The silence in the temple was suffocating.
Elaris remained on one knee, her breath trembling. Her radiant blade—once a symbol of divine authority—lay shattered on the marble floor like broken promises.
Lucian didn't move.
He didn't have to.
The runes beneath his feet were no longer golden. They had turned obsidian, flickering with threads of blue flame. Even the walls of the temple—the very structure forged by divine hands—now pulsed with an unstable glow.
The Goddess of Light… had summoned something she could not comprehend.
And she knew it.
Lucian stepped forward, slow and deliberate, boots clicking against the ancient floor.
"Tell me everything," he said calmly. "Start with why you brought me here."
Elaris opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Not because she was unwilling.
Because she couldn't.
Words—divine or mortal—simply failed in the presence of his authority. Her voice, once able to command armies and seal oaths, now trembled like a child's before a thunderstorm.
Lucian knelt beside her.
He didn't touch her. But his presence was enough to force her eyes up to meet his.
There was no rage in his gaze.
No hatred.
Only cold awareness.
"Speak," he whispered.
And like a snapped chain, the pressure lifted. Not entirely. Just enough to let her breathe—and talk.
"I performed the summoning," she said, voice hoarse. "I followed the ritual. I needed a mortal with potential—someone powerful, but… controllable. The war with the Abyss is reaching its peak. The Council of Divines agreed. We needed a Champion."
Lucian tilted his head. "So you reached across worlds… and hoped for the best?"
Elaris nodded slowly.
"I searched hundreds of timelines. You matched the parameters. Human. High soul density. Stable mind. You were… perfect."
A humorless smile touched Lucian's lips.
"Well. You were half right."
Across the Divine Realm, ripples spread.
High gods convened in haste, staring at crystal projections showing the Temple of Light distorting. It shouldn't have been possible. No mortal could damage a divine structure. No summoned hero should be able to rewrite the runes of creation.
And yet… he had.
More terrifying still—his name remained blank.
Lucian rose to his feet.
"So I was supposed to be a sword," he said. "A clean little blade to point at your enemies."
Elaris's silence was answer enough.
He walked slowly toward the center of the platform. The air bent around him, rippling faintly like heat over desert sand. As he passed, the glyphs on the pillars dimmed, no longer aligned with their original divine signatures.
Lucian turned, his coat brushing the windless air.
"You summoned a godkiller," he said quietly. "Why?"
Elaris flinched.
"I didn't mean to."
"But you did." He paused. "And now you're scared."
"Yes," she whispered. "I am."
Lucian stared at her.
A part of him—the fragment that remembered nothing of the past—wanted to believe he was just a man. A mortal named Lucian Vale, born on Earth, who liked quiet cafes and old philosophy books.
But the truth pulsed louder with every breath.
He wasn't just Lucian.
He was something more.
Something older.
Something the gods had buried.
And someone—whether by fate or mistake—had dug him up.
"You said the Abyss is rising," Lucian said. "Explain."
Elaris pushed herself shakily to her feet. Her pride still burned in her chest, but fear had tempered it.
"There are three Realms," she began. "The Divine Plane, the Mortal Plane, and the Abyssal Plane. For centuries, the balance held. Gods watched, mortals lived, and the Abyss slumbered."
"But now?"
"Abyssal forces are invading. Entire nations have vanished. Reality itself is thinning near the Veil. And the gods—" her voice faltered "—we are losing ground."
Lucian raised an eyebrow.
"And what do you expect me to do about it?"
She met his gaze.
"You were supposed to be our shield. Our sword. Our final answer."
He gave a short laugh.
"Funny. You summoned a question instead."
Suddenly, a ripple tore through the air behind him. A portal opened—a jagged hole in space, lined with shadow and violet mist.
Elaris gasped. "That's—!"
Lucian turned.
From the portal, a voice purred.
"So… the rumors are true. The goddess really did break the seal."
A woman stepped through.
She wore black silk and crimson armor, her pale skin glowing against the shadows. Her eyes—violet like dying stars—locked onto Lucian the moment she entered.
Nyxa Valerion.Queen of the Abyss.
Elaris instinctively raised a shield of light, but Lucian lifted a finger.
"No," he said. "Let her speak."
Elaris hesitated. But the words held weight now. Even divine instinct bowed.
Nyxa smiled, amused.
"You're not like the others," she said, circling him. "They screamed. They bled. They broke."
Lucian didn't flinch.
"And what do you want?"
Nyxa's eyes narrowed.
"I want to know what you are."
Lucian met her gaze.
"…I'd like to know that too."
Nyxa tilted her head.
"Then perhaps we're allies. Or perhaps I'll have to destroy you before you remember."
Lucian didn't blink.
"You can try."
Elaris hissed. "Don't you dare threaten him—"
"I'm not threatening," Nyxa interrupted. "I'm testing."
She stepped closer, until she was inches from Lucian.
"I sense it, you know," she whispered. "That sleeping ruin inside you. The hunger. The power. You're not a man. You're not a god. You're something worse."
Lucian's voice was quiet.
"Then run."
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then Nyxa smiled wider. Not in mockery—but satisfaction.
"You don't remember yet," she said. "But you will. And when you do, the gods will burn. All of them."
She turned to Elaris.
"Starting with her."
A flick of her hand—and the shadows exploded outward.
But Lucian raised his palm.
The blast froze midair.
A moment later, it reversed, folding back into Nyxa's palm like a rewound scene.
She blinked, genuinely startled.
Lucian's eyes gleamed blue.
"Your Abyss bends here," he said. "Just like her Light does."
Elaris stared, eyes wide.
Nyxa licked her lips.
"Oh," she whispered. "I think I'm in love."
And then she vanished.
The silence returned.
Lucian lowered his hand.
Elaris swallowed hard. "Why… why didn't you destroy her?"
He looked at her.
"Because she knew something. And because I'm not your weapon."
She bit her lip.
"But you could be."
Lucian didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the ceiling, the runes, the fading magic.
Then he turned toward the temple doors.
"Where are you going?" Elaris called.
He paused.
"To find out who I was," he said. "And whether I still want to be him."
[System Notification]
Conceptual Integrity: 4%Divine Core Sync: InitiatedTitle Unlocked: [The Forgotten One]Trait Acquired: [Anti-Divinity Aura] – Suppresses all god-tier abilities within 100m radiusWorld Stability Level: Declining
In the sky above, a single star pulsed.
Then it fell.