One Death, One Power
Chapter 20 – The Origin Fragment
The storm of Judgment had passed. Velst, defeated and retreating, left behind more than destruction—he left behind proof.
Proof that a god could bleed.
Proof that divine laws could be broken.
Proof that Elyos was no longer just a man with a cheat code—he was becoming something new.
And beneath the smoking Shardlands, something ancient began to stir.
🏛️ The Temple of Forgotten Scripts
Kairen led the way, navigating through caverns below the broken cathedral. These were ruins older than any kingdom, older even than recorded divine history.
"This is where we buried what we weren't meant to remember," he said.
Valen, eyes sharp, brushed her fingers along the wall carvings.
"Symbols… no, not language. It's code. Soul-code."
Lines pulsed faintly with blue and black light, changing shape based on who looked at them. When Elyos approached, the walls stilled—recognizing him.
A sealed door at the far end glowed with an inverted sigil:
𝕺𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖎𝖓.
Inside was not a room, but a horizon.
A sky of floating parchment, mirrors, broken timelines stitched into strands of light.
And at the center—
A crystal, pulsating softly.
The Origin Fragment.
Nareth stepped forward, stunned. "I thought it was a myth."
"What is it?" Valen asked.
"The first power," Elyos replied.
"The one before cheat-codes. Before death itself."
🔍 Lore Reveal: What is the Origin Fragment?
Long ago, before the gods ruled the world, power was equal. Every being shaped their own soul freely.
But when the gods rose, they feared this chaos. So they shattered the Origin, breaking it into fragments and locking them in temples guarded by time, war, and silence.
The cheat-code system wasn't a rebellion.
It was a reconstruction—a fragment of the original freedom, built from memory.
And now Elyos stood before its purest piece.
The moment he touched it, visions flooded his mind:
A world without gods, where mortals sang their own truths into being.
His past selves, not just Riku—but dozens, stretching back into the First Age.
A woman made of light and shadow—the Goddess—weeping as she sealed something inside his infant form.
"You were never meant to live," she whispered.
"You were meant to return. When the world needed its voice again."
When Elyos opened his eyes, his hair had turned faintly silver at the roots. A strange mark glowed across his chest, over his heart—a spiraling sigil of choice.
"What did it give you?" Kairen asked.
"Not power," Elyos said quietly.
"A decision."
"About what?"
"Whether I want to end the gods… or replace them."
Just then, the temple began to shake.
Dozens of statues shattered.
And from the ruins, four masked figures stepped into view.
Each wore armor forged from divine relics. Each moved with the speed of thought.
And behind them… a fifth figure hovered in golden robes—face hidden, voice calm.
"Elyos. You've touched what was forbidden."
"You will now be tested."
Kairen tensed. "Who are they?"
Elyos stepped forward, eyes hard.
"The Heralds of the Seal."
"They're not gods. They're the ones who bound them."
End of Chapter 20