The battle for Dronemire had ended in triumph, but Liam Carson knew the war was just beginning. The Hollow Saint had been merely a fragment—one echo in a chorus of enemies that whispered Liam's name with both reverence and hatred.
Now, with three cities liberated, his influence spread faster than the demon cult could suppress. But with growing faith came greater dangers—internal ones.
The city of Haldrim sent a messenger.
She arrived barefoot, bleeding, her clothes torn, eyes wide with terror. In her hands, she clutched a broken symbol—an obsidian cross shattered and half-melted.
"It rose from the temple," she gasped. "A sword of light... but it fed on prayer. It called itself the Blade of Heresy."
Liam took the sigil and held it up. It pulsed faintly, a remnant of twisted divine essence.
Seraphina and Rune exchanged glances.
"That name..." Rune whispered. "That was the name given to the betrayer of gods during the old eras. A weapon forged by faith—turned against its maker."
Kael frowned. "You're saying someone made this blade using your system?"
"No," Liam said grimly. "They stole a part of it."
Later, deep in the Whispering Temple, Liam stood before the Divine Mirror—a construct that reflected all corruption linked to the God System.
His reflection was the same: golden aura, crimson undertones, noble garb, eyes like twin burning suns.
But something rippled behind him—a shadow cast not by light, but by belief misused.
He raised his hand.
[System Command: Trace Divinity Breach]Analyzing... Breach Detected in Haldrim.]Nature: Unauthorized replication of divine fragment. Weaponized. Sentient.]
"Sentient?" Liam asked aloud.
The mirror shimmered. A memory unfolded—not his, but someone else's. A battlefield of old, where a paladin knelt before a golden god. The god's voice had boomed: "Take my light and cleanse the heresy." But the paladin, disillusioned, had turned the blade on his own creator.
And that blade—the Blade of Heresy—was reborn in Haldrim, through stolen prayer and warped devotion.
It was hunting gods again.
The next day, Liam and his entourage left for Haldrim.
The roads were eerily quiet. No birds. No travelers. The trees leaned away from the path, as if bowing in silent dread.
When they reached the outer walls, they found them burned clean—not by fire, but by holy light so intense it had vaporized stone. The city's temple spires were now cracked and floating, defying gravity. Pulsing veins of divine residue threaded through the sky like threads of fate.
Then came the screams.
Not of pain.
Of rapture.
Inside the city, people knelt in the streets, whispering praises not to Liam—but to the blade.
It floated in the center square, embedded into a pulsing mass of flesh and stone. A golem-like monstrosity formed from stitched priests, melted scripture, and chains forged from melted altars. In its core: the Blade of Heresy, humming like a choir of divine wrath.
As Liam stepped forward, the blade spoke.
"You are not divinity. You are theft. You are vengeance clothed in gold."
Kael drew his sword. "Can a weapon talk?"
"It's not a weapon anymore," Rune said. "It's a doctrine."
Seraphina flared with holy fire. "Then let's rewrite its scripture."
The battle was chaos.
The golem moved like a blasphemous cathedral, its arms slamming the earth and casting out echoes of corrupted sermons. Each impact sent waves of forced belief toward Liam's followers, attempting to rewrite their loyalty mid-fight.
[System Warning: Influence Breach Detected. Followers Under Conversion Threat]
Liam raised his staff, drawing on the full might of his current faith pool.
[Divine Cast: Dome of Truth]Cost: 22,000 Faith PointsEffect: Nullifies all false divine influence within 300 meters. Restores true allegiance to nearby followers.]
A sphere of light erupted, pushing back the golem's aura. His people regained their clarity. Their eyes sharpened. Their faith focused.
And they fought back.
Kael launched himself onto the golem's back, carving into its false scriptures. Seraphina chanted a sigil that burned through its chains. Thalen summoned a host of radiant spears from the sky, pinning the creature's limbs.
Liam leapt forward.
The blade pulsed harder as he neared, its voice rising.
"You wield the power of gods, yet you embrace mortal wrath. You are no better than the cult."
"I never claimed to be pure," Liam said coldly. "I claimed justice."
[Divine Command: Reclaim Fragmented Divinity]
He reached out—and grabbed the blade.
It screamed, a thousand angelic voices twisted into pain. Light flared. Darkness bled. And for a moment, Liam stood in two places at once.
He saw himself as others saw him—savior, tyrant, idol, monster.
He saw the past—the First God betrayed.
He saw the future—a throne of fire, a crown made of prayers, a realm forged from ash.
Then, he tore the blade free.
The golem crumbled.
The blade fell silent.
[SYSTEM UPDATE]Divine Fragment Retrieved: Blade of HeresyNew Ability Acquired: Heretic's JudgmentEffect: Sever divine links between enemy entities and their source of power. Can cause faith rupture.]
Faith Points Gained: +13,000Followers Gained (Reclaimed): +7,500City Liberated: HaldrimDivine Dominion Expanded to 4 Cities
That night, the people of Haldrim built a pyre—not of bodies, but of old doctrine. Scrolls that once enslaved minds now fed the flames. And in the center, the Blade of Heresy now rested—wrapped in golden cloth, bound in runes.
Liam did not destroy it.
He kept it.
A reminder.
Back in the temple, Seraphina approached him.
"You saw something," she said.
He nodded. "Too many things. Too many versions of me."
She touched his hand. "Then let me remind you which one is real."
Her kiss was gentle—unlike anything he had ever known. Not divine. Not worship. Just human.
A quiet faith.
[STATS – LIAM CARSON]
Level: 83Strength: 382Speed: 359Endurance: 399Intelligence: 403Charisma: 312Divine Energy: 10,100 / 10,100Faith Points: 75,400Followers: 59,800Angels: 3Demons: 2Dominions: 4 Cities
New Ability:
Heretic's Judgment – Cuts enemy connection to their god or source of divine power. High risk of backlash.
End of Chapter 55