Chapter 897 - 898: The Pool

Published Mar 17, 2026, 07:34 AM

Chapter 897: Chapter 898: The Pool The halls were quite big. Here, Damon felt something he really did not know was possible. He felt his shadow show fear for the first time. The moment he set foot in the Holy City, his shadow became anxious. It stopped moving on its own and acted like a completely natural shadow. However, the real turning point was when they entered the central temple. It seemed uneasy. The Holy City was the capital of the Holy Empire. It was here that the Temple held all of its true power. In a sense, it was a theocracy, funded and supported by the armies and resources of most of the powerful nations of the world. All around the world, whenever a new ruler was crowned, they would come here to the Holy City on a pilgrimage, where they would kiss the feet of the goddess statue to show their loyalty. It was a ceremonial procedure, but in truth it was also political. It was primarily so. The architecture of the city was old and had one too many statues of the goddess. The streets were lined with many Holy Knights, and when Damon had entered, the people had cheered. The Temple had truly gone out of its way to make a showing of his arrival, and naturally many powerful nobles had been present in the city. Some were invited by his grandfather, some by the Temple. Despite the demon wars around the corner, seeing a new Hero was not to be taken lightly, especially with war looming so close. Damon paused outside the grand temple. He could feel the deep fear and dread his shadow felt. It was overwhelming. The dread even reached his own heart, and for good reason. It was the structure at the center of the city, and this building was surrounded by people wearing long veils over their faces, wide gowns carrying the many ornaments that symbolized the goddess. They sang her praises, moving slowly through the temple. Damon knew this terrifying aura. He knew it too well. This was the aura he had felt the instant he had died. This was the aura of the Goddess of Doom. Even if it was faint and almost nonexistent, Damon realized just how much dread he felt. In his mind, he almost felt as if she was looking right at him. The man in front of him turned to Damon. "Awe-inspiring, isn’t it?" he smiled, his hands hidden in his long white sleeves. "This is the place. It was in this temple many years ago that the goddess destroyed Ashcroft, the Demon Lord of Domination." He closed his eyes, taking a whiff of the clean air. "If you focus, you can still sense it. Faint traces of divine energy. This is power even Ashcroft could not survive." Damon kept his expression still, his gaze falling on his shadow. That explained why his shadow was so meek. This was the place where Ashcroft had fallen. His shadow was originally Ashcroft. It was only after he had died that the Unknown God had given him the shadow and his system. ’I’m not going to die the moment I enter the temple, right?’ At this point, that was a very real possibility. But Damon gritted his teeth and still took a step forward. The inside was cool, yet there was an oppressive feeling in his chest, as if speaking too loudly here was a sin. Even so, Damon could not turn back. He was in this temple to receive the title of Hero, which meant he would have to do some rituals and all that. He had originally not taken them seriously, but now that he had come here, he had no choice but to do so. After the ritual here, he would be presented to the crowd of people, guests, family, and nobles waiting outside. The old man stopped in front of a large statue of the goddess. In front of this huge statue, easily thirty meters in height, there was a wide pool. Around it were young women with veils covering their faces. "This pool was formed after Ashcroft died. It is saturated with remnants of the goddess’s divine energy. By bathing in it, your body will be reborn." Damon felt a subtle, gentler wave of divine power coming from it. The man moved his hand from his sleeve. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎 "But it is also very dangerous. Those who are unfit will die if they stay inside for too long. Seras Blade stayed inside the longest. She endured it for half an hour." Damon narrowed his eyes. Half an hour. That was her limit. How dangerous was this pool if even Seras could not stay longer? "However, the risk is worth it. Your body is refined to the peak and left with no impurities, and you gain a hint of the goddess’s divine energy by bathing in it. Seras unlocked the full potential of her War Attribute." He turned to the old man, who was in fact the High Templar. "Your Holiness, if I may, what happens when I fail to endure?" The old man closed his eyes slowly. "Then you will be with the goddess shortly." Damon winced. That did not sound like a good outcome. The question was whether he should risk it. He was already affiliated with the Unknown God. Going in might very well kill him. But at the same time, he did not feel anything from his danger sense. Still, he could not rely on his danger sense when dealing with the goddess or anything related to her. Damon bit his lip as the women in white veils came and began to undress him, singing hymns. To Damon, the hymn sounded like a death knell for his final moments. He gritted his teeth and slowly stepped into the pool. As soon as he entered, Damon felt a strange and transcendent energy begin to scrutinize him, probing through his body. He felt like if he was not careful, he would be crushed, or maybe lose an arm, a leg, or both. However, when this energy reached his heart, it stopped. Damon nearly stopped breathing as it zeroed in on the two contrasting forces in his heart. The Seed of Depravity and the Divine Spark. Then the pool began to churn as it boiled over. The High Templar’s eyes widened. "Wha... what is happening?"

React

Discussion