After the battle, silence fell upon the temple.
Outside, the shamans were still conducting their rituals, but deep within this ancient sanctuary, time itself seemed to have paused.
Damian quietly sheathed his sword and looked around the temple's interior.Dim light filtered in through cracked walls, revealing faded carvings etched long ago.They seemed to contain the words of a god—but something about them felt... off.
For a place said to record divine will,what lingered here was not reverence, but something far more dissonant.
1. The Truth of the Temple – A Vessel, Not a Shrine
Damian reached out and gently brushed the wall.Its surface was smooth, yet parts of the carvings were smudged—as if something had melted and run down over time.
The sacred tablet said to bear the name of a god was split in two,and many of the symbols had lost their form, distorted beyond recognition.
Could a place meant to preserve divine teachings be this incomplete?
A thought crossed his mind.
This wasn't a shrine built to honor something.It was a vessel—constructed to contain something.
"This isn't a place of worship…"he murmured.
What remained here were not divine teachings,but remnants that had never fully taken shape.
Like memories that had slipped away—fragments abandoned and forgotten.
2. Entangled Records – Words Divine, or Words Lost?
The markings across the walls bore no resemblance to any known magic circle.Rather, they looked as if someone had tried to erase them—yet failed to completely wipe them away.
Incomplete verses.Sentences with no end.Nothing remained intact.
This was not a record of divine language.It was a container for the divine.
And over time,that language—those words—had begun to decay.
This was not a place where gods spoke.It was a ruin, a reliquary of broken connections.
"These aren't just records,"Damian said, tracing the distorted glyphs with his fingers."This place wasn't built to preserve the language of the gods—it was built to imprison what had fallen away from it."
3. Signs of Tampering – Not the Will of the Gods
He fell into thought.
What had been left behind here… looked more like a malfunction than a message.
If the words were truly left by a divine being,they wouldn't be so scattered, so corrupted.
Which meant—someone had fabricated this.
But who?
A god?
…Or something else?
Damian shook his head.
This wasn't divine will.This was something beyond even the gods.
As he ran his hand along the glyphs, a faint light shimmered.
The patterns began to shift, aligning themselves.New symbols—hidden until now—emerged from the cracks.
And in that moment, he understood.
This wasn't merely a record.It was a trace—buried deep within the foundations of this world.
And it was being rewritten.By someone.Right now.
4. A Fracture, and the Signs It Connects
He slowly turned.
If this temple was one, then the other two must serve similar purposes.
And if so,then what was happening here… was not unrelated to the fractures spreading through the dimensions.
This temple wasn't just sacred architecture.It had stood since time immemorial,designed to anchor the framework of this world.
And now—
Those Who See Beyond were studying it.
They believed they were deciphering divine language,but in truth, they were prying open the world's oldest error.
They had no idea what they were tampering with.What they studied wasn't divine revelation,but the residue of something long broken.
And now—that residue was beginning to awaken.
5. Tampered Order, and the Echoes of Divinity
Damian slowly raised his sword.
What he had seen—what he had fought in the previous battle—
These were not simple effects of dimensional collapse.
Even the beings that had emerged from the rift…felt connected to this place.
This wasn't just a fracture in space.It was:
"The very structure of this world is unraveling."
And someone was deliberately interfering with it.
"The will of the gods?"he said quietly."No… this isn't them."
This wasn't the will of any god of this world.
It was the trace—of those who had created it.
And now, he was certain.
Everything he had faced—The creatures from the rift,The distortions across dimensions—
None of it was coincidence.
It had all been designed.
And now—that design was beginning to fail.
That was the true threat.
***
Chapter : A Fabricated Coincidence
The interior of the temple still pulsed with an eerie atmosphere.The faded symbols and incomplete glyphs shimmered faintly, almost as if alive.Damian stared at the traces and instinctively knew:
This was no coincidence.
It was far too deliberate to be mere fallout from the dimensional fracture.Someone had tampered with the laws of this place—subtly, intricately.
And soon, the consequences of that tampering would surface.
1. The Threat Foretold
Just then, a strange presence stirred outside.
"Something's coming,"Cain warned, raising his bow with a low voice.
What his senses detected wasn't just the movement of wild beasts—it was something more organized, more intentional.
And when they finally appeared,it was clear: these were no ordinary monsters.
Twisted orcs and ogres—Their bodies were grotesquely contorted,muscles swollen to unnatural proportions,eyes glassy and unfocused,flesh warped in ways that defied anatomy.
This wasn't a random monster attack.It was a calculated move—engineered by someone.
"Those Who See Beyond..."Rean gritted her teeth."This isn't the result of a natural fracture. Someone's behind this."
They had been experimenting with the rift—creating abominations,and unleashing them to test Damian's group.
To observe their strength.To record their tactics.To study their response.
Those Who See Beyond had veiled it all as happenstance.
But by now,it was far too blatant to pass as chance.
2. A Gap in Power – The Arrival of Overwhelming Foes
These twisted orcs and ogres didn't behave like normal beasts.
They didn't simply charge in a frenzy—they moved with strategy.They signaled one another.They coordinated their approach.And within seconds, a deadly encirclement had formed.
"This won't be easy..."Cain muttered, tightening his grip on the bow.He no longer aimed at individual targets—he was reading the entire battlefield.
"They outmatch us,"Ian spat, her twin daggers flashing.But the creatures were more resilient than expected.Tougher.Harder to pierce.
Rean conjured a magic circle and unleashed fire upon them—but the beasts barely flinched before rising again from the flames.
The battle dragged on.
Damian's team struck hard,but they were being worn down by superior numbersand relentlessly coordinated attacks.
3. When Balance Shatters
The longer the fight dragged on,the more exhausted they became.
It was as if the monsters had waited for that precise moment—and now they surged forward with renewed savagery.
Damian cut down one creature with a sweeping strike—only for two more to lunge in immediately after.
At this rate,they could hold the line, perhaps—but reclaiming the advantage would be impossible.
And then—
"Fall back!"Cain shouted.
Too late.
A massive ogre hurled its bulk at them,crashing down with crushing force.
The impact sent Damian and the others reeling—and as they struggled to regroup,the circle of enemies tightened further.
They were moments from being fully surrounded—when—
"The Sun God's light shines upon this place!"
A searing red light exploded across the field.Waves of blistering heat surged outward.A towering vortex of flame erupted—engulfing the enemy in an instant.
And from within that inferno—a man emerged.
4. Kaio Arrives – Turning the Tide
"Sorry I'm late."
Clad in sacred armor etched with divine markings,a massive mace in hand—
It was Kaio.
His body was already glowing with layered blessings,and even amidst the heat of battle,he radiated sheer authority.
"I'll take it from here."
The earth shook with each of his steps.In one hand he gripped his weapon.In the other, holy fire flickered and danced.
He charged toward the massive ogre.
"Judgment of the Sun!"
His mace slammed into the creature's chest—and in that instant, divine fire erupted,reducing the beast to ash.
The battlefield turned in an instant.
5. The Beginning of the Counterattack
Kaio's arrival wasn't merely reinforcement.
He reshaped the battlefield.
Combining combat and sacred sorcery,he didn't just hit hard—he struck with purpose,each blow infused with arcane power.
"Time to strike back,"Damian said, tightening his grip on his sword.
Their morale surged.
The gap in power remained.But now, the momentum had shifted.
The fight was far from over.But now—they were ready.