Chapter 8 – The Price of Power
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The Moment the World Went Quiet
For a brief moment, it felt like time refused to move forward.
Kaien stood face to face with the god that time itself had buried, and all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat—ragged, angry, defiant.
"The ultimate sacrifice… yourself."
The words slithered through the chamber like an ancient curse.
Riven took a step forward, tense. "What do you mean? He dies to break the chains? That's your solution?"
The Forgotten God's withered eyes moved toward her, and the air warped with a pressure that brought her to her knees.
"I was once like you," the god rasped. "A soul that dared to defy. And so I bled. For mortals. For rebellion. For nothing."
Kaien's hands clenched. "Then why help us?"
A silence.
Then, a flicker of something—maybe pain, maybe hope—crossed the ancient god's hollow face.
"Because I see in you what I once was… and what I could never become."
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The god's form began to crumble, his voice stretching thin like echoes across an abyss.
"There is a place… where chains are born. A fracture in the heavens where the divine once bled into the mortal. If you walk that path—if you survive its trials—you will find the forge."
Kaien tilted his head. "Forge?"
"The Forge of Elaris. Where the first blade that ever killed a god was born. But know this…"
The shadows in the temple thickened, clawing at the light.
"Each step toward that blade will tear pieces of you away. Not just flesh, but memory. Identity. Love."
Kaien's breath hitched.
The Forgotten God's final words shook the stone beneath them.
"To unchain the world… you must choose what part of you deserves to remain."
And then—he shattered.
Stone cracked. The statue collapsed inward, and the silence returned.
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Later that night, Kaien sat alone near the base of the temple ruins, the stars hanging like wounds across the sky.
Riven approached quietly. She didn't speak at first. Just sat beside him.
"I know what you're thinking," she said softly. "You think you'll walk into that forge and leave parts of yourself behind until there's nothing left but vengeance."
Kaien didn't answer. Because she was right.
"I'm not trying to stop you," she added. "But if you lose the part of you that still feels, still hopes—what's the point of killing gods?"
Kaien glanced at her, eyes burning with something old and buried.
"Because they forgot what it means to be human."
He stood, the night wind pulling at his coat.
"I'll remind them."
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The Road to Elaris
Before dawn, they left.
The path to Elaris was forbidden, woven through ruins and death valleys, across cursed landscapes where even light refused to enter. But Kaien didn't hesitate.
He didn't dream that night. The world had stopped making space for dreams.
Instead, he saw a vision—
A figure in white chains.
A blade of smoke and memory.
A throne of ash.
And at the center, himself—split, bleeding, laughing.
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