Chapter 13: The Forsaken Temple

The ruined landscape stretched endlessly before them, but the temple at the end of the Paths remained unchanged. It stood tall, untouched by time, defying the laws of a world the System had rewritten.

As Rheon led his people forward, the whispers of his spear returned, stronger than before. The air around them hummed, thick with power.

They were close.

Hadric squinted at the temple's entrance—two massive stone doors covered in markings that shimmered between existence and nothingness. "This place ain't just old. It's… wrong."

Lorien's voice was barely above a whisper. "It predates the System."

Elara turned sharply. "What?"

The scholar ran his fingers over the symbols on the doors. "These carvings aren't recorded in any history, not even in lost texts. If this place existed before the System…" His expression darkened. "Then it means the System wasn't the first power in this world."

A chill settled over them.

Rheon placed a hand against the stone. The door did not resist.

It recognized him.

A pulse of power surged outward as the entrance groaned open, revealing the darkness within.

The whispers in his mind grew louder.

Something waited inside.

And it had been waiting for him.

---

The Forgotten Guardian

As they stepped into the temple, the air grew heavy. The walls pulsed with faint golden veins, shifting as if alive.

At the center of the chamber stood a statue—a figure clad in ancient armor, holding a broken blade. Its face was featureless, yet Rheon felt its unseen gaze upon him.

Then, the statue moved.

With a creaking of stone, it stepped forward, its presence towering.

"Who… dares… step into this place?"

The voice was ancient, layered with time itself. It did not echo, yet its weight pressed into their very souls.

Elara reached for her daggers. "What the hell is that?"

Lorien's hands trembled. "It speaks?"

Rheon held up a hand, silencing them. He met the guardian's faceless gaze.

"We seek the truth."

Silence followed.

Then the guardian's voice rumbled again.

"The truth… demands a price."

The broken blade in its hand pulsed with energy.

"You stand on the edge of knowledge that was erased. If you wish to claim it… you must prove yourself."

The temple trembled.

And the battle began.

---

The Trial of the Erased

The guardian moved like lightning.

One moment, it was standing still—the next, its shattered blade was inches from Rheon's throat.

He barely managed to block, his spear flaring to life. Sparks erupted as metal met energy, the impact sending a shockwave through the chamber.

Hadric roared, swinging his massive hammer. The guardian caught it with one hand, twisting the weapon aside before kicking Hadric into the stone wall.

Lorien chanted a spell, sending a spear of blue fire toward the guardian's chest—only for the flames to be absorbed into its armor.

"It's consuming magic!" Lorien shouted.

Elara vanished into the shadows, reappearing behind the guardian with both daggers aimed for the gaps in its armor—but the moment her blades made contact, she was hurled backward by an unseen force.

"This thing's learning," she gasped.

Rheon gritted his teeth. This wasn't a battle.

It was a test.

And if they failed, the temple would bury them like all the others who had come before.

He took a breath, lowered his weapon, and stepped forward.

The guardian paused.

"You understand."

Rheon nodded. "You don't want to kill us."

The guardian's shattered blade flickered. "I exist to judge those who seek what was lost. The System feared this knowledge—and so it buried it."

Rheon exhaled. "Then let us prove we are worthy."

The guardian was silent for a long moment.

Then, with a final pulse of energy, it stepped back.

"The trial is passed."

The golden veins in the walls flared—and the chamber's center opened.

Beneath them, something began to rise.

A fragment of power the System had tried to erase.

And the weapon they needed to fight back.

---

The System Responds

Far beyond the Ruined Paths, in the endless void where the System observed all things…

A warning flashed.

Anomaly Escalating.

Correction Measures Initiated.

The Devourer had awakened.

And it was coming.

The Forbidden Fragment

As the temple's core rose from the depths, the golden light pulsed in an unnatural rhythm, flickering between reality and something else—something older.

Rheon stepped forward, heart pounding. Before him, a pedestal of obsidian and gold held a single object:

A fragment of something long lost.

It was neither metal nor crystal, yet it pulsed with a power so vast that it made the air vibrate. Symbols ran across its surface, shifting between languages Rheon did not recognize—some so ancient they predated history itself.

The guardian's faceless gaze turned toward them.

"This is the Forbidden Fragment. The last piece of knowledge the System could not erase."

Lorien's voice was hoarse with awe. "This… this predates everything."

Elara took an uneasy step forward. "What is it?"

The guardian's answer was simple.

"The key to unraveling the System."

Silence fell over them.

Then Hadric let out a low, rough chuckle. "So this little thing is what the System's so scared of?"

The guardian's body remained still, but its voice carried a warning.

"Power without understanding leads only to ruin."

Rheon reached out, his fingers hovering just above the fragment.

And then—he saw.

---

Visions of a Lost War

The moment his skin made contact, his mind was torn from his body.

Darkness. Stars that did not belong. A world before the System.

He saw titans of power—beings who controlled their own fate.

He saw a war.

A war between the ones who sought to control reality and those who wished to remain free.

He saw the birth of the System.

A weapon designed to erase free will. A force meant to replace gods, rewrite existence, and forge a world where all things followed its design.

And then—he saw them.

The original rebels.

The ones who defied the System's rule.

And the one who almost won.

A figure wrapped in shadows and golden light. A being whose name had been erased from history.

The moment Rheon saw the figure's face, the vision shattered.

He staggered backward, gasping for air, his body shaking.

Lorien grabbed him. "What did you see?"

Rheon's voice was hoarse.

"The System… it wasn't always here." He clenched his fists. "It was created."

Elara frowned. "By who?"

Rheon took a breath. "By those who wanted to control everything."

Hadric's grip tightened around his hammer. "Then that means…"

Rheon met his gaze.

"The System isn't invincible."

And now, they had the weapon to prove it.

---

The Devourer Awakens

Far beyond the temple, deep in the void of the System's domain…

Something moved.

A presence older than kingdoms. Older than the war itself.

It had no thoughts. No will of its own.

It existed for one reason.

To erase anomalies.

And now, its gaze had turned toward Rheon.

The correction process had begun.

The Devourer was coming.