Chapter 21: The First of the Forgotten Gods
The air shuddered.
The Divine Killing Intent that leaked from the coffin was not merely oppressive—it was ancient, primordial. It did not rage like a storm, nor did it explode outward.
It sank.
Like the slow, inevitable weight of the ocean dragging everything into its abyss.
Haneul stood unmoved.
The decayed hand gripping the edge of the coffin began to tighten. The gold bindings wrapped around its flesh cracked, flakes of divine energy peeling off like dying embers.
And then—
The fingers twitched.
A sudden shockwave erupted from the coffin's opening, a burst of raw energy so dense that the very air seemed to twist under its force.
Haneul reacted instantly.
His blade rose, cutting through the wave of pressure before it could crash into him.
The chamber groaned.
The veins running along the walls pulsed violently, as if whatever force had been maintaining this prison was now failing.
And from within the depths of the coffin—
Two glowing, golden irises opened.
A voice followed. Raspy. Hollow. Ageless.
"Who... dares... disturb me?"
The words did not echo in the chamber. They echoed inside Haneul's very soul.
He clenched his jaw.
This wasn't like fighting mortals.
It wasn't even like fighting Outer Gods.
This was something else entirely.
A forgotten deity, once sealed and erased from history.
And now, it was waking up.
---
Golden Sect – Inner Sanctum
Far above, Jisoo and Jiwoon stopped mid-step.
A sudden weight pressed upon them—not just killing intent, but something deeper.
Something older than the sect itself.
Jiwoon turned sharply, his voice tight. "Did you feel that?"
Jisoo didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed Jiwoon's wrist and pulled him forward.
"No time," he muttered. "We have to find it before it's too late."
Jiwoon gritted his teeth but nodded.
The Apostles moved with urgency. The palace above no longer mattered.
Somewhere deep within these halls, a second seal was breaking.
And if they did not stop it—
Even Haneul wouldn't be able to fight what was coming.
---
Underground Chamber – The Coffin Stirs
The deity began to rise.
It moved slowly, its form still bound in golden wraps. Every movement sent crackling arcs of divine energy through the chamber, splintering the floor beneath it.
Haneul exhaled.
He had seconds to react.
And so, he moved first.
Celestial Mirage Steps.
His body blurred, vanishing in a streak of motion—reappearing above the coffin in a single instant.
His sword descended.
A single, perfect strike.
"Celestial Void Rend."
A blinding arc of energy carved through the chamber, aimed directly at the god's exposed neck—
But the moment it made contact—
The attack disappeared.
Not blocked.
Not countered.
Simply erased, as if it had never existed in the first place.
Haneul's mind sharpened.
Not good.
He twisted mid-air, landing a short distance away. His instincts screamed warnings he had never heard before.
This wasn't just an ancient being.
It was something beyond the laws of the world.
The deity's glowing irises locked onto him, finally seeing him.
Then, for the first time, it spoke his name.
"You... are Riftborn."
Haneul's grip on his blade tightened.
"And you… should not exist."
Then—
It moved.