The fires of Velgroth still smoldered days after the fall of Vhol'tan the Reaver. Though the demon's body had been reduced to ash and divine retribution, the weight of his presence lingered in the air like the taste of burnt blood.
Liam stood atop the village's highest ridge, his golden staff planted firmly in the earth. Beneath him, his followers worked tirelessly—rebuilding homes, sanctifying the ground, and carving his sigil into newly raised altars.
But Liam's gaze was fixed far beyond the village, toward the distant peaks of the Yshkar Mountains. There, past mortal reach, was something ancient.
And it was stirring.
---
[STATS – Updated]
Level: 40
Faith Points: 63,900
Followers: 28,740
Core Stats:
Strength: 128
Speed: 134
Endurance: 142
Intelligence: 138
Charisma: 106
Divine Energy: 2400/2400
New Skill Unlocked:
Divine Sentinel – Automatically raises a protective barrier around any follower within 15 meters when under lethal threat. 30-second cooldown. Faith cost: 250 per activation.
Title Gained:
Apostate Flamewalker – You've slain a greater demon on sanctified ground, defying divine law. +10% damage to heretic entities, -30% favorability with neutral gods.
---
The Spirit, Rune, was quiet.
She hovered beside Liam as wind whipped over the crags.
"You feel it too," she murmured.
Liam nodded. "Something's waking up. Something old."
Rune's glow dimmed slightly. "The mountain seals were meant to last until the end of days. If even one is broken..."
"The gods will come in force," Liam finished. "And not to talk."
Just then, Mira approached from below, her boots caked in red soil. She bore a sealed scroll in hand, its ribbon embossed with a rune Liam hadn't seen before—one older than any of his system logs.
"This arrived at the new chapel," she said, eyes sharp. "Left on the altar. No messenger. No aura trace."
Liam took it slowly, breaking the seal.
As the scroll unraveled, its ink moved like blood.
To the God-Breaker of the Mortal Veil,
The Concord of Chains awaits your arrival.
Come alone.
Or not at all.
The scroll burst into blue flame and vanished.
Mira immediately drew her sword. "It's a trap."
Rune scowled. "It's worse than a trap. It's a reckoning."
Liam turned back to the mountains. "Then I go."
---
The Concord of Chains was a myth—an assembly of exiled or forgotten divinities who had long since abandoned the heavens. According to old stories, they had traded faith for freedom, and now existed in the space between realms.
Liam walked alone into the Yshkar Mountains.
For miles, the land seemed untouched. No birds. No beasts. Not even wind.
Just silence.
Until the air cracked with sudden power.
He stepped into a canyon carved with glyphs that bled light.
And there they stood.
Eight of them.
Gods that looked more like twisted ideas than people—wrapped in flame, shadow, bone, and sky. One had no face. Another had wings made of screaming ravens. Another wept molten tears.
A voice echoed from all of them at once.
"You wear power that was stolen."
"I earned it," Liam said, calm.
"You defy the Laws of Flame and Faith."
"I made my own."
The gods shifted, murmurs echoing.
One stepped forward—a goddess draped in burning silk, her eyes empty.
"You are the first of your kind," she said. "A mortal god. We should destroy you."
"But you won't," Liam replied.
"Why?"
"Because I'm the only one who can stop what's coming."
The canyon trembled.
Behind him, a fissure opened in the air.
From it spilled something not even demonic—Primordial.
Twisting tendrils of void-light. Shrieks that had no mouths. The beginning of a Wound.
The Concord recoiled.
"You brought it here!" they screamed.
"No," Liam said, aura flaring. "It followed me."
---
[BOSS ENCOUNTER – Interruption Event]
Entity: Nullspawn – "Child of the Forgotten God"
Threat Level: S+
Immune to Basic Physical Damage
Weakness: Divine Radiance, Anti-Primordial Seals
Passive Aura: Despair Pulse – Reduces morale and divine resistance of all non-primordial beings by 30%
---
The Nullspawn struck without sound.
One of the Concord gods was torn in half by a single touch. Another dissolved into liquid time.
Liam didn't wait.
He unleashed Divine Spear of First Light, piercing a void tentacle and anchoring his staff into the heart of the Wound.
It resisted—its skin burned with symbols that warped reality.
Rune screamed from within his mind: "You cannot kill it! You must seal it!"
Liam focused, drawing from his followers.
> Faith Surge Activated
12,000 FP expended
Custom Divine Seal forged: Lightbinding Rune – Origin's Gate
Seal Stability: 67%... 72%... 81%...
The Nullspawn thrashed violently.
It struck him across the chest—breaking ribs, tearing into flesh.
But Liam held the line.
His followers were praying.
He could feel their voices across time and space.
He was not alone.
> Seal Engaged.
Nullspawn Contained – Dormant (Duration: Unknown)
Concord Stability: Critical
1 Concord God lost
You are now Marked by the Void
Permanent passive effect: -5% to Divine Recovery; +20% resistance to Void entities
---
After the seal closed, silence returned.
The Concord members looked upon Liam with something new—not contempt, not fear, but acknowledgment.
The silk-draped goddess bowed slightly.
"You are no longer a pretender," she said. "You are a threat."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You are not welcome in our halls again."
"I don't need to be."
And with that, Liam turned and walked out of the canyon—bloodied, broken, but unbent.
---
He collapsed by the time he reached Mira's camp.
She caught him mid-fall.
"Liam!"
"I sealed it," he croaked. "But I'm marked now."
Mira looked into his eyes.
There was something different.
Something deeper.
And she didn't look away.
"You've carried the weight of the world long enough," she whispered. "Let me carry part of it now."
He smiled faintly. "You already do."
---
That night, under the light of unfamiliar stars, Mira stayed beside him as Rune watched in silence.
For the first time in weeks, Liam slept.
Not as a god. Not as a weapon.
But as a boy.
A boy held by someone who had chosen to believe in him, not for what he could destroy—but for what he had become.
---
End of Chapter 39