The storm had passed, but the air still felt alive.
Thunder rolled faintly in the distance
not loud, but heavy, as if the sky itself was thinking.
Kael walked down the dirt road toward the ruined temple gates.
The world looked normal again
the rain had stopped, the wind had returned but nothing felt the same.
Every breath of air carried something electric, something watching.
He stopped at the entrance of the temple. The giant statue of the High God stood tall, its marble face calm and merciless.
People once prayed here, believing their systems were gifts of mercy.
Now Kael knew they were nothing but leashes.
He looked at the blue panel flickering before his eyes again.
[System Menu — Observer's Interface]
1. Daily Sign-In: Completed.
2. Reward History.
3. Knowledge Fragment: "Cycle of Faith."
4. Function Locked.
"Function locked…" Kael murmured.
He tried touching the words .. his fingers passed through the panel again, like before.
But this time, something pulsed behind the words, as if it felt him watching back.
A low hum spread through the air. The temple walls trembled.
Kael's eyes widened .. runes carved on the pillars began to glow faintly, reacting to his unseen presence.
"Looks like I'm not as invisible as I thought," he muttered.
Then the light faded
almost like the temple lost interest in him.
---
Inside, the floor was covered in old offerings:
broken coins, burned papers, cracked gems.
The priests had left, probably gone home after evening prayers.
Kael walked between the rows of fallen candles.
The statue of the god towered above him. Its eyes, carved from black stone, reflected nothing.
He looked up at it and said softly,
"Tell me… do you really hear them when they pray? Or are you just listening for the next soul to drain?"
His voice echoed through the empty hall.
No answer came.
Then, the system screen blinked again.
[Observer's Insight Activated]
[You may now perceive concealed divine structures]
"New feature?" Kael raised an eyebrow. "That was fast."
The air shifted
faint golden threads appeared across the temple like veins of light.
They pulsed slowly, connecting every statue, every prayer tablet, every offering bowl.
He followed them with his eyes
all the lines led upward, through the ceiling, into the night sky.
Kael stepped closer and placed his hand on one of the glowing threads.
A flash.
Voices filled his mind
thousands, millions of prayers all layered together.
Some begged.
Some cursed.
Some cried for power.
Others for mercy.
And above them all, a voice that was neither male nor female whispered:
"Faith received. Processing…"
Kael staggered back, breath trembling. "They… really collect it like data."
He stared up at the golden threads vanishing into the clouds.
Each one was a human belief, a soul fragment.. absorbed, counted, recycled.
For the first time,
Kael understood how small humanity truly was.
---
Hours passed.
When the moon rose high, Kael finally left the temple.
He sat by the riverbank nearby, staring at his reflection.
Or rather, the lack of it.
The water showed only the moon. His face didn't exist there.
He smiled faintly.
"So this is what it means to be unseen."
The silence was comforting. For once, he didn't have to pretend
didn't have to explain his existence.
But somewhere deep inside, a thought whispered
If the gods can't see you, can they still stop you?
He clenched his fists.
He didn't know how powerful the gods were but if their system could be glitched, it could be broken.
And he was already the first error in their design.
---
The next morning,
Kael returned to the village ruins he once called home.
The houses were still half-burned from the last war...
Moss had grown over the walls, and only a few wild dogs roamed the empty streets.
He entered his old classroom
the wooden sign
"Village School"
still hung above the door, half-broken.
Inside, the desks were covered in dust, and faded chalk marks still lingered on the board.
He picked up a small book from the floor one of his old student's journals.
The last page had a note written in messy handwriting:
"Teacher Kael, one day I'll sign in enough to meet the gods. Then I'll ask them to give you a system too."
Kael stared at the words for a long time. His throat tightened.
"Well," he whispered,
"you got your wish, little one...I got one...Just not the kind you imagined."
He placed the book back gently and stood up.
For the first time in years, his mind felt clear focused.
If the gods built this world like a machine, then every machine has weak points.
And if faith was their power source…
"Then faith can also be their end," Kael said quietly.
---
A rustling sound came from the doorway.
Kael turned.
A shadow moved quickly across the wall something tall, with too many arms.
He froze.
[Warning: Divine Watcher detected.]
[Status: Scanning anomaly...]
The system's voice spoke sharply in his head.
"Watcher?" Kael whispered.
"But I thought they couldn't..."
The shadow moved closer.
The air grew heavy, thick with static.
For a moment,
Kael saw it clearly - a being made of flowing symbols and eyes that blinked without rhythm.
It stared straight at him.
No... Through him...
[Scan failed.]
[Entity not found.]
The creature's movements glitched
it turned in confusion, the symbols across its body flickering like broken text.
Then, with a sharp hiss of wind, it vanished.
Kael exhaled slowly. "So… I'm really invisible. Even to them."
But the encounter left a chill crawling up his spine.
If that thing had been looking for him, it meant one thing ...
the gods knew something was wrong.
---
That night,
Kael made a small campfire near the edge of the forest.
The flames reflected in his eyes, but the fire didn't warm him.
He opened the system panel again.
For the first time, there was something new.
[Hidden Task Unlocked.]
[Objective: Observe without being observed.]
[Progress: 0%]
"Hidden task?" Kael muttered. "So this isn't just random."
He looked up at the stars again.
The constellations pulsed faintly, like distant eyes opening and closing.
The world felt alive and this time, he wasn't part of it but above it.
Watching. Studying. Learning how it truly worked.
He realized something important then:
The gods weren't omnipotent.
They were just the first users ..
the highest rank in the same broken system that ruled everyone else.
And now, an error existed in their code.
Him...!
---
Kael leaned back against the rock, watching the fire die slowly.
The night wind whispered through the trees, carrying distant chants from unseen temples.
He closed his eyes and spoke softly, more to himself than to the sky.
"You took everything from me .. my faith, my people, my purpose."
The flames dimmed.
"But now I can see you. I can study you. And I can learn how to destroy what you built."
The system flickered one last time before sleep claimed him.
[Daily Sign-In Available.]
Kael smiled faintly in the dark.
"Good. Let's begin."
---