The road to Black Hollow was soaked in fog and menace. Twisted trees arched over the dirt path like withered sentinels, their bare branches clawing at the gray sky. Liam led the small group—Elira close at his side, the five newly devoted soldiers in a loose formation behind.
They traveled under silence, but not without tension.
The Divine Beacon had changed everything. Liam felt the pressure now—the weight of expectation on his shoulders. They looked at him as more than a man. A sign. A savior.
But Liam remembered too clearly the blood on his hands.
---
GOD SYSTEM – STATUS MENU
Name: Liam Carson
Level: 4
Class: Chosen of Divinity
Faith Points (FP): 13
Followers: 6 (Elira + 5 Soldiers – all Devoted)
Title: None
STATS:
• Strength: 12
• Speed: 13
• Endurance: 11
• Divine Power: 17
• Willpower: 12
• Charisma: 8
• Perception: 9
Abilities:
• Destroy [Tier 1]
• Create [Tier 1]
• Enhance [Tier 1]
• Smite [Tier 1] – Cost: 6 FP
• Wings of Radiance – Cost: 4 FP (temporary charisma boost)
• Passive FP Gain: +6 FP/hour
---
That night, they made camp in the skeletal ruins of an abandoned farmhouse. Liam sat alone by the dying fire, feeding it twigs with his fingertips. His system blinked softly at the edge of his vision. Another prompt. Another choice.
> Elira's Devotion is Absolute. Angel Ascension Available – 25 FP. Ascension Benefits: – Elira becomes a Minor Angel (Support Type)
– Provides passive healing to group
– Doubles FP gain from her
– Unique skill unlocks at higher levels
– Ascension is irreversible
He stared at the option.
Elira. The first to believe in him. The first to give him power. Was it right to use that faith—to transform her into something divine, something... no longer fully human?
The Spirit materialized beside him, her voice hushed and steady.
"You're hesitating."
"She's just a kid," Liam said. "She deserves a childhood, not wings and halos and burdens."
The Spirit tilted her head. "She follows you into war. And you don't want her helpless. Ascension doesn't chain her. It frees her."
Liam closed the menu.
"Not yet."
---
The next morning, as dawn broke through the mist, one of the soldiers—Garran, a hard-faced veteran with gray at his temples—approached.
"My lord," he said, kneeling slightly. "We've scouted ahead. Black Hollow sits atop the cliffs beyond the forest. Fortified. Guarded by demonblood cultists. At least twenty."
"Do they know we're coming?" Liam asked.
"Not yet. But they will. There's one more thing."
He handed Liam a small, bloody locket.
"We found this near a scorched tree. Recognize it?"
Liam opened it.
Inside was a sketch of his mother.
His breath hitched.
They'd been here. The cult. His cult. The same group that burned his home and slaughtered his family. Rage unfurled in his gut like wildfire.
---
System Prompt: Divine Fury Triggered
Temporary Buff: +5 Willpower, +3 Strength, +3 Divine Power (1 hour)
New Skill Unlocked: Divine Brand [Tier 1] – Mark a target for death. Increases all damage dealt to them by 30%. Cost: 3 FP
---
He stood.
"We take Black Hollow today."
The soldiers straightened. Elira clutched her prayer charm. The Spirit hovered behind him, silent but watchful.
As they approached the cliffs, Liam summoned a divine lens to scan the fortress from a distance.
---
Black Hollow Cult Fortress
• Cultists: 22
• Demonbound: 2
• Captive Villagers: 6
• High Cultist Present: Level 6 – Name: Kael'Rok
• Threat Level: Severe
---
Liam's jaw clenched.
Kael'Rok.
He remembered the name from the night of the fire. The man in the red hood. The one who ordered his mother executed.
The one who smiled as his home burned.
"He's mine," Liam said. "No one touches him."
Garran nodded. "And the rest?"
"We take them down hard. No mercy."
Liam stepped forward, closing his eyes.
He activated Enhance on all five soldiers, spending FP to empower them.
---
[Enhance – Group Application]
Cost: 10 FP
Effect: +3 Strength, +3 Speed, +2 Endurance (all soldiers, 2 minutes)
FP Remaining: 0
---
The Spirit arced with divine fire. Liam's power surged. And then—with divine wings flaring once again—he descended upon Black Hollow like a storm.
The war had begun.
And vengeance was no longer a dream.
It was a god's decree.
[End of Chapter 6]