NOVEL NEXT Prologue - The Tale of a Legend Part III
Prologue - The Tale of a Legend Part III
The monstrous form of Naphorix, the Blood Orchard, had disintegrated into shimmering particles, leaving behind only the cold, polished bone floor of the Feast. The divine gold walls, jagged and asymmetrical, still shimmered faintly, a testament to a lost civilization. Above, the swirling constellations on the infinite ceiling shifted in incomprehensible patterns, their light unlike any earthly sky. The grotesque and decadent dishes remained on the massive tables, roasted beasts still writhing and screaming, chalices overflowing with pulsing liquids, and fruits oozing blood. The suffocating energy that had emanated from Naphorix had vanished, replaced by an unsettling silence.
For a moment, the only sound was the faint hum of their own systems.
"Fascinating."
Dr. Thrandal Emberlock mused, his eyes sparkling as he surveyed the grand hall, a warm smile playing on his lips.
"To think this was once a meeting place for gods expelled from Pantheon Eternal. The architecture, though chaotic and erratic, speaks of countless bygone eras and cultures. This 'Feast' must have been a crucible of power, where deities gathered, perhaps to bargain for their very existence or to simply revel in their own hubris. Imagine the knowledge lost within these walls."
He chuckled softly, a hint of awe in his voice. Aethera-09 scanned the surroundings with a cool detachment, her mechanical eyes whirring.
"The environmental data indicate this realm, the 'Feast', is inherently lethal to biological entities lacking a transcendent power threshold. Without our augmented capabilities, immediate obliteration upon entry would be the statistically probable outcome."
Her monotone voice continued.
"The architecture may be erratic, but its purpose is clear: to withstand celestial conflicts and contain divine energies. It functions as both a meeting ground and a battleground. Every element here, from the materials to the atmospheric composition, would consume the power of others, leaving only remnants."
"And yet…"
Astra interjected, looking around with a hint of disgust at the ghastly banquet.
"There are no other 'gods' around here. It's weird seeing only these bleeding fruit and screaming roasted beasts… Aside from that, it's too quiet."
She kicked a shriveled, blood-oozing fruit with her boot, her expression still laced with distaste.
"Precisely."
Aethera-09 affirmed.
"The absence of additional divine entities, particularly 'Forgotten Gods' as designated by the system, is a significant anomaly. The 'Feast' is described as a hub for such beings, where they gather to regain their lost power or to find new purpose. Their current scarcity deviates from expected parameters."
Kim walked silently, his gaze sweeping across the vast expanse of the hall.
"Do you think it's Team Eden doing? They would have arrived much earlier than we did."
He finally asked, his voice steady but with a hint of concern in his eyes.
"Eh… I doubt it."
Astra scoffed, crossing her arms.
"I can't see that ridiculous leader of theirs, or any of his crew, being able to handle a large number of gods on their own. They're strong, sure, but that strong? Nah."
She gestured dismissively at the empty hall. Ardyn sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"It's not that simple, musclebrain. Remember, the gods inhabiting this place are those expelled from Pantheon Eternal. They aren't the most powerful of their kind, but they are still divine. The system notes that even their lowest-ranked members possess pacts with Patrons, so they would be able to hold their ground at least."
He glanced at Astra.
"Speaking of goddesses, does your own goddess mind us doing all this, stupid knight?"
Astra asked, a playful glint in her eye, but clearly annoyed. Ardyn let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
"My goddess doesn't care about anything. The only reason I even have her blessing is because of my physical appearance."
He shrugged, a hint of disdain in his voice.
"Honestly, I'd kill her myself if I found her here."
The group continued their exploration, moving deeper into the 'Feast'. The polished bone floor stretched endlessly before them, and the golden walls seemed to expand with every step, creating a sense of infinite scale. The eerie glow of the pulsating liquids in the chalices cast long, dancing shadows that seemed to writhe and contort with every shift of the distant constellations. They walked for what felt like an eternity, the silence pressing in around them, broken only by the occasional soft click of Aethera-09's heels or the rustle of Thrandal's coat. The absence of any other life, divine or otherwise, was becoming increasingly unsettling.
Then, abruptly, the banquet hall ended. The polished bone floor, which had seemed to stretch infinitely, gave way to a sudden, vast precipice. Below them, stretching into an endless, lightless void, lay a chasm so immense it swallowed the horizon. But this was no mere valley; it was a scar on existence itself, a wound carved into the very fabric of reality, a testament to a cataclysmic battle of unimaginable, universe-shattering proportions.
The air, once filled with the strange hum of the 'Feast', now hung heavy with a profound, terrifying silence, broken only by the faint, distant crackle of residual, raw power.
Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of mutilated bodies of colossal, fictional titans lay strewn across the desolate, skeletal landscape, their forms twisted into grotesque monuments of destruction. Limbs the size of mountains were torn asunder, jagged bone fragments jutting from wounds that bled not blood, but solidified starlight and coalesced shadow.
The husks of fallen gods, beings of immense divine power, lay shattered and broken, their forms reduced to discarded toys by an unseen, overwhelming force. One enormous, multi-limbed deity, its skin like cracked obsidian, lay impaled on a spire of what appeared to be solidified cosmic energy, its ethereal blood staining the void below. Another, a being of pure light, was reduced to a shimmering, dispersed dust cloud, its essence diffused into the very fabric of the abyss, its once radiant form now merely a horrible mess. A massive, serpent-like god, with scales like a thousand shattered stars, was coiled in its death throes, its titanic form split open to reveal churning, void-like entrails.
The scale of destruction was so immense, so absolute, that it felt as if reality itself had been torn asunder and crudely stitched back together. The ground was scarred with craters that swallowed entire horizons, each one a testament to an impact that could have extinguished stars. Fragments of what looked like shattered celestial bodies were embedded in the skeletal earth, glinting eerily in the oppressive gloom. The very air, though seemingly empty, crackled with raw, chaotic energy, a chilling echo of the violent clash that had occurred, hinting at powers beyond comprehension. This was a sight that defied logic, an impossible tableau of annihilation, even for the system's standards.
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The group was paralyzed. Kim's eyes widened, a mixture of awe and disbelief on his face. Astra's jaw dropped, her earlier bravado replaced by sheer shock. Even Ardyn, usually so stoic, looked utterly stunned. Thrandal's wise eyes were wide, and Aethera-09, for once, seemed to process data slower than the raw impact of the scene.
"What... what happened here?"
Ardyn muttered, his voice barely a whisper. Without a word, Kim led them down into the valley of death, each step echoing in the profound silence. The closer they got, the more horrifying the scene became. A titanic, horned demon lay decapitated, its head, larger than any building, half-buried in a chasm of shattered bone. The corpse of a feathered god had its vibrant plumage now dull, torn, and stretched for miles, its broken spine twisted into impossible angles. Rivers of solidified divine blood snaked through the valley, glowing with a faint, malevolent light. The air was thick with the dust of annihilated planets and the lingering scent of divine ozone.
Aethera-09 extended a hand, her mechanical eyes glowing faintly as she scanned the carnage.
"Analysis complete."
She announced, her voice as detached as ever, yet somehow carrying a new weight.
"The data indicates these 'Forgotten Gods' were slain recently. The temporal signature of their demise is within the last forty-eight hours. Furthermore, their physical remains persist, which is anomalous. As observed with Naphorix, the corporeal forms of deceased divine beings dissipate almost immediately upon death. The preservation of these bodies defies all known statistical and metaphysical laws."
Kim's brows furrowed, a look of quiet concern settling over his face, while he murmured.
"Team Eden… Could they be behind this?"
The group fanned out, searching meticulously through the devastated landscape. Ardyn, with his commanding presence, moved swiftly, scanning every crater and crevice. Astra pulled aside large chunks of debris, her steely gaze missing nothing. Thrandal, with his patient eye for detail, examined the subtle disturbances in the environment, piecing together fragments of the struggle. Aethera-09, with her unparalleled analytical abilities, extended her sensory scans across the entire valley, processing immense amounts of data with inhuman speed.
After a few tense minutes of independent searching, Astra's voice cut through the eerie silence, sharper than before.
"Eh… Kim, I don't think you were right after all."
She stood frozen, motioning to a spot further ahead.
"Come here. You need to see this."
The others quickly moved to where Astra stood. There, amidst the colossal remains of unknown gods, lay a familiar figure. A woman with long, dark hair and a pristine white tunic. Her body was still, with a deep, precise cut slicing across her chest.
"Wasn't this... Atalanta?"
Ardyn breathed with heavy disbelief in his voice. The name was instantly recognizable. Atalanta was a formidable warrior of Team Eden, whom they had faced in previous scenarios. She was known for her incredible speed and precision with a bow, a truly dangerous opponent.
"Affirmative."
Aethera-09 confirmed, her voice devoid of emotion but with urgency in her tone.
"And it seems she is not alone."
She pointed beyond Atalanta's body. Scattered in a grisly tableau were five more familiar figures, each bearing the grim marks of a violent end.
There was Cú Chulainn, another member of Team Eden, his legendary spear shattered, his body impaled on several shards of what looked like divine armor. Anansi, the youngest of Team Eden, lay twisted and broken, his lithe form contorted in an impossible angle with a deep, crushing blow to his head. Kadmos, the one who was once called "The Martial Art God", was impaled through the chest by a jagged, bone-like protrusion from the ground, his eyes wide in a silent scream. Nezha, the oldest Team Eden member, was dismembered, his limbs scattered unnaturally far from his torso, as if torn apart by an invisible force. And finally, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the renowned demon-slayer, lay with a gaping, cauterized wound where her heart should have been, her powerful swords melted and fused into the ground beside her. All of them were formidable opponents, known for their immense power and unwavering resolve.
"Who... who could have done this?"
Astra whispered, her voice laced with a newfound dread. Kim surveyed the scene, his expression hardening.
"Find their leader. See if he's among them."
The group fanned out, searching meticulously through the devastated landscape… Minutes turned into a long, tense search. They found no trace of Team Eden's leader, and after what felt like an eternity, they reconvened, the silence heavy with their unspoken conclusion.
"He's not here. We can assume that the only survivor of Team Eden... is their leader."
Kim finally stated, his voice quiet.
"But how?"
Astra exclaimed, running a hand through her short red hair.
"They're one of the strongest teams out there. To take down all these gods and obliterate their own team... Was it mutual destruction?"
"Statistically improbable."
Aethera-09 confirmed, her voice unchanging.
"The damage sustained by Team Eden's members, combined with the scale of divine annihilation, suggests an anomaly that defies all current predictive models. No known individual, including Team Eden's leader, possesses the quantifiable power to achieve this level of destruction in such a limited timeframe, especially against multiple S-rank divine entities, and the proximity of the bodies suggests that they were all eliminated almost at the same time."
"Perhaps an unforeseen Plot Device?"
Thrandal suggested, stroking his white beard.
"Something that triggered a chain reaction beyond their control?"
But the cyborg negated instantly.
"The data does not support that hypothesis."
Aethera-09 stated.
"There is no residual energy signature consistent with a spontaneous Plot Device activation of this magnitude. Furthermore, the precise and individualized nature of the casualties among Team Eden suggests deliberate action, not an uncontrollable event."
As they debated, a faint hum began to resonate within Kim's mind, a subtle vibration that gradually intensified. He tensed, his head tilting slightly as he tried to pinpoint the source.
"Quiet!"
He whispered, holding up a hand.
"Everyone, be silent."
They looked at him, surprised by his sudden intensity, their own debates momentarily forgotten. Kim closed his eyes, concentrating, the hum in his mind growing more distinct, solidifying into a coherent presence. It was a voice, soft yet persistent, feminine and urgent, like a melody played just beneath the threshold of hearing.
"Hey■ can you■■ hear me■? I ne■ed a mom■ent to■speak with■you."
A jolt went through Kim. He opened his eyes for a brief moment, then closed them again, trying to discern if the sound was real or a product of his strained imagination. The others watched, confused by his sudden stillness.
"Who are you?"
Kim asked, his voice barely audible, a hushed whisper amidst the silent devastation of the valley. His eyes remained closed, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Do you know what happened here?"
The voice in his mind responded immediately, a wave of palpable relief washing over its tone, as if it had been struggling for a long time to make contact.
"Yes■ I know■what h■appened h■ere. That's■wh■y I'm tryin■g to co■mmunic■ate with■you so desp■erately."
A cold knot of apprehension tightened in Kim's stomach. This wasn't a system notification, nor a trick of the mind. This was a direct, sentient communication from an unknown entity, one that claimed knowledge of the impossible massacre surrounding them.
"Identify yourself."
Kim demanded, his mental voice firm, cutting through the swirling thoughts of dread and curiosity. He needed answers, and he needed to know who was giving them.
"My■name■ is■ Lauren…"
The voice paused, a strange, almost imperceptible hesitation, as if considering its true identity, then corrected itself with a subtle shift in tone.
"No■■ My n■ame i■s Architect_Of_Fate."