The sunrise was crimson.
It bathed the desert in blood-red light as Liam led his Ember Legionnaires across the sands, their armor glowing like living coals. Beside him rode Mira and Kael. Seraphina walked ahead, barefoot, flames flickering in her wake.
Their next destination was carved into his system like a divine whisper—The Weeping Canyons, home to the cult's prophet.
---
> Quest Active: Slay the Prophet of Ash
Objective: Infiltrate the Canyons
Objective: Defeat the Prophet
Objective: Reclaim the Cursed Tome
Reward: Divine Skill (Unknown), +12,000 FP
---
According to Seraphina, the Prophet had once been a holy man, a scholar of the divine—but he had gone mad after drinking the blood of a demon king. Now, he twisted prophecy to serve the cult's goals, luring kingdoms into ruin under false visions of salvation.
"They call him the Mouth of the End," Seraphina said as they marched. "He speaks death into being."
Rune hovered uneasily. "He's not like the others we've faced."
"He's still flesh," Liam said. "And flesh burns."
---
By nightfall, they reached the outer rim of the canyon.
It was like peering into a wound in the earth—blackened walls carved with screaming faces, flickering red torches, and statues of horned gods with hollow eyes. The air stank of rot and incense.
The Ember Legion halted.
Liam lifted his hand.
"Kael. Mira. You'll take the left ravine. Cut down the acolytes and disable the flame wards."
They nodded and slipped into the shadows.
Liam turned to Seraphina. "What do you see?"
She closed her eyes, her flames dimming. "There are hundreds below. But they fear something deeper than us. The Prophet… he's caged himself in the Sanctum of Echoes. Surrounded by living wards—people tied together by pain and faith."
"Then I'll break that chain," Liam said.
---
[STATS – Updated Before Battle]
Level: 59
Faith Points: 13,760
Followers: 76,340
Title: God of Reclamation
Divine Structures: Forge of Ignaros
Skills:
Emberforge Command (Active)
Heaven's Wrath (AoE)
Sanctify Soul (Convert Follower)
Creation: Divine Armament
Core Stats:
Strength: 240
Speed: 215
Endurance: 250
Intelligence: 226
Charisma: 187
Divine Energy: 4,750 / 4,750
---
They descended into the canyon, leaving scorch marks in the sand.
Cultists screamed as they were cut down by obsidian blades and burning lances. Liam moved like lightning, divine staff cracking skulls and sending arcs of flame roaring into the sky.
He didn't stop.
Not until they reached the inner sanctum—its entrance carved into the wall of the canyon like the mouth of a beast.
There, chained to altars and held by flesh-bound magic, were the living wards. Men and women, some children, their mouths sewn shut with ash-thread, their eyes wide with terror.
A voice slithered out from the shadows:
"He comes. The fallen god. The thief of flame."
The Prophet stepped into view.
He wore black robes of scorched silk, his skin tattooed with glowing runes, his eyes bottomless voids leaking smoke. A crown of burnt thorns floated above his head.
"I saw you, Liam Carson," the Prophet whispered. "I saw you in the future. A tyrant of flame. A destroyer of hope."
Liam raised his staff. "And yet, I'm still here."
The Prophet bared his teeth. "Then burn with the world you seek to save."
He clapped his hands.
And the chained wards screamed—not with voices, but with energy. Their souls burst into cursed flame, fueling a dome of obsidian light that swallowed the chamber.
Liam's system flashed red.
---
> Warning: Reality Distortion Barrier Detected
Divine energy weakened
Time dilation active: Perceived time x3
Enemies: Empowered
Solution: Sever Faith Anchor
---
Rune shouted. "You have to break the bond! Destroy the wards!"
Liam gritted his teeth. "They're still alive!"
"Then choose," Seraphina snapped. "Them, or the world you're trying to build!"
The Prophet laughed. "You cannot save all, young god. Sacrifice is the language of divinity!"
---
Liam made his choice.
He activated Heaven's Wrath, but instead of striking his enemies, he purified the altars themselves. Blinding light erupted from the ceiling as divine flame surged through the chamber—not to kill, but to release.
The sewn mouths opened. The souls screamed.
And were freed.
---
> Faith Points Gained: +2,100
Miraculous Action: Delivered 14 souls from cursed binding
> Barrier Collapsing…
---
The Prophet roared as the dome cracked.
"NO! They were MINE! My choir!"
But Liam was already moving.
He struck with all the wrath of a god scorned—flame and light, steel and will. His staff clashed with cursed blades, holy fire swallowed darkness.
The Prophet fought like a storm of shadows, his body flickering, warping, splitting into illusions.
"You don't understand," the Prophet hissed. "This world isn't meant to be saved. It's meant to END. You're delaying the inevitable!"
Liam bled, bruised and burned—but didn't stop.
And then Seraphina stepped in beside him.
Their flames merged.
Golden and red.
A divine fusion of purpose.
They struck together, and the Prophet screamed as divine fire consumed him from within.
His body exploded in embers.
---
> Boss Defeated: Prophet of Ash (Tier VI)
Rewards:
+12,000 Faith Points
Cursed Tome of Sight (Relic)
New Skill: Ashes to Echoes
Optional Path: Consume the Prophet's soul?
Effect: Unknown
Risk: High
---
Liam paused over the ashes.
Seraphina looked at him. "This is dangerous."
"But power," Rune whispered, "is never safe."
He reached down.
And consumed the Prophet's soul.
---
> Soul Consumed: Seer of Ash
Mutation Triggered: Prophetic Sight Fragmentation
Skill Gained: Foresight Glimpses – (Rare)
Occasionally glimpse fragments of near-future combat or dialogue. Unstable.
Side Effect: Periodic hallucinations. Risk of mental corruption mitigated by Divine Endurance.
---
They left the canyon under a blood-red moon.
Kael and Mira rejoined them with scorched weapons and shallow wounds. The Ember Legion carried the wounded and freed slaves.
But Liam walked ahead, silent, the Cursed Tome in hand, glowing faintly with symbols that shifted when unobserved.
"You took his madness," Seraphina said.
"I took his sight," Liam replied. "So I can see what others fear to."
She didn't argue.
And as they walked, Liam saw again the vision from the Oracle—the fire throne, and the empty hand reaching for a crown.
But now he saw something else beside it—
A woman's hand, held out to him, wreathed in red and gold flame.
And he didn't feel alone.
---
End of Chapter 47