Veil of Destiny

Volume 1 Prologue: Curtain Fall

Nestled at the foot of the Alaskan snow-capped mountains, the Temple of Odyssius was one of the nineteen grand temples dedicated to the Supreme Creator God. The entire temple was constructed of ivory-white marble, with twenty-four massive columns that required two people to embrace. These columns were intricately carved with praises of the Creator God and his followers.

Atop the temple stood a statue of an angel, whose wings emitted a soft, milky white magical glow, enveloping the entire temple.

The construction of the Odyssius Temple took sixteen years, and on the day it was completed, thousands of horns sounded in the sky, flower petals rained down, and holy light descended from the heavens. An angel with wings appeared faintly in the holy light, bestowing the temple with the divine spell "Angel's Blessing." Since then, the Odyssius Temple had always been shrouded in holy light, making it the only temple among the nineteen, aside from the Temple of Light where the Pope resided, to have witnessed divine intervention upon completion.

Cardinal Brennan, aged fifty-five, slowly closed the "Holy Prayer" in front of him, ending the evening prayer. The white-robed maidens of the choir silently withdrew, yet the solemn and majestic hymn seemed to linger in the air. Staring at the flame on the altar, Brennan felt an inexplicable sense of agitation and unease.

As the moon Modis passed overhead, Brennan finally identified the source of his disquiet. It was the newly arrived holy women, Vena. Her face, embodying classical sculptural beauty, her upright small nose, and lips like chiseled stone, all exuded an aura of sanctity. Her graceful movements, subtly revealing her figure beneath the white robes, lingered in Brennan's mind.

"She is like an angel!" Brennan muttered to himself. He felt a dryness in his mouth but found no water nearby. Muttering a few curses under his breath, he stood up and walked out of the temple.

Holy women Vena had grown up beside the Pope, her origins unknown. For seventeen years, this was her first time stepping out of the Temple of Light.

Beneath Vena's icy neck, the holy white robe could not conceal the subtle undulations visible with her every movement. These undulations grew in Brennan's mind, burning his nerves. For the first time, Brennan wished he were a thief, so he could... Brennan smirked bitterly; no thief could overcome a sixteenth-level Light Mage. After more than forty years in the church, he was merely a thirteenth-level Light Mage. The gods were indeed biased!

Looking up at the moon, Brennan noticed a tinge of red in its light. Just as he felt puzzled, darkness suddenly enveloped him, the temple's holy light vanished!

Darkness was one of the things Brennan loathed the most. He suppressed his panic, chanting softly and tracing complex symbols with his fingers, preparing to cast the third-level divine spell "Holy Light." Besides repelling evil, this spell also served as a temporary source of light.

A black hand, etched with countless magical symbols, or rather, a skeletal hand, silently grasped Brennan's throat from behind. With a gentle slash of its finger, Brennan's spell remained uncast.

A fully armored warrior stood beside Brennan's corpse. Clad in deep black full-body armor and wielding a two-handed longsword engulfed in black flames, the skeletal hand gripping the sword revealed its true nature. As the warrior pointed its sword forward, countless skeletal soldiers emerged from the darkness, swarming towards the temple. Occasionally, a Death Knight on a flaming skeletal horse charged out, attacking the temple knights' barracks.

"What is this? Guards! Guards, wake up!"

Amidst the commotion, the temple knights awoke. The Odyssius Temple housed four hundred temple knights. Well-trained, they quickly donned simple armor, with some holding off the seemingly endless skeletons at the gate while others armed themselves. Meanwhile, priests began casting spells.