My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 897 - 898: The Pool

The vast halls stretched out impressively. In this place, Damon experienced an emotion he never imagined could occur. His shadow revealed fear for the very first time.

From the instant Damon stepped into the Holy City, his shadow grew restless. It ceased its independent motion and behaved entirely like an ordinary shadow.

Yet the true shift happened upon their entry into the central temple.

It appeared deeply unsettled.

The Holy City served as the heart of the Holy Empire. Here, the Temple wielded its full authority. In many ways, it operated as a theocracy, backed by the military might and wealth from the world's most influential nations.

Across the globe, every newly crowned leader journeyed to this Holy City for a pilgrimage, where they would bow to kiss the statue of the goddess, pledging their allegiance.

This ritual held ceremonial weight, but its core purpose remained deeply political. That was its main intent.

The city's ancient architecture brimmed with countless statues honoring the goddess. Holy Knights patrolled the streets in numbers, and upon Damon's arrival, the crowds erupted in cheers.

The Temple had spared no effort to highlight his entrance, drawing numerous influential nobles to the city. Some received invitations from his grandfather, others from the Temple itself.

With demon wars threatening to erupt soon, the emergence of a new Hero demanded serious attention, particularly as conflict drew nearer.

Damon halted just outside the majestic temple. The intense terror and apprehension emanating from his shadow gripped him tightly. It was utterly consuming.

This fear seeped into his own core, and rightfully so.

The temple stood as the city's focal point, encircled by figures draped in flowing veils across their faces, clad in expansive robes adorned with symbols of the goddess.

They chanted her glories, gliding gracefully within the sacred halls.

Damon recognized this chilling presence all too clearly. It matched the sensation from the very moment of his death.

This was the essence of the Goddess of Doom. Though subtle and barely perceptible, Damon understood the profound terror it stirred within him.

In his thoughts, it felt as though she gazed directly upon him.

The man ahead turned toward Damon.

"Awe-inspiring, isn't it?" he said with a smile, his hands tucked away in his flowing white sleeves.

"This is the spot. Long ago, within this very temple, the goddess vanquished Ashcroft, the Demon Lord of Domination."

He shut his eyes, inhaling the pure air deeply.

"Concentrate, and you might detect it still. Lingering hints of divine energy. This force proved too much even for Ashcroft to withstand."

Damon maintained a composed face, his eyes shifting to his shadow.

That clarified his shadow's submissive demeanor. This was the site of Ashcroft's defeat.

His shadow had once been Ashcroft. Only after death did the Unknown God grant him this shadow along with the system.

'I won't perish the second I cross into the temple, will I?'

At that moment, such a fate seemed entirely plausible. Yet Damon clenched his jaw and pressed onward with a single step.

The interior felt refreshingly cool, but a heavy pressure weighed on his chest, as though raising one's voice would invite grave offense.

Regardless, retreat was impossible for Damon. He had entered this temple to claim the Hero's title, requiring him to perform the necessary rites and ceremonies.

He had dismissed their importance before, but now in this place, compliance was unavoidable.

Following the ritual inside, he would appear before the assembled throng of onlookers, dignitaries, kin, and aristocrats gathered beyond the walls.

The elder came to a stop before a towering statue of the goddess. Before this colossal figure, soaring some thirty meters tall, lay a broad basin.

Encircling it stood young women veiled across their features.

"This basin emerged in the wake of Ashcroft's demise. It brims with echoes of the goddess's divine energy. Immersing yourself within will renew your form entirely."

Damon sensed a soft, milder surge of divine force radiating from it.

The man withdrew his hand from within his sleeve.

"Yet it carries great peril as well. The unworthy perish if they linger too long. Seras Blade endured the longest. She withstood it for a full half hour."

Damon's eyes tightened. Half an hour. That marked her threshold. What perils hid in this basin if even Seras couldn't persist beyond that?

"Still, the rewards justify the danger. Your physique achieves flawless purity, free of all flaws, and you absorb a trace of the goddess's divine essence through the immersion. It was here that Seras awakened the complete might of her War Attribute."

He faced the elder, revealed as the High Templar.

"Your Holiness, if I may ask, what befalls me should I fail to withstand it?"

The elder sealed his eyes shut gradually.

"Then you shall join the goddess without delay."

Damon flinched. Such a prospect offered no comfort.

The dilemma lay in whether to proceed. He already bound himself to the Unknown God. Entering could prove fatal. Yet his instincts for danger remained silent.

Even so, he dared not trust those senses against the goddess or her influences.

Damon pressed his lips together as the white-veiled women approached, commencing to disrobe him amid their sacred chants.

To Damon, those hymns echoed like tolling bells heralding his end.

He ground his teeth and eased into the basin step by step. The moment he submerged, an otherworldly, exalted force commenced its examination, delving into his very being.

He sensed that any lapse in vigilance might shatter him, or perhaps sever a limb—or more.

But upon reaching his heart, the force halted abruptly.

Damon's breath caught as it focused on the clashing powers within: the Seed of Depravity and the Divine Spark.

Suddenly, the basin roiled, its waters surging violently.

The High Templar's eyes flew wide.

"Wha... what is happening?"