After navigating a few branching corridors, they finally stopped in front of a black door carved with mysterious patterns.
Duke Lenka reached out and pushed the door open, stepping inside. He turned back to gesture for Eros to follow.
The door slowly closed behind them as Eros curiously examined the room.
The space was large, but its furnishings were sparse—just a table, a few chairs, and a bookshelf, the largest object in the room, leaning against the wall.
Eros was just about to take a closer look at the books on the shelf when he noticed something strange.
The titles on the books suddenly transformed into writhing, grotesque tentacles, squirming endlessly. At the same time, a chilling whispering sound began echoing in his ears, sending shivers down his spine.
Eros swallowed hard, barely managing to suppress a scream.
Just then, a soft cough came from beside him.
In an instant, the whispers vanished completely.
He glanced back at the bookshelf, now filled with neatly arranged books of various colors. The tentacles and whispers had disappeared, as if they had been nothing more than an illusion.
Eros was certain he hadn't imagined it. He had seen it. He had heard it. So, what was going on now?
He looked up at his father, hoping for some kind of explanation.
Duke Lenka cleared his throat. "You didn't see or hear wrong just now. What you experienced are the forbidden truths hidden beneath the veil of civilization…"
As his father spoke, Eros gradually began to understand the supernatural side of this world.
As it turned out, gods truly existed in this world—and not just one or two of them.
The nine great churches that had dominated the Croatia Continent for several eras each worshipped a deity that genuinely existed. These gods claimed the title of True Gods, seated high upon their heavenly thrones, gazing down upon the nations of mortals.
In addition to these, there were many smaller churches with their own deities, though these gods held far lesser status.
At times, these lesser deities were even labeled as false gods by the nine great churches, and their followers were persecuted as heretics, often meeting tragic ends.
As Eros listened, however, he began to notice something odd. His father's tone toward the so-called True Gods was dismissive, even hostile.
This puzzled him. Wasn't their family supposed to be devout followers of the God of Death and Reincarnation?
Every year, they donated large sums of wealth to the church, and during specific festivals, they held grand ceremonies to honor the deity. Could all of that just be for show?
After carefully considering his words, Eros finally spoke up. "Father, it seems like you don't hold much respect for those gods."
He couldn't help but be curious. In this world, where divine authority legitimized royal power, disrespecting the True Gods could lead to serious consequences—let alone outright hostility.
Hearing Eros's question, Duke Lenka's tone turned mocking. "They're nothing more than a group of betrayers who dare to call themselves True Gods."
Drama?
Eros immediately latched onto the key point."Betrayers?" he asked, trying to refocus. "Why do you call them betrayers? Who did they betray?"
"Our ancestor, the Goddess of Night, was once their companion—two of them were even her disciples," Duke Lenka began.
"But they betrayed her. Using vile schemes and deceit, they killed her and divided her essence among themselves. That's how they became the most powerful gods in this world."
"However, our ancestor was a Great One. She couldn't be so easily destroyed. Before her death, she left a prophecy—that she would one day return."
"When the betrayers learned of this prophecy, they were terrified. So, they labeled her an evil god and began a campaign of mass slaughter against her followers and descendants, hoping to erase her faith completely and prevent her return."
At this point, Duke Lenka's tone shifted from anger to a somber weightiness, leaving Eros utterly stunned.
After a moment of silence to collect himself, the duke continued, his voice subdued:
"For tens of thousands of years, we've been forced to hide and wander. The bloodline that was once the most noble and revered in this world is now derisively called the Remnants of the Night—hunted like rats."
Eros felt cold sweat forming on his forehead. So… I've started the game with a grudge against the nine most powerful forces in this world?
Thousands of years of slaughter—that's the definition of irreconcilable enmity, isn't it? This is hell mode! Is it too late to reincarnate again?
Of course, this last thought was just his way of finding humor in his panic.
Noticing his son discreetly wiping cold sweat, Duke Lenka offered reassurance:
"Relax. We're very safe now. Three hundred years ago, our ancestors made a critical decision: to split the family into two. One half sacrificed themselves to create an opportunity for the other half to join a church as a subordinate family force."
"The plan has been highly successful. Even the nine great churches probably never imagined that we would infiltrate their ranks and become part of their network."
Now that's some next-level reverse operation, Eros thought. It seemed their ancestor clearly understood that the most dangerous place was often the safest.
The church likely never considered the possibility that a sworn enemy with such a deep blood feud would hide right under their noses.
Not only did they donate vast sums of resources every year, but they also held elaborate festivals during holy days. If anything, they were the model of exemplary believers.
However, Eros was still curious. Wouldn't the church have methods to identify infiltrators?
After all, this was a world of the supernatural, where gods truly existed. Surely, they would have some peculiar means of tracking people down?
He voiced his question, and Duke Lenka was quick to explain:
"Our ancestor wielded the authority of secrecy. Through our bloodline, we awaken an ability called Servant of Secrets after undergoing the bloodline baptism."
"Combined with the relic our ancestor left behind, as long as we don't actively expose ourselves, it's extremely difficult for the church to uncover our true identities. That's how we've managed to evade them for tens of thousands of years."
"Bloodline baptism?" Eros immediately latched onto the key point.
"Yes," Duke Lenka confirmed. "Only by undergoing the baptism can one truly step into the door of the supernatural. That's also why I've brought you here today."
"This world, forged by our ancestor, is enveloped in their authority. Even if you were to speak the true names of those betrayers here, they would not perceive it—let alone detect the baptism we're about to perform." His tone was calm, with a faint trace of pride.
"And after the baptism, that's it?" Eros asked.
Duke Lenka shook his head, stepping out of the room and motioning for Eros to follow as he spoke.
"After the baptism, you'll become a Sequence 9—Seeker. If you want to advance to Sequence 8—Listener, or Sequence 7—Light Chaser, you'll need to integrate more spirits on your own."
"How many sequences are there in total?"
"There are ten sequences in total," the duke replied. "However, even the royal family of the Chris Empire only has methods to advance from Sequence 9 to Sequence 4."
"Aside from churches with an actual deity, we are the only ones who possess a complete path for advancement."
Great. Not only are we hunted like rats, but we're also carrying a gold brick under our arms.
Eros felt his future growing even more precarious.