The Heavenly Demon of Terror-Chapter 321: Shrine of the Forgotten Gods, First Trial

Samuel's POV

The world screamed.

Or maybe it was just the wind shrieking as it twisted through the bones of dead giants. The sky cracked above, thunder rumbling through clouds that glowed sickly green. I stood within a crater of obsidian and ash, staring down the first guardian of this damn Trial — a Forgotten Deity of War named Kael'Rith.

He towered above me, eyes burning like dying suns. His armor looked like it had been forged in the heart of collapsing stars — charred black, veined with crimson light. And in his hands, he held a double-bladed axe longer than I was tall.

"You are not worthy," he said again, voice a low tremor across the earth. "Turn back, mortal thing. Before your name is erased."

I cracked my knuckles, rolled my shoulders. "See, you ancient bastards really gotta work on your sales pitch. You could've just said 'Hi.'"

His wings — stone and ash — flared wide.

Boom.

He surged forward like a goddamn meteor. I barely twisted aside as that axe cleaved the air where I stood, carving a trench into the ground deep enough to bury a mountain. My blade flashed — a streak of voidsteel catching the war-god's side — and he grunted. Not a scream. Just... acknowledgement.

"You bleed."

"So do you," I shot back, darting behind him and landing a series of rapid slashes up his spine. One of his wings cracked apart, falling to the floor like broken faith.

He howled. The air turned molten.

He spun, fists now wrapped in lightning, and slammed me across the arena. I tumbled over obsidian shards, metal screeching as I hit a half-crushed altar. My ribs protested, but I stood. Spat blood. Grinned.

"You're strong," I said. "But you're old. Rusty. And way too dramatic."

He roared, slamming both fists into the ground. The earth ruptured. Lava spewed into the air in jagged pillars. One caught my left arm — searing pain shot up to my shoulder — but I used the momentum, pushing through and driving my blade straight through his thigh.

He fell to one knee.

"You... dare insult divinity?"

I crouched low, voice sharp. "You're not divinity. You're a memory. And I'm what reality looks like now."

I twisted the blade.

The Forgotten God grabbed my throat with both hands, lifting me off the ground. His heat seared my skin — my vision darkened. But in that moment, something snapped inside me.

The Void answered.

My free hand erupted in black flame, not fire that burned, but fire that consumed. I slammed it into his chest — the runes etched on his armor screamed as they unraveled.

His grip faltered. He staggered.

"You think this world still remembers you?" I hissed. "You think your gods still walk? You're dust. And I'm here to bury what's left."

I drove my knee into his face. Bone cracked. I followed with an upward slash that severed one of his arms completely, then twisted mid-air and launched him backward with a concussive blast of Voidlight.

Kael'Rith slid across the ground, dragging sparks behind him.

"End me then," he growled. "Prove yourself not just as killer... but heir."

I approached slowly, blade humming, muscles tense, heart pounding.

"End you?" I asked, staring into his fractured gaze. "You already ended yourself the moment you stayed behind in a world that forgot your name."

And I brought the sword down.

The god's body shattered into dust and echoes.

Silence followed.

The altar lit up in brilliant silver, the sky above briefly calming as a voice — something ancient and watching — whispered:

"Trial One complete. Six remain."

I looked up, wiping blood from my cheek. "Six, huh?"

I grinned.

"Good. I was just warming up."

________________________________________

Samuel's POV — System Status Window

The Trial's energy still crackled in my bones, my lungs burned with ash and power, but my mind was clear. As the dust settled and the altar's glow faded into darkness, the System Interface blinked into view, hovering in front of me like a projection etched into reality.

I exhaled slowly and focused.

----

[System Status Window – Updated]

Name: Samuel

Title(s): Harbinger of Destruction, Void-Walker, Trial Challenger

Race: Unknown (Evolved)

Level: 275

Class: Chaosblade (Ascended Tier)

Affinities: Void, Shadow, Flame, Astral

Realm Access: Twilit Domains | Broken Vale | Trial Worlds | Human Realm

Stat Allocation:

Strength: *****

Agility: *****

Endurance: ******

Intelligence: *******

Void Affinity: MAXED

Willpower: 10,000 (Capped)

Skills:

Voidstep (Mastered)

Astral Rend

Blade Tempest – Chaos Variant

Devourer's Pulse

Reality Sever (Awakened)

Unbroken Form (Passive – Mythic)

Active Quests:

Trial of the Seven Forgotten Gods [1/7 Completed]

Ascend to the Throne of Echoes

Unravel the Curse of the Null Architects

----

I whistled low. "Level 275, huh?"

The jump from the last fight wasn't small. Killing a Forgotten War Deity did come with its perks.

A small flicker pulsed at the edge of the interface — a new option, glowing faint gold:

[Ascension Threshold Available – Unlock Potential?]

My smile widened.

"Well... things are about to get fun."

I reached forward and tapped the option.

Let chaos begin.