Lucius limped back to the old shrine as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon. His body ached, his skin still tender from the flame burns. The Essence Vial pulsed with a sickly glow in his satchel, completely full of corrupted divine energy.
"Remind me not to go on a quest like this again.." he whispered to himself as he found the shrine door.
The shrine door opened before he could knock, like the last time, and he stepped inside.
"You're late." Cophey's voice drifted from within. "And you smell like charred meat."
'You bet I do.'
Lucius stepped inside, dropping the vial onto the carved symbols on the floor. It clicked against the stone, dark energy swirling inside the glass as it landed.
Cophey emerged from the shadows, her obsidian eyes studying him with calm interest. She picked up the vial, holding it up to the candlelight.
"It's….full, I'm impressed." She tilted her head slightly, glaring her obsidian eyes on him. "And you absorbed something else, didn't you? Something you shouldn't have."
Lucius said nothing, but his hand unconsciously flexed. Small flames flickered between his fingers before he clenched his fist, extinguishing them.
Cophey smiled faintly. "Divine Integration, risky. Most people would have burned from the inside out." She set the vial aside and gestured for him to sit.
"You're either very lucky or very foolish."
Lucius chuckled to himself.
"Probably both," Lucius muttered, sinking onto the cushion, placing his iron felt legs in a more suitable position.
Cophey circled him slowly, like a predator assessing its prey. "You completed my task, so I'll keep my word."
She moved to the centre of the room, where a large circular pattern was carved into the floor, intricate symbols, and geometric shapes that seemed to pulse with faint blue light.
"This is a divination array," she explained, kneeling beside it.
"It requires three components: a target, a medium, and a catalyst." She pulled two items from her robes.
First was a small obsidian mirror, cracked down the middle, and a slightly blurry view.
The second was a vial of silvery liquid that shimmered like starlight, corked inside, almost filled to the top.
The third was the Essence Vial Lucius had brought back, filled with corrupted divine energy.
"The mirror reflects truth across distances," Cophey said, placing it at the centre of the array. "The starlight essence opens pathways between realms." She poured the silver liquid in a circle around the mirror.
"And your corrupted energy…" she uncorked the vial, and dark smoke sizzled out. "....acts as the lure. Divine energy calls to divine energy, even when twisted."
Lucius watched as she worked, her movements precise and practised. The symbols on the floor began to glow brighter, reacting to the materials.
"This ritual will locate the Sun God's reincarnation," Cophey continued. "But understand, divination of this level doesn't come without a cost." She looked up at him, her eyes sharp.
"The moment I activate this, every divine sensitive being within a hundred kilometres will feel it. Angels, oracles, blessed warriors. They'll know someone is searching for a god."
"How long do I have?" Lucius shrugged.
"Hours, maybe a day if you're lucky." She turned her attention to the array. "Once you know where the Sun God is, you'll need to move fast. Heaven's champions won't sit idle for long."
Lucius leaned forward. "You mentioned something about a dimensional compass once."
Cophey reached into her robes again and produced a small bronze device. It was circular, with a single needle that spun slowly, pulsing with faint golden light. Symbols were etched along its edges, an ancient script he couldn't quite read.
"This…this will point you toward divine energy signatures," she said, holding it up. "The stronger the divinity, the brighter the glow. It has a range of about fifty kilometres, so once you're in the general area, this will guide you to your target."
She handed it to him, and the moment it touched his palm, the needle stopped spinning and pointed north. A faint warmth spread through his hand, almost ethereal.
'A God compass. Just what I need.'
[Item Acquired: Dimensional Compass]
[Effect: Detects divine energy within 50km radius. Intensity increases with proximity.]
Lucius slipped it into his pocket slowly. "And the ritual will tell me exactly where to go?"
"Yes." Cophey placed her hands on either side of the mirror. "But there's one more thing you need to understand." Her voice dropped, deadly serious.
"The Sun God may be reincarnated as a child, but divinity doesn't forget. The moment you get close to him, fragments of his past self may awaken. Don't underestimate him just because he's young."
"I wasn't planning to."
Cophey studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "Good, then let's begin."
She closed her eyes and began to chant in a language Lucius didn't recognise. The words were harsh and guttural, each syllable crackling with power. The array beneath them flared to life, blue light rising from the carved symbols like flames.
The corrupted energy from the vial poured into the circle, mixing with the starlight essence. The obsidian mirror began to glow, its surface rippling like water.
Lucius felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The air grew heavy, thick with pressure, and his survival instinct skill prickled.
[Survival Instinct (Passive) - Triggered]
[Warning: High-level spiritual activity detected. You are being observed.]
The mirror's surface cleared, and an image formed on the glass.
It was a massive city, with white stone buildings gleaming in the sunlight. Golden domes rose above towering walls. Banners bearing a radiant sun symbol fluttered from every tower.
"The Holy City of Solara," Cophey murmured, her eyes still closed. "Two hundred kilometres north of here."
The image shifted, zooming inward. Streets filled with people in white robes, temples with pillars of polished marble. Guards in golden pristine armour patrolling the gates.
Then, the vision focused on a palace at the city's centre, an enormous structure with gardens, fountains, and walls lined with Holy Wards.
Inside, there was a child.
Lucius leaned closer, his heart pounding as it zoomed closer.
The boy couldn't have been more than six years old. With blonde hair, almost white. Eyes that gleamed with an unnatural golden hue. He sat in a lavish room, surrounded by priests and attendants, his expression unnervingly calm for someone so young
"Prince Aurelius," Cophey whispered. "The Sun God's reincarnation."
The boy turned his head suddenly, as if sensing the observation. His golden eyes seemed to stare directly through the mirror, directly at Lucius.
For a split second, Lucius felt it, an overwhelming pressure, ancient and vast, like staring into the core of a star.
The mirror cracked further, and the vision shattered.
Cophey gasped, pulling her hands back. The array's light flickered and died, plunging the shrine into dim candlelight once more.
Lucius's hands were trembling. "He knew we were watching."
Cophey nodded slowly, wiping a thin line of blood from her nose. "Divine intuition. Even as a child, fragments of his true self remain." She looked at him gravely.
"You're going to kill a god who's barely begun his second life. Are you prepared for that?"
Lucius clenched his fists and thought of the withered villages he saw, the corpses in Fallen Crest, the dried up wells and massive graves.
'If I don't kill him now, when do I? When he's far too strong?'
"Yes."
Cophey rose to her feet, steadying herself against the wall.
"Solara is heavily fortified. The sun God is protected by the church of the radiant dawn, prists, paladins, even Holy knights. They'll have wards, barriers, divine blessings layered over that palace."
"How do I get in?"
She smiled faintly. "That's your problem to solve. But I'll give you one piece of advice." She stepped closer, her obsidian eyes boring into him.
"Find someone on the inside. Someone who hates the gods just as much as you do."
'But I do not know anyone like that, nor would I have time to search for anyone.' Then a thought struck him.
Lucius frowned. "You know someone?"
"I know of someone. A disgraced priestess, she was cast out of the church for heresy, questioning the gods' benevolence during the drought." Cophey pulled a small piece of parchment from her robes and handed it to him.
"Her name is Seraphine. Last I heard, she was hiding in the lower districts of solara, surviving however she can."
Lucius took the parchment, and noticed a single name, accompanied by a rough sketch of a location, an inn called: THE HOLLOW LANTERN.
"She has access to the palace?" He asked.
"She used to and more importantly, she knows the layout, the guard rotations, the weak points in their defences." Cophey crossed her arms.
"Where she'll help you or not is another matter. She's unstable, so I heard, and bitter. But if anyone in that city would aid a god killer, its her."
Lucius folded the parchment and tucked it into his satchel. "Anything else I should know?"
Cophey hesitated, then sighed. "The gods will sense you coming. Not immediately, but the closer you get to Solara, te more your presence will disturb the divine order. You've absorbed too much corrupted energy, killed too many blessed creatures. You're starting to register as an anomaly to be disposed."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning heaven's champions are already hunting threats like you, you've started to piss them off. Expect resistance long before you reach the city." She moved to the door, opening it to reveal the pale dawn light.
"Go and prepare and if you succeed…" she glanced back at him, her expression unreadable. "....come back alive. I'd like to see what happens when a mortal truly kills a god."
Lucius stood, his body protesting with every movement he made, but he forced himself upright. He stepped toward the door, then paused.
"Why are you helping me?"
Cophey's smile was cold. "Because I'm curious and because the gods abandoned us when we needed them most. If someone's finally going to make them pay…" her obsidian eyes gleamed. "...I want a front row seat."
"That's a weird ideology, but you have helped me. So thank you."
Lucius nodded and stepped out into the morning air.
The dimensional compass in his pocket pulsed gently, the needle pointing steadily north.
'Two hundred kilometres, on reincarnated god and a growing list of enemies who wanted him dead.
He pulled up his status window one last time before leaving the shrine.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Lucius Arkebold
Level: 1
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
「STR: 53
AGI: 31
VIT: 60
INT: 43」
『Skills:
• Absorption (S-Rank)
• Basic Survival Knowledge (Passive)
• Local Geography (Passive)
• Streetwise (Passive)
• Appraisal Lv1 (Passive)
• Steady Aim Lv1 (Passive)
• Survival Instinct Lv1 (Passive)
• Heat Resistance Lv4 (Passive)
• Minor Fire Manipulation Lv1 (Active)』
Kills: 5 (Human), 12 (Corrupted Beasts)
Title Progress: Slayer (17/50)
『Items:
• Divine Charm of Guidance
• Dimensional Compass
• Hunter's Crossbow
• Throwing Axe
• Trail Rations
• Fire Starter Kit』
Lucius closed the window and started walking.
The road north stretched ahead of him, winding through forests and hills. Two hundred kilometres to Solara, where the sun god resided.
He thought back about the child in the vision, those golden eyes staring back through the mirror.
'He's just a kid,' he thought. 'Killing him would not be right, but he's a kid who let thousands die.' he sighed.
His hands brushed against the throwing axe at his belt.
'One god down, then the weather gods. Then every divine bastard who abandoned humanity.'
Behind him, the shrine faded into the distance. Ahead, his destiny waited and Lucius walked toward it without hesitation.