chosen: Direct Lineage Bearer of Qingshen]**
> **[Your Trial Location: Ruins of Fujihara · Level Locked · Instance Reserved]**
> **[Complete trial to unlock: Seal Fracture · Skill Branch: Nature Path · Domain Upgrade: "Life Resonance"]**
Lin You looked around.
Many Faithholders had already entered the Fusion Chambers. He could see the effects firsthand:
— One Light-Fire user evolved into a *Heartblaze Striker*, fire infused with piercing holy pulses.
— A Dark-Metal operative activated the *Phantom Severance* blood-skill, slipping between dimensions.
But many more lingered—frozen at the point of choice.
Because once chosen, it was irreversible.
Lin You didn't have a choice.
His system forced him into the Fracture Path.
Because Qingshen had already intervened.
**
The Ruins of Fujihara.
They were said to be the first ground where Qingshen once appeared in physical form—a forest-temple long since shattered, buried beneath roots and fossilized bark. The air here tasted of memory. Of dirt. Of something that had once been alive and never forgot.
As he stepped into the core altar, a glowing message unfurled in the air:
> **[Faith Trial Initiated]**
> • Test of Devotion:
> – Willpower
> – Belief Tenacity
> – Limit of Self-Denial
> **Please step into: "The Dream of Qingshen."**
Lin You exhaled once.
Then stepped forward.
The world vanished.
**
He plummeted into a realm of green shadow.
Branches twisted like veins above his head. Whispering vines formed spirals around his feet. From the mist emerged **versions of himself**—fractured, corrupted, younger, weaker.
One was scrawny, dirty-faced, digging through trash for moldy bread.
Another trembled in an alley, fingers bloodied from abandoning a friend in chaos.
Another screamed in fear the moment the gods descended, planning only how to run.
They circled him like ghosts.
"You think you deserve faith?"
"You're just a liar. A coward."
"Pretending to be a savior won't make your brother any less dead."
Lin You's jaw clenched.
Veins bulged in his neck.
He stared at them—at himself—and shouted:
"Faith isn't about being clean!"
"It's a blade we hold when there's nothing left!"
"I am broken—but I don't run anymore!"
The forest shook.
The vines screamed.
The Dream shattered into green shards.
**
> **[You have completed the Trial of Qingshen]**
> **[Seal Fracture Successful]**
> **[You have unlocked Skill Branch: Nature Aspect · Rhythm of Vitality]**
> **New Active Skill Unlocked: Root Rebirth**
> – Implants a resurrection seed in a chosen ally
> – If target dies within 3 seconds, auto-revives with 25% HP
> – Cooldown: Long · Requires direct link
> **[Faith Mandate Updated: Light-Wood / Nature Aspect]**
> **[Status: Qingshen's Proxy]**
Lin You opened his eyes.
In his hand was a symbol of change: a cross-marked vine, blooming into a living seedling.
Two divine sigils now glowed on his chest—one the emerald vine, one the vibrant sprout.
Behind him, the light of the Fujihara Ruins faded.
But the voice in his mind remained.
"From the ashes of guilt, from the seeds of pain—sprout redemption."
"You are now a Warden of Renewal."
**
As he returned to the Dawn Nexus, the sky above cracked with golden script:
> **[Attention All Faithholders]**
> **[First Divine War · Realm Projection Event Incoming]**
> **[All fractured-seal Faithholders will be prioritized for faction enlistment]**
The war would not wait.
And Lin You knew what this meant.
The gods had stopped playing games.
Now they were drawing battle lines.
And those who survived the first trial…
Were now weapons in the next.
He clenched his fist.
No longer in fear.
But in purpose.
"Let the next Game of Gods begin."