Ashveil Ruins loomed like the bones of a dead god—blackened spires jutting from cracked earth, vines choking crumbling stone. The air was thick with decay, and the wind carried a strange hum, as if the land itself remembered suffering.
Liam stood at the threshold, the map from the cultist's corpse clutched in his hand. His spirit companion floated beside him, faintly luminous in the growing darkness.
"These ruins were once a cathedral," she murmured. "Before the cult defiled it. They called it a gate to the 'Deep Flame.' Whatever ritual they attempted here… it tainted this place permanently."
"Good," Liam said coldly. "Let it be the place I start burning them back."
---
GOD SYSTEM – STATUS MENU
Name: Liam Carson
Level: 2
Class: Chosen of Divinity
Faith Points (FP): 6
Followers: 1 (Elira – status: alive, passive faith gain)
Title: None
STATS:
• Strength: 8
• Speed: 9
• Endurance: 7
• Divine Power: 12
• Willpower: 9
• Charisma: 4
• Perception: 7
Abilities:
• Destroy [Tier 1]
• Create [Tier 1]
• Enhance [Tier 1]
• Passive: +1 FP/hour from active follower
---
As he stepped into the ruin, a red glow pulsed from below. Voices echoed from deeper in the catacombs—chanting, guttural and dark. Liam's jaw tightened.
He moved silently, slipping down fractured steps into the undercroft. The air thickened with sulfur and old blood. At the base of the stairs, a makeshift altar burned with black fire. Five cultists circled it, chanting over a chained beast—a mutated wolf with blackened flesh and glowing veins. A demonbound.
---
Target Identified: Demonbound Wolf (Level 3)
HP: 60
Strength: 12
Speed: 14
Threat Level: High
Corruption: Active – causes madness on contact
---
Target Identified: Cult Priest (Level 4)
HP: 75
Divine Affliction: False Flame
Threat Level: Critical
---
Liam's interface flashed a warning:
> Multiple enemies detected. Victory chance: 28%. Recommendation: Retreat or use Divine Enhancement.
"No retreat," he growled. "Not from them."
The Spirit spoke quickly, "Then you'll need to use Enhance—imbue yourself temporarily. It costs 5 FP."
Liam nodded.
---
[ENHANCE – Tier 1: Self]
Target: Liam Carson
Buff: +4 Speed, +3 Strength, +3 Endurance (Duration: 60 seconds)
Cost: 5 FP
FP Remaining: 1
---
His body surged with raw power. Muscles tightened. Breath sharpened. The light of his system glowed beneath his skin like molten veins.
And then he moved.
The first cultist never saw the blow coming—Liam's fist shattered his jaw and slammed his skull into the stone wall, killing him instantly. The second screamed, raising a blade, but Liam ducked low and swept his legs, driving a divine knee into his chest with a crunch.
The others reacted too late.
Liam summoned his spear again—a burst of holy light in a den of shadows—and hurled it into the heart of the wolf before it could break free.
---
[Create – Divine Spear: Cost 5 FP]
Error – Not enough FP.
---
"Damn it—!"
The Spirit flashed. "Improvise. Use Destroy!"
Liam refocused.
---
[DESTROY – Tier 1: Demonbinding Chain]
Target: Binding on Wolf
Cost: 1 FP
Effect: Chain disintegrated
---
The chain snapped—and the wolf lunged.
Straight for the priest.
The beast, no longer under control, tore into the cult leader, ripping into flesh and fabric as the priest shrieked in fury and panic.
The distraction was all Liam needed.
He tackled the last cultist from behind, grabbed the man's dagger, and rammed it into his throat.
Blood sprayed across the altar as the chanting fell silent.
The wolf turned then—its eyes mad, hunger unquenched.
Liam, exhausted and out of FP, stared it down, weaponless.
Then—another light.
A faint spark in the distance, flickering behind him.
He turned.
Elira.
The little girl. She had followed the divine beacon. Ragged, dirty, eyes wide—but hands clasped in prayer.
"I believe in you," she whispered.
---
Faith Surge Detected – +4 FP Gained
Emergency Action Available: Divine Chain [Create – Tier 1]
---
Without hesitation, Liam summoned a radiant chain from the heavens and cast it at the demonbound wolf. It struck true, binding the beast mid-leap and slamming it into the altar, where it burned in a pillar of white fire.
Silence returned.
Ash rained gently from the vaulted ceiling.
---
Enemies Defeated: 5
Faith Points Earned: +9
Level Up!
---
Liam Carson – Level 3
STATS INCREASED:
• Strength: 8 → 10
• Speed: 9 → 11
• Endurance: 7 → 9
• Divine Power: 12 → 14
• Willpower: 9 → 10
• Charisma: 4 → 5
• Perception: 7 → 8
New Ability Unlocked:
• Smite [Tier 1] – Call down divine wrath on a target. Cost: 6 FP. Damage: High (scales with Divine Power).
---
Liam knelt in the silence, covered in blood and divine soot. He looked at Elira, her small figure glowing faintly with holy light.
He wasn't alone anymore.
And the world would soon learn—
This was only the beginning.
[End of Chapter 4]