The Iron Sanctum wasn't built for comfort—it was built for control.
A fortress of steel and white stone, it jutted out of the southern cliffs like a dagger driven into the earth. Sacred banners bearing the Church's golden sigil fluttered in the cold wind. From a distance, it looked like a beacon of purity.
But Kairo knew better.
> "They say the walls are blessed," Zevrin muttered beside him as they stared from the ridge. "Infused with divine light. Repels darkness. Demons. Cursed souls."
He glanced sideways at Kairo.
> "What do you think you count as now?"
> "They'll decide soon enough," Kairo replied coldly.
The Fifth Fragment pulsed faintly under his ribs. It wasn't calling out—but reacting. Sensing something below. A memory. A relic. Or worse—a threat.
> "We're not walking in through the gate," Kairo said.
> "Thank the stars. I like my head attached to my neck."
They moved under the cover of twilight. Through the crags and cliffs, where the Church's sentries didn't patrol. Not because they feared invaders—but because something else was already feared down there.
---
They entered the Sanctum through an old maintenance shaft Zevrin had paid a smuggler to reveal. The passage smelled of rust and incense. Holy markings lined the walls, faded with age, glowing faintly.
As they crept deeper, Kairo felt pressure build in his skull. Like something watching, even in the pitch black.
> "Feel that?" he asked.
Zevrin nodded grimly.
> "That's holy territory, alright. You're not supposed to exist in here."
> "And yet here I am."
They reached a hallway of polished stone, lit by hovering orbs of light. Priests in white robes walked silently, carrying scrolls and relics. None saw them. Not yet.
Kairo's eyes locked onto a gate at the far end.
A golden arch, pulsing faintly with energy. Behind it—the chamber of judgment. Where criminals were tried before divine relics. And where, if his instincts were correct, the Fifth Fragment lay hidden beneath sanctified lies.
---
But then—
A tremor.
Faint, but deep.
The air turned cold. The orbs flickered.
And in the next moment, screams echoed through the corridor.
> "Did we do that?" Zevrin asked.
> "No," Kairo said, narrowing his eyes. "Something else woke up."
From the chamber beyond, something stepped out.
Clad in silver armor so polished it reflected the soul.
Eyes like burning stars.
A voice that wasn't spoken, but etched directly into their minds.
> "You carry what is forbidden."
The Watcher had arrived.
---
Zevrin raised his gun on instinct, but Kairo pushed it down.
> "That won't work on him. He's not alive in the way we understand it."
The Watcher's gaze locked on Kairo. Time slowed.
Kairo's heartbeat echoed like thunder.
He felt his body react—the Fragments stirring. Power flaring. But also—a warning.
> This is not your battle. Not yet.
Still, the Watcher raised a hand, and golden fire spun in the air.
> "Surrender the Fragments, mortal. Or be erased."
Kairo stepped forward, slowly. Calmly.
> "You're not here to kill me."
The Watcher tilted his head.
> "Explain."
> "If the gods wanted me dead, they would have erased me in the Vale. But they didn't. They're watching. Testing. You're not execution—you're observation."
A pause.
Then, to Kairo's surprise—the Watcher smiled.
> "Correct."
The flames vanished.
> "The Fifth Fragment is yours—if you survive the trial beneath this Sanctum."
> "Trial?"
> "Descend. Alone. No allies. No weapons. Only the will to ascend."
And then the Watcher vanished in a swirl of light, leaving only silence behind.
---
> "I hate this," Zevrin muttered.
> "You should stay here," Kairo said, already approaching the golden gate.
> "Like hell I will—"
> "Zevrin. Stay. If this is a god-level trial, you'll die. I need you above. If I don't return—burn this place to the ground."
Zevrin looked furious. But he didn't argue. Just nodded once.
> "You'd better crawl out of there, Fragment Boy. I'm not explaining your death to anyone."
---
The gate parted at Kairo's touch.
Inside was a stone platform.
One step on it—and he was gone.
Transported.
---
He landed in darkness.
But it wasn't empty.
Chains floated in the air. Gravity shifted. Time slowed. And across the abyss stood a version of himself.
Older.
Colder.
Powerful beyond imagining.
> "Who are you?" Kairo asked.
The double smiled.
> "The god you could become."
> "And what are you doing here?"
> "Testing whether you're worthy of me."
The Trial had begun.