The Sanctum's threshold loomed like the mouth of a god long dead—wide, cold, and lined with bone-white stone that pulsed with a heartbeat not its own. As Liam crossed the ancient bridge leading to the inner domain, each step echoed with finality. He felt it in his bones: this place remembered every sin committed in its name.
Rune hovered beside him, subdued. "This place reeks of buried promises."
Liam tightened his grip on the Staff of Ascendant Flame, its aura dim, as if even it feared what lay beyond.
"Then we remind it who's rewriting the scripture."
Behind him followed the loyal few—those who had survived the previous trials. Lio, the first true follower who still bore scars from the Demon Cult's massacre. Seraphina, the angel reborn under Liam's will, now a burning beacon of divine judgment. And Elenari, the half-elf seer whose visions had already saved them more than once.
As they entered the inner sanctum, the air thickened. Light here was not sunlight, but something colder, older—soft white fire that floated in the air like ash.
System Notification:
Area Unlocked: Inner Sanctum of Oaths
Ambient Faith Energy: +200%
All divine actions empowered by the memory of forgotten vows.
Warning: Emotional suppression effects active. Strong emotions may be drained over time.
Liam staggered slightly.
Rune caught him. "It's draining your rage."
He closed his eyes and concentrated. No. His anger, his pain, his vengeance—these were sacred to him. They were his altar, his sword, his fire.
He activated System Override: Faith Surge.
System Skill Activated: Will of the Godless Flame
Effect: Immune to emotional suppression for 10 minutes.
Cost: 5,000 Faith Points.
Faith Points Remaining: 235,000
Liam's body ignited in a gold-red aura, his eyes glowing with defiance. He roared—not as a god, but as a man who refused to forget his pain.
"I'm not here to weep. I'm here to cleanse."
At the Sanctum's center stood a broken statue. Once a monument to an ancient oathing deity, its wings were shattered, its face eroded by time or blasphemy.
A voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once.
"You tread upon sacred ground with tainted soul."
They turned toward the source. A woman stood at the far end of the hall—tall, robed in silver flame, her face hidden by a porcelain mask. She held a book bound in flesh and gold.
"Identify yourself," Liam demanded.
She bowed. "I am Velira, Keeper of the Forgotten Oaths. The last will of the deity your system replaced."
Rune's breath caught. "She's not an enemy, Liam. She's… a remnant."
Velira lifted her book. "You seek revenge. But have you fulfilled your oaths?"
Liam's hand clenched. "I swore to destroy the ones who murdered my family. And I will."
"Not just vengeance. What of protection? Of guardianship over those who now kneel before you? Do you even know the cost of being a god?"
Liam stepped forward. "If I didn't know the cost, I wouldn't be paying in blood."
Velira opened the book.
"Then prove it."
System Notification: Divine Trial Initiated
Trial of Oaths – Velira
Objective: Withstand the test of memory, pain, and legacy.
Duration: Unknown
Consequence of Failure: Permanent loss of a Divine Trait.
Reward: Divine Oathbrand – passive skill enhancement.
Light exploded from the pages. Liam was pulled from reality.
He landed in a memory.
It wasn't his.
The Past – Sanctuary's Fall
Liam stood in a body not his own. A father. Bloodied, holding a crying child. All around, black-robed cultists laughed as flame consumed their home.
The man shouted, "Run!"—then took a spear through the chest. The child's screams echoed like blades in Liam's ears.
Another vision.
He was the boy now. Alone. Broken. Kneeling beside a grave.
A voice whispered: "If a god had existed… would they have helped me?"
The next vision struck harder.
Liam was himself, from the past. Crying, trembling, clutching his sister's scorched hand. No one came. No miracle saved them.
Only silence.
System Alert: Willpower Check Initiated
Required: 150Current: 155
Passed.
Emotional core intact. Faith unwavering.
Liam's eyes snapped open.
The trial world melted into light, and Velira stood before him, silent.
She closed her book and knelt.
"You remember. You carry the pain of others. And your own. That is the mark of a god not born—but forged."
A symbol burned into his chest—three interlocking rings over a flame.
System Reward Gained
Divine Oathbrand (Passive):
Increases follower loyalty and morale by 30%.
All healing and defense spells now also grant temporary resistance to fear and corruption.
Charisma +10, Control +5
Stat Increases:
Strength: +0Speed: +2Endurance: +4Magic: +6Charisma: +10Control: +5
Updated Stats:Strength – 131Speed – 115Endurance – 141Magic – 166Charisma – 102Control – 124
New Faith Points Gained: +15,000Total Faith Points: 245,000
Velira faded slowly, her book disintegrating into threads of light.
"I will remember your oaths, Flamebearer. May you never forget them."
Rune floated closer, visibly shaken.
"You saw it too?" Liam asked.
"I felt it," she whispered. "Your pain. All of it."
Liam looked toward the corridor ahead—an enormous gate sealed with divine fire.
"No more trials. No more tests. Only enemies."
Elenari approached, voice tight. "Behind that gate lies the Sanctum's Heart… and the altar where they summoned the Prime Demon."
Lio stepped beside him. "What do we do?"
Liam turned, golden light still burning in his eyes.
"We end their religion."
End of Chapter 71