Chapter 9 – The God Who Sealed Himself

By IMERPUS RELUR 

--

The Remnari were quiet today.

Not in fear. Not in sorrow.

But in reverence.

Their god had returned from the Whispering Forge with a relic that pulsed with the silence of all things forgotten. It wasn't power that stirred them. It was the weight of meaning that Auren now carried.

Eléa knelt beside a shimmering pool in the domain's heart, her hands weaving threads of light into the soil.

> "They feel it," she said. "The shape of the next memory calling you."

Auren stood above the still water, the Nameless Mantle now fused across his shoulders like an invisible echo. He didn't ask what was coming. He knew.

Another memory had awakened.

Not from the Tribunal.

Not from the Watchers.

But from within the divine plane itself.

A ripple passed through the pool—and a face appeared beneath it.

Eyes closed.

Chains bound around the skull.

A divine sigil scarred across the forehead.

Eléa's expression turned somber.

> "That… is a god who sealed himself away. Not out of punishment—but to protect others from his own memory."

Auren narrowed his eyes. "He's still alive?"

> "Barely. His race collapsed ages ago. He vanished before the Origin Fracture."

The pool shimmered again.

> "His name is… Kaelrion. The God of Regret."

The water rose, forming a portal once more.

> "If you enter his sealed realm, your soul must carry his regret—or he will remain chained forever. This is a choice few gods would dare."

Auren stepped forward.

> "Then let me carry what he could not."

---

 Location Entered: Sealcore Depths – Tomb of Regret

> Auren descended through a tunnel of crystal chains and echoes of unsung hymns. Each step forward made his own memories flicker—his childhood, the moment he awoke, the boy he saved.

At the end was a throne carved into a collapsing moon.

Kaelrion sat slumped upon it—tall, ancient, half-petrified. Chains wrapped around his limbs and heart, each one glowing with a different memory.

The god stirred faintly as Auren approached.

> "Leave… me," he rasped. "My truth… poisons."

> "No," Auren said softly. "I've come to remember it for you."

---

A chain snapped.

Kaelrion's eyes opened. They were hollow—not blind, but burdened.

> "I created a race from my guilt," he whispered. "They worshipped me. I taught them pain so they'd never harm others."

"And then… they died trying to cleanse themselves of me."

Auren clenched his fists. "You never wanted followers. You wanted redemption."

> "I gave them regret… instead of love."

The room pulsed.

One final chain wrapped around Kaelrion's chest, glowing with one word:

> "Forgive."

Auren stepped forward, pressing his palm to the word.

> "Then let this regret become part of my path."

The final chain shattered.

Kaelrion collapsed—but before vanishing, he raised a trembling hand.

> "Take this… not as power… but as burden shared."

Light poured from his chest into Auren's heart.

---

 Divine Memory Integrated:

[Fragment of Kaelrion – The Weight of Forgiveness]

> New Passive Unlocked: Enemies affected by your relics now feel the emotional truth behind your actions.

New Active Skill: Echo of Regret – Implant a fragment of divine guilt in a hostile mind, forcing them to confront the truth of their own harm.

---

Kaelrion faded.

But not in agony.

In relief.

A final whisper echoed through the seal:

> "You… are the god I prayed to… but never knew."

---

Auren emerged from the Sealcore—slower, heavier.

The Remnari gathered in silence.

Above them… a fourth Watcher smiled.

And this one—wept.