The Berserker’s Second Playthrough Novel - Chapter 90

Chapter 90
Chapter: 90

Chapter Title: Followers of the Forgotten God (12)

—

They possessed exactly sixteen silver coins recovered from the destroyed kingdom.

When added to the stash taken from Councilor Vittorio, that was their final tally. While it seemed like a meager pile of metal, in the grip of a cleric capable of channeling divine arts, it held the potential to lay waste to an entire municipality.

The transaction concluded swiftly, and they made their way back to the school’s side building. Grasping the coins, Kadim turned to Ilenia and inquired,

“What is the plan for these?”

“…Will you come with me for a moment? And as for you, Uncle Goatee, I must ask you to remain outside.”

“…”.

Duncan’s gaze turned sharp and displeased, but his mood shifted instantly into a satisfied smirk when Ilenia pressed two 1,000 Luden gold pieces into his palm.

Ilenia slid the rear door of the annex open and stepped inside. Kadim followed, ducking his head to clear the low frame, and was immediately greeted by a heavy, stagnant scent of rot.

The room was a chaotic treasury of the past: shelves groaning under the weight of crumbling scrolls, stone inscriptions, shattered mirrors, and ancient volumes. It functioned as a cluttered depot for academic findings. He surmised that the various tools she used during her archaeological surveys had been sourced from this very hoard.

Moving with practiced ease through the wreckage, she stopped before a massive bookcase set against the wall. She reached back toward Kadim, her hand open in a silent request.

“I need those silver coins for a second. They are necessary to establish a sacred perimeter for our talk and to prepare a reward for your help.”

“…”.

“If you find it difficult to trust me with them, I can offer a personal relic as security. It doesn’t match their historical worth, but it is my most cherished possession…”

Kadim dismissed the offer with a gesture and handed over the coins—though he only relinquished half of the total.

“You mentioned these coins provide a defense against malevolent holy arts, correct?”

“…”.

“I will hold onto the rest until I have heard what you have to say.”

Ilenia offered a faint, strained smile but accepted the terms with a nod. She set the silver pieces atop the shelf and brought her palms together in a gesture of deep devotion.

“O ancient shadow hidden within the blinding glare that deceives the soul, whose very name has slipped from memory. Do not abandon your children who roam this world, carrying the ache of a lost homeland. In this dawn of impending ruin, where peace vanishes with the rising sun, I beg you to shroud us in the edge of your cloak, hiding us from the gaze that monitors the earth…”
⟨ Prayer of Concealment ⟩

Woooooong—

The moment the prayer concluded, a dark radiance pulsed from the coins, and the heavy bookshelves swung open simultaneously.

Rumble, rumble, rumbllllle—

Past the corridor formed by the shifting wood lay a void of absolute shadow.

It was an abyss where the floor and walls vanished into an ink-like gloom.

“…”.

A spark of recognition flared in Kadim.

The sight of that pitch-black void struck him with a haunting sense of familiarity.

“…Step inside quickly. This sanctuary is temporary.”

There was no leisure for contemplation. Ilenia had already moved into the dark and was beckoning him. He pushed his doubts aside and walked into the void.

Rumble, rumble, rumbllllle, thunk!

The bookshelves slammed shut the moment he crossed the threshold. The room became a world of pure, unadulterated black. There was not a single glint of light to allow the eyes to adjust; it was a realm of total sensory deprivation.

However, the darkness did not remain absolute for long.

Fwoosh—!

Ilenia produced a spark and lit a lone candle. Faint, flickering shadows began to dance across the hidden chamber. The Atala warrior and the scholar stood in the weak glow, observing one another in a heavy silence.

Ilenia was the one to speak first.

“I appreciate your trust, Kadim. Speaking of these matters in the open would have invited disaster for all of us. Within these walls, we are shielded from the ‘surveying eyes’ for a short time.”

She brushed a lock of hair away from her face. Her voice and posture had shifted, becoming colder and more focused. To Kadim, this version of her felt more authentic, as if the persona she used in the world had been discarded.

“…I have a mountain of questions. I am not even sure where the beginning is.”

“…”.

“Let’s start with the basics. Who are you, and what is your real name?”

The woman known as Ilenia—a name that was likely just one of many aliases—placed a hand over her heart and performed a respectful bow.

“I apologize for the deception until now, Kadim. As you likely suspected, I am a priestess of the Forgotten God. But I am not like those radicals in the Night Raven sect. I belong to the true order, those who follow the ancient scriptures without corruption and seek only to fulfill His genuine intent.”

“…”.

“As for my name, please forgive me, but the clergy of our faith do not use them. Since our deity has been stripped of His name, we consider it a sin for His followers to possess one. If it is easier for you, please continue to address me as ‘Ilenia’.”

The revelation that she belonged to the cult was not a shock. Her intimate knowledge of their rituals and her possession of the kingdom’s silver relics had already pointed to that truth.

He pressed further.

“Then tell me why your group has stayed in the shadows and helped me through these indirect methods.”

“…”.

“Does it involve this ‘revelation’ you mentioned?”

Ilenia took a moment to gather her thoughts before asking tentatively,

“To understand the full picture, I must provide context. I should explain the history from the moment the Forgotten God was silenced until today. Is that acceptable?”

Kadim gave a sharp nod. Ilenia took a breath and began her story.

“Long ago, the Lucaonia Empire was merely the Lucaonia Kingdom. When they formed a theocracy with the Elga Church, their initial campaign was a holy war against the lands of the Forgotten God.”

“…”.

“They marched under the banner of purity and light. To them, we who found divinity in shadow and chaos were nothing more than targets to be purged. Under the blades of knights who viewed slaughter as a sacred duty, thousands were executed—infants and the elderly alike. The scavengers of those lands grew so bloated on the dead that they lost their fear of the living.”

Kadim suddenly thought of Gordon, his comrade from his first life.

That boisterous, cheerful priest had been a man of integrity. Yet, even Gordon had shown visible discomfort when the topic of the Forgotten God arose.

The forces of light and shadow were natural enemies. If even a man as good as Gordon felt that way, it was clear how the fanatical Arch Paladins must have behaved. It didn’t excuse the bloodbath, but it explained the fervor.

Ilenia’s eyes reflected the candle’s flame like two small stars, as if she were mourning those lost to the fires of the past.

“We are unsure what ritual the Elga priests utilized, but they successfully dismantled the nation and erased the Forgotten God’s name from existence. This caused the clergy to lose their connection to the divine, much like a tribal mystic losing their spirit bond…”

“…”.

“The surviving priests channeled what little power remained into artifacts like the ‘silver coins of the fallen kingdom’ and went into hiding across the world. For generations, they sought a way to restore the name. But while they hid, Lucaonia rose to empire status, and the Elga Church became untouchable. Centuries passed with no hope.”

“…”.

“Then, roughly two decades ago… a single ‘divine word’ was received from the Forgotten God.”

The message was as follows:

⚙ DIVINE REVELATION ⚙
[Shrowd your devotion in the deepest midnight and wait. Once the ancient shadow returns to the void and the three bells have rung, a warrior drenched in gore shall emerge from the lost eras. He shall stain the earth with forbidden blood and strike down the crown of light that rises in the sky.]

Ilenia clarified the metaphors within the text.

The ‘ancient shadow’ referred to the demon king of the previous era, ‘three bells’ was a code for three centuries, the ‘forbidden blood’ was the essence of demons, and the ‘rising crown’ was the symbol of Elga and his church.

“The prophecy indicates that a figure will arrive to dismantle the demons and the Elga Church alike. Our god gave us the directive to support this person from the shadows.”

“…”.

“Most of us believed this was the only path to reclaiming our god’s name. We spent years preparing for your arrival. Though the Night Raven faction lost their way and mistook you for the source of a coming apocalypse…”

Kadim’s jaw tightened.

“So… you are claiming that I am the ‘blood-soaked warrior’ from this prophecy?”

“Yes. It is you.”

“What makes you so certain? There are many warriors who have seen blood.”

“Because you are unlike any man who has ever walked this earth.”

“How could you possibly know that? Who do you think I am?”

“Kadim. Survivor of the northern wastes. The great champion of Atala. The Blood Berserker who harvests the strength of demons. The commander who led the heroes to victory against the great evil. And the man who has leaped across three hundred years to walk this path a second time.”

Kadim stared at her, his expression unreadable.

Ilenia could sense the tension. Deep within his dark eyes, something was boiling—a mixture of suspicion and the raw, volatile power of a man who realized his most guarded secrets were known. It was the kind of intensity that could turn into violence at any second.

She spoke quickly to de-escalate.

“You are likely wondering how we could know these things, but I cannot give you that answer yet. This sanctuary is not perfect. If I speak too much or stay too long, the ‘surveying eyes’ will find us.”

“…”.

“But I swear by the god I serve, our intent is only to assist you. We have searched for the tools you require and suffered immense losses to place them in your path. Priests have died of exposure in the frozen north seeking dwarven steel, and I have spent my life scouring ruins for lost steles, facing countless dangers…”

“…”.

“We do not ask for your pity; this was our choice. But I ask for your understanding. We need you to trust us if we are to continue supporting your journey.”

Kadim suppressed his hostility. Doubts remained, but he could not deny that the items they provided had been vital. He eased his stance and asked,

“Fine. But tell me about these ‘eyes’ you keep mentioning.”

“…Before that, I need the remaining silver coins.”

“…?”

“Our time is slipping away. To fashion the gift I promised you, I need more divine energy. I must finish it before the ‘eyes’ arrive…”

Ilenia stopped mid-sentence, her body locking in terror.

Without warning, a shaft of light sliced through the darkness. It was a brilliance that dwarfed the flickering candle.

Kadim looked up. High above, a hole had been torn through the black veil of the sanctuary, and a blinding, alien light was pouring through the gap.

The sun.

The sun was rising inside the chamber, burning through the shadows.

Kuoooooo…

This was no natural dawn. It emitted no warmth; it was a predatory light that seemed to eat the darkness. The sanctuary began to dissolve as the glare expanded like a hunting beast.

In her panic, Ilenia dropped the candle.

Kadim squinted against the brightness. He realized immediately that this was the force Ilenia feared. This light was not a blessing; it was a searchlight.

He acted on instinct.

“Ngh!”

He grabbed Ilenia, pulling her close, and sprinted toward the corner of the room where the shadows still held. Once they reached the remaining patch of dark, he shoved the rest of the silver coins into her hand.

“Use these to fix the sanctuary!”

“…What?”

“You used the others to build this place. Use these to block that light!”

“No… that won’t work. The coins are just the power source. This room took years of preparation to construct.”

“Then build a wall! Anything to stop that light from hitting us!”

“…”.

Ilenia watched the light consume the room. It was moving too fast. No shadow she could cast would withstand that brilliance for more than a heartbeat.

She shook her head. Instead of a barrier, she used the energy from the coins to finalize the ‘token of gratitude’ and pressed it into his hand. Kadim’s face darkened, thinking she was simply giving up and telling him to flee.

But she wasn’t giving up.

Ilenia decided that the risk of the truth was now outweighed by the need for Kadim’s total trust. He was the one from the prophecy—the warrior who would tear down the false light and restore her god.

She took a steadying breath and spoke softly.

“Kadim… have you heard the legend that ‘the sun is the eye of Elga, watching the world’?”

“…I have.”

“That legend is only a half-truth. The light that is breaking into this room, the sun that crosses the sky every day—that is indeed the eye of the god of order, Elga.”

“…”.

“Elga uses that eye to obsessively monitor the world. He searches for those who defy His laws, those who uncover secrets that should remain buried, so He can strike them down with ‘divine judgment.’ That is why we have had to help you in secret.”

Kadim almost laughed at the absurdity. It sounded like a campfire myth. Without the evidence literally burning through the ceiling, he would have ignored it.

But the reality was undeniable.

“…You said it was a half-truth. What is the lie?”

Ilenia closed her eyes and covered them with her hand—a gesture of both prayer and protection.

She knew that saying the words would invite certain doom.

But if she stayed within the fading sanctuary, she might have a chance to survive.

With a final breath, she spoke the ultimate heresy.

“The being behind that eye… the one the Elga Church worships today… is not Elga.”

“…”.

“You saw those things yesterday—beings that looked like me but were hollow. In the same way, that god is a ‘false entity’ wearing Elga’s skin, masquerading as the lord of light.”

“…”.

“The purpose of our cult is to destroy that ‘false entity’ and return the names of the true Elga and the Forgotten God to the world.”

The moment the words left her lips, the light from above transformed into a pillar of white-hot fury.

―――― Kuuuuuuuu…

It was the wrath of a god, a judgment meant for those who saw too much. It was the end of the night and the death of all secrets.

As the last of the darkness was burned away and the light claimed the room.

――――――――― Crack—Boom!!

A bolt of pure radiance descended like a spear, striking directly through Ilenia’s body.