Void Veins: The Forbidden Ascension

Chapter 59: The Ancient Temple and the Impossible Choice

The Ancient Temple in Fengshui’s Northern District rose like a forgotten giant—monumental ruins from centuries before the Empire was even founded. Massive stone pillars stood rooted amid dense bamboo groves, draped in thick moss and tangled roots, half-swallowed by the wild forest. An ancient protective formation hummed faintly around the perimeter, casting an invisible veil that shielded the site from magical detection, hiding them from prying eyes.

Inside the main hall, where the roof had partially collapsed to reveal a sky strewn with faint stars, Old Rat built a small fire. Its golden light danced across faces worn thin by exhaustion and grief—Ratna, Goran, Elara, and Krog, all gathered in the quiet hush of the sanctuary.

Old Rat laid the scroll of aged parchment flat upon a broad stone at the fire’s centre. “Here is the rite,” he said softly. “As I told you, it demands a willing offering. One of you must enter the depths of Lin Ye’s consciousness, find the Jade’s anchoring core, and offer a fragment of your own soul to take its place. The cost is this: you will forget him. Completely. To you, he will become a stranger. To him, you will be someone he once knew… but no longer remembers.”

Silence fell over the hall. The night wind sighed through the bamboo, sounding like a soft, endless lament.

Goran stared into the flames. “So… if I do this, I forget who he is? All we fought for? All we shared?”

“Yes,” Old Rat answered steadily. “That is the balance. You give a piece of yourself to mend him. And that piece is every memory of him.”

Elara bit her lip, her gaze dark. “Crueller than death.”

Krog exhaled slowly, his heavy shoulders shifting. “My life holds few gentle memories. Mostly blood and survival. Perhaps this is a price I can bear.”

“No.” Ratna’s voice trembled, but her eyes were clear and unyielding. “I will do it.”

All heads turned toward her.

“Why you?” Goran asked.

“Because I led him here,” she said. “I failed to shield him. The responsibility is mine. And besides…” She touched the book pendant resting against her chest, a sad, tender smile touching her lips. “My memories of Lin Ye are the most precious thing I possess. If losing them is what saves him, then it is the smallest price I could ever pay.”

Old Rat bowed his head in respect. “Your choice. But mark this—the rite must be performed when Lin Ye is at his most vulnerable, when the boundary between him and Valerius grows thinnest. We must draw Valerius out. Bring him here.”

“How?” Elara asked.

Old Rat smiled, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes. “By offering him what he craves most: the Second Core of the Black Jade. I will send word through the underground networks—that we have found it here, hidden in the temple’s deepest vaults. Valerius is greedy. He will come himself, believing his moment has arrived.”

“A trap,” Goran said grimly.

“Our only chance,” Ratna corrected. “We lay defensive wards around the temple. When he steps inside, we begin the rite. I will reach for Lin Ye’s spirit. The rest of you—hold him back. Just five minutes. That is all I need.”

Old Rat looked at each of them in turn. “You understand the risk? If this fails, it is not only Lin Ye who falls. We all perish in the backlash.”

Ratna stood, meeting the eyes of her friends. “Ready?”

Goran nodded, gripping his hammer. Elara checked her blades. Krog bared his teeth in a grim, determined smile.

“Ready,” they answered as one.

Far off, thunder rumbled low and heavy. The storm had come. And with it came the hungry shadow drawing near. The final battle for Lin Ye’s soul was beginning. And this time, the wager was not merely life—it was identity. Would he survive and know them still? Or would he walk free, yet utterly alone in a world that felt foreign?

— The message was sent. Valerius received it. He smiled. He knew it was a trap. But he did not turn away. He was not coming for a Second Core. He was coming to end this, once and for all.