The journey beyond the Cradle of Dust took four more days.
By the time Liam and his party saw the outer walls of Skeldmar, the cursed wasteland was little more than a nightmare burned into their backs. They carried the dust with them—on their boots, in their lungs, and deep in their bones. But ahead stood something far worse.
Skeldmar.
Once a city of scholars, now it pulsed like an open wound beneath the twilight sky. Crimson banners lined the high obsidian walls. Faint chanting echoed from within, rhythmic and unnatural, as if each word were a thread in a ritual constantly unraveling and reweaving itself.
Kaelion hovered beside Liam, scanning the skyline. "The stench of blood magic clings to the spires."
Elira checked her arrows, each tipped with runes Liam had imbued. "We going through the front?"
"No," Liam said, eyes narrowing. "We're going under."
---
GOD SYSTEM – STATUS
Level: 9
Faith Points (FP): 14
Followers: 38
Angels: 2 (Kaelion, Rennan)
Demons: 0
STATS:
• Strength: 16
• Speed: 17
• Endurance: 16
• Divine Power: 30
• Willpower: 20
• Charisma: 15
• Perception: 12
---
As night fell, Liam led them to the base of a dry ravine east of the city.
According to Rennan, ancient catacombs lay beneath Skeldmar—remnants of its scholar-priest days before the demon cult twisted its soul. Those tunnels, long collapsed and forgotten by most, were Liam's key.
It took hours to locate the cracked stone seal buried beneath ash and vines.
Liam placed his hand on it, and golden lines flared across the rune-inscribed surface.
System Action: Enhance Structure (1 FP)
Result: Temporary reactivation – 30 minutes
The seal split apart, grinding open with a screech that made the earth shiver.
They stepped into blackness.
---
Inside, the air was thick with decay and old spells. Even Kaelion dimmed his light to avoid detection.
The tunnels were a labyrinth—etched with faded scripture and claw marks.
But the deeper they went, the more Liam felt the tension rising. His divine senses screamed. There was something below… something ancient.
They passed murals showing the fall of Skeldmar: priests burning their texts, opening gates to demons, slicing their own tongues in rituals of "silent worship."
And at the center of it all—Velgor.
The High Cultist.
The one who now ruled Skeldmar in the name of the Crimson Thirst.
---
Elira held up a hand. "Hear that?"
A faint metallic clicking.
Then—movement.
Shapes emerged from the side halls: gaunt figures in crimson robes, skin flayed into patterns, eyes black as tar. Each bore a ritual blade, and they moved in perfect silence.
System Notification: Bloodbound Acolytes Detected – Elite Cultists
• Low magic resistance
• Immune to fear
• Fight in coordinated formations
• Controlled remotely through mental tether
Kaelion stepped forward, drawing his flameblade.
"Permission to incinerate."
Liam nodded. "Light them up."
---
The first clash was brutal.
Kaelion exploded forward, a comet of divine fire. His sword cleaved through three acolytes in a single sweep, searing the symbols from their flesh.
Elira fired rune-tipped arrows with perfect precision, each shot detonating in small divine bursts.
Liam held the center, his staff spinning as he channeled Divine Chains—snaring acolytes mid-lunge and crushing their bones with a thought.
But more came.
Dozens.
Each cut they suffered was turned into strength by the blood magic etched in their skin.
They began to chant—not aloud, but through the air itself. A low, humming vibration.
Then came the backlash.
A wall of blood exploded outward, knocking Elira into the wall.
Rennan gritted his teeth and conjured a protective ward. "They're summoning something! This isn't a defense—it's a ritual!"
Liam snarled. "End them before it finishes!"
---
Liam activated Wings of the Chosen, burning 3 FP.
Golden wings burst from his back, and he launched skyward into the crumbling vaulted chamber.
He summoned Lesser Judgment, targeting the ritual circle beneath the acolytes' feet.
System Action: Lesser Judgment
Effect: Condemn unholy ground. Temporary purge of corrupted territory.
A blinding column of golden light erupted.
The summoning circle cracked.
The blood magic imploded, and with it, the remaining cultists were vaporized.
Only silence remained.
---
System Notifications:
• +6 FP
• +4 Followers (witnessed divine battle)
• System Level Up – Level 10 Achieved
• New Ability Unlocked: Divine Sanctuary (Passive)
• +2 to all stats
Current FP: 17
Followers: 42
Level: 10
---
STATS – Updated:
• Strength: 18
• Speed: 19
• Endurance: 18
• Divine Power: 32
• Willpower: 22
• Charisma: 17
• Perception: 14
New Passive – Divine Sanctuary:
• Allies within 15 meters of the Chosen receive minor healing over time and resistance to fear and charm effects.
---
The tunnel finally opened into a vast chamber. A central shaft spiraled upward—straight into the underbelly of Skeldmar's temple.
Liam stared up at the bloodstained light streaming down.
"He's up there."
Kaelion nodded. "And he knows you're coming now."
"I want him to."
---
That night, they rested in the chamber. Rennan cleansed the air. Elira stitched a gash along her shoulder.
Liam stood apart, once again joined by the spirit.
Her tone was colder now.
"You're losing yourself."
He didn't turn. "I'm finding who I have to be."
"Is that what you told yourself when you ordered the firestorm in Ashspire? When you executed prisoners?"
"They weren't prisoners," he said, "They were cultists. Killers."
"You never used to talk like this."
"I was weak before," Liam snapped. "Now I know what needs to be done."
The spirit faded without another word.
---
As he stared into the embers of the campfire, Liam opened his System and navigated to his Commandments.
He added one more:
> 4. Mercy is reserved for the faithful. The unrepentant shall burn.
---
At dawn, they climbed the spiral.
When they emerged, they were inside the temple's inner sanctum.
Dozens of cultists knelt in ritual poses—perfectly still.
At the far end of the blood-soaked hall stood Velgor.
He wore layered robes of living flesh, stitched together from victims. His eyes were hollow voids that bled constantly, and in one hand, he held a staff made from the spine of a former high priest.
"Child of God," Velgor crooned, arms raised. "At last… you walk willingly into the Thirst."
Liam's voice was ice.
"You killed my family."
Velgor smiled, head tilting.
"Yes. And I remember every scream. Every begging prayer."
Kaelion's sword ignited. Elira nocked an arrow. Rennan whispered a barrier spell.
Liam pointed his staff at Velgor.
"Today, you burn."
---
[End of Chapter 14]