Steps echoed in the cathedral as Aria walked slowly toward the door positioned at the center.
There were voices—thousands of voices—screaming in her mind, all of them demanding that she give up, that she accept defeat.
It seemed the corruption was trying to take over.
Aria, trying not to lose herself, bit her lower lip, using the pain as a reminder of why she was here.
She tried not to glance around too much, just looking at the dark, menacing matter that had spread all around the cathedral filled her with dread.
She stopped before the door that led to the center of it all.
Taking a deep, slow breath, she placed her hand on the knob, steeling her resolve.
Opening it slowly, she entered the heart of the cathedral.
Every cathedral had a center like this, a large room with pillars all around and a large pool filled with holy water representing the god of the cathedral.
Some even speculated that these beautiful calm waters, which often had special abilities, were the blood of the gods themselves.
At least, it was supposed to be beautiful. But now…
There was nothing like that. Instead, the pool was filled with dark water, radiating such a dangerous and menacing aura that most people would faint just sensing it.
This pool was what Aria was supposed to cleanse using her soul.
Taking another breath, she dissolved her armor, leaving herself in her clothes.
Not wasting any more time, she undressed, leaving herself completely naked.
"No time for hesitation," she muttered as she began walking forward.
Her bare feet created an echo that spread around the room.
She stopped a step away from the pool filled with corruption, her body inevitably trembling.
"The decision has already been made, so don't you dare get cold feet now," she muttered as she brought her foot down, slowly stepping into the corrupted pool.
The cleansing ritual had begun.
*****
"Once more!" Olivia shouted, not caring about the possibility of attracting danger toward her.
She just wanted to fire another bolt at the enemy, but her muscles refused to move. She had grown too weak, unable to fire any more.
"Fuck that!" she screamed, lying on her back while still gripping the giant weapon.
She placed both feet on the bow, using her two hands to slowly draw the string.
The string resisted with thousands of kilograms of pressure, but eventually, slowly, it began to give way as Olivia pulled it with everything she had left.
Very slowly, a bolt began to materialize, getting ready to be fired.
*****
For a moment, it felt like time had stopped.
Eric was staring at the guardian's head as it prepared to unleash an inferno upon him.
His mind was in overdrive, desperately trying to come up with his next move.
'I'm too high up. Jumping down would kill me,' he thought.
Thousands of plans entered his mind, all revolving around a single goal, avoiding death.
'I'm on the back of its hand, and the thing is about to fire. There's no place to take cover, nor is there a way to move somewhere else. It's like the guardian is using all its focus with the sole intention of defeating me.'
The gears in Eric's head turned slowly until a realization struck him.
'Is it… scared of me?' he thought. That was the only possible conclusion.
The guardian must have somehow sensed that if it were struck by Eric's sword even once, it would inevitably die.
"That massive, dangerous thing is scared of me?" he muttered as time seemed to gradually speed up again.
It seemed Eric had decided what to do.
He had never held his sword for so long, and as a result, his desires were amplified to levels he had never experienced before. All his focus and rage centered on one thing.
"I want to kill that thing," Eric muttered, taking a step forward.
"I want to kill it here and now. There are people who depend on me, so even if I have to give my life to accomplish it, I will kill it!"
His eyes shone with a darker shade of crimson as his body suddenly shifted into a sprinting position.
And then, suddenly, a voice called out to him.
[Attention]
[A Trait has evolved]
[Fearless has become stronger]
[Trait Brave has been acquired]
-----
[Brave]
Description: The individual's fearlessness is tempered with a conscious understanding of the risks involved. They face danger with intention rather than blind impulse.
Positive:
Fear is acknowledged but consciously overwritten.
The more dire and hopeless the situation, the clearer your mind becomes, and the stronger your body grows.
Your calculating nature, even against the worst odds, inspires greatly those around you.
If the requirements are met, this trait could evolve, pushing you further toward godhood.
Negative:
If the requirements are met, this trait could devolve, pushing you further toward corruption.
-----
[Attention]
[A Trait has evolved]
[Last Stand has become stronger]
[Trait Until It's Finished has been acquired]
-----
[Until It's Finished]
Description: You even deny death for a period of time.
Positive:
Activating this skill grants you unbelievable strength for a short time.
Until your task is finished, you will not die, no matter the amount of damage your body endures.
Negative:
Activating this skill means your fate has already been sealed.
-----
[Attention]
[Trait Until It's Finished has reached its final evolution. Additional points will be rewarded upon reaching a cathedral.]
Eric heard the system announcement, but he wasn't in a position to check what it said.
The only thing he could do was shift his gaze to the window always displaying his remaining essence.
-----
[Current Essence: 1]
-----
He smiled darkly as he muttered, "More than enough for me."
The next second, he exploded forward with dazzling speed. In that moment, Eric moved faster than any car could ever hope to.
With just a few steps, he crossed half of the arm length of the giant.
At that moment, the guardian finally let out the inferno from its mouth, burning with the intention of swallowing anything in its path.
Eric, without hesitation, jumped. His tendons tore, and the bones in his legs cracked under the force—but that was fine. His jump was perfectly aimed at a specific spot on the guardian's head.
The guardian's body was humanoid in structure, so Eric asked himself,
'Where is a human the weakest? Where would my sword leave a mark?'
The answer was obvious. No matter how tough the skin of a creature was, there was always one part much more delicate than the rest—the eyes.
As Eric's body flew through the air toward the flames, he tightened his grip on his sword, preparing to slash the guardian's eye with all his might once he passed through the inferno.
"Is that all you got?!" he shouted, moments before being swallowed by the flames.
From a distance, all that could be seen was a man with crimson eyes flying toward a massive guardian with dazzling speed, a raging inferno ready to burn him and everything into nothingness.
In that moment, as Eric soared through the air, with Aria's lantern still attached to his armor illuminating his surroundings, he didn't look like a man.
He looked like a comet of destruction, about to collide with a planet.