Two days after the rift.
Lucius stood on a dead cliff overlooking a forest no map showed.
The trees were black. The wind silent.
The land rejected time.
And in the center—
A temple.
Carved into the stone like it had grown from the world, not been built.
Symbols older than the gods. Walls untouched by decay.
The others stood behind him, hesitant.
Velda scanned the air. "This place shouldn't exist."
Claire whispered, "It feels like something's watching from underneath."
Lilith was quiet. Pale.
Zara cracked her knuckles. "Let's get this over with."
Lucius stepped forward.
The doors opened before he touched them.
---
> [Location Unlocked: Temple of the First Names]
Origin: Unknown
Access Restriction: None. You were always allowed in.
Warning: Reality may bend inside.
---
They entered.
No dust. No heat. Just silence.
And at the far wall—
A mural.
Ten meters high.
Drawn in black flame on silver stone.
It showed a man with glowing silver eyes, standing above gods, demons, and humans alike.
He wore no crown, no armor.
Just power.
His hand was raised.
And at his feet knelt Ariadne.
Her old form.
And behind her—
Malriva.
Younger. Less cruel.
Smiling.
And above them all, burned into the stone:
"SOVARION – The One Who Refused All Thrones."
---
Velda stared. "That's you."
Lucius said nothing.
Zara stepped closer. "You ruled them."
"No," Ariadne whispered. "He refused to."
Claire stepped back. "Then why are you… like this now?"
Lilith turned to Lucius.
And asked the question they were all afraid of:
"…What happened to Sovarion?"
---
Lucius touched the mural.
And for the first time—
He remembered.
---
FLASH – Memory Fragment
A world burning.
Lucius—not as Lucius—standing in front of a collapsing sky.
Behind him, gods begged.
Demons bled.
People wept.
He said one thing:
"You had your chance to create peace. I gave you time. I gave you mercy. Now I give you truth."
And he vanished in fire.
---
> [Memory Synced: 3%]
Title Unlocked: The One Who Refused All Thrones
Passive Gained: All power-based commands are less effective on you.
Drawback: Emotional instability increases when allies are endangered.
---
Lucius stepped back.
Hands shaking.
"That man… didn't want to rule. He wanted them to stop needing rulers."
Claire stepped forward. "And when they didn't?"
He looked at her.
"He erased himself."
---
Velda swallowed. "Lucius…"
But it was Ariadne who spoke next.
"We're not following a villain anymore," she said.
Everyone turned to her.
"We're following a man the gods once bowed to."
---
> [World Awareness Shifted: The Tyrant is no longer unknown.]
Some now whisper Sovarion's name again.
The gods will not ignore it.
---
Far above, in a divine citadel sealed for a thousand years,
a bell rang once.
Then cracked.
And a voice said,
"He remembers. Sound the hunt."