Black Hollow was carved from stone and sorrow. Towering walls made of blackened bricks, stitched with demonic runes, loomed above the cliffside. At its gates, two demonbound cultists stood like grotesque gargoyles—muscles bloated, eyes leaking red mist.
From the forest's edge, Liam raised his hand.
"Wait for my signal," he told the soldiers and Elira. "When the gates fall, rush in. No hesitation."
His Divine Power crackled beneath his skin. It wasn't just strength—it was judgment. And tonight, it would be final.
He opened his system window.
---
GOD SYSTEM – STATUS MENU
Name: Liam Carson
Level: 4
Class: Chosen of Divinity
Faith Points (FP): 0
Followers: 6 (Elira, Garran, and 4 Soldiers)
Title: None
STATS:
• Strength: 12 (+3 Divine Fury)
• Speed: 13
• Endurance: 11
• Divine Power: 17 (+3 Divine Fury)
• Willpower: 12 (+5 Divine Fury)
• Charisma: 8
• Perception: 9
BUFFS ACTIVE:
• Divine Fury (+ temporary stat boost – 45 minutes remaining)
• Enhance (on soldiers – 1 minute remaining)
Abilities:
• Destroy [Tier 1]
• Create [Tier 1]
• Enhance [Tier 1]
• Smite [Tier 1] – Cost: 6 FP
• Divine Brand [Tier 1] – Cost: 3 FP
• Wings of Radiance – Cost: 4 FP
---
He took a breath and focused his hands toward the gate.
"Create – Divine Spear: Heavenpiercer."
Nothing happened.
No FP.
Liam hissed and turned to the Spirit. "No power. Got a backup plan?"
"Slay or inspire. Gain faith or die," she said. "That's the law of your godhood."
"Then I'll take it by force."
He stepped out of the woods.
The demonbound at the gate turned just as Liam's boots hit the earth like thunder. He pointed at the larger one and whispered:
"I remember your face."
He launched forward, divine strength hurling him like a cannonball.
CRACK!
His fist met the demon's chest, shattering ribcage and bone. The cultist screamed as radiant light exploded through his torso, searing corrupted flesh from the inside out.
The other charged, claws raking toward Liam's throat.
Too slow.
Liam ducked, grabbed the beast's jaw, and ripped it sideways. A sickening snap echoed. The thing fell to its knees, twitching.
The gates stood unguarded.
Behind him, Garran yelled, "NOW!"
The Iron Order soldiers rushed in, blades drawn and glinting with divine light from Liam's earlier buff. Elira stayed back, watching with wide eyes—but there was no fear. Only awe.
---
System Update: FP +6 (Faith Surge from followers)
New FP Total: 6
New Skill Available: Lesser Judgment [Tier 1] – Cost: 6 FP
Effect: Call down a single bolt of divine lightning on a marked enemy. High damage.
---
He scanned the courtyard.
Chaos.
Cultists spilled from the barracks, blades drawn, mouths chanting demonic tongues. The air thickened with corruption.
Then, Liam saw him.
Kael'Rok.
Crimson hood. Pierced eyes. The same smirk he wore as Liam's mother burned.
"Boy," Kael'Rok said, stepping onto the upper battlement. "Still alive. I thought we erased your bloodline."
"You missed one."
Liam's voice was low. Calm. Final.
"I mark you," he said. "You are the first to fall."
---
[Divine Brand – Activated]
Target: Kael'Rok
Effect: +30% damage from all divine attacks
FP Remaining: 3
---
Kael'Rok raised his hand, summoning a black flame in his palm. "Come then, 'Godchild.' Show me what divinity looks like when it screams."
Liam's fists clenched.
"Lesser Judgment."
---
[Skill Activated – Lesser Judgment]
Cost: 6 FP
Effect: Divine lightning strikes target
FP: 0
---
The clouds above parted. A white-hot bolt of celestial fire screamed down from the heavens, striking Kael'Rok dead center.
BOOOOOM.
The battlement exploded in a pillar of holy light. Screams. Shattered stone. Blinding radiance.
When it cleared, Kael'Rok still stood—burned, bleeding, but alive.
"You'll need more than tricks," he growled, blood dripping from his eyes. "But now I see you."
He leapt from the ruined wall with unnatural speed, blades drawn. "Now you die!"
Liam raised his hands to block, but Kael'Rok slammed into him, sending him crashing into a stone wall.
Pain. Bones screamed. Vision blurred.
> [Endurance Check Passed – Consciousness Maintained]
He staggered to his feet, cracked ribs grinding.
Kael'Rok came again.
And this time, Liam was ready.
He dodged left, kicked the cultist in the leg, and jammed his knee into the man's stomach. Divine sparks burst from his strikes now—faith-fueled, vengeance-honed.
Kael'Rok struck back with razor blades, one slicing across Liam's side. Blood sprayed.
But the Spirit whispered, "He bleeds more than you do."
And Liam drove his elbow into Kael'Rok's face with divine strength behind it.
CRACK.
The man fell.
Liam stood over him, chest heaving, blood in his teeth.
"You burned my world," he whispered. "Now I burn yours."
He raised his fist, divine light gathering.
Then—
A scream.
Elira's.
Liam turned.
A third demonbound, huge and cloaked in shadows, had crept from the rear—its claw wrapped around Elira's throat.
"Strike me," Kael'Rok coughed, "and she dies."
Liam's body froze.
---
[New Choice Detected]
• [Execute Kael'Rok] – Risk Elira's death
• [Surrender] – Let Kael'Rok escape
• [Unlock New Power: Divine Chains – Cost: 0 FP (One-time unlock)]
> Unlock conditions met: Self-sacrifice, Faith Threatened.
---
"Give me the third path," Liam whispered.
"Granted."
---
[NEW SKILL: Divine Chains]
Effect: Bind target within range. Stuns for 6 seconds. No FP cost (one-time divine gift).
---
Liam turned, extended his hand—
Chains of pure light erupted from the air, wrapping the demon's limbs, face, and throat. It screamed, releasing Elira as it was yanked backward and slammed into the stone.
Liam turned back to Kael'Rok, who had just realized he was out of options.
"You picked the wrong god to mock."
And then Liam struck.
[End of Chapter 7]