NOVPUBThe Unknown God.
A name steeped in heresy—at least, to anyone born in Soltheon.
They had all grown up with the same teachings.
The Goddess of Doom equals good.
The Unknown God equals evil.
Religious doctrine wasn't just belief—it was life. It shaped their daily rituals, their values, their judgment. And that's what made it one of the hardest chains to break.
Religion in any society was merely one instrument of control.
Religion was the opium of the masses.
A structure designed to maintain order, giving hope and meaning even to something as meaningless as life.
For most of them, skepticism came naturally. But Damon? He was different. His parents had died too early for him to form a solid faith.
While he may say the name of the goddess or mutter prayers, he was not faithful. It was just a force of habit.
He was a heretic. An enemy of the temple.
Not by choice—but he was in too deep now. There was no going back.
The same couldn't be said for the others.
Xander eyed Valarie with a skeptical frown. His blue eyes narrowed as he stared at her disembodied lips.
"Isn't this the kind of thing that got the last age wiped out…? I mean, your city is literally a ruin right now…"
Even Leona's beast-like ears twitched with unease. The girl who usually didn't think twice now looked anxious.
"This sounds like heresy… the temple might—"
"It's not." Sylvia cut her off—too quickly, too defensive.
The others turned to her.
Sylvia looked at Damon, then at the rest of them.
"Rune magic may supposedly have come from the Unknown God—"
"Not supposedly," Valarie interrupted with a calm, amused smile. "It did come from him."
Sylvia bit her lip.
"I know that… but it's not heresy..."
Matia glanced at Damon. The guy was too quiet, brows furrowed.
'Wonder how she's gonna spin this one…' he thought.
But Matia couldn't guess what was on his mind. He just gave off this vibe like he wouldn't care either way.
Sylvia turned to Evangeline, who still wore a skeptical look.
"If it's heresy, then why does the temple use rune craft? Think about it. Seventy percent of all magic artifacts use rune technology. It's everywhere—even in our daily lives."
She stood up, firm.
"Our pagers, our carriages—everything has runes etched into them to function."
She turned to Damon.
"The temple uses all of these. They're one of the biggest supporters of relic recovery—helping kingdoms and the Adventurers' Guild find, study, and reverse-engineer them."
Damon nodded, his grin widening.
"She's right. Pagers—the ones we use for calls and other functions—they aren't original inventions. They were salvaged from lost relics. Rune tech lies at the heart of them."
He stood, resting a hand on Sylvia's shoulder.
"Newspaper printing. Waypoints. Teleportation gates. Even the new visual streaming system they're planning to unveil for the next War Games. All of it—rune-based."
Xander clenched his fists. The logic made sense. That wasn't the issue.
"But… then the temple knows the origin of this magic. And they're still trying to revive it?"
Damon's smile turned razor-thin, irritation flashing behind his eyes.
"Xander Ravenscroft… are you accusing the temple of ignorance? Should I report you to the Knights Templar? Or perhaps the Inquisition…?"
He stepped forward, smirking.
"Are you insinuating that the faith is clueless…?"
Xander's eyes went wide.
"No! Of course not! I was just making a point—don't twist my words!"
Damon scoffed. "That's what I thought."
Xander glared.
Evangeline drew in a deep breath, her fists clenched.
"Will I grow stronger?"
Valarie's smile remained calm.
"Yes. You will grow stronger."
Evangeline nodded slowly.
"Then I'll learn."
Xander gasped. But he didn't argue. So be it, then.
Sylvia smiled at her acceptance. She wasn't about to pass this up either.
She had stopped caring about heresy the moment she gained her new class—when she learned the Unknown God's name.
He had promised her something.
She turned to Leona.
"Well, what about you?"
Leona shrugged, unfazed.
"Sounds like fun. Getting stronger is always good. And if the temple uses it, why can't we?"
Damon sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead.
"Leona… I hope you realize—you can't share what you learn here. You can't tell anyone that rune magic originated from the Unknown God."
She puffed her cheeks, ears twitching.
"Stop treating me like I'm stupid. Of course I won't tell anyone."
Next came Matia. Damon's gaze rested on her. She barely spoke these days, becoming more withdrawn, more hardened.
'Don't tell me she's turning into an ice beauty…'
Quite literally—her element was ice.
"Well? What about you, Matia?"
She shrugged, her black hair pulled into a tight bun.
"I'll learn. This place demands strength… and I have too much to prove."
Damon looked at Valarie.
"Everyone's in—except Xander."
Xander stood, pointing accusingly.
"Hey! I never said I wasn't going to learn. I was just raising doubts!"
Damon sneered, annoyance flickering on his face.
"Sure didn't sound like that. Make up your damn mind already. You're like a teenage girl—your feelings are all over the place."
The actual teenage girls glared at him.
"Keep your opinion to yourself."
Valarie watched them bicker. Damon made no effort to defuse the situation—instead, he poured oil into the fire. The argument spiraled. Everyone was yelling at everyone.
She just smiled faintly.
Then—just like that—her mind was pulled backward. A memory stirred.
'Valacara… Vathren… Vulcan…'
Names of her fellow Ascendant Champions. All gone now.
Vathren was still alive… but he might as well be dead.
"Valarie… Valarie…"
Damon's voice reached her.
Her mouth parted slightly, pulled from her trance.
"…What is it, boy?"
He frowned. There was a flicker of concern in his glare.
"Ooh, thought you fell asleep. You still haven't taught us rune magic yet…"
Valarie smiled. She could feel the worry buried beneath his words.
"I'm not that old. I'm only a few thousand years old."
Damon grinned.
"That still sounds pretty damn old to me."
She chuckled.
"Well then… let's talk about runes."
