The dust slowly cleared. The air here was colder, heavier. As their eyes adjusted, shapes emerged around them — weathered stone slabs jutting from the ground.
Phoebe wiped blood from her cheek, her voice low. "The Fuck!"
I blinked, forcing myself upright. The slabs stretched in rows, dozens, hundreds of them. Names etched in a script he didn't understand. A symbol of the kingdom woven into the stone.
A memorial.
The silence pressed in. Even Nolan's mother, pale and bruised, seemed to grasp the weight of it.
The Colossus's corpse lay at the far edge, crushed among the graves, like an intruder that had finally been put to rest.
I dragged air into my lungs, forcing it past the iron taste in my mouth. My fingers brushed against one of the stones. Cold. Colder than it should've been.
I couldn't read the script, but I didn't need to.
Veyra was already up, her sword planted in the ground, her hand gripping the hilt tightly. Even in the faint glow from broken rubble, her face was pale.
Nolan sat against a cracked slab, his greatsword across his lap, chest rising and falling too quickly. His mother rested beside him, cradled by Vivi's glowing hands. Blood streaked her face.
Lex was doubled over, spitting dust and blood into the dirt. His gauntlets hung loose, cracked. "Still alive," he muttered, almost to himself.
No one spoke for a while. The fire of the fight, the adrenaline, the panic—it all drained, leaving only the weight of the place.
The Colossus's corpse loomed at the far end, collapsed into twisted rubble. Its chained body sprawled across a row of graves. I walked over to it.
I knelt beside the Beast's broken corpse. The giant had fallen hard in the collapse, its grotesque frame bent and ruined in ways no living body should endure. I brushed rubble aside and found it—silver, dulled with age, still clinging to the beast's neck.
A pendant.
The one I saw when we entered.
Inside, beneath the cracked glass, was a sketch of a man and a girl, There faces were faded but looking at it, It looked like a photo of father and daughter.
For a moment, no one spoke. Even Lex, who was rarely quiet, just stared at it with something caught in his throat.
Nolan shifted uncomfortably. "He… was human once?"
Lex scoffed, though his voice carried no strength. "You're telling me that monster… used to walk around like us?"
Lily leaned back against the wall. "Thinking like that gets you killed faster."
Suddenly a image surfaced my mind, Unending mist and snow, A sea facing summit and on it shackled prisoners carved into walls.
No one answered right away. It was Nolan's mother who finally broke the pause, her tone steady but thoughtful. "In the ruin where we ended up before, with the mist… remember how the walls were carved with chains, with prisoners bound into the stone? Maybe this isn't separate. Maybe those ruins and this cathedral are linked somehow."
Her words hung heavy.
Vivi hugged her knees close. "But… if that's true, does it mean anyone could… end up like this?" Her voice trailed, and she kept her eyes low.
Veyra stood then. Her presence cut through the uncertainty. "Speculation will only burden you." She planted her sword into the ground beside her, steady as a pillar. "We're still alive. That's what matters. Keep that thought, and don't let the rest drown you."
But she seemed to be pondering something, All of us had a inkling to what was happening. The beast or whatever you wanna call it, was....once a human and looking at the photo seemed to be the archbishop of this cathedral, The girl beside him maybe was his daughter?
This whole cathedral seemed to be for the statue we saw. Linked to Kingdom of Oath, Strangely this cathedral also seemed to be connected to the seal or atleast the archbishop was.
I took one more look at the pendant and opened system
-------------------------------
Item: A pendant of Noras Otheryon
Description: A memory of a long forgotten home, A relic of the past that leads to the Kingdom.
--------------------------------
To the Kingdom? I muttered
'The one thing that's bugging me, Was the fact that this Kingdom is called Kingdom of Oath, But everything on this mountain is related to chains. where does the chain come into play?'
Or rather why are there Chains in Kingdom of Oath? But One thing that is certain is that the seal is the one corrupting the Beasts....or humans. It doesn't look immediate but rather gradual.
I tucked the pendant Inside my pocket.
Our half of the supplies were gone, The only thing left was some meat, two flagon of water and supplies to make fire.
Lily who was scouting called us,
"There is a door up ahead, This memorial hall seems to be at the end of the crypt"
Instructor veyra nodded and asked "Any signs of beasts or monsters"
"No"
Taking the answer, Veyra immediately added
"We'll rest for the day, Let Vivi heal your injuries. If you want explore the area and make sure it is safe, but don't go far"
To which everyone nodded and decided to set up a camp near a one of the corners in the room.
Forgetting other things, I decided to check my advancements.
'System' I muttered
Once again shimmering runes appeared.
--------------------------------------
Solace Wright (Alexander Quill)
Race: Human
Age: 18 (4359)
Essence core Rank: E-
Stats: E-
Affinity Threads (Potential):
1)Thread of Chains: Layer 4---->Layer 5 (Potential)
2)Thread of Stillness: Layer 2---->Layer 3 (Potential)
3)Thread of Glass: Layer 4----->Layer 5 (Potential)
4)Thread of Zero: Layer 0
4)Thread of Existence
5)Thread of ??????????????
6)Thread of Error (False Paradox): Layer 2 (Potential)
Layers Unlocked:
1)Thread of chains: Layer 2
Abilities:
Chains: Can manifest chains to attack or bind. (Active)
Restrict: Can add restriction to one of your abilities to gain boost to another. (Active)
2)Thread of Stillness: Layer 2
Abilities:
Tranquil mind: Can bring a calmness to User. (Passive)
Still: Can stop movement of a small object or limb for 2 seconds (2 min cooldown)
Silent Step: Walk without sound.
3)Thread of Glass: Layer 2
Abilities:
Flash: Reflect light to blind foes
Refraction Cloak: Bend light around self to blur or partially vanish.
4)Thread of zero: Layer 0
Abilities:
Cancel Force: Cancel a attack completely once.
5)Thread of Existence
Abilities:
Pulse of Self (Passive): The user's heartbeat resonates faintly through their essence, making them slightly harder to erase or suppress. They can resist minor essence-draining effects.
6)Thread ?? ????????
7)Thread of Error (False Paradox): Layer 1 (Locked)
-----------------------------------------
'Wow' Just looking at my stats I was feeling pumped,
The last two were still locked, But the ones I unlocked were pretty darn interesting.
The first was Thread of Zero, This lets me cancel any attack from any layer.
And the next was basically resistance to debuffs.
I mean I haven't gotten an out right OP ability, But I feel like it is building towards it.
After a quick self-glaze, I decided to check out the memorial room.