The walls began to tremble. Dust fell from above, drifting slowly like ash.
Cracks spread along the chamber's edge. Runes shorted out one by one, flickering, then going dark. I backed toward the stairway, hands clenched.
"Lucian," Echo said sharply. "I'm activating Purge Protocol. You need to move… now!"
I turned, already halfway up the broken steps. "What does that mean?"
"This site contains too much sensitive information, divine schematics, forbidden research, and traces of Ouroboros.
You're marked as a heretic for severing connection. But if they discover what you know, it becomes extermination."
Golden light sparked beneath the altar. Not from above, from the floor itself. Tiny lines of script ignited in a ring, then branched out across the sanctum like veins catching fire.
The flames spread outward in geometric lines. Everything they touched began to unravel.
Stone murals cracked and peeled away. Pillars collapsed into shimmering dust.
The heat caught up with me, scorching my skin. Then I ran.
Behind me, one of the murals fell from the upper wall. As it shattered, I caught a glimpse of something inside it.
I saw my face, again and again, etched into the mural fragments. Dozens of versions of me, layered over each other.
Each one distorted, twisted by pain, caught in the moment of death. All of them had fallen here, in this same hall.
"Don't stop now," Echo warned. "That was cycle three-eight-nine. You died right there. Body crushed under collapsed soul stone."
I pushed harder, boots slipping on fractured marble. The stairway cracking beneath me, half-buried in loose debris, but it held.
The flames roared behind me now. The golden light wasn't just purging symbols, it was tearing through reality. and I was running out of space.
The tunnel finally came into view, dark and narrow, carved into the far wall behind a broken arch. For a moment, I thought I'd made it out, but that hope vanished as a barrier shimmered into place, blocking the exit.
It looked like a glass wall, held in place by a circle of runes carved into the stone. Time magic spiraled around the edge, while shadow magic swirled in the center like dark smoke trapped in a pattern.
I skidded to a stop just short of it, heat pressing against my back.
"Locked," Echo said. "That's a divine barrier. It only opens for a very specific type of magic, one blessed by both shadow and time.
The shadow hides it from detection, while time stretches its presence, making it last indefinitely. That's how it seals the path."
I stared at the runes circling the seal. "Then how do I open it?"
"First, you need to use magic."
"How?"
"Normally, you'd offer something, mana, blood, prayer, or memory. The gods take tribute, and in return, they grant a spark of their power. That's how most people use magic."
I clenched my fists.
"But you're not like them. You're a heretic now. You don't ask. You take."
The mark on my chest moved, as if responding to the words.
"You use Ouroboros," Echo said. "While others sacrifice, you steal. Their power becomes yours."
I stepped closer to the barrier. "What do I do?"
"The seal blends two domains, Time and Shadow. To break it, you need to mimic their magical signature. That means invoking both forces, together."
The rune edge glowed faintly under the corrupted lines. They weren't stable. Some of the runes twitched, flickering like static.
"You don't need to overpower the barrier," Echo continued. "Just fool it. Match the imprint the gods expect."
I dragged my fingers through the ash coating the wall and followed the shape Echo described.
"Draw the runes. Start with Time, curve it inward, like a loop folding in on itself. It represents motion condensed into stillness."
The rune reacted, dim light moving with my hand.
"Now Shadow," Echo said. "Draw a downward curve like a crescent moon, then cross it with a vertical line. It symbolizes something hidden beneath darkness anchored under light."
I traced the second symbol over the first. The strokes didn't match cleanly. The two runes resisted each other, but the Ouroboros mark started to react.
"Now, call the mark. Pour intent through it. Let it brand the pattern with your will."
I took a breath and reached inward, toward the mark on my chest. My muscles tensed.
Then the mark stirred, and a sharp hiss echoed around me, like a snake sliding across stone.
The runes I had drawn in ash began to glow. First black, then deep purple, then a pale gray. The colors moved, seeping through each line like wet ink on paper.
Then the glow shifted. The light dissolved into flowing strands of raw magic, peeling from the wall in a slow stream.
It wrapped around my fingers and sank into my palm like heat slipping beneath the skin, crackling with unstable energy as it fused into me. I didn't hesitate. I slammed my hand into the center of the sigil.
BAM!!!
The impact hit harder than I expected. Pain flared through my palm and raced up my arm like liquid fire. My body locked, breath caught in my throat.
The circle split down the middle. The barrier collapsed, vanishing in a burst of pressure and displaced air.
I dropped to my knees, clutching my hand. It burned, veins glowing faint gold where the runes had passed through.
"Side effect of using Ouroboros," Echo said flatly. "Pain is part of the process. You'll get used to it, whether you want to or not."
"I'll keep that in mind," I said, pushing myself to my feet. My hand still throbbed, but I could manage it now.
Echo stayed quiet. The only sounds were the faint shift of air ahead and the scrape of my boots against the stone.
"This way," he said at last. "You're close."
The corridor narrowed as I followed it. The smooth stone gave way to rougher walls, then to bricks darkened by time and moisture. The air grew damp and cold, thick with the scent of putrid smell.
"This is the city sewer… You're about to enter Solaris," Echo said. "The Holy Capital of Luminis. The Goddess of Light."
I stepped under a low arch, brushing past flaking stone and the faint glow of dead runes etched into the walls.
"One of ten," I muttered.
"Yes," Echo replied. "Each god rules their own kingdom. But Luminis made sure his light stands above the rest. Solaris is built to be seen, even by those who don't believe."
A sealed hatch appeared at the end of the tunnel. I pushed it open with both hands. The metal groaned, then gave way.
Light poured in. I climbed up into a narrow alley coated in grime. A trickle of gray water ran down the gutter, cutting through the filth.
Lowrise District. A part of Solaris most people pretended didn't exist.
I stepped out into the street, boots splashing through shallow runoff. The buildings around me were worn down, their walls patched with rusted metal and peeling stone.
Mold clung to the corners. The air smelled like old water and smoke.
Tall white towers rose in the distance, lined with glowing paths and golden arches that stretched between them. They weren't just buildings, they were a landmark, meant to show off their power. Everything about them looked polished and luxurious.
And in the distance, looming over all, rose the Cathedral of Lumina Caeli, taller than anything I'd seen. Its spires pointed like blades aimed at the heavens. The white stone glowed under sunlight, too majestic to feel real.
GONG!!! GONG!!! GONG!!!
Then the bells rang. A deep, slow chime that echoed across the city.
"Noon prayer," Echo murmured. "They'll all be facing the sun by now. Time to move."
Behind the windows above, people were already kneeling, heads down, whispering prayers they'd been taught since birth.
I didn't stop. I walked on.