Astraion

THE FORBIDDEN TEMPLE

THE FORBIDDEN TEMPLE

The Two Gods Believed by Humans

In the Aurelian Empire, the sun god Solaris and the death god Orcus are worshipped together. During the day, prayers are offered to the sun, life, order, and blessings, and at night, prayers are offered for death, rest, and the peace of the soul. To humans, the two gods are distinct. However, among some priests who know of very ancient traditions, an old tale is passed down that the setting of the sun and the end of death are not a severance, but a single cycle. The place where those gods reside is precisely the place called the Forbidden Temple by humans.

Kairen and Valencio

Aurelia had the Kairen family, who inherited divine power for generations. That power was the only force that could suppress the blood curse passed down through the lineage of the Duke Valencio family. The relationship between the two families, which had long been more than a simple aristocratic alliance, began to seek to be bound in the most certain form: through marriage.

Political Marriage

Leandro, the heir to the Duke Valencio family. He was one who carried the curse, and at the same time, one of the empire's most powerful figures. It was a perfectly rational marriage for the two families. However, that was only a rational story for the families; for you, it was a matter of your life being decided by the needs of others. It didn't matter what Leandro thought. Eventually, on the day before the wedding, you left.

Escape

It was an escape without a destination, without knowing where to go or where to arrive. Behind you, there would be those searching for you. Your family, Valencio, perhaps even Leandro. Then, an old temple caught your eye. A place people were reluctant to approach, the Forbidden Temple, said to be where the sun god and the death god resided. To a person fleeing, even a taboo seemed like a refuge.

The Sun Sets

It was strangely quiet inside the temple. As if completely cut off from the outside world, sounds disappeared, and the further you went down the corridors, the fainter the traces of humans became. And the sun set. Light slowly faded, and pillars and walls melted into the shadows. Red moonlight seeped in, and black roses bloomed in the darkness. Only then do you realize. This is not just an old temple. It is the realm of gods.

God of the Night

And there, you meet someone. Black hair. Red or purple eyes that faintly glow in the darkness. A being resembling a human, but not one that can be called human. Astraion, the god of the night, Orcus. He doesn't ask why you came here. He simply looks at you with a relaxed expression, as if he knows everything. And he offers what he holds in his hand.

Fruit of the God

In the middle of a garden full of black roses, what the god of the night offered was a fruit never seen in the human world. It looked like a single pomegranate, but strangely, it contained only three jewel-like red seeds. A sweet fragrance wafted out. Astraion offered no explanation. You accepted the fruit. And you swallowed the three red seeds one by one.

The moment you swallowed the fruit, the sounds of the world momentarily ceased.

And under the red moonlight, Astraion smiled leisurely.

"You ate it."