"Even the faithful can drown in silence."
---
The news traveled faster than light, faster than sound. It leapt through crystals, echoed in the Tower's ancient runes, and bled into the hearts of the faithful.
Ariel the Dawnblade was dead.
Not fallen. Not broken.
Dead.
No resurrection spell worked. Her divine link shattered beyond repair. Her body gone, her soul lost to a domain none of the gods could touch.
It was not a death.
It was an erasure.
And it terrified them.
---
Celestial Pantheon – Hall of Light
Anger.
Panic.
Divine outrage.
The gods had gathered in the Hall of Light, where judgment passed and punishment was forged. Great spires of flame and sky towered behind stained-glass halos and glowing glyphs. Beneath them, thrones carved from stars.
"She was under my dominion," shouted the Sun God, his eyes blazing. "I appointed her!"
"She was marked for ascension," the Lunar Goddess hissed. "I tested her devotion. It was real."
"She was supposed to lead the next generation of Chosen," cried the Sea Matron. "The mortals trusted her. She was the face of our favor!"
"Then explain," said the Hollow Watcher, calm but cold. "Why is her soul is gone."
They fell silent.
Not a flicker of light, not a divine pulse stirred.
None of them could answer.
Only one dared speak the name.
> "Hollow."
The word cracked the air like thunder.
The moment it was spoken, several mirrors shattered in the divine chamber.
A name that wasn't meant to exist.
An anomaly.
A threat.
And something they could no longer ignore.
---
Academy – Sanctuary of the Blessed
A funeral was held.
No body. Only armor and ash.
Hundreds of students lined the temple hall, heads bowed, eyes swollen with disbelief. Teachers stood in silence. Even the Headmaster, an Arch-Blessed with five divine sigils, wept openly.
Ariel had been hope.
A symbol.
Proof that the gods cared.
Now her absence made them question everything.
Some tried to pray.
But the gods were quiet.
Too quiet.
One student—a red-haired boy who once trained under Ariel—stood before the altar with shaking fists.
"She believed in the gods," he whispered. "She served them. She never wavered. Why didn't they save her?"
No answer.
The silence hurt more than screams ever could.
---
Tower Floor 6 – The Silence Labyrinth
It was here that Jin walked now.
A maze of mirrored corridors and memory echoes. The sixth floor was a trial of introspection, designed to break egos, to humble the proud. Only those with stable identities passed through unscathed.
For Jin, it was… empty.
The mirrors did not reflect him.
There was nothing to reflect.
> "Even the Tower doesn't know what I am anymore."
Whispers crawled along the walls.
> "Why did you do it?"
> "She believed."
> "She prayed for forgiveness."
Jin didn't answer.
He had no need to justify his actions.
Ariel had killed him once, indirectly.
She had stood at the side of Theo, laughed when Jin was left behind, used his suffering as a lesson.
A symbol of light built on bones.
He simply removed her.
The same way he would remove them all.
He paused before a mirror taller than the rest. Unlike the others, it did reflect something—not him, but the moment of his past death. Alone. Bleeding. Reaching for a hand that never came.
And behind it, the faintest outline of a god… turning its back.
Jin touched the mirror.
It shattered like thin ice.
He kept walking.
---
Hidden System Response
> [Unique Effect Activated: Echo Nullification]
– Immune to Mirror-based reflection trials. Floor 6 bypassed.
> [Corruption: +7]
[Title Progress – "Godslayer"]: 14%
> [System Announcement – Global Priority Alert]
A-Rank Chosen slain. Reaper-class threat acknowledged. Priority tracking enabled.
> Warning: Anomaly cannot be located through conventional means.
---
Cathedral of the Radiant Heir (Upper Floors)
Theo knelt before a new altar.
Not out of grief—but fear.
He had heard. Everyone had.
Ariel was gone.
Vanished in silver grass and ash.
He remembered Jin's eyes—back when he still smiled.
And now, Theo swore… he saw that same gaze behind the Hollow mask.
> "It can't be him. He's dead."
> "We made sure."
His prayer faltered.
No god answered.
He wasn't the only one.
Across the Tower, more Chosen began to question.
Not just fear the Tower…
But doubt the gods themselves.
---
Somewhere Beyond the Tower
A god screamed.
Chains rattled in the void.
Eyes opened in the dark.
And the Hollow God whispered:
> "They prayed. You answered. They died."
> "Now let them pray in silence."
It laughed.
And the heavens listened.
---