Chapter 15 — The Temple of Schism
Orario. Dungeon. Floor 49.
The air was different.
Not wet, not heavy, but... remembering. The dungeon wasn't just storing monsters here. He kept images.
"This place is... older than it looks,— Riveria said. — Legends say that this is where Dungeon first began to "copy" the will of those who invaded too deeply. It's too bright.
The Hulk felt the pressure. It was as if not the walls, but someone's gaze hovered over them.
Finn checked the spear.
— The Temple of Schism. We are here to find out why recent expeditions have disappeared without a trace.
Ais, as always, was silent, but she did not take her eyes off the Hulk.
They came to a broken stone arch. Above it is an inscription in a language that even Riveria did not know.
But the Hulk read it. Instinctively.
"Where the soul cracks, the Dungeon sees the True."
⸻
Inside the Temple.
Endless mirrored slabs. Some are cloudy, some are shining like glass.
They reflected thoughts— not bodies.
— Be careful. These mirrors... they don't just show. They feed on what lives in you. Riveria whispered.
But it was too late.
One of the mirrors flashed scarlet, and a Hulk—like shadow came out of it.
Only the chains on her body were ingrown, her eyes were empty, like in a Judge, and her chest was torn from the inside, as if her heart was trying to escape.
— Greetings, the weak version. You really decided to come down to me yourself. How sweet.
The Hulk tensed up. The Shadow was not the Judge. She was... a piece. A fragment of the Will.
"You're not him.
- no. I am fear. Your. And he is the essence. But trust me... when you're ready, you'll be his door yourself.
The shadow charged. Finn darted forward, stabbed with his spear, but the weapon went through her as if through smoke.
"The physical is powerless,— Riveria whispered. — Only the will. Only the inner essence!
The Hulk closed his eyes.
He remembered how he was afraid of losing himself, how he hated chains, how he broke out of his rage to become something more.
"I am not fear.
— I am a choice.
He stepped forward and squeezed the shadow inside the chains wrapped in anti-magic and will.
"You don't control me." And you're not me.
And with that, he swallowed up the shadow. If he didn't destroy it, he accepted it. And she crumbled to ashes.
⸻
Received: The Statement I Am A Unique Effect.
Allows you to undo the effects of any magical or psychological influence based on fear, guilt, or the past once in battle.
⸻
Ais, for the first time in a long time, whispered:
"You've become stronger. But inside... he's changed too.
The Hulk looked at his palm. She was trembling.
- yes. Because now I know that my main enemy is not in the Dungeon. He's in me.
⸻
In the depths of the Temple, among the broken mirrors, another one came to life.
It shows the image of the Hulk with the eyes of a Judge, with a throne of chains.
And the voice:
"He's coming. The temple accepted him. So, the Primordial Node will open soon..."