Jealous Roots Beneath the Altar

[Shrine Territory: 7 meters][Faith Points: 4/5][Acolyte: Mira – Devotion Stable][Dormant Threat Detected: Rell – Suppressed Resentment Active][System Directive: Stabilize internal faith core before Shrine Growth Tier I]

Kael stood beneath the altar, torchlight casting long shadows across the bones embedded in the walls. The Ember Fang Dagger pulsed faintly at his side, whispering in a voice only gods could hear.

He wasn't a man anymore. Not truly.

Not since death.

Not since rebirth.

"System," Kael said. "What's the condition of the shrine's root?"

[Shrine Core Health: 73%][Spiritual Leakage Detected in Eastern Wing][Recommendation: Purge Dead Will Residues]

A low hum throbbed through the stone.

Kael turned. Mira had entered the chamber, eyes shining with awe and fear. Rell trailed behind her, quiet as a shadow.

Kael narrowed his eyes. Rell wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Mira," Kael said, voice calm. "The altar chamber needs reinforcing. Can I trust you to begin the ash-circle wards?"

She nodded quickly. "Yes. I... I can feel the patterns in my head."

"That's your link to the shrine. The god's memory flows through you now."

"What about Rell?" she asked. "He's been... strange."

Kael's gaze didn't move. "Strange how?"

"He talks to the statue of the old saint in the cellar. Says it whispers to him sometimes. That it promised he'd be more important than me."

Kael stepped forward. "System—analyze the statue."

[Corrupted Relic Fragment Detected][Name: Broken Saint's Crown][Residual Divinity: Echo of Hunger][Risk Level: Moderate – Emotional Influence Present]▸ Suggestion: Cleanse or Remove Immediately

Kael swore under his breath. "It's not just jealousy. Something's feeding it."

He descended the steps alone.

In the lowest depths of the shrine, the Broken Saint's Crown sat atop a fractured idol. It was once a holy thing, no doubt, but now… the cracks ran too deep. Black moss and withered vines clung to it like parasites.

Kael stepped forward, dagger in hand.

[Warning: Relic Will Resist Purification][Faith Points: 4/5 – Insufficient for Direct Cleansing]▸ Alternate Option: Convert into Shadow Relic?

Kael narrowed his eyes.

"Do it."

[Shadow Relic Created: Crown of Hollow Light][Effect: Draws ambient malice and converts into usable Shadow Points][Warning: May enhance emotional volatility of non-divine nearby]

Kael picked up the crown carefully. It was cold—too cold. Like a memory of winter long buried.

When he returned, Mira was still working. Ash swirled in the air as she traced runes along the altar's base.

But Rell was gone.

"Mira," Kael said quietly. "Where's your brother?"

She looked up, startled. "He said he heard a voice from the trees… and left."

Kael felt it immediately.

[Shrine Border Breached][Faith Link Severance Detected: Subject Rell – Status Unknown][New Divine Passive Gained: Instinct of the Void]▸ Effect: Sense of divine threats within shrine radius + heightened perception when shrine is breached

He bolted out of the shrine.

Fog had risen like a tide, thick and crawling with whispers.

Kael's new passive burned behind his eyes—flashes of flickering movement in the dark, something wrong in the pattern of the trees.

Then he saw them.

Feathers.

Dozens of them. Black and red.

And in the center — Rell.

Kneeling before a strange figure cloaked in rotting feathers and golden antlers.

Kael froze.

[Divine Entity Identified: Herald of the Vulture Crown][Rank: Lesser Demigod Servant – Scavenger Order][Intent: Soul Claim on Shrined Follower – Negotiation Unlikely]

The figure turned.

Its face was a bird skull, hollow-eyed and ancient.

It opened its beak — and spoke with Rell's voice.

"You never chose me. But I was always watching."