Chapter 14: Reverie of Unending Dreams

The Throne room was a vast hall of bright colors, power and heavenly spectacle, Tall arched windows lined the white walls, their stained glass panels bathing the polished marble floor with color, Knighted statues two meters tall formed a line on both sides of the hall to guide the path of whoever came in, doric columns held up the transparent glass roof lined by golden rims that connected in a spiral at the center.

The throne itself was a statement of power and authority, three steps above the ground on its own altar, made entirely of gold and ornamented by spikes carved out of diamonds, holes in the arms and head rest and a silk white cushion that told tales of unmatched comfort. Rylan didn't know what to expect when he had accepted that invitation but as he sat on the ground now he had no words for the unfathomable beauty of the hall he found himself in.

\[Reverie of unending dreams : Domain of the divine deity Daragura\]

He stood to his feet and felt no lingering pain, Looking at his calf he found no sign of injury so he pulled up his system and every single stat and option had been greyed out, all apart from HP, Rylan could no longer gain nor lose stat points, in this domain he was in a state of unbothered suspension.

“Who are you?” The voice was calm and ethereal, what Rylan imagined angels sounded like. He turned his head to where the sound had come from and saw a man sitting in the throne, dark skin and beautiful blonde hair that flowed down his shoulders and stopped at his chest, white eyes accentuated by his lush lashes and soft nude lips, his posture was lax and completely relaxed, with a hand propped on the arm rest and his head resting on his fist, dressed in a spotless white robe, Gold stitches ran through the seams in a butterfly pattern from the neck down to the end of the garment.

“Ry—Rylan Cross.” He said as he fixed his eyes to the floor, immediately he went down to his knees and bowed, his heart was pounding, every beat sending shivers through him, Every single active cell in his body told him that he was in the presence of something far beyond his understanding.

“Prove to me you're not a waste of my time……” Daragura said, his voice coated with the strain of boredom, he straightened up and raised a single finger.

“What?” Rylan raised his head with confusion just as power began to gather in the finger The deity had lifted, a golden ball of light smaller than a tennis ball formed.

“.....Survive This.” He mouthed and without warning the orb fired a ray of light that could easily consume him. Rylan pressed his feet into the ground, the state of suspension also applied to resonance which meant that he could use Arkana freely without consequence, So he did, as fast as he possible could he focused all the energy within him on strengthening his body, barely making it as the ray hit him, It burned, Rylan let out a pain filled scream but didn't let down his guard, the pain continued, he could feel his skin sizzling, drops of tears that left his eyes immediately evaporated, the force pushed him back but he remained upright, focused through the unyielding pain as his HP counted backwards at a speed he couldn't keep up with, after a few more seconds the attack stopped but Rylan stood, his life hanging by a cutting thread, his charred body crumbling to the force of the wind inside the hall but he was alive he had survived.

\[HP : 2/100\]

“Finally.” He heard Daragura say with a tone akin to relief and subsequently his HP began to climb till it reached 100 and he was completely healed. He fell to his knees, his breathing ragged as he dragged air into his empty lungs, He had never been in so much pain in his life, He couldn't believe it, he thought he was going to die, he probably would have if he had lost focus for even a second but he didn't, But he didn't.

He raised his head to look at Daragura who now sat up and had his eyes fixed on him. He raised a hand and motioned for him to come forward but before he could move the space suddenly distorted and he saw himself at the base of the altar staring at the bare feet of the Deity that had attempted to kill him mere moments ago.

“Rylan Cross.” Daragura called his name but with his voice it sounded foreign to Rylan's ears, he looked up and only now did he notice how gigantic the deity was, from afar he looked normal but now that they were mere inches from each other he could see him in all his divine glory. “Orphaned and without love……Why are you worthy”

“What?” Confusion ruled Rylan, he raised his head but before he could even see Daragura, a large feet slammed into his face and kicked him with so much force that it sent him flying through the hall and into a wall, his body destroyed the wall, blood splattered through the cracks and he could no longer feel his limb, the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as he began to gurgle and choke on his own bodies fluid.

\[HP : 1/100\]

His limp body laid on the ground as he watched Daragura slowly approach him, he couldn't breath, his blood poured out of the corners of his mouth as he slowly lost consciousness, the only thing keep him awake were the chilling echoes of Daragura’s footsteps through the hall till he got to Rylan. He placed his large palm on Rylan's head and just like before his HP began to climb till.

\[HP : 100/100\]

He picked him up by his hair and raised him to eye level, Rylan's feet hovered.

“Why…are…you…Worthy?” Daragura said with a harsh unforgiving tone as he drove a fist into Rylan's stomach.