The mont they stepped through the obsidian gate, even ti seed to freeze.
A vast, ancient aura rushed toward them, as if it had crossed tens of millions of years.
The space inside the temple was far, far larger than it looked from the outside.
Looking up, the endless do above them was hundreds of ters high. It was like a sealed night sky, so dark and vast that they could not see its end.
On both sides of the wide passage stood rows of huge statues, each dozens of ters tall.
Every statue represented a powerful being who had once ruled the Abyss.
The carving was almost beyond human skill. Each statue looked lifelike, even the proud, cold look in their eyes carved in perfect detail.
In the dim light, these statues seed as if they might open their eyes at any mont and wake from their ancient sleep.
Behind the stone statues, the walls were covered with one massive mural after another.
Without realizing it, Rainn slowed her steps.
Her beautiful eyes were fixed on the wall. Her gaze was completely drawn in, filled with a shock and fascination that was hard to describe.
"These are..."
Rainn’s fingertips trembled slightly as she gently brushed them over the cold, rough stone wall.
"The mories passed down by each generation of the Primordial Miko."
She stopped in front of the first giant mural.
On the mural, a mysterious Miko in a pure white robe stood on a platform hundreds of ters high.
Below the platform, tens of millions of Miko followers knelt in dense crowds, bowing in worship.
"That is the first Primordial Miko."
There was a trace of almost holy passion in Rainn’s voice.
"She united the scattered Miko clan with iron and blood. Then, in the lower levels of the Abyss, she built the immortal City of Miko!"
The three of them continued forward.
The second mural ca into view.
In the painting, the white-robed Miko was surrounded by a storm powerful enough to destroy the world. She was locked in a fierce battle with a terrifying Abyss beast so huge it seed to cover the sky.
"This is the third Primordial Miko."
A strange light flashed in Rainn’s eyes. "She held back the Demon Clan’s invasion all by herself, even as they ca like a flood. Because of her, the Miko lands stayed safe for a hundred years!"
The third mural.
The fourth mural.
The fifth...
Every mural praised the great deeds of the Primordial Mikos through the ages. Each one had swept across the Abyss and achieved unbelievable victories.
Rainn looked at them one by one, but her expression grew more and more serious.
At last, she reached the deepest part of the passage and stopped before the final mural, which covered an entire wall.
Rainn suddenly froze.
It was as if she had been struck by lightning.
She stood there, completely stunned.
In her eyes, there was nothing but disbelief.
"How is this possible..."
In this supre temple, which stood for the greatest honor of the Miko clan, the final and most important mural...
Did not show any Primordial Miko at all!
It showed a man!
A pure human man, without any signs of Abyss corruption!
Aiden also stopped. His deep eyes fell on the mural, and a sharp glint flashed in them.
In the mural, the man stood on top of a grand Great Wall shining with bright golden light.
It was clearly the Golden Great Wall that separated the Abyss from Earth!
But behind him were not weak, humble humans.
Instead, there was a vast black army filled with killing intent—the allied forces of the Abyss myriad races!
In the man’s hand, he held a long battle sword pointed down. The blade burned with dazzling golden flas.
Wherever the sword pointed, all things bowed.
The look in his eyes, carved into the stone wall, carried an overwhelming arrogance, as if he could trample even gods and Buddhas beneath his feet.
Even though it was only a stone carving from tens of millions of years ago, it still gave off a terrifying divine pressure.
Below the mural, a line of words had been deeply carved in ancient Abyss script.
Rainn’s red lips parted slightly. Even her voice was trembling as she read out that piece of buried history, word by word.
"[Bane of All Races · Yves]—"
"[The one who led humanity to suppress the Heavenly Demon, sealed the chanical Divine Race, and built the Golden Great Wall!]"
Boom!
That short sentence exploded in Rainn and Cheryl’s minds like thunder from the deepest part of the Abyss.
He suppressed the Imperial-rank divine race, the Heavenly Demon?!
He sealed the chanical Divine Race?!
Build the Golden Great Wall?!
What kind of terrifying, heaven-defying power would that take?!
Had humanity once given birth to a supre forbidden existence powerful enough to sweep across all the myriad races of the Abyss?!
"Yves..."
Rainn whispered the na. Even breathing felt heavy.
Compared to the shock of the two won, Aiden seed strangely calm.
He stood with his hands behind his back, quietly staring at the arrogant man on the mural. A faint, almost invisible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Deep within his calm eyes, however, he was quickly putting all the clues together.
"So that’s it."
Everything beca clear in Aiden’s mind.
No wonder WraithJack knew secret arts that were rare even in the Abyss.
No wonder the supre Miko had such a deep connection with a human.
That mysterious man who had once taught WraithJack and beco the closest friend of the supre Miko...
Was the madman on the mural, the one holding the golden-fla sword!
Bane of All Races, Yves!
Aiden withdrew his gaze from the mural. There was not the slightest ripple in his deep eyes.
His eyes passed over the vast scene of the myriad races bowing in surrender, and looked toward the very end of the passage.
There stood a second door.
Unlike the grand obsidian gate outside, this door was disturbingly strange.
It had no handle, no keyhole, and not even the smallest seam.
It looked like a huge black stone that had been carved straight out of the deepest part of the Abyss. Its surface had been polished smooth like a mirror.
A cold, dark light moved across the stone, as if it could pull a person’s soul completely inside.
Rainn slowly stepped forward, her expression more solemn than ever.
She raised her fair hand and, without any hesitation, pressed it against the cold surface of the black stone.
"Buzz—!"
In an instant, an ancient and pure pulse of origin bloodline power burst out from her palm.
Ripples spread across the surface of the black stone like waves on water. One hidden Abyss rune after another appeared and disappeared within the ripples.
Rainn closed her eyes, receiving the ancient will flowing into her mind.
A mont later, she opened her eyes again. A look of firm resolve flashed in them.
"This is the second trial."
Rainn turned her head. Her gaze swept over Cheryl, then finally stopped on Aiden’s calm face.
"The Miko Trial."
Her voice was soft, but heavy and certain. "Only a true Primordial Miko can step through this door."
Cheryl’s face changed slightly. She took a step forward."Sister, what’s inside?"
Rainn shook her head. A trace of the unknown flashed deep in her eyes."I don’t know. But I have to go."
She took a deep breath. A look of determination appeared on her beautiful face, as if she were ready to face death.
"Aiden. Cheryl."
"Wait for outside."
"If, after three days... I still haven’t co out..."
Rainn paused. Her red lips turned a little pale from biting them."Then leave this place. And never co back."
"No!"
Cheryl rushed forward and grabbed Rainn’s sleeve tightly. Her eyes instantly turned red.
"Sister! I’m going in with you!"
"Even if we die, I want to die with you!"
Her voice was clearly choked with tears. The fierce edge of an Abyss battle Miko was gone, leaving only a little girl afraid of losing her closest family.
Rainn’s eyes softened for a mont, but that softness was soon replaced by determination.
She reached out and gently, yet firmly, pried her sister’s fingers away one by one.
"The trial is sothing I must face alone."
"It is the fate of every origin bloodline, and it is also the rule."
The mont she finished speaking, Rainn suddenly turned around.
Without the slightest hesitation, she lifted her long, beautiful leg and stepped into the stone door filled with rolling black light.
"Boom!"
A blinding black light shot into the sky and instantly swallowed Rainn’s tall figure.
When the light faded, the black stone door returned to its silent, mirror-like state, as if nothing had happened at all.
"Sister..."
Cheryl stood blankly in front of the closed black stone door, her hands hanging weakly at her sides.
Clear tears swirled in her eyes, then finally fell like broken pearls onto the cold stone floor.
A series of steady footsteps ca from behind her.
Aiden walked to Cheryl’s side, and his broad, strong hand gently rested on her thin shoulder.
"Why are you crying?"
Aiden’s voice was calm and indifferent, yet it carried a powerful strength that could steady the heart.
"She is the Primordial Miko. She is the emperor destined to rule this lower Abyss."
"Trust your sister. She is far stronger than you imagine."
Feeling the warmth from the hand on her shoulder, Cheryl’s delicate body trembled.
She turned her head and looked into Aiden’s eyes. They were calm like an ancient well, yet deep like an abyss. Sohow, her panicked heart settled down.
"Mm!"
Cheryl nodded hard. She raised her hand and wiped the tears from her face. Her eyes turned cold and sharp again.
"Aiden, what do we do now?" she asked, tightening her grip on her staff.
"Wait."
Aiden gave only one calm word.
He turned and walked to the side of a huge stone statue. His tall, lean body leaned casually against the cold wall.
His arms were crossed, and his eyes were half-closed.
He looked full of openings. But if a level 90 Venerable were here, they would surely sense the terrifying Legendary Rank magic power hidden around Aiden’s body, like an active volcano on the edge of eruption.
His level 50 Legendary Rank passive skill, "Magic Mastery," had long since spread his Spirit power like an invisible web, covering every corner of the temple in an instant.
"And at the sa ti, we stay on guard."
Aiden kept his eyes closed. A cold, bloodthirsty smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
"That reckless crow outside the forbidden land..."
"Maybe it has already slipped in after us like a rat."
As soon as he said that, the already cold air inside the temple dropped to freezing point.
Cheryl’s pupils suddenly shrank. A terrifying killing intent burst from her body—the power of a level 75 battle Miko. She stared hard at the dark passage they had co from.
And at the end of that passage...
within the absolute darkness where even light could not pass through...
A pair of eyes slowly opened.
They were crow’s eyes, shining with black light, staring at their prey like a god of death from the Abyss.
Dead silent. Ice-cold. Filled with pure malice.
They quietly locked onto Aiden, who was leaning against the wall.
The killing was about to begin.
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