With the doors open, the elder smiled in triumph. His eyes gleamed in delight.

"Finally!"

A maniac laugh escaped his mouth as he beheld the entrance.

At the same time, the crazy-smiling-bastard priest eyed back at Hope. Hope couldn't help but feel uneasy under his gaze. It felt like a warning, either for him to not get involved or to act accordingly.

Hope turned to look at the other remaining priests who didn't suffer from the elder's abusive power. They had complicated expressions on their faces. Some nervous. Some placid.

Before Hope could process what was happening, the priests immediately lunged forward towards the Beast Tribe.

Specifically at their torches.

It wasn't a surprise that they were easily thrown off, but they all successfully were able to put out the fires or knock them out of their hands.

Even the crazy priest next to the elder grabbed the torch's top end, putting the fire out with his own bare fist.

The elder was too shocked to react, watching the priest's hand being smoldered by the flames, the sound of flesh sizzling filled their ears before the priest hastily threw the torch aside.

And then darkness became absolute.

"Agh!"

"Kwuuk!"

Hope held the shaky knight close to the wall as he heard the Beast Tribe beating up on the priests. He tried to avoid the conflict as much as possible, he wasn't involved in this plan one bit.

Now what exactly did the priests expect with that reaction?

Hope had a feeling he was about to find out.

Then the elder's voice rang out through the darkness.

"What do you think you fools are doing?!"

"Hahahaha!"

The priest's sinister laugh answered. "Glory-"

An ominous feeling filled Hope's chest.

'Fire.' He thought.

He needed light.

Hope quickly turned towards the nearest fallen torch on the ground, the one that the priest tossed, that was barely kindling.

Hope immediately crawled towards it.

"-to the Heart God."

"Aaaaaack!"

"Aaarrrgh!"

Hope quickly blew into the dying embers. The sound of choking and screams filled the dark tunnels. Hope realized that they didn't come from the priests but from the Beast Tribe. Their screams sounded beastly and raw, like some dying animal being strangled to death. What was worse, he heard bones cracking and flesh ripping apart. The taste of blood filled the air.

'Come on come on come on-'

"W-wait wait- Ahhh!"

"U-uwaaah!"

The fire started to breathe to life again.

Hope blindly reached out to the knight and held the torch up immediately.

Then he saw a dozen hands reaching out to him.

Hope flinched and braced himself for contact, but they all froze in place. As if the light had shunned them or they were caught in the visible eye.

But they weren't regular monster creatures or even demonic beings, instead they were all made of stone…Statues somehow brought to life. Tips of their fingers stained with red reached out towards him. The fresh blood glistening against the torch's flame eager to reach for his.

So that was what attacked the Beast Tribe…Even if the elder and the Beast Tribe attempted to use their powers against these statues, there was no blood, no flesh, no organic matter that could be manipulated. At least, that was what Hope assumed that was how their powers worked. Otherwise, how were they so easily overpowered?

All of these statues had a sculpted veil over their faces and a gown that seemed almost transparent, revealing a female's curvy figure beneath.

However, their faces were familiar.

Their faces, although blended with the veil, resembled a lot like the goddess portrayed on the stained-glass panels back at the sanctuary. But instead of a series of kind, affectionate expressions, these expressions were an exchange of grief, horror, anger, and sadness.

Why were there such grim expressions?

Why did these statues even react this way?

Hope felt his mind loosely wandering back to the mural site. Recalling that he had missed something when he passed by those repetitive images. Was the answer even there?

Descent. Dwelt. Gifts. Temple. Offerings…

The Heart God visited her people and occasionally lived among them. Out of love, she gifted them the sacred water. She stayed in the temple. And they gave offerings to her…

But there was something else.

'What is it?'

Hope remembered at one point towards the end of the panels that it didn't seem they had given offerings but sacrifices instead.

What was the difference between them?

All sacrifices could be offerings, but not all offerings could be sacrifices. Offerings were gifts given willingly in devotion. The Heart God's feelings were evidently reciprocated with her people, so it would make sense as to why they would give gifts to her in gratitude because of the sacred water.

But when it comes to sacrifices to a god…that was usually in atonement for something.

The people committed a grave sin.

The tunnels were filled with an odd silence, accompanied by Hope's breathing and the crackling flames from the torch as he continued to lock eyes with the statues. It seemed that as long as he stared at them or had them in his line of vision, he'd stay alive. Or maybe not?

Or was it the light that stopped them?

The knight was still a bit in a daze, well he slipped into unconsciousness while this whole mayhem played out. He slowly regained his focus, his blinking away the sleepiness and finally noticed the frozen statues. His pupils started to shake at the sight.

"Uh…priest…?"

"Yeah?"

"What's...that…?"

Hope blinked. He didn't really have an answer.

They were statues for sure but were they corrupted beasts? Were they guardians for the sacred water?

"…"

'Wait. Wasn't there only supposed to be one monster in the First Nightmare? Are these creatures considered…unalive then?'

If they were alive, then he was really unlucky for his First Nightmare. Was this the type of obstacle that everyone else had to deal with?

Hope was about to respond to the knight when he heard light footsteps somewhere in the shadows.

Although the fire was lit, its light didn't reach far in its surroundings. He could barely make out the figure until it was close enough for him to discern that it was the crazy-smiling-bastard priest.

'Ah he's still alive?'

The priest tilted his head as he stared down at the two. Hope could see blotches of blood soaked on his priest garment and some streaks on his face. Then five other priests vaguely came into view. Their distant silhouettes towered over Hope and the knight like some predator cornering their prey. They all seemed to have anticipated this outcome. Probably that crazy bastard most of all. He was the most unperturbed with the setting full of torn corpses and moving statues.

Maybe it didn't really matter to that priest in the beginning if Hope led them here. Because they would all have inevitably died.

The priest slightly smirked.

"Would you look at that? A priest who doesn't have the god's full blessing."

Hope could faintly see the reactions on everyone else's faces. Some had expressions of relief, nervousness, and…resentment? Hope raised his torch further out and noticed they were all bruised and tattered, alive nonetheless without any severe wounds. But thick fresh blood also coated their garments. Not from the inside, but from the outside as if they were splattered on during a butchery.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Hope blinked at the grievous sight.

"Well…" Hope began. "It seems the Tears of the Heart God are in good hands now. So, we can all leave and-"

"No."

"..."

Hope frowned at the priest's response.

Well, he didn't really expect much from that reaction. Especially when they didn't look sane one bit. It felt unfortunate that he had to deal with this sort of outcome as well. There was no way he could negotiate with them at this point. Maybe his [Black Sheep] attribute was being activated in which they saw him nothing more than an outsider. Or was it the [Chimera] as well?

'How unfortunate all of it is dammit.'

On the other hand, the knight next to him wouldn't accept the priest's words so easily.

The knight tried to lean off the wall. "What's the use of fighting us? Aren't we all on the same side?"

The priest sighed as he wiped blood off his face. "No unbeliever should leave with the forbidden knowledge of this sanctum. Surely you know." He grinned. "So don't be complacent, templar."

"You-"

Hope placed a hand on the knight's shoulder. The knight looked back in surprise.

An enemy thinking they won before they eliminated all variables? That was a big mistake. And clumsy. But beneficial for the escapee in Hope's case.

"You forgot one thing, smiling bastard." Hope said.

The priest sneered as he bent down to pick up one of the Beast Tribe's spears. "And what is that praytell?"

Hope leaned his head back against the wall, "It's quite peaceful isn't it?"

"..."

The priest frowned and tilted his head in confusion.

At the same time, Hope didn't dare to look away from the statues, especially not what was about to happen next.

It had been too quiet for the past couple of minutes. The death of the Beast Tribe and the doors opening were all a great distraction to tear away focus on the one common enemy of them all.

In his side view, Hope could see a pair of yellow flaming eyes peering behind a wall. The hairs on his arm stood up, and goosebumps crawled all over his skin.

It was about time for the beast to fully embrace its hunt.

Grrrrrrrrrr…

A throaty growl echoed in the darkness, alerting every one of its presence.

Before they all could react, the monster lunged and instantly prowled onto the crazy-smiling-bastard priest. It buried its fangs into the priest's neck. A man's scream let out as he desperately tried to claw the jaws off him, but then the sound of tear followed, and blood vehemently overflowed.

Even without removing his gaze from the statues, Hope could make out the beast repeatedly opening and closing its jaws around the priest's skull, as if trying to find a proper way to crush on the bone.

All the other priests screamed and scattered around. Terror being spread throughout in the dark tunnels.

Their legs tripped over Beast Tribe's corpses and slipped on their blood as they blindly ran for their lives in the dark. It was like watching rats retreat at a sudden predator in its midst.

Hope grabbed onto the knight's cape and pulled him up to stand, carefully circling around the outstretched stone limbs. It was time to move. Time for action.

This was the only chance of escape, but not through the tunnels.

But through those ominous doors.

"Don't look away from the statues!" Hope shouted. "You watch my back and I'll lead the front-"

Krrrraaaaaarrr!

The beast's roar thundered as it turned to its next victim. Specifically, the ones who were covered in blood.

And a lot of it.

It swiftly slashed down one of the nearby priest's bellies. A glimpse of pale pink spilled out of his torso. A desperate cry followed as he was forced at the mercy of the monster's savagery.

The knight stumbled at the gruesome death but stuck back to back with Hope as they went around the carnage.

Without wasting another second, Hope tightened his grip on the knight's wrist, held his torch aloft, and led them through the pitch darkness.

***

Cold.

It was cold.

And suffocating.

It felt familiar and yet wasn't…

Voices screamed out in pain behind them. Some of the priests cried out prayers for their goddess to save them. Perhaps they should. It was made evident that the beast wanted more than a simple hunt. It wanted meat.

It wanted carnage.

Hope held the knight close as he carried the torch through the darkness.

"W-wait priest where are we-"

Hope ignored the knight's protest as he continued forward. Their footsteps were muffled out by the blood-curdling screams, but Hope paid no mind to it anymore. It wouldn't be long till the beast had its fill.

Unless it took its time on their corpses.

But at the moment, it felt like they were walking down an endless void. Hope could've sworn he saw faint glimpses of statues as they passed, and he tried to maintain eye contact long enough before they came into the knight's line of sight.

There had to be an end to this room. He was sure of it.

As he thought that, Hope's foot finally hit a wall. He stepped back and noticed it was another double door.

There was another reason Hope needed the knight for: to open the next entrance. He recalled on the maps there being two double doors before one could enter the room of the sanctum. And now that he saw how the priest opened the first door, he could use the knight to open this one.

"Hey, switch places with me quick."

"W-what?"

Hope had them spin a one-eighty turn. However, he did it a little too hastily that in the next moment a frozen statue appeared steps away from them. Its ferocious face snarling at the two intruders.

"Priest what do-"

"Use your soul essence to open the door!"

"My soul essence…Ah right!"

As the knight tried to focus on his soul essence, Hope continued to stare at the fiendish statue. It really looked like a corrupted version of the Heart God, a very ugly one at that.

'Dammit. Why am I shaking?'

Despite his mind being calm, he felt his own body betraying him. His hands were slightly trembling and he felt cold sweat falling down his face and back.

He had to admit that this Nightmare had truly been the worst nightmare he had to ever experience as far as he could recall. And there were even more Nightmares they could conquer if they wanted to rank up in power. Hope couldn't imagine the struggle they must have to go through to achieve their goal.

Was it worth it? Probably.

Especially if it helped fighting against monsters that invaded their homelands. Or even inside the Dream Realm where they had to face such abominations to establish a gateway.

But it almost also sounded not worth it.

If others could do it, then that didn't necessarily mean Hope had too either. Being an Awakened sounded too much of a responsibility.

...And Hope was on the path to become one.

"Tsk…"

Well, if he lived through this Nightmare.

For a moment, he saw light flash behind him. The knight was still channeling the soul essence from his core to the door. However, it would probably take thirty seconds before it opened-

"Got it!"

"..."

'That fast?!'

The other priest took over twenty seconds! Well maybe because he was a priest so he didn't have to battle monsters as much as the knight did to saturate his core.

Or did the priest stall on purpose?

Hope couldn't help but think that the knight was still an inexperienced soldier so how did he have enough soul essence–

'Nope. Doesn't matter. Not my problem.'

Who cares for the reason? It wasn't Hope's job to fill in the gaps.

It was time to get the hell out of here.

However, the door didn't open itself this time. Hope could feel the knight's back being repositioned to push the doors open.

"Haaap!" The knight leaned forward and used all his strength against the stone doors.

At first the doors didn't budge. But whether it was from age or from something else, something clicked, and the doors began to slide easily. Stone scratching against stone, the entrance finally started to open. Faint screams escaped through the crack and began to bellow louder as the doors widened, a deafening wind filling their ears.

Hope couldn't help but think that they will discover new secrets on the other side. Ones that would mean life or death.