"Not all goddesses need temples. Some are buried in rage."
---
Ruins of Hollowreach — Dawn
The trio arrived at the broken edge of Hollowreach, where colossal obsidian statues laid shattered across the dunes, buried waist-deep in golden sand. The ruins rose like claws from the earth — fragments of a city that once rivaled Swarnalok in glory, now reduced to whispers and bones.
Wind screamed through the canyon arches. Not a single bird circled the skies.
"No divine energy," Luv muttered, scanning the horizon.
"No movement. No prayers," Astha added, narrowing his eyes.
"Just silence. That's worse."
Their path wound downward into the city's ribcage — a sunken temple district, blackened from a fire that never went out.
As they stepped forward, Tamsavrit, the glaive hovering behind Astha, slowly unraveled — as if sensing an ancient presence.
---
In the heart of the ruins stood a broken altar.
On its base, eroded by time, was the barely legible name:
"Saphthya" – The Goddess of Dissent and Balance.
Naira touched the cracked stone with reverence.
"She was erased during the Era of Correction," she whispered.
"They said she protected mortals from divine excess... and paid the price."
As she spoke, the wind dropped. The air grew heavy.
And then—
"Who speaks my name…?"
The sand around them erupted.
---
A massive serpentine construct, composed of bronze and divine resin, burst from beneath the ruins. Atop its head sat a jagged crown — its eyes burning with hollow divine energy.
"This is no beast," Luv growled, stepping forward.
"It's a divine curse."
"Wrong," Astha said, summoning Tamsavrit to his hand.
"It's a test."
The serpent struck first — faster than any beast. Its coils split the stone, shattered pillars, and sent shockwaves through the temple grounds.
Astha ducked, drove Tamsavrit into the ground, and vaulted upward — mid-air, he snapped the glaive into a three-part chain and sliced through the serpent's eye.
Luv flanked the opposite side, thunder cracking down his forearms as he slammed a bolt-infused punch into the beast's ribs, denting its celestial plates.
Naira threw a cursed dagger at the mouth just before the creature could bite — it hissed, reeling from the spell.
"We take it down together!" she shouted.
"Then we find her!"
---
As the serpent reared for another strike, Astha grabbed a broken column and hurled it like a javelin.
It struck with such force the ground shook.
"You want a trial?" Astha snarled.
"Try surviving me."
Tamsavrit spun in his hand, glowing with blood-red glyphs.
He stabbed the glaive into the beast's chest, drove it deep, then detonated its stored memory seals — the explosion lit the entire ruins in white.
The serpent thrashed — and fell still.
---
[The Voice Beneath]
As the sand settled, a secret chamber was revealed beneath the shrine. Faint violet light spilled from below.
The group descended carefully.
There, encased in crystalline stasis, was a statue — no, a sealed goddess, her body half-buried in divine vines. Her eyes were closed. Her hands clasped in prayer.
But when Astha stepped closer…
Her eyes opened.
"You carry the flame," she whispered.
"Then you must carry the burden."