By the time we reached the valley, night had swallowed the twin suns.
A third light replaced them — a pale, pulsing moon that seemed too close, too alive.
Its glow bled across the horizon, illuminating a city half-buried in mist.
Stone spires pierced through clouds like teeth. Bridges arched over black rivers that glowed faintly blue beneath the surface.
From a distance, the city looked asleep.
But the moment we crossed the ridge, I felt it — thousands of heartbeats. Voices. Thoughts.
> "Lirya," I said quietly, "what is this place?"
She stared down at the sprawling lights. "Eryndor. The Capital of Dawn."
Her tone held a weight I didn't understand. "Where the strong pretend to serve the gods."
---
The gates towered above us, carved with reliefs of winged figures and runes that hummed faintly when I passed.
The guards wore white armor etched with golden veins. Their spears shimmered faintly, humming with mana.
One of them stopped us. "Travelers?" His eyes flicked between Lirya's gray cloak and my torn coat.
"Names."
"Rin," I said.
He hesitated when he met my eyes — blue against blue. Something in him faltered, just for a second.
Then he looked away. "You may enter, but the city's under curfew. No fighting, no magic use. The Watchers are restless."
I almost laughed.
Restless? If only they knew.
---
Inside, Eryndor felt alive and broken at the same time.
Mana lamps flickered along the streets, their light painting faces in cold blue. Merchants packed up stalls of glowing stones and bottled mana.
Children chased each other through narrow alleys where the air smelled like iron and wet dust.
Above, enormous statues of gods loomed over every district — half crumbled, half worshiped.
Some people prayed to them. Others spat.
The balance between faith and fear was thin here — like everything else in this world.
Lirya pulled her hood lower. "We should find shelter before someone notices you."
"Notices?"
She gave a small, grim smile. "You carry a different scent now — one that doesn't belong to any domain. The priests call it Null Breath. It draws attention."
We turned down a smaller street lined with taverns and whispers.
Rumors floated in the air like smoke.
> "Another Watcher fell last night—"
"The sky cracked over the western ruins—"
"A white-haired man walking out of a temple of gods—"
My steps slowed. "They're already talking."
Lirya nodded. "News travels faster than truth."
---
We found shelter in a small inn perched on the edge of the lower district.
The owner, an old woman with amber eyes and a voice like gravel, didn't ask questions.
She only pointed to a corner table. "Pay first. Sleep second."
As I handed her a coin, the System flickered again.
> [Scanning Currency…]
Material: Mana-Infused Silver — Tier 3]
Equivalent Value Stored.]
It even understood money.
This thing… wasn't just a weapon. It was evolving with me.
---
That night, the inn was quiet — until it wasn't.
A sudden tremor rippled through the floorboards.
Glasses rattled. The lamp flame bent sideways.
Lirya looked up sharply. "That's not an earthquake."
Then I felt it — a wave of mana so strong it pressed against my lungs. It came from the city's heart.
From the Cathedral of Order — the tallest structure piercing the clouds above.
> [Anomaly Detected.]
Source: Divine Residue.]
I stood, the chair scraping against stone.
Outside the window, streaks of blue lightning danced across the cathedral spire.
Crowds gathered in the streets, pointing upward.
"What's happening?" I asked the innkeeper as I passed.
She didn't look up from her glass.
"The gods are angry," she muttered. "Someone broke their law again."
---
We ran toward the cathedral.
The closer we got, the heavier the air became.
Priests in white robes filled the plaza, chanting in ancient tongues.
Floating above them was a figure made of light — enormous, eyeless, serene.
Its presence clawed at my skull.
> [Entity: Arch-Cleric of Order — Vessel of the Third Divinity.]
Threat Level: God-Bound Mortal.]
The being spoke, its voice shaking the air.
> "The world trembles because of one. A mortal who touches Infinity.
He defies the boundary of existence."
A hundred heads turned toward the sound of its voice.
Mine.
The air thickened. People whispered.
The priests stared at me — first in confusion, then in realization.
> "White hair…"
"Blue eyes…"
"It's him—"
Lirya grabbed my wrist. "Rin—"
Too late.
The Arch-Cleric raised a hand. The air shimmered, and spears of divine light formed in midair.
> [Initiating Correction Sequence.]
The System screamed inside my skull.
> [Warning: High-Tier Entity Engaging Combat.]
[Releasing Energy Limit — 3% Capacity.]
Blue light erupted around me — silent, absolute.
The world slowed to stillness.
Every droplet of rain hung frozen in midair, reflecting my glow.
People fell silent. The chants died.
I looked up at the being.
Its light wavered, distorted, refracted through my field like sunlight through water.
"Don't bow," I whispered.
My voice echoed, layered, endless.
I raised my hand, and the world folded.
The spears shattered. The light collapsed into itself, imploding into a silent bloom of blue and white.
The Arch-Cleric staggered — his divine form flickering.
Gasps erupted through the crowd. Some screamed. Some prayed. Some just watched in awe.
Lirya's voice reached me through the roar. "You can't keep doing this!"
I smiled faintly. "They started it."
The System pulsed.
> [Entity Neutralized.]
Public Awareness Level: Catastrophic.]
World Protocol: Activated.]
Thunder rumbled.
And for the first time, every mana lamp in the city flickered in unison — then went dark.
The moonlight turned red.
---
I stood in the middle of the street as thousands of eyes looked up — some in terror, some in devotion.
From the crimson moon, a sigil began to form — vast, ancient, alive.
The air whispered a single phrase.
> "The gods have seen you."