Nestled at the foot of the Alaskan snow-capped mountains, the Odi Grand Temple was one of the nineteen great temples on the continent dedicated to the supreme God of Creation. The entire temple was constructed of ivory-white marble. Before the hall stood twenty-four marble pillars, each so large it took two men to encircle them, their surfaces carved full of praises to the God of Creation and his followers.
Atop the temple spire stood a statue of an angel, the wings radiating a soft, milky-white magical glow that enveloped the entire structure.
The construction of the Odi Temple took sixteen years. On the day of its completion, the sound of thousands of horns echoed across the heavens, petals fell like rain, and a white holy light descended from the sky. An angel with wings on its back flickered in and out of view within the holy light, bestowing the divine spell "Angel's Blessing" upon the temple. From then on, the Odi Temple was perpetually bathed in holy light, and it also became the only one of the nineteen great temples, besides the Grand Temple of Light where the Pope resided, to have a divine miracle manifested by a celestial being at its founding.
The fifty-five-year-old Cardinal Brunn slowly closed the "Sacred Prayers" before him, concluding the evening prayer. The white-robed holy maidens of the choir retreated silently, yet the lofty and solemn hymn seemed to still reverberate in the air. Gazing at the flame on the altar, Brunn felt an inexplicable restlessness and palpitation in his heart.
When the moon Modis had passed its zenith, Brunn finally found the source of his distress. Yes, it was the Holy Maiden Venna, who had just arrived at the temple today. Her face, reminiscent of classical sculpture, with her straight nose, sharply defined lips, exuded a sacred aura from every angle. As she moved, the curves faintly visible beneath her plain white robe seemed to reappear before Brunn's eyes.
"That is an angel!!" Brunn muttered to himself. He felt his mouth go dry, but found no water at hand. Cursing under his breath, he stood up and walked out of the temple.
Holy Maiden Venna had grown up by the Pope's side; no one knew where she came from. For seventeen years, this was her first time stepping out of the Grand Temple of Light.
Beneath Venna's ice-and-snow-like neck, the sacred white robe could not conceal the subtle undulations hinted at with her slightest movement. That undulation expanded incessantly in Brunn's mind, burning his nerves. For the first time, Brunn almost wished he were a thief. He smiled bitterly. What kind of thief could possibly handle a 16th-level Light Mage? After over forty years of cultivation within the Church, he was only a 13th-level Light Mage himself. God is indeed partial!
He looked up at the moon, but noticed a tinge of blood-red in tonight's moonlight. Just as Brunn felt surprised, darkness suddenly fell before his eyes – the temple's holy light had vanished!
Darkness was absolutely one of the things Brunn detested the most. Suppressing his panic, he softly chanted, tracing complex symbols with his fingers, preparing to cast the third-level divine spell "Light of Grace."
A black hand, etched with countless magical symbols – or more precisely, a hand bone – silently reached from behind and touched Brunn's throat. With a gentle swipe of the index finger, Brunn's spell would never be cast.
A fully armored warrior stood beside Brunn's corpse. It was clad in deep black full plate armor, wielding a two-handed longsword burning with black magical flames. Only from the hand bones gripping the sword could one tell it was a skeleton. As it pointed its longsword forward, countless skeleton warriors emerged from the darkness, swarming towards the temple. Occasionally, an undead knight riding a flaming bone horse charged out of the darkness, killing into the barracks of the temple knights on either side of the church.
"What is this!! Guards! Guards! Get up!!"
Amidst the commotion, the temple knights awoke. The Odi Temple housed four hundred temple knights. The well-trained knights quickly donned simple armor, with some desperately holding off the seemingly endless skeletons at the barracks entrance while others armed themselves swiftly. Occasionally, priests had already begun casting spells.
Under the dim holy light in the main hall, Venna's ice-sculpted face showed no fluctuation as she gazed arrogantly at the Lich before her.
The Lich was draped in black robes, with pale flames burning in its eye sockets.
"I am Roderick, the Lich you have been searching for for three hundred years." Roderick's voice sounded directly in Venna's mind.
Venna was immediately greatly astonished. With her power as a 16th-level Light Mage, she could already be considered close to a demigod. For this Lich to break through her mental defenses and communicate directly in her mind meant its psychic power was formidable! And that name – Roderick, the most powerful Lich – even thinking it felt like a profanity!
"Let us see the true identity of the Holy Maiden!" Roderick's voice echoed in Venna's mind once more. The flames in the Lich's eyes blazed brightly, and an icy psychic wave crashed into Venna's mind, exploding. Venna grunted, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth. Then, one psychic blast after another detonated directly within her consciousness.
She staggered, struggling, astonished by Roderick's overwhelmingly powerful force. "Why? How can such powerful evil escape the gaze of our Heavenly Father?" As another psychic impact arrived, from the depths of Venna's soul, a surging power violently erupted. The temple once again resounded with hymns praising God; rays of holy light burst forth from Venna's body, dispelling Roderick's psychic assaults. A pair of pure white wings, interlaced with shimmering strands of golden light, slowly unfurled from Venna's back. Buoyed by the sacred power, Venna gradually rose into the air, her eyes completely transformed into a silvery-white.
"In the name of the Sacred Heavenly Father, I shall destroy the evil before me!" Venna's voice remained melodious but now carried not a trace of human emotion. As she chanted, hundreds of spheres of holy light rapidly coalesced around her.
"Heh heh," Roderick chuckled lowly, "I thought you were just an ordinary angel, but it seems you are a mid-level Light Angel. It appears your Supreme God has not protected you."
As the Light Angel completed her spell, the hymns in the temple swelled to a crescendo. Holy light orbs flew towards Roderick like rain. The Lich stamped his staff, and ash-white flames erupted around him, forming a wall of fire. Countless holy light orbs violently struck the fiery barrier, each explosion causing the flames to waver and dim slightly. In moments, the Lich had endured the impact of hundreds of holy light orbs; the protective wall teetered on the verge of collapse. But in these brief moments of respite, Roderick's spell was completed. As his finger traced the final magical symbol, with a "poof," his left hand completely turned to bone dust.
A huge magical array materialized on the ground behind Venna, and black flames shot skyward. From the void above the array, an enormous bone dragon's head emerged. The bone dragon fixed its gaze on the Light Angel, its massive body slowly emerging from the void. Two-thirds of the temple hall was now occupied by this unprecedented colossal bone dragon.
Venna, having fully assumed her Light Angel battle form, should not have feared a bone dragon, even the strongest of undead creatures. Yet, there was an indescribable quality to this particular bone dragon. Ordinary bone dragons were never this large, at most two-thirds its size, with skeletons that were pale or dark grey, often draped in dust and cobwebs from years of slumber. This bone dragon was deep black in color, with faintly discernible magical symbols occasionally flickering across its bones. Venna's sense of unease grew stronger. As a Light Angel, she should be able to handle two bone dragons – so why did she feel afraid?
"Something's wrong... I've never heard of a bone dragon being *summoned* before?!"
Venna drew her wings in, her white robe stirring though no wind blew. The temple's hymns reached their peak. She unleashed the Light Angel's most powerful magic, "Light Angel's Aegis." A spherical, milky-white light enveloped and protected her.
"I told you, the Supreme God has not protected you." The Lich's grim voice sounded once more in Venna's mind. The bone dragon, despite its skeletal wings, began to beat them. It raised its head towards the sky, and a silent roar rapidly spread out. Outside the temple, the temple knights and priests, who were desperately assaulting the undead, trying to break into the main hall, recoiled as if struck by a heavy blow. Some of the weaker knights spat blood and slowly collapsed to the ground. Venna's protective barrier also fluctuated violently, forcing her back several steps.
"If I can barely withstand just its Dragon's Roar... what about its Breath..?" Venna had no time to ponder further; she turned, intending to flee. At that moment, the utterly silent Dragon's Breath arrived. Venna's barrier fluctuated wildly, flickering in and out. Suddenly, a burst of intense light – nearly blinding – accompanied by a sudden storm, swept through everything in the temple.
When everything calmed down, Venna was embedded in the temple wall halfway up. Her white robe was torn to shreds, most of her ice-and-snow-like skin exposed to the air, covered in bloody marks. As the storm subsided, Venna's body slid to the ground, leaving a shocking bloodstain on the wall.
"Heh heh, truly worthy of a Light Angel. To withstand the Dragon's Breath of the Nether Dragon Artefact Glare and only suffer superficial wounds! But now your divine power is exhausted, isn't it?" Venna spat out a mouthful of blood, barely pulling the tattered robe to cover herself. She spoke with difficulty, "You must know... everything you have done today... cannot escape the gaze of the Heavenly Father. Even if your power surpasses mine... you are no match for any of the Major Gods. Cough, cough... Besides, the Judgment Light will descend soon. No matter where you hide... you cannot escape purification."
"It seems you still don't know what I want. As a Lich, my power has reached the limits of this world. Regardless, the Judgment Light will fall upon my head! The Gods will not allow power that can threaten them to exist! I have hidden for three hundred years... I don't want to hide anymore! Now, my lovely Light Angel, give me your soul."
"What! No!!! No..." Venna suddenly screamed hysterically, completely devoid of her former holy composure. The Lich began chanting incantations once more, and the bones of his left arm turned to dust. As the spell completed, a figure slowly walked into the temple from outside – it was Cardinal Brunn. His face, usually well-maintained, now bore a bluish-iron hue. The wound on his throat had drained him of blood, the exposed flesh a ghastly white. Brunn spotted Venna, his gaze gradually focusing on her pale, straight, yet bloodstained and bruised legs. The desires he held in life were amplified a thousandfold by the necromantic magic! A bestial roar erupted from the Cardinal's throat as he threw himself upon the Light Angel.
In several mysterious halls across the continent, consciousnesses stirred from deep slumber, turning their attention towards the temple. Everyone in Port Puse awoke from nightmares. Some stepped outside their homes, stunned to find the night sky had turned a dark blood-red, the usually visible temple vanished into the night. Slowly, it seemed as if the very world shuddered slightly.
The temple echoed with the Cardinal's beast-like, heavy panting. The golden altar emitted a piercing screech, as if groaning under the strain. In the sky above the temple, white clouds rapidly gathered, rolling towards the structure. The blood-red cloud shrouding the temple quickly proved unable to hold, compressed into a small patch of sky directly above the temple, yet it still struggled desperately. Angry thunder rumbled within the white clouds; holy light shot down through them. The undead creatures at the temple's edges immediately began to burn under the holy light. Waves of agonized, silent screams assailed the surroundings.
The Lich continuously chanted spells, the bones of his body shattering one after another. The flames in his eyes burned even more fiercely, fixed intently on the entangled, writhing bodies upon the altar. With a muffled, thunderous roar, the most evil seed was sown throughout Venna's body.
Venna's spirit finally shattered at that moment. The Lich, now with only a small portion of his body remaining, flared the flames in his eyes. Her skull shattered. A translucent figure, wreathed in black energy, flew out. The Lich opened his mouth and spat out a pearl, around which floated layers of extremely complex magical arrays.
"Beneath this artifact, the Soul Orb, let's see you escape now! Hahahaha!"
The translucent soul of the Light Angel was instantly sucked into the pearl. The Lich glanced at the imprisoned soul within the orb, his low chuckle like distant thunderclaps across the sky. Then, his remaining skull also shattered, and a wisp of black energy drilled into the orb.
Threads of faint cyan fire shot down from the white clouds in the sky. The blood cloud had been completely burned away, and Port Puse was illuminated as if in daylight. The city's residents stood in the streets, watching the celestial phenomenon with fear.
Hymns ringing through the clouds sounded once more. A pillar of white light descended from the heavens. Where the light pillar settled upon the temple, flames erupted. Wisps of black energy rapidly vanished within the fire.
In the year 682 of the Sacred Calendar, the Odi Temple was desecrated by the undead. The most powerful Lich, Roderick, was struck down by the Judgment Light, utterly annihilated. The Odi Temple, known as the Temple of Radiance, was burned to ruins by the Purifying Flames.