“First, let me tell you what to watch out for!”
Before heading to the sanctuary, Tarak issued several precautions regarding the sanctuary.
First.
“Only one person can enter the sanctuary at a time!”
“But isn’t there already one person inside, the Great Warrior?”
“Hmm, don’t ask about such complicated things! That’s just what I was told! The Great Warrior said he’s an exception!”
Second.
“Leave all items imbued with power not native to Hoarfrost Gorge outside!”
‘Does he mean magical artifacts?’
It was an odd precaution in a place with neither magical tools nor mana, but Khan obediently opened Aecharis’ pocket and stored items imbued with mana, including the Giant Slayer and the Wind Spirit’s brooch.
He hesitated a bit over Draupnir, but since it didn’t particularly use mana, he decided to leave it be.
“What is that? Things just disappear all of a sudden…”
“A gift from a kind friend named Aecharis.”
“Hmm, you’ve made quite a good friend!”
Third.
“Inside the sanctuary, it’s colder, heavier, and slower! You’ll need to adapt!”
“So, it’s a very miserable place.”
“It’s the perfect place for training!”
‘Sure, if you say so.’
Khan chose to ignore the babble of the greenskinned savage for the moment. With each precaution, his curiosity about the sanctuary only grew.
A limit on the number of people entering, restrictions on items imbued with certain energies, and an even stronger application of the constraints covering Hoarfrost Gorge?
No matter how he looked at it, it wasn’t a normal place.
‘Could it be a labyrinth?’
The walk to the sanctuary was quite long. Even moving at more than double an ordinary human’s pace, it took half a day of continuous walking before the surroundings began to change.
“Hmm…?”
Much like when crossing from Northland Snow Mountain to Hoarfrost Gorge, the world, which had been filled with semi-transparent ice, darkened as if the saturation had been lowered.
As Khan thought he was stepping into a world made of obsidian, he followed the familiar steps of Tarak. The further they walked, the darker the ice turned, nearing a deep black.
‘What is this?’
“Isn’t it fascinating? The inside of the sanctuary is even more amazing. You can look forward to it!”
“One more amazement, and it’ll be my undoing, Uncle.”
“Khaha! The sanctuary does devour people!”
Khan frowned at the simplistic expressions unique to savages. Who would know if it was a literal metaphor or just his way of speaking?
If it was the former, then the sanctuary would be an extremely terrible place. He could only hope it was the latter.
‘Damn, this is unbelievable.’
At a certain point, the landscape shifted once again, making it entirely believable that the sanctuary might be a place that actually devoured people.
“This is…”
The scene looked as though the sky had been splattered with murky paints mixed from every color. And Khan had seen this sight before.
It was none other than in the Northern Demonic Realm of the Argon Kingdom.
‘Chaos…!’
Even if he wanted to think otherwise, he couldn’t. This horrific color, indescribable in simple language, is one of the most prominent features of the void’s domain.
“Here it is, the entrance to the sanctuary!”
And then.
The moment Tarak introduced the ominously flickering ‘something’ as the entrance to the sanctuary, Khan couldn’t help but realize why Hoarfrost Gorge had come to be this way.
“Demonic Realm…”
The true identity of the Hoarfrost Gorge clan’s sanctuary, where one could supposedly meet the Warrior God Karyan, was none other than a Demonic Realm.
***
Uuuuung.
For a moment, Khan was enveloped in a sensation as if his physical senses were strangely misaligned. Standing alone in the middle of a grand temple, Khan murmured softly.
“It really is a Demonic Realm.”
The massive columns, symmetrically aligned on either side, stretched so high they seemed never-ending, continuing beyond his line of sight.
Just by seeing that, it was clear that this temple couldn’t exist in reality. The void displayed in the sky of the temple with its ceiling open was so surreal that it felt like peering into the far reaches of the cosmos.
“The damned constraints Tarak mentioned… aren’t as bad as I thought.”
Not knowing what might happen inside, Khan checked his physical condition before exploring the temple and tilted his head in confusion.
Indeed, they’d said that the constraints in the sanctuary were supposed to be even stronger than those in Hoarfrost Gorge. Yet, his condition was surprisingly fine.
‘Are you okay in there?’
After checking his body, he moved on to check his equipment. Confirming that the additional stats from his gear were functioning properly, Khan spoke to Draupnir, which rested quietly in its sheath.
But─.
‘Why is it unresponsive?’
No matter how much he called out, there was no answer from the vengeful spirit. He even tried speaking out loud, suspecting that telepathic communication was blocked, but still received no response.
It was as if the vengeful spirit had vanished from Draupnir.
‘Could it be…?’
A thought crossed his mind. There was that suspicious condition that only one person could enter the sanctuary. If the sanctuary’s laws considered Draupnir’s spirit as a single person, it would make sense.
‘Well, it’s not entirely unreasonable…’
After all, the spirit wasn’t a simple soul.
It was an evil spirit akin to a wraith housed within the legendary Dragon Slayer sword, cursed by Til before being split and imprisoned into a fragment.
While it lost most of its memories and powers during that process, it had been gradually overcoming them by consuming void and dragon souls.
Given that, it wasn’t unreasonable for the sanctuary’s laws to judge so. The issue, however, was what would happen to the spirit once it was evicted from Draupnir.
“… Not something to worry about right now.”
As much as he wanted to step outside the sanctuary immediately to verify, he couldn’t. Although entering was easy, leaving a Demonic Realm was extremely difficult.
Cutting off his deepening thoughts in an instant, Khan moved forward into the temple with a resolute gaze.
‘There isn’t much time for long-winded contemplation anyway.’
He didn’t realize it at first, but once he did, it became clear. There was an entity inside calling for him.
‘Karyan.’
And as soon as Khan tried to gauge the presence the God emitted, he let out a hollow laugh. Merely a tribal God worshipped by the barbarian in the northernmost part of Midland.
Even if classified as a bona fide ‘God’ rather than an ascendant being, he expected that Karyan would fall short compared to the higher divine gods or the trueborns of the archdemons residing in hell.
‘To this extent…?’
That prediction was way off. The presence of Karyan felt from a distance wasn’t significantly weaker compared to the Goddess of Justice he had encountered several times before.
Of course, the Goddess of Justice hadn’t revealed her full intent, so it wasn’t the most accurate point of comparison.
‘One thing is certain, Karyan isn’t an ordinary God.’
No God would willingly approach, let alone dwell in, the vicinity of the void’s domain.
『You’ve arrived.』
“Oh, my muscles are already tingling…!”
‘If they were sane, no God would push their apostle into the void’s domain and possess them.’
Reevaluating his perception of the God Karyan, Khan walked further into the temple. He locked eyes with a man who stood with his back to the massive stone chamber door, looking at him with great interest.
At that moment, he felt a blend of familiarity and unfamiliarity.
The former was a reaction from his body, while the latter was Khan’s current sentiment. Naturally, the latter was more significant. This man, to whom his body was related by blood, was essentially a stranger to Khan.
“… It’s been a while, Great Warrior.”
Above all, Khan found it difficult to approach him comfortably. Even though Khan’s possession was forced by external power, to this man, Khan would appear as the vile being that had taken over his son’s body.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the Great Warrior seemed oblivious to the subtle guilt and discomfort in Khan’s tone, laughing heartily.
“Khaha─! You’ve truly gotten stronger! Even Tarak couldn’t handle you now!”
“I’m nowhere near your level, Great Warrior.”
Khan’s reply wasn’t exaggerated. Facing the biological father of this body once again, the Great Warrior was both a superhuman and the apostle of a God.
Potentially, he wouldn’t pale in comparison to renowned heroes across the continent. But that wasn’t what truly mattered.
And, Karyan… The Warrior God of the clan indeed exudes a formidable presence.”
『Hmm, there’s no need to be overly intimidated. As long as you’re not as rude as your father.』
The transcendent voice, borrowing the mouth of the Great Warrior, resonated through the temple.
『First of all, I am pleased with your growth. The remaining bloodline kin were all quite ignorant. From a young age, you were intelligent, reminiscent of myself.』
“Karyan! You’re praising yourself too much!”
『You… be quiet for a moment; you’re interrupting the conversation.』
As the God and his apostle engaged in their foolish banter, Khan processed the information he had gleaned from their brief exchange.
‘Warrior God Karyan, even he hasn’t noticed my possession.’
Neither did the Goddess of Justice nor the Warrior God Karyan, who is presumed to be of a similar rank.
『So, young warrior. There must be a reason you were drawn here. I will first hear about that. That would make the conversation easier.』
“I’ve come here following traces of an ancient being known as the Sorceress. She goes by the name Mortalia. Do you know of her?”
『Hmm… How could I not know? She is the one who designed the seal of this temple.』
‘Finally…!’
Khan had finally found a solid trace related to the Mage. However, he tried to suppress any visible emotional reaction.
“Can you share that information with me?”
『I’d love to say that it would be no trouble—but unfortunately, I can’t do that.』
“……”
Instead of immediately rebutting Karyan’s refusal, Khan awaited his further words.
『As it stands, I am also a God with a seat in the pantheon. I can’t just divulge information recklessly. If you were to become my apostle, like this brute, it might be different. But you won’t do that. Correct?』
“Yes.”
『Then, my answer is ‘I cannot tell you’. This includes any other questions you might find intriguing. For example, the void filling this sanctuary and my presence here.』
A refusal, followed by another refusal. But Khan waited patiently. Contrary to his expectations, it seemed Karyan was a highly rational entity.
『However, you can earn your answers yourself.』
Boom.
And at that moment, the mountain moved.
“We barbarian offer only one tribute to our God—‘valor’!”
The presence of a warrior, rather than that of the Warrior God Karyan, filled the temple like a towering mountain.
“Then prove it! And seize the answers yourself─!”
Facing this anticipated trial, Khan felt a surprising calmness as he gripped Draupnir.
“A proof of valor. My son─!