**Chapter 8: "The Temple's Guardian"**

I stumbled out of the shop and into the cold night air, book in hand an ever-growing dread in the back of my head. Another book. Another thing that doesn’t help me with the soul deal, but adds to the bigger plot. At this point, I should just abandon all of this and let the demon consume my soul. But something like that would be too boring for my tastes. Or maybe it is the vengeance that fuels me. Yeah, it’s probably that.

Finding Lyra wasn't exactly easy. I half expected her to have given up on me. After all, I disappeared for a whole fricking night, and she has no reason to wait for me– but, against all odds, there she was, sitting in the darkened alley a tavern, nursing a drink and looking about as thrilled as a caged griffin.

She scowled as I approached. "Took you long enough," she snapped, not even bothering to look up from her drink. "I thought you'd run off with your forbidden knowledge and left me to rot."

“Sorry for the delay. There was this seller, you know, and the store transformed like something out of a fairy’s tail. He was a strange man. In every possible way.” I pulled the chair next to her. “But look. I found this book.”

“A book? Seriously? That's what took you all night? I thought maybe, *maybe*, you'd found a way to break your little demon deal or something. But no,” she scoffed, taking a large gulp from her mug. “It's just a damn book.”

“Hey, that’s exactly what I said!” I rebutted, trying a bit of humor to defuse the situation. Didn’t work.

“Well, what does it say? Does it contain God stuff?”

“It might. I haven’t read it all. Apparently, there's others like me. With the mark. And well, there is a God of Souls that can help me with the demon thing,” I explained, keeping my voice low, just in case. "We need to decipher this book and see if it helps."

Lyra finally looked at me, her expression softening ever so slightly. “Fine. But if this leads to another goose chase, I’m out. I have my own things to do, you know.”

“Understood,” I said, relieved. "Let's get to my place. It has better lighting than this rat hole."

Back at my apartment, Lyra examined the book with a critical eye. She ran her fingers over the strange symbols etched into its cover.

“Smells old," she commented, wrinkling her nose. “And like… incense? I think that shop was trying to be haunted, I swear.”

I spread out the book on my desk, next to Seraphina's notes. The symbols inside looked even more intricate than the one I'd drawn. Lyra positioned herself at my side, her brow furrowed in concentration as she began muttering incantations under her breath.

“Alright, let’s see what this old thing has to say,” she said, tapping a finger to a particularly complex rune. “These symbols… they're not like anything I’ve ever seen. Not quite divine, not quite… anything. It's like a weird combination for it.”

I leaned closer, trying to decipher it myself. "It's like it's drawing power from… both? From the souls?”

“Maybe. But if that’s the case, that explains what the shopkeeper told me. This is Soul Weaving,” Lyra said, surprise in her voice. “I thought it was something completely different.”

Hours passed. We poured over the book, cross-referencing it with Seraphina's notes, comparing symbols and theories. Slowly, painfully, we began to piece together the puzzle.

“Okay, okay, I think I got something,” Lyra said, pointing to a passage written in a stylized script. “It says something about a… guardian? And a forgotten temple.”

I snatched up Seraphina's notes. “Forgoten Temple. Yeah, that matches with what she told me. This guardian must protect an artifact.”

Lyra nodded, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “This must be our artifact from the God of Souls”. Let's go there. See if it is what we think it is.”

"Alright. But the town she gave to me is…" I pause trying to remember a very strange town. "Innocuous? She didn't really say. It's not great. Just really common and used by normal merchants."

Lyra shakes her head. “Then let’s go.”

And with that, the day came again.

The journey wasn't exactly scenic. More like dusty, uncomfortable and strangely… normal. Which I was getting annoyed at. Lyra, on the other hand, was strangely energetic. I couldn’t tell if it was thanks to me or if she actually liked the trip.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" I asked, as we approached the town, my voice laced with skepticism. If the place itself didn't have divine energy, then that meant it was something else entirely. "Doesn't exactly scream 'ancient, god-touched artifact,' does it?"

Lyra consulted a small compass. "The readings are strongest here. Somewhere in this town. Try to relax and trust the Gods a little, or whatever you believe in.”

The town was… well, underwhelming. It seemed like other town, with merchants hawking their wares, children playing in the streets, and old gossips chattering in doorways. I could've swear that it was the same as my town. Normal. Too normal. There wasn´t the expected divinity, no god feeling, just normal.

"I don't see any temples," I muttered, scanning the horizon. "Just a lot of… beige."

That’s when i realized something and stopped, as well as moving Lyra with me. “Wait. Don’t you think it’s… too obvious?”

Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Obvious?”

“Yes! This place doesn’t have a weird energy. Every town has a weird energy. This town and these people are way too normal. What if the key point of that area is trying to hide something?” I glance around, and Lyra agrees.

Lyra narrowed her eyes, "You're right. Maybe we shouldn't be looking for a grand temple. Maybe it's something… smaller. Something more concealed."

We began walking through the town, scrutinizing every building, every alleyway, every crumbling wall. And then I saw it. Tucked away in a quiet corner, almost hidden by overgrown vines, was an innocuous-looking building with a simple wooden door. A single, almost faded sign hung above the entrance. Nothing indicating there was anything in it.

"That," I said, pointing towards the building, "is our Temple."

It was too unassuming to be a temple. Just some bricks with a simple roof, that you can find at other homes. But there was something drawing, like a hand in my mind. A calling of sorts. And something inside screamed that was the right place.

Inside the Temple, there should be The Artifact.

Lyra frowned. "Seriously? That hovel? Are you sure?”

“Positive. My instinct is telling me. Plus, this place feels… different. It almost feels empty”

We approached the door cautiously. I pushed it open, and immediately a gust of wind shot past us.

The Temple seemed to be a mirror of what the Gods can do; change its layout.

“Woah what was that!?” I scream.

As soon as we stepped inside, the air crackled with energy. The innocuous facade disappeared, replaced by an ethereal scene.

And, well, the Temple transformed into a labyrinth.

Flickering lights danced along the walls, casting strange shadows that seemed to twist known objects. Ethereal music echoed through the vast space, and as the walls started moving, it only amplified the strangeness.

Lyra drew her sword, her eyes scanning the surroundings warily. "What the hell is this place?" she muttered. "It's like something out of a fever dream."

"The work of the gods," I replied, my voice grim. "Probably a test."

Suddenly, figures materialized to block our path. Not physical beings, but glowing constructs of light. They were vaguely humanoid in shape, their faces blank and serene. Divine constructs.

“Heathens! Blasphemers!” one of them boomed, their voices echoing through the chamber. “You dare trespass in this sacred place while bearing a mark. You and the demon are not worthy of the God of Souls, nor of this test.”

I grit my teeth. "A test? Of what? Purity? I made a deal with a demon, what did you expect?"

The constructs didn’t answer. Instead, they began forming. They moved, with alarming grace, drawing glowing swords of pure energy from thin air.

"So, a fight it is," Lyra said, brandishing her own blade as she faced the nearest construct.

The constructs moved into a battle formation, the room getting smaller, and they were trying so much as to give space for casting or even running.

The first construct charged me, its sword arcing downwards. I dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow, the air crackling with holy energy where the blade had passed.

As I jumped, I saw an image. It flashed before my eyes. It wasn’t happening in the temple, but outside. I was performing the summoning, and the face of Kael was shocked. But shocked at not the revenge, but what he saw. Demons were there, Gods were there, and everything was.

When I came back to the temple, I stumbled.

It reminded me of how my sins brought me to this place, and the test.

“Elias! Focus!” Lyra yelled, as she strikes down one of the constructs. She was struggling: she was more used to be outside than being so cornered.

She was struck from behind, by a construct with her face, but more divine. More holy.

“Liar!” it said. “You bear the power of divinity, but you’ve done everything that goes against it!”

She saw it with her eyes, of stabbing innocent people, of using the power of the gods for anything but the greater good. She never saw herself as a bad person, but if her sins came to life, there was a clear answer.

“Those aren’t lies!” Lyra yells, more constructs coming to her. “Someone has to do it!”

The constructs intensified their attacks, forcing me to focus on survival. The place has become a mirror of everything.

I dodged and weaved, deflecting blows with my magic, but the constructs seemed inexhaustible, their power seemingly drawn from the very walls of the temple.

“There are too many of them!” I shouted, casting a fireball that incinerated one of the constructs, only to be replaced by another in an instant.

“They seem to be animated by our 'sins!'” Lyra shouted, panting for breath as she parried a flurry of attacks. “The more sinful you are, the more there are!”

I cursed under my breath. Great. So, my little revenge plot had officially come back to bite me in the ass.

I needed a plan, and fast, or we were going to be overwhelmed.

When I come back, I knew an army construct of myself it comes.

“Lyra! I have an idea,” I shouted over the din of battle. “But it’s going to require a lot of trust.”

“Trust? From you and me?” she replied, raising an eyebrow as she blocked another strike. “Considering what you’ve done, that’s a tall order.”

“Just hear me out!” I said desperately. “You’re the divine soldier. You can use divine magic to increase the sin of me. I bring all the constructs, and then you will have an opening!”

Lyra hesitated, her eyes darting between me and the approaching constructs. Finally, she nodded grimly. “Alright, I’m in, but if this doesn’t work, I’m blaming you.”

“Deal!” I shouted, as I began channeling my demonic energy.

Lyra placed herself in front, and cast. She did an arcane move of dancing from side to side, with extreme grace, and put her hands at me. She began chanting in a language I didn’t understood, but it made my heart race. I saw new constructs getting into form.

Lyra begins chanting, she summons another divine soldier to get in her place. ”You need to strike, now! All of them are here!”

I felt a surge of power coursing through my veins. It was raw, chaotic, I channeled with anger.

The constructs charged towards me, their eyes glowing with righteous fury.

I closed my eyes, and released my power with that anger, like a mad mad. It made me feel… complete. More alive.

I opened my eyes, and I chanted. A verse like no other. I felt my soul with Kael, something binding so hard that you couldn’t separate.

My hand. It had never happened before. My hand became the mark. I heard someone screaming my name, not understanding if it was me. I release it all at once, with the mark.

A massive explosion of demonic energy erupted from my body, consuming the constructs in a swirling vortex of shadow and fire. The temple shook, the very air thick with the stench of sulfur and ozone.

When the dust settled, only the charred remains of the constructs reminded.

"Did… did it work?" Lyra asked, her voice trembling slightly.

I felt exhausted, drained, but also… strangely elated. "Yeah," I said, grinning weakly. "I think it worked."

We stumbled through the ruined chamber, searching for the artifact. In the center of the room, amidst the rubble and ashes, was a chest that hummed of magic.

"That must be it," Lyra said, pointing towards the chest.

We approached it cautiously. The chest was made of dark wood, reinforced with bands of polished steel. Emblazoned on its front was the symbol again, the God of Souls mark.

I reached out to touch the chest, and saw it, from so deep that my very soul screamed. Kael giving me the amulet, during the ritual. Kael making the summoning, during my revenge plot.

The ritual was never me: it was Kael. And that was the moment that the God took us to its heart.

”Elias! Don’t!” Lyra screamed, but it was already too late.

My fingers brushed against the cool metal, and my world turned upside down.