The mont he read that panel, Leon’s expression changed ever so slightly, a single drop of sweat forming on his forehead as a strange pressure began to settle over him.
’Are... the gods actually looking at now?’
His eyes shifted instinctively, scanning his surroundings as if trying to find sothing that wasn’t there.
’Or... is it just part of the assessnt?’ he questioned internally, trying to remain calm despite the unease creeping into his mind.
Because if it wasn’t, if the gods were truly watching him right now, then that was far worse than anything else.
If the gods were already aware of him, aware of his presence, aware of his path toward the [Eternal Battlefield] and the [Eternal Domain], then what was stopping them from interfering directly once he arrived there?
What was stopping them from erasing him completely at that mont?
But no. That didn’t make sense.
The [Heavenly One] knew about him. He knew about his second life.
He knew about everything Leon had been through.
There was no way he would place him on a path that led to certain death without any chance of survival.
No matter how strong Leon beca, he was still nothing compared to even the weakest of the gods.
That much, he understood clearly. Before he could think further, another set of panels appeared in front of him.
Ding!
[You have been forsaken, find a way to free yourself from the shackles placed on your soul, and push past your limits.]
[Failure will result in an extrely harsh permanent debuff, and not being able to take the God-Rank assessnt ever again.]
Leon’s eyes focused on the ssage, his mind imdiately analyzing every word. This ti, the objective wasn’t clear.
Unlike the previous [God-Rank] assessnt, where he had been directly told to eliminate ten souls inside the [Labyrinth of Souls], this one gave him sothing far more abstract.
’Free myself from the shackles placed on my soul... and push past my limits?’ Leon repeated internally, his brows furrowing slightly as he tried to understand what that actually ant.
There was no clear goal. Just a concept. And as for the punishnt, it seed to had gotten worse.
From a "massive" permanent debuff in the first assessnt to an "extrely harsh" one.
That alone was enough to show just how serious this was.
Leon let out a slow breath, calming himself before taking a step forward.
There was no point overthinking it now. Whatever the assessnt was, he would have to face it head-on.
Fwoosh!
He walked straight through the ruined gate without hesitation.
The mont he crossed it, his surroundings shifted instantly, the void disappearing as space twisted once again, pulling him into a completely different location.
And then—
Ding!
[You have arrived at God-Rank Assessnt Ground: Forsaken City.]
[The horrors that live in this city have already sensed your presence, find a way to free yourself and get out before it’s too late.]
[May the will of the Heavenly One be with you.]
As soon as the panels closed, Leon didn’t stay still for even a second as his instincts imdiately kicked in.
His eyes scanned everything around him with sharp focus while his grip on both his sword and staff tightened slightly, ready to react to anything that might appear at any mont.
He found himself standing in what seed to be a massive city, one that stretched far beyond what he could imdiately see, its structures towering yet broken, its streets wide yet empty, its presence alone enough to make the atmosphere feel heavy.
’Well... expected,’ Leon thought quietly, though his eyes remained alert as he took in the details around him instead of relaxing.
He was currently standing in one of the streets of what the system had called the [Forsaken City], and as his gaze slowly moved from one direction to another, he quickly noticed that almost everything around him had been destroyed.
Buildings stood crooked, so missing entire sections, others reduced to nothing more than piles of rubble scattered across the ground, while cracked walls and broken pillars hinted at what this place might have once been before whatever disaster had struck it.
It didn’t look like a place that had fallen recently.
This city felt old. Ancient, even.
As if it had been abandoned for a very long ti, left to decay without anyone coming back to restore it.
And yet, Leon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"It looks just like outside the divine temple," he muttered under his breath, noticing the similarities almost imdiately, "Strange... the first [God-Rank] assessnt didn’t have any clear connection to its surroundings, but this one does."
That alone made him more cautious.
If the environnt itself was tied to the assessnt, then it likely ant that everything here had a purpose, even if he didn’t understand it yet.
Slowly, Leon tilted his head upward.
His gaze shifted toward the sky. And what he saw only made things even more unsettling.
Just like outside the divine temple, the sky here was completely dark, devoid of stars, devoid of any natural light, as if sothing had erased them entirely, leaving behind nothing but an empty, endless void above the ruined city.
But that wasn’t all. There was sothing else. Sothing that stood out.
High above the city, barely illuminating the surroundings, there was what looked like the sun, but not quite.
It was trapped. Locked in a constant state of eclipse.
Its light was dim, unnatural, casting a faint glow over the [Forsaken City] without ever truly brightening it, as if it was being suppressed by sothing far greater, sothing that refused to let it shine properly.
The result was an atmosphere that felt suffocating.
Not completely devoid of light, but just enough to see, and just enough to feel uncomfortable.
This place wasn’t normal. Not even close.
And more importantly, the system hadn’t given him any clear direction.
Just a vague instruction: "find a way to free yourself, and get out before it’s too late."
’So I have to find the exit myself this ti,’ Leon thought, his expression sharpening as he processed the situation, quickly adapting to the lack of guidance.
Still, despite the uncertainty, a small hint of confidence remained within him.
’Shouldn’t be too hard... especially with my [Combat Power],’ he thought, recalling the overwhelming strength he had reached before entering this place.
With that in mind, Leon finally took a step forward. And the mont his foot touched the ground—
Fwoosh! BOOM!
Without any warning whatsoever, a massive figure burst out from behind one of the ruined buildings nearby, debris scattering in every direction as the ground itself trembled slightly from the force of its sudden appearance.
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