The chamber shook as the altar cracked wide open. Light spilled like molten silver, flooding the air with heat and pressure that pressed against their skin. The figure within rose slowly, its form half-shadow, half-glow, shifting as though it was not bound to one shape.
Its face—if it had one—was obscured, but countless eyes blinked in and out across its surface, all locking onto Rihan.
"Vessel…" the voice boomed again, each syllable shaking the very marrow of their bones.
Kael planted himself in front of Rihan, sword raised. "Stay back!"
But the figure didn't advance. Instead, its gaze pierced straight through Kael—straight into Rihan's chest where the Soul Link pulsed wildly.
[Warning: Synchronization Overload]
[External Deity Signature Detected]
[User Compatibility: 64%]
Rihan grit his teeth, fighting to breathe. His body felt like it was splitting apart—his own heartbeat clashing against a rhythm not his own.
Elira rushed forward, channeling light into a protective barrier around him. "Rihan, resist it!"
The deity's voice reverberated again.
"You carry my fragment already. That is why you survived the Bridge. That is why the Soul Link sings within you."
Rihan froze. What?
The System confirmed:
[Origin Trace: Soul Link Core – Fragment of the Forgotten Deity]
The truth hit like a blade to the chest. His power—the bond tying him to Kael, Mira, Elira—wasn't a gift of fate. It was borrowed, tied to this being.
Mira cursed under her breath, loosing an arrow at the figure. It struck—yet dissolved before even touching its form. The arrow's fragments scattered like sand.
The figure's gaze shifted briefly toward her.
"Mortal defiance… still amusing after so many cycles."
Chains of silver, though cracked, suddenly lashed outward from the altar, striking the ground like whips. The chamber quaked, pillars groaning as dust rained down.
Kael slashed at one chain, sparks flying, but it only pushed him back with raw force.
Elira cried out, "It's testing us! This is no ordinary battle—it's judging whether we're worthy to even stand here!"
Rihan felt the System pulsing inside him.
[Trial Protocol Initiated]
[Objective: Prove Worthiness of Soul Link Vessel]
[Condition: Survive the Deity's Chains of Judgment]
The silver bindings shot forward like serpents. One nearly skewered Rihan, but Kael intercepted, blade ringing as it deflected the strike.
Mira rolled aside, firing blessed arrows that shattered against the chains, slowing them for mere seconds.
Elira held her ground, her light shield expanding, absorbing blow after blow. Each impact cracked the barrier more, sweat running down her temple.
"Rihan!" she shouted, her voice desperate. "The trial is yours! If you don't take control, we'll all fall here!"
Rihan clenched his blade. The Soul Link blazed in his chest, threads of light stretching toward his companions, pulling their strength into him.
Their trust. Their resolve. Their lives.
He let it surge.
[Group Buff: Soul Link Resonance – Overdrive]
[All Stats +20% | Shared Endurance Activated]
The world sharpened. Chains lashed again, but this time Rihan moved in rhythm with the Link. Kael's strength steadied his arms, Mira's precision sharpened his strikes, Elira's resilience bolstered his lungs.
He became more than himself.
Rihan's blade glowed faintly blue, humming with the combined will of his allies. He slashed through a chain—the impact sending shockwaves across the chamber. The silver whip shattered into fragments of light before dissolving.
The deity's many eyes blinked slowly.
"…So you choose to fight as one."
The altar trembled. More chains rose, writhing like a nest of serpents. The trial wasn't over—it was only beginning.
Rihan's grip tightened. His chest ached under the weight of borrowed divinity, but his voice rang steady:
"We don't bow to forgotten gods. We fight together."
The Soul Link pulsed in answer, brighter than ever.
The chamber filled with the clash of steel, the hiss of arrows, the crack of light—and the Trial of the Forgotten began in earnest.