All this talk of lesser gods made Damon think of Valarie, Vathren... and Lysithara as a whole.
The ancient ascendants had lived in a city forged as a lting pot of culture and knowledge after the world was broken in the Zero Epoch.
These people had built temples where they worshipped both the Goddess and the Unknown God.
It was as if soone had intentionally spread this type of dual faith. Actually... soone had. Maybe Mugu. Or maybe soone before him.
Damon couldn’t be sure.
But these days, the Unknown God had followers in every corner of Aetherus. The demon continent, even regions beyond—it was almost ridiculous.
Damon didn’t know who was running the PR for the Goddess, but whoever it was must be biting their lips and coughing up blood.
In just a short three hundred thousand years, the Unknown God had gathered a strong, devoted following—ironic, considering he didn’t even care about being worshipped.
’The Zero Epoch... I need to know about it.’
How did the Unknown God’s influence start? Damon believed it began with Mugu... but what if that wasn’t the start? What if Mugu was just the most successful of many? The last to still carry the weight of the many forgotten nas?
Vathren had said the Unknown God wanted the Pillar of Conflict.
But didn’t that an he didn’t give a damn what happened to their world?
Damon didn’t mind dying. But the world had to survive.
Where else was his sister supposed to live?
That was why he had to get stronger. When the final hour ca—the one that decided the fate of the world—he wanted to be one of the players making the calls.
’Ahh... I’m contradicting myself again. How can I want to die and still want to make choices?’
Shaking his head, he brushed the thoughts aside.
Only then did he realize—they had arrived sowhere new.
A massive statue of the Goddess stood before them, towering in quiet divinity. But more interesting was the large vaulted door behind her. It looked just like the one they’d used to enter this place—except this one was wide open, leading deeper into the maze of halls and forgotten statues.
Lilith stepped around the base of the statue, then froze.
She waved him over.
"Hey... co look at this."
Damon took a single step, disappearing into his own shadow and reappearing beside her with a soft pulse of shadow energy.
He glanced at the symbol carved beside the statue—an emblem that looked suspiciously like the mark of the Unknown God, but unfinished.
Normally, the full symbol had four wings and an Abyssal eye at its center. So versions even had two swords crossed behind it.
But this one...
Only two wings. And a dot in the center.
As if soone had begun to draw it, then stopped. Or... couldn’t finish.
It looked ancient. As old as the eerie, living stones this place was built from.
Damon furrowed his brows. He was cautious... but his curiosity still won out.
He activated Appraisal.
The mont he did, there was a soft plup—followed by the splatter of sothing wet across Lilith’s face.
She raised her head slowly.
Damon groaned, one hand clutching a gaping hole where his eye used to be.
Blood spilled freely. A thick, red stream gushed from his ruined socket as he staggered and fell to one knee.
"D-Damon!" she rushed to him, trying to help—but even she could tell how much pain he was in.
He laughed through clenched teeth, grinning like a lunatic as he stood back up. One side of his face painted in red, the other clean.
"I have pain resistance... this is nothing."
It wasn’t nothing. Not by the way his eye twitched. Not by the way his teeth were grinding.
Lilith reached into her pocket space, quickly pulling out a high-level potion.
But Damon beat her to it—pulling out one of his own, much weaker dium-grade potions. He poured it directly into the bleeding socket.
It was still better because his ca from the system.
A sizzling hiss echoed as steam rose from his eye.
Flesh began to twist and reform.
It was going to take a while.
"Hehe... I’m out of those high-tier system potions. So, yeah... regeneration’s gonna be slow."
Lilith bit her lip.
She tore part of her uniform and wrapped it over his eyes, fashioning a makeshift bandage. Her hands trembled slightly.
"You’re insane," she whispered.
He smiled.
"I almost got brain-fried, but I learned sothing. Guess this is one of the reasons I don’t use that skill on random crap."
"You think?" she growled.
He waved it off.
"Everything has a price. Especially knowledge. And yeah... this one was excessive, but I got sothing."
He leaned back, grimacing.
"This isn’t just a creepy shrine. It’s also a dwelling. It’s called the Tomb of the Lesser Gods. Built by Lazarak—a lesser god who wanted to kill and bury all the others."
Lilith’s eyes darkened.
"Lazarak?"
"Yeah... take it with a grain of salt. What I saw was fragnted. But apparently, he discovered there was a god out there just as powerful as the Goddess. Soone who could help him. That’s why he tried to draw the Unknown God’s symbol."
Damon leaned against the wall.
"He was a traitor, Lilith. That’s all conjecture—but it’s what I got before my eye went pop."
"From what I glimpsed... Lazarak wasn’t just a traitor. He thought the other lesser gods were holding the world back. And he wanted help—divine help—to wipe the board clean.... But he was too small to matter."
Lilith glared at him.
"You risked an eye for information we can’t even confirm?"
Her voice shook. She wasn’t sure if it was from anger or fear.
"You’re reckless. Dammit, Damon."
She turned away.
"Let’s go. We’re leaving."
Damon blinked, his one eye still functional.
"Wait—there’s more. These doors have a spe—"
RURRRRRAAAAAAAHHH...
A heavy rumble echoed.
Both of them turned.
Sothing was forcing its way through the open door.
At first, all they saw were eyes—dozens, maybe hundreds—poking out like a grotesque sea of white orbs. Countless thin, rope-like hairs slithered across its skin, and so larger tendrils moved like whips forged from polished tal.
Damon’s body tensed.
Its aura was cold. Terrifying.
A Fourth-Class creature.
’...We’re not going to outrun that.’
Lilith exhaled, her heartbeat heavy in her chest.
"Then we try... not to die."
Damon stared at her, then back at the horror.
"How long can you keep it out? I have a plan."
Lilith narrowed her eyes, raising her hand. Her aura flared like the beginning of a storm.
"A few minutes."
Damon twitched.
’We’re screwed.’
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