The Divine Well stood at the very center of the Kingdom of Avaron.
The Divine Well stood at the very center of the Kingdom of Avaron.
A massive abyss surrounded by ancient stone statues that had watched over the kingdom for centuries.
The people believed it was a gateway to the gods themselves.
Every year, one sacrifice would be chosen.
No one was allowed to object.
No one was allowed to ask questions.
Because according to the Church, if the ritual ever stopped, divine punishment would fall upon the entire kingdom.
And this year...
the chosen sacrifice was Aron.
A sixteen-year-old boy from the southern slums. No family. No power. No influence. No one willing to stand beside him. To the kingdom, he was simply another forgotten child whose disappearance would change nothing.
The day of the sacrifice arrived.
Thousands of citizens knelt around the Divine Well while prayers echoed across the plaza. The High Priest slowly raised his staff toward the sky and declared:
"The gods shall receive your soul."
The crowd lowered their heads.
Some prayed.
Some looked away.
But not a single person stepped forward.
Aron was dragged to the edge of the abyss.
For a brief moment, he looked down into the darkness below.
Then—
he was pushed.
His scream disappeared into the void.
And after that...
everything became silent.
One day passed.
Then two.
Then three.
Soon, no one talked about him anymore.
Just like the hundreds of sacrifices before him.
Life continued.
The kingdom celebrated.
The priests preached.
And the Divine Well remained silent.
Until the seventh day.
Without warning, alarm bells rang throughout the capital.
The sound echoed through every street and tower. People rushed from their homes in confusion. Merchants abandoned their stalls. Soldiers ran toward the plaza.
Something was happening.
Something impossible.
By the time the crowd arrived, thousands had already gathered around the Divine Well.
And then they saw it.
A hand.
A human hand gripping the edge of the stone.
The crowd froze.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
A second hand appeared.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
And finally—
a figure climbed out of the abyss.
Aron.
Alive.
Without a single wound.
The entire plaza fell into stunned silence.
A woman dropped the basket in her hands.
A child burst into tears.
Even the High Priest staggered backward.
Because for two hundred years...
no sacrifice had ever returned.
"What did the gods say to you?" the High Priest asked, his voice trembling.
Aron remained silent.
For a long moment, he simply stared at the crowd.
His eyes looked different now.
As though he had seen something no human was ever meant to witness.
Then he looked directly at the High Priest.
And finally spoke.
"There are no gods down there."
The crowd immediately erupted into chaos.
Some people fell to their knees.
Others shouted that Aron was lying.
But Aron continued.
"There is only a lie."
"A lie that has lasted for two hundred years."
The entire plaza froze.
The High Priest pointed his staff at Aron and roared:
"Seize him!"
But no one had time to move.
Because at that exact moment—
the ground began to shake.
RUMMMMMMMM.
A horrifying sound rose from the depths of the Divine Well.
It wasn't the sound of an earthquake.
It sounded like something enormous had just awakened.
The ancient statues surrounding the plaza cracked apart. Massive pieces of stone crashed onto the ground. Dust filled the air as frightened citizens stumbled backward.
The royal mages immediately turned pale.
One elderly mage opened a forbidden tome.
Then dropped it.
"Impossible..."
"This cannot be happening..."
The king rose from his throne.
"What is happening?"
The old mage stared into the abyss.
His face had gone completely white.
"Your Majesty..."
"The Divine Well was never a place of sacrifice."
"It was a seal."
Silence swallowed the entire plaza.
Aron slowly turned toward the abyss behind him.
His eyes no longer looked the same.
As though part of him had remained below.
Then he spoke.
"For two hundred years..."
"You were never offering sacrifices to the gods."
"You were offering lives to keep something imprisoned beneath this kingdom."
The moment those words ended—
BOOOOOOM.
A pillar of black light erupted from the depths of the well and shot into the sky.
Dark clouds swallowed the capital.
A roar echoed from below.
Not the roar of a god.
Not the roar of a man.
But the roar of a creature that had been imprisoned for far too long.
People screamed and fled.
Soldiers dropped their weapons.
The High Priest himself stumbled backward in terror.
Yet Aron remained perfectly still.
Because he knew...
the creature awakening below was not the most terrifying thing.
The most terrifying thing—
was the truth it was about to reveal.
And when a colossal hand slowly rose from the mouth of the Divine Well, the Kingdom of Avaron finally understood...
A lie that had lasted two hundred years had just come to an end.
