Dawn crept over the Holy Kingdom of Asterion like a false promise.The golden light touched every rooftop, every street — yet beneath that brilliance, in the city's underbelly, shadows gathered.
The Resistance moved silently through the tunnels, armored in secrecy and desperation.At the center of their formation walked Hayate — his crimson eyes cold, his steps unhurried.
"Once we breach the lower sanctum, there's no turning back," Selene said quietly beside him."I stopped turning back the day I died," Hayate replied.
The torches flickered as the group emerged from the final passage.Before them stood the Cathedral's Inner Sanctum — a vast chamber of white marble and floating runes.And in the center, suspended above a glowing circle, were human figures bound by chains of light.
Lyria gasped. "Those… those are people!"
Selene's expression darkened. "They're prisoners. The Church claims they've 'ascended.' In truth, their souls are being fed to the goddess's divine engine."
Kael spat on the floor. "So this is her light — blood and lies."
Hayate stepped forward, the air crackling around him. His eyes scanned the bound figures — until he froze.
Among the captives, one face struck him like a knife.
"No… that's—"
It was Renji, one of his classmates.The same boy who had mocked him, thrown stones when he was cast into the dungeon.
Renji's eyes fluttered open, hollow and pale.
"H-Hayate? You're… alive?"
The priests surrounding the ritual circle turned sharply. Their robes shimmered with divine energy, and their voices rose in a single, chilling chant.
"Heretics in the sanctum! Purify them in light!"
[System Alert: Enemy Presence Detected – High Priests Lv. 55 x 3.][New Objective: Stop the Ritual Before the Soul Transfer Completes.][Time Limit: 07:59 minutes.]
Selene drew her daggers, her aura bursting into violet flames. "We take the priests — Hayate, the ritual core is yours!"
"On it."
Hayate surged forward, black energy flaring around his body.His footsteps shattered the marble tiles as he leapt into the circle.The divine runes reacted instantly, forming barriers of golden fire.
[Warning: Divine Seal Active.][Access Denied.]
He snarled. "Then I'll rewrite your rules."
[Skill Activated: Revenant Override – Partial Sync.][Effect: Corrupts enemy magic within 10 meters.]
The golden runes flickered — then turned crimson. The priests' chants faltered as the circle trembled violently.
"Impossible!" one cried. "He's tainting the goddess's script!"
Hayate slammed his glowing hand into the floor. "Your goddess writes lies. I write truth — in blood."
The divine engine cracked. Souls screamed as the light chains snapped one by one.
Across the chamber, Selene moved like a phantom, cutting down one priest with a single strike.Kael blocked another's holy blast, his twin blades glowing red-hot.
Lyria, hands trembling, raised her staff. "Blessing of Aether — Release!"A soft light enveloped the freed captives, stabilizing their fading life forces.
But the ritual wasn't over.The main core still pulsed — a sphere of pure divine power anchored to the altar.
[System Warning: Core Meltdown Detected.][If uncontrolled, entire sanctum will collapse.]
"Hayate!" Lyria shouted. "If you destroy it recklessly—"
"I know."He clenched his fist, aura intensifying. "That's why I won't destroy it."
He closed his eyes.Inside him, the dark energy stirred — the power that wasn't entirely his own.
"System… transfer the core's power into me."
[Warning: This process will consume lifeforce beyond safe limits.][Proceed?]
"Proceed."
A blinding surge of red and gold light erupted, flooding the room.The priests screamed as divine and revenant energy collided, shaking the cathedral to its foundation.
Hayate's armor cracked. His veins glowed with fire.But when the light faded, the core was gone — absorbed.
The System chimed coldly.
[Ritual Core Assimilated.][New Skill Acquired: Soul Dominion (Incomplete).][Effect: Absorb and redirect divine energy.]
The surviving rebels looked around in awe as the bound souls slowly descended, freed from their agony.
Selene approached him carefully. "You just absorbed divine essence. No mortal should survive that."
Hayate exhaled slowly, his eyes still glowing faint red.
"Then I guess I stopped being mortal a long time ago."
Lyria looked at him with quiet fear — and something else.
"Hayate… what are you becoming?"
He turned away, his cloak billowing as the sanctuary doors burst open behind them — sunlight pouring through.
"Something that the goddess should fear."
[Quest Updated: Infiltrate the Cathedral's Inner Sanctum – Completed.][New Quest Unlocked: Awaken the Power of Soul Dominion.][Objective: Seek the Ancient Temple Beneath the Abyss.]