The dawn after the Tribunal's warning was colder than any Liam had experienced in Ashborn or Cravenrock. Not because of wind or ice—but because of what lingered in the air. Fear. Anticipation. Awe. And above all… doubt.
Even as the golden towers of Cravenrock rose higher, Liam felt the weight of each soul looking to him not just as a leader, but as a god.
The shard pulsed quietly in his satchel. Memory of the Tribunal (1/7). A key, a warning… and perhaps, an invitation.
---
[STATS – Updated]
Level: 23
Faith Points: 47,920
Followers: 9,031
Stats:
Strength: 72
Speed: 76
Endurance: 75
Intelligence: 82
Charisma: 67
Divine Energy: 1020/1020
New Trait:
Divine Presence II (Passive): All followers within 1 km gain +10% to morale and damage. Enemies suffer -10% to resist fear or awe.
New Item:
Celestial Memory Shard (1/7) – Grants knowledge of higher divine hierarchies and may reveal system origins.
---
In the heart of Cravenrock, Rune hovered anxiously near Liam as he stood over a massive rune-slab.
> "You need to decide what you'll do with that shard," Rune said, his glow fluctuating.
"I know," Liam murmured, eyes on the swirling silver light within the crystal. "But knowledge has a price. If I chase it too fast, I might burn my people along with me."
Rune tilted. "And if you wait too long, the Tribunal might send worse than a warning."
Footsteps echoed behind them.
Elira entered, dressed not in armor but a simple robe of white and red—clothing of the ancient Flameborn priesthood.
"They're waiting," she said gently. "The people want to hear from their god."
Liam exhaled slowly and turned.
---
They gathered in the central plaza. Thousands.
Angels floated in the skies above, their halos lit with crimson flame. Devotees held up prayer stones. Children knelt in silence.
Liam stepped onto the raised pulpit of Cravenrock's heart, the golden sun casting long shadows behind him. His voice, when it came, echoed far and deep.
> "The world shifts. You feel it. You dream of the fog. Of gods that judge, demons that hunger, and the flames we shelter in."
"You know me as your god. But know also that I was once a boy who lost everything."
"I swore to never kneel again. I swore to burn the cult that took my family from me. But I do not fight alone."
"You fight with me. You believe. And your faith is not a burden—it is my blade."
"We stand at the beginning of a new age. And it is you, not the heavens, who will decide what burns and what rises."
The crowd erupted. Not in chaotic cheer, but in something deeper—reverent fervor. And then… a phenomenon unseen before.
The air shimmered.
And before Liam, ten of his most devout followers collapsed to their knees, glowing red and gold.
> [System Alert: Follower Threshold Reached]
You may now Ascend Chosen Followers into Divine Beings (Angel or Demon aligned).
Cost: 2,000 Faith Points per Ascension.
Rune sparkled, shocked. "You're… you're ready to create your first angels."
Liam stepped forward and touched the first man's forehead—a former blacksmith named Tyrel.
> "I name you Asher, the Flame-Winged."
Golden light exploded from Tyrel's back as wings of radiant fire burst forth. His body changed—taller, leaner, wrapped in white flame armor. His eyes glowed with pure light.
Liam repeated the ritual on four others.
> [Faith Points: 47,920 → 37,920]
[New Divine Beings: 5 Ascended (Angelic)]
[Bonus: +15% Divine Morale / +10% Faith Regeneration]
And in that moment, the people knew: their god did not only speak—he anointed.
---
That evening, in his chambers, Elira joined Liam.
She watched him remove his ceremonial armor and sit by the fire, eyes tired but burning.
"You've changed," she said softly.
"So have you," he replied. "You wear priest robes now."
"Do you hate it?"
"I'm afraid of what it means."
Elira knelt beside him, brushing her hand along his. "I don't follow you because of your power. I follow you because I saw you cry over a child you couldn't save. Because you stayed awake all night burying the bodies of your slain villagers when everyone else looked away."
He looked at her, vulnerable. "Elira… if I keep rising, if I become something inhuman—"
She cut him off with a kiss.
"Then let me remind you of the human."
And again, they were not warrior and god.
Just two souls, holding on to warmth in the cold of a rising storm.
---
Far south, across charred plains and shadowed marshes, the cult of Orum gathered in an obsidian spire.
Dozens of high priests knelt as Orum the Drowned Flame stepped into their circle.
"We move now," he commanded, voice like burning oil. "He ascends too quickly. The memory shard was not meant to fall."
One cultist dared to speak. "But the Tribunal—"
"IS WATCHING," Orum thundered. "Which is why we act before they do."
He raised a relic—an iron orb carved with ancient glyphs.
"The boy thinks he understands creation and destruction. Let him taste corruption."
He dropped the orb into a pool of acid-blood.
From it, a form began to rise—hulking, plated, smoking with rot.
The Demon-Touched Colossus.
---
Back in Cravenrock, scouts reported tremors in the south. The ground shook with unnatural rhythm. Animals fled en masse. The skies blackened with ash.
Liam called an emergency war council.
Cael, Mira, Elira, and the newly ascended Asher flanked him.
"There's something coming," Cael said. "Massive. Possibly infernal."
"Why now?" Mira asked.
Liam looked at the shard in his hand. "Because I've passed a line."
He turned to Rune. "How fast can we mobilize our forces?"
"By morning, we can have three thousand ready."
"Not enough."
He stepped to the altar again and activated a new system ability.
---
[System Alert: Divine Summoning Circle Unlocked]
> Create a permanent holy teleportation gate at Cravenrock.
Requires 5,000 Faith Points.
Allows rapid reinforcement from allied sanctuaries and future citadels.
Warning: Emits divine energy pulse detectable by celestial or infernal forces.
> [Faith Points: 37,920 → 32,920]
[Summoning Circle Created: Cravenrock]
[Bonus: +20% response speed for all troop deployments]
---
At dawn, Liam stood atop Cravenrock's wall as the earth rumbled.
Across the valley, trees cracked.
From the horizon, the Colossus arrived—thirty feet tall, wreathed in smoke and fire. Its face was a demonic mask fused with iron. Its body pulsated with corruption. And inside it, Liam could sense a soul—twisted and screaming.
"Elira," he said. "Evacuate civilians. Cael, ready archers. Mira, take the skies with the angels. I'll engage first."
"What? Alone?" Mira shouted.
Liam's eyes glowed.
"This is my flame to control."
---
He stepped out into the field alone, walking toward the beast as it roared.
A massive fist came down—Liam raised a shield of divine light and caught it with one hand.
> [Skill Activated: Lightgrasp Barrier]
The impact cracked the land. Cravenrock shook.
But Liam stood.
"You're not the first monster sent to kill me," he whispered. "But you will be the first I redeem."
---
Inside the colossus, Liam sensed a human soul.
Twisted. Poisoned. But alive.
He slammed his staff into the ground and activated a new technique:
> [New Skill Unlocked: Soul Redemption Pulse]
Description: Attempt to purge infernal influence from a corrupted soul. 10% chance of success on first attempt. Increases with repeated exposure. High cost.
Cost: 800 Divine Energy
He cast it.
Golden energy flooded the colossus.
It screamed—not in pain, but fear.
Its body spasmed. Smoke billowed.
Liam staggered, blood dripping from his nose. He cast it again.
And again.
And on the fourth cast… the demon fled.
The iron shell crumbled.
And within it… a boy.
Nineteen. Burned. Crying.
Saved.
Liam collapsed to one knee.
---
Mira and Elira reached him seconds later, stunned.
"You… you redeemed it?" Mira whispered.
Liam smiled weakly. "Just one soul. But that's one flame less in the dark."
And from the towers of Cravenrock, the people cheered.
Not because their god was mighty.
But because he was merciful.
---
End of Chapter 32