The ground beneath the village of Kareth was cracked—deep veins of old stone trembling under a pressure that didn't belong. Crops had withered. Wells dried. And every villager that tried to leave vanished.
No bodies. No blood. Just silence.
Liam stood at the edge of the broken earth, gazing into the chasm that split the village in half.
"This is wrong," Seraphina said. Her voice was a quiet flame, uncertain for once. "I feel... something ancient down there."
Rune floated in a slow circle above the fissure. "It's not just demonic," he said. "It's older than that. Forgotten magic. Something buried."
Mira emerged from one of the nearby huts, pale. "I found journals. The last thing they wrote about was hearing voices. Whispers from below. Some of them... they walked into the pit willingly."
Liam's jaw clenched. "How deep does it go?"
"Farther than it should," Kael muttered, staring into the abyss.
Without another word, Liam leapt into the dark.
The descent was steep. Jagged stone and shadow closed in around him, and yet his aura of golden-red light lit the path like a sun. Seraphina followed in a soft flare, Rune gliding just behind.
Eventually, they landed.
A massive cavern stretched before them—unseen by any mortal for centuries. And at its center: an altar made of obsidian and bone, humming with foul energy. It pulsed slowly, like the heartbeat of a dead god.
Statues circled it. Cracked and half-buried, but unmistakable: they depicted a single figure in different stages of torment—burned, broken, bound.
It was Liam.
His own face.
Centuries older. Twisted. Worshiped.
"What is this?" Seraphina asked, horrified.
Rune's glow dimmed. "A prophecy," he whispered. "Or a warning."
[SYSTEM WARNING]Forbidden Shrine DetectedName: Temple of the Second GodStatus: Dormant (Sealed)Curse Signature: Incomplete Timeline EchoDanger Rating: SSSWarning: Possible Time Contamination. System Intervention Imminent.
Liam stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the circle, the world shifted.
He wasn't in the cavern anymore.
He stood atop a throne of ash, a city burning around him. Demons knelt before him. Angels stood in chains. The sun was black. The sky bled.
And he… he was laughing.
It was him.
Older. Colder. Unrecognizable.
"Power isn't a path," the older Liam said. "It's a graveyard you walk barefoot."
Liam took a step back. "This isn't me."
The older version tilted his head. "Not yet."
The illusion shattered.
Liam stumbled, gasping for breath. Blood ran from his nose.
Seraphina grabbed him. "What did you see?!"
"A warning," he said, voice trembling. "Or a promise."
Suddenly, the altar surged.
From it burst shadowy tendrils that wrapped around the statues. A deep rumble echoed as one of them opened its mouth—and a voice emerged. Raspy, layered, ancient.
"You will become me."
Liam summoned his staff.
"No. I'll forge a new path."
[BOSS FIGHT INITIATED]Entity: Echo of the Ash GodType: Temporal AnomalyLevel: 78Strength: 300Endurance: 360Speed: 220Skills:
Ash Pulse – Disintegrates divine barriers
Echo Bind – Traps a target in a time illusion
Faith Inversion – Converts nearby followers into hostile wraiths
The Echo lunged, its voice shrieking through the air like grinding bones. Liam raised his staff and cast Aegis of the Dawn, creating a radiant barrier around his allies. Seraphina ignited her flame form and soared upward, raining holy fire. Rune unleashed spectral lances, disrupting the Echo's binds.
Liam charged.
Each strike was like tearing through memories—his own guilt and rage made manifest.
The Echo screamed, "You will kneel to your future!"
"No," Liam growled. "I'll break it."
He gathered Faith Points.
[Faith Expenditure: 20,000]Ability Unlocked: Divine RewriteEffect: Temporarily rewrite fate in a localized zone. Reality becomes malleable.
Golden runes erupted around him.
Liam thrust his hand forward, rewriting the battle—undoing the Echo's grasp on time, purging the corruption feeding it.
With a roar, the entity cracked.
"I am inevitable!" it shrieked.
"You're irrelevant," Liam spat, and plunged his staff into its core.
A shockwave exploded.
When the light faded, the altar was gone. The statues had crumbled.
Silence.
Then—[Entity Deleted. Timeline Stable. Corruption Purged.]
[STATS UPDATED]
Level: 72Strength: 306Speed: 295Endurance: 340Intelligence: 312Charisma: 247Divine Energy: 6,200 / 6,200Faith Points: 73,500New Skill:Divine Rewrite (Cooldown: 7 days)New Title:Breaker of FateFollower Count: 39,400Angels: 3Demons: 1
Back above, the villagers had returned—confused but unharmed. The whispers were gone.
That night, Liam stood alone at the ridge, gazing at the stars.
Seraphina joined him. "You okay?"
He nodded. "Mostly."
"What did you see down there?"
"Another version of me. One who gave up his soul for power."
She studied him for a moment, then touched his hand.
"You're not him."
"No," Liam said quietly, "but I understand him now."
Rune hovered behind. "This world is bigger than revenge, Liam. What you fought was only a memory. There will be more."
Liam looked up.
"Then I'll give them something real to fear."
End of Chapter 51