"I can choose only one from what I saw so far, right? Then in that case... I choose...." Ethan said and smiled cunningly as silence and anticipation ensued.
"What do you choose?" The voice asked once again.
"I choose... This temple." Ethan said calmly relieving the tension in the air.
The voice chuckled and said, "How could that be? Don't you want to choose The treasure? Or The Garden which can make you powerful? Or perhaps the never-ending fountain of knowledge that is the grand library?"
Ethan sighed and his gaze suddenly became sharp and decisive as he looked into the darkness and said calmly, "Alright. Stop playing these useless games. You and I both know that this place has a bigger purpose than simply storing riches or books. Do you take me for a fool? If I'm wrong then tell me... why would the history of Akarxia be carved into the walls if not otherwise?" Ethan said and took a short pause.
"I don't have time to play these silly games anymore. I know that this is not about me neither is it about this place. This is all about some absurd prophecy and the future of Akarxia, isn't it? If you don't stop this now then forget about me listening to you even for a moment." Ethan announced haughtily as he crossed his arms and harrumphed.
"God Said: Good fortune only follows the ones who know where true fortune lies. You are indeed clever, Ethan Riddles." The voice said and for the first time, Ethan's eyes truly widened with shock as he thought, 'He knows my previous name.'
Before he could ask or speak anything, A bright light suddenly flashed and Ethan teleported.
Ethan removed his hands from over his eyes as he opened them with furrowed brows—he was in a large extravagant hallway in a very enormous building.
When he looked up, the ceiling looked to be at least three-four stories high up. The hallway was adorned with sculptures of angels on both sides of the passageway. The hallway's floor was covered with velvet carpet colored red with intricate golden designs and the windows on the right wall had stained glass similar to one Ethan had seen in a Church on earth.
"So this must be the final destination," Ethan muttered as he walked along the hallway observing the sculptures of angels as well as the paintings of battle art.
After a while of walking—Ethan arrived at a huge hall as he saw two enormous opened gates identical to the one he had seen before entering the temple.
Ethan stepped in and the first thing he saw was a black-haired young man facing ahead standing with hands behind his back in a lavish white attire—it was embroidered with golden threads on the sides, collar as well as sleeves.
Then Ethan saw the lavish nave—floor made of silver tiles, walls covered with gold coating, and windows with colorful stained glass that looked more like gemstones.
He walked inside and he observed the place nonchalantly. He was acting as if he owned the place scrutinizing every little detail in his mind.
The black-haired young man turned around and faced Ethan. He was incredibly good-looking and gave off a Holy Aura along with a gentle demeanor.
"And... Who are you?" Ethan asked. He was a bit cautious but did not show it on his face and acted very naturally.
"Welcome to The Temple of Apostle, Ethan Riddles... Or should I say, Ethan White? I am Afriel—The Wingless Angel." Afriel said with an amiable smile.
"How do you know my identity? What and why is this place? Tell me." Ethan asked curiously.
Afriel did not speak. He looked like as if he was pondering something in his mind. In the end; he sighed deeply and walked toward Ethan.
"This is a long story and it seems we do not have much time at this moment. This domain is something you can call a pocket dimension. Many years ago, The Creator himself produced this Artifact in the shape of a blue stone which you found in another world. Its whole purpose has been to be found by the Destined One—that is you." Afriel spoke.
"Don't tell me that my death was caused because of this?" Ethan said narrowing his eyes dangerously.
"No, The requirement to unlock the seal of the stone is death. Only someone who died while possessing the Blue Stone can have access to this dimension. It was meant to be." Afriel explained patiently.
Ethan looked at Afriel suspiciously as he wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not. At least it didn't seem like he was lying.
"I understand your concern, but hear me out as this is extremely important." Afriel smiled bitterly and said to which Ethan nodded.
"When the Allfather created the Seal of Time-Space Continuum, The God of Prophecy foretold that in the Future after millions of years; The Disgraced One will somehow be strengthened while the Allfather gets weaker resulting in the Seal being broken inviting a great catastrophe to the Human World. He could see only one possibility of hope and that was to create this Temple and all that is within in its entirety and leave it in the human world." Afriel explained.
Ethan's eyebrows twitched in annoyance and he scoffed.
"Let me guess? You want me to be the hero and save the world because I'm supposed to be the so-called Destined One? Why should I care?" Ethan said harshly knitting his eyebrows, 'I knew it. A load of crap! Become hero? That's such a drag!' Ethan thought.
Afriel sighed as a resigned expression appeared on his face, "Do you know? I have been waiting here for thousands of years and you deny it? It's not just me... There are other Wingless Angels here currently slumbering. Do you not care if everything is destroyed and your Family dies a painful death? Even if you don't care... It doesn't matter. Let me tell you a fact, this Domain is created from the essence of all existing banished Gods. It can give you knowledge, power, and riches which you can use to find out what the reason for the Disgraced One's strengthening is." Afriel said with a sharp raised tone.
"Accept it, you can no longer have a carefree life. The moment you died while having the stone—your soul forever bonded with this Temple. Its Existence inside your soul triggered your Ancestral Awakening early which is why you are now here. This Domain is linked with you; the more strength you have, the fewer limitations you will face." Afriel said.
Ethan thought about it and to be honest it wasn't a bad deal. He would get unimaginable advantages in the new world now that he knew he had such an Artifact. In return, he would simply have to find out how The Disgraced God was getting his strength even while being sealed.
At least that's what he was thinking—until Afriel spoke again.
"You cannot run from this as you have things to worry about, I don't know when this happened but throughout history, while various forces tried to get their hands on the stone—people eventually started believing that This Artifact is made by The Disgraced One and many forces are still searching for it hoping to attain all its powers and treasures," Afriel said with a somewhat apologetic expression.
"The moment you wake up in the real world, certain forces will once again be notified by various means that The Stone has re-emerged. They will not be able to track your location but it might just be a matter of time before you are discovered." Afriel proceeded to say calmly as if he was announcing a death warrant.
"You have gotta be kidding me..." Ethan muttered as his brows twitched. He was devastated not because he was scared; but because his days of living a carefree life were over.
Ethan suddenly stumbled as he felt his consciousness slowly drifting away. Afriel extended his finger and a light shone around Ethan's ethereal body and he recovered.
"Alright. We do not have more time... if you have further questions then now's the time." Afriel asked looking into Ethan's eyes.
Ethan thought for a moment and his eyes shone with a cunning light as if he had remembered something extremely important.
"Looks like... I have no choice if people will come looking for me to ask for trouble. Fine then! I will do what I can. However, I do have some important things to ask you." Ethan said with a tone mix of despair, resignation, and seriousness.
Afriel was holding onto Ethan's consciousness quite desperately which suggested that it would be hard for Ethan to enter the Pocket Dimension anytime soon once he got back to the outside world.
A few minutes passed and Ethan quickly asked everything that was most important for his current circumstances.
Darkness flashed through his eyes as his they began closing on their own. Afriel drew back his finger and the glow over Ethan's body vanished.
Before falling completely unconscious—Ethan saw Afriel getting down on one knee and saying, "We, The Wingless angels exist solely to assist God's Apostle. Master Ethan, from this point onwards, I am yours to command."
Darkness enveloped Ethan's sight as his ethereal body vanished from the Temple.
"Master, You are the ideal person to fulfill this responsibility as I have tested from the previous trials. One day when you are stronger—I will be outside this space by your side in this endeavor. May The Allfather Bless You!"
Afriel muttered under his breath as he clasped his hands together with a gentle smile.