By sunrise, Coker and Elira were already on the move again.
The cave had been empty when they checked it—no demons, no traps—but both of them knew something had passed nearby.
Something that was still hunting.
So they didn't wait around.
The forest thinned the farther they traveled north. Trees became stone pillars. Grass turned to cracked paths, like roads carved by ancient hands and forgotten by time.
Coker walked in silence, hood up, hands in his pockets.
He didn't say much. He hadn't, since waking up.
Elira finally broke the quiet.
"You okay?"
He shrugged. "Do I look okay?"
"No. You look like you haven't slept in a week and just found out you're part god."
"Then I guess I'm doing fine."
They reached a wide cliff overlooking a misty valley. Below it, buried in moss and glowing with faint blue symbols, stood a ruined temple.
Long stairs led down from the rocks. Cracks split the stone in every direction, and vines wrapped the walls like veins.
Coker stared at it, wide-eyed.
"That's it?"
Elira nodded. "The Sanctum of Sealed Light. One of the last untouched places of the old world. A thousand years old, maybe more."
"It looks like it's about to fall over."
"Then don't breathe too hard."
They descended the stone steps slowly.
Every step felt heavier.
Coker's mark began to tingle again—soft at first, then warmer with each level. It was as if the stone recognized him.
Elira pushed open the massive front doors with both hands. They creaked and groaned but gave way.
Inside… silence.
Dust floated in the golden light pouring through cracks in the ceiling. Giant murals lined the walls—images of glowing figures, each with a different mark on their palm.
Coker walked slowly past them.
One had silver wings.
One stood on a sea of fire.
One had horns—and a broken halo.
Another looked just like him.
Same eyes. Same mark.
He stopped walking.
Elira stepped beside him. "That's the First Vessel."
"The who?"
"The original host of the god you carry now," she said. "His name was Kael. He saved the world once… and nearly destroyed it after."
Coker stared at the mural.
Kael's eyes glowed red. His face was cracked with power. His arms were raised, one to the sky, one to the earth.
A storm swirled around him in the painting, swallowing both armies and cities.
"…He doesn't look like a hero."
"He wasn't," Elira said softly. "He was a warning."
They entered the inner chamber—round, ancient, with seven thrones carved from crystal. Only one of them glowed faintly.
The others were cracked… empty.
"These thrones belonged to the Seven," Elira explained. "Each chosen to seal a god inside them during the last war."
Coker walked up to the glowing one.
As he got close, the mark on his palm lit again—just a little.
The throne responded.
A soft hum filled the air.
Then a voice whispered in his mind:
"We remember you… Kael reborn…"
He stumbled back.
"Elira—I heard something."
She turned sharply. "From the throne?"
He nodded.
She walked over, examining the markings. "It's responding to your soul. This place… it doesn't forget."
Coker sat down beside the throne, back to the wall.
"…I didn't ask for this."
"I know."
He looked at his hand, flexing his fingers slowly.
"I just wanted a magic rank. Just a chance. I didn't want to become a time bomb."
"You're more than that," she said.
He looked at her, skeptical. "Yeah? What am I, then?"
Elira's gaze didn't waver.
"You're the only one who can stop what's coming."
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
Dust rained from the ceiling. Cracks spread through the stone tiles.
A light blinked in one of the broken thrones—just once.
Then again.
Elira's eyes widened. "Another seal…"
Coker stood quickly. "Another Vessel?"
"I think one just awakened."
Far across the continent, in a prison fortress hidden in storm and shadow, a young woman opened her eyes for the first time in days.
Her hair floated around her, and the chains binding her arms snapped like paper.
Guards screamed as the walls cracked.
She rose slowly—eyes glowing with pure blue light.
"The Seal is broken."
Back at the Sanctum, Elira gripped her blade.
"We need to move. If the other Vessels are waking up…"
Coker finished her sentence quietly.
"…then the demons are waking up too."