The Forsaken Heir's Ascension
Chapter 71: Sacrifice and Shadows

Chapter 71: Sacrifice and Shadows

As Alex limped toward the center of the village with Hati supporting him, they approached a raised white building. It had no windows, only a single door, and its smooth white exterior gave it the look of a sacred place—perhaps a temple. Lightning crackled ominously above it.

Alex asked in an anxious voice, "Hati, are you sure they’re in there?"

Hati nodded once.

Alex took a deep breath, like a man diving underwater, then said as he climbed the stairs, "Let’s go."

The moment they entered, an unnatural darkness swallowed them—thicker than mere shadow, as if the very walls resisted being seen from the outside. Alex cloaked himself and Hati in dark elemental energy, erasing their presence. Then he pushed the inner door open, slowly.

Creeaakk.

The hinges groaned—but their sound was drowned out by a rhythmic chant coming from within:

"Thunder God is great... Thunder God is great..."

The smell of iron and decaying flesh hit Alex like a slap. His expression darkened. They’re in danger.

He slipped inside through the narrow opening—and froze.

A large crowd knelt in devotion before a golden eagle statue, above which stood a massive, lifelike eagle made entirely of thunder. On a raised platform behind it, his friends were strapped down—Meika, Rina, Lyra, and Kaelan—all pale, all smiling eerily, murmuring nonsense into the air.

Alex’s breath caught. A shiver ran down his spine. He instinctively stepped back, pressing into the cold wall.

What should I do? I can’t fight this many people. Should I run?

But then, the face of a little girl with bright blue eyes flashed in his mind. her voice echoed:

"Will you protect me brother."

Resolve hardened in his eyes. He drew his emerald spear from his spatial ring and gripped its glowing shaft tightly. Hati, standing beside him, met his gaze. Alex nodded. Silently, they split, moving like shadows toward the altar.

The Thunder Eagle, lost in bliss as it consumed glowing souls, didn’t notice their approach.

I only have one chance, Alex thought. If I fail, we’re dead.

He noticed the long shadow of a stone pillar stretching toward the altar wall. Without hesitation, he merged into the shadow—becoming a dark smear that slid silently along the floor until he reached the base of the platform.

He was close now—just a few meters from the statue. If the eagle looked down, he’d be spotted instantly.

On the platform, his friends were growing paler by the second. Haron, kneeling in front of Kaelan, had transformed—he looked like a man in his twenties, with thick dark hair and no wrinkles. He laughed madly and shouted, "It’s almost done! I’ll be young again—for the third time! Thunder God, I’ll serve you forever!"

Across the altar, Hati crouched under another shadow. His eyes locked on Haron’s neck, waiting for Alex’s signal.

Alex moved.

He emerged from the shadow like a tiger leaping for the kill—spear in hand, mid-air, aiming for the head of the golden statue.

The Thunder Eagle’s thunder-eyes snapped to him. It let out a deafening cry that shook the hall, its divine pressure slamming toward Alex like a tidal wave.

But Hati had already jumped.

Haron, still caught in his delusion, looked up too late.

Blood exploded across the platform as Hati’s fangs tore into his throat, yanking him backward with crushing force.

Before the Thunder Eagle’s pressure could crush him, Alex let go of his spear mid-leap.

The spear spun through the air—

Boom!

The emerald-tipped weapon slammed into the statue’s head. Stone shattered. Dust and debris burst outward.

CRACK!

A bolt of thunder struck Alex’s back. It seared through his flesh, burning his very bones.

A scream tore from his throat—but it was drowned in the rumble of divine thunder.

The women standing in front of Rina, Meika, and Lyra burst open like overripe fruit. Blood and organs splattered across the hall, painting it with horror.

A suction force descended from the sky, pulling the Thunder Eagle upward. The world itself seemed to be resisting the unnatural presence. Now that the statue—the creature’s anchor to this world—had been destroyed, the Thunder Eagle was deemed a foreign invader.

It screeched and struggled, resisting with all its might. But it was like a mouse being dragged by an invisible cat. Inch by inch, it was pulled into the night sky. Thunder crackled one last time—then vanished.

The sky returned to normal.

Meika, now recovering from the interrupted ritual, pushed herself to her feet. Her eyes scanned the room until she found Alex’s body—lying still, smoke rising from his burned back. Hati was beside him, dragging Haron by the neck.

She immediately understood. Her eyes narrowed with fury. Reaching for her waist, she pulled out twin daggers and growled under her breath, "So you were that confident you didn’t even take my weapons..."

She stepped into the shadows—becoming one with them—and reappeared behind the young man in white who was kneeling near the ritual altar, still lost in a trance.

Without hesitation, she drove both daggers through his skull. Before his body hit the ground, she vanished again, reappearing behind another robed figure.

Another kill. No resistance.

In seconds, Meika emerged from the darkness, blood dripping from her blades, her face cold and unreadable. Rina, Lyra, and Kaelan stood beside her, pale and shaking, barely able to stay on their feet.

The old villagers, once chanting, now cowered against the walls like scared animals.

Rina’s voice trembled as she asked, "W-Where... is Alex?"

Meika pointed silently toward the corner, where the great wolf was licking Alex’s unconscious body, smoke still curling from his charred back.

Wordlessly, she reached into her pouch and produced four vials of glowing liquid. "Middle-grade healing potions," she said, handing them out. "These will be enough to recover."

Each of them drank, the warmth of the potion fighting the chill that had settled in their bones.

Then Meika’s eyes turned to the old villagers. Her voice dropped into a deadly whisper. "Let’s kill them. We can’t risk it".

Kaelan nodded, anger burning in his eyes. A cruel smile twisted across his face.

"I’ll enjoy roasting this old meat. In the afterlife, you’ll think twice before playing with someone’s mind."

Lyra stepped forward, unsheathing her black daggers. They gleamed under the yellow light, her blue eyes blazing with fury.

"I feel violated," she growled. "I’ll wash this feeling away with their blood."

Rina hesitated, her expression uncertain. "C-Can’t we just leave?" she whispered.

The others turned to her, their eyes cold and furious.

"We can’t let people who tried to kill us walk away," Meika snapped.

And then the massacre began.

Meika, Lyra, and Kaelan surged forward, merciless and efficient. The elderly cultists didn’t resist—they screamed, begged, and cried, but no defense came. It was a slaughter, not a battle.

Kaelan moved methodically, roasting them one by one, savoring their screams. Lyra and Meika delivered swift, clean kills, blades flashing with deadly precision.

Rina stood motionless on the altar, paralyzed, watching the carnage unfold. Every scream echoed in her bones, each one pulling her further into numbness.

Then, a familiar woman—the one who had served them food—stumbled toward her and dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

"Please... have mercy. Please spare me."

As the last screams faded and Kaelan continued his grim work in the background, Meika and Lyra returned to Rina’s side. Their eyes fell on the woman groveling before her.

Rina’s lips trembled. Her eyes darted between her companions.

"C-Can we... spare her?" she asked softly, fear and hesitation in her voice.

For a fleeting second, hope flickered in the woman’s eyes.

But Meika stared at her with cold hatred.

"You were the one who made the food, weren’t you?" she said. "What did you put in it?"

The woman froze, eyes widening in panic. She began to tremble violently.

"I-I-I don’t have any powers! Brother Karon... he mixed the Thunder God’s power into your food... to control your minds."

Meika gave a slow nod, her expression calculating.

"Where are we? What is this place?"

The woman clutched her arms, shaking harder.

"This is the Tower of the Thunder God. We’re on the third floor. The tower goes deeper... downward."

"How many floors are there?"

"I-I-I don’t know," she whimpered.

Meika narrowed her eyes.

"One last question. Before we consider letting you go... how do we get out of the tower?"

A strange glint flashed in the woman’s eyes.

"You can’t," she hissed, a twisted smile forming. "No one has ever left the tower alive. You can only go deeper. The door to the next floor is in the temple’s basement."

Suddenly, she sprang to her feet with unnatural agility. In one motion, she drew a kitchen knife and pressed it to Rina’s throat.

"Hahahahaha!" she cackled, her voice unhinged.

"I knew it, you bitch! You weren’t going to let me go, were you?"

Meika didn’t flinch. Her lips curled into a smug smile.

"See, Rina? I told you—you can’t trust a crazy person. We won’t help you this time. Alex might’ve stepped in... but right now, he’s asleep."

Rina stood frozen, her tears trailing down her pale cheeks. Her fierce golden eyes shimmered with pain and fear.

The woman leaned in close, her breath hot. With a guttural giggle, she licked Rina’s cheek. Rina shuddered, her entire body recoiling from the vile touch.

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