Enigma of Sin

For now, Kayn planned to visit a god's temple of each of the elements before he repeated any of them or moved on to gods with more abstract specializations.

As much as he wanted to go home, he had no clue how to. Until he could figure out a way or get some hints on how to get home, he was going to fill his time with strengthening himself.

Kayn could only hope that Charlotte was able to take care of things there until he got back, which he didn't doubt that she would be able to. The Golden Phoenix had lived for well over a million years, surely she was quite adept at survival.

It only took Kayn a few hours of flight before he arrived at a temple that was teeming with soldiers shooting at each other. Some of the stray shells from tanks and motors had even hit the temple as Kayn watched from the skies. The temple, contrary to expectations, didn't seem to be damaged in the slightest.

Unlike the two temples Kayn had visited thus far, which were both of Greek origin, this was more of a pyramidal wooden structure than the columns and stone he was used to seeing. Kayn knew that this type of architecture was referred to as a stave church after a bit of research.

Kayn descended and walked into the entrance of the temple without a problem. He also didn't feel anything different about the air like how he did in the other two temples nor did he sense mana in the immediate surroundings. Normal humans couldn't enter without evaporating though, so he didn't give up hope.

The temple was more of a wide-open structure than the other two had been, so he didn't have much to search. He eventually came across a latch in the floor that, when lifted, revealed a staircase which he descended into a strangely lit basement area.

At the very end of the long room that he arrived in was a two meter tall pillar of pure light that shone brightly, illuminating everything in the room. Determining that this was what he was looking for, he approached with caution.

It wasn't until he was about a meter from the pillar that he finally felt the presence of mana, and it hit him with the ferocity of a Behemoth Stone Mountain Ape. Getting hit by a train would be the more accurate assessment for his location, but he had never been hit by one when he was actually vulnerable to that sort of impact, so the ape made more sense in his mind.

As Kayn pushed forward and entered into the pillar while starting to circulate the Void Star technique, his mind blanked out before he could even feel what was happening.

His subconscious swam in a pool of light for what felt like an eternity. He started to understand that Baldr's light wasn't meant for healing, but for shining as bright as day, to be used externally on his foes as well as himself to prove he was the fairest of all beings. 

Kayn's mind was still wrought with confusion while he was stuck in this space, so he didn't have any idea how this was supposed to help his light mastery.

He woke out of his meditative state only 4 days later this time according to his watch. As usual, whatever was there conducting the mana originally was now gone, this time being the pillar of light.

Sighing, he honestly didn't feel much different and he would have to test out what he had gained later on. He was still sitting at the beginning of the 4th stage and he may have had a minor increase in prowess, but nothing substantial.

Kayn could only come to the conclusion that Baldr may have been one of the weaker gods that were worshiped on Earth.

Through these experiences he learned that myth and legend were rooted in partial truths, so he could only assume that at one time these people actually came to Earth and were worshiped. Kayn guessed they were most likely all either peak celestial beings or maybe even more, but he couldn't be sure.

No one entered into the temple this time, even after a few hours, but Kayn could still hear the thunderous noises of explosions occurring every now and then.

Deciding to visit another god of light after he finished the major elements, he looked through his list to determine his next target.

There were two other temples a little further up north that he wanted to visit, but they weren't related to earth, water, wind, or fire as their primary known element, so he decided to come back later.

His next target was in an area that bordered India and what was now China. The temple was supposedly dedicated to the primordial water goddess Danu and it was located in a lake inside of the mountains.

Kayn couldn't care less about the warring happening on Earth. Humans had destroyed themselves and their own planet for millennia, why would it be any different now? As time passed, countries would rise and fall, it was just how Earth worked.

Not wanting to waste any time and because he was able to replenish his mana at every temple, Kayn flew at full speed towards the temple of Danu that was now uncovered.

Upon arrival, he dove directly into the water of the lake, creating a massive burst of water, but as this was another battle zone, no one was the wiser as to what happened.

Once Kayn entered into the underwater temple, he was immediately assaulted with underwater currents that tried to tear him apart. Utilizing his own mana to stabilize himself and resist being thrashed around, he began to explore.

After an hour of searching through the tumultuous waters, he finally found a spherical area that was calm and soothing to be inside of. Knowing that he was in the right spot, Kayn began using the Void Star technique and once again entered into a meditative state, although this time took a bit longer for him to become fully immersed.

Fortunately for Kayn, he didn't really need to breathe regularly anymore as he was able to hold his breath for months at a time. If he so desired, he thought that he would even be capable of extracting oxygen from water, but he could only hope that his body would do these things automatically while his mind was occupied.

Water was an element he only had a regular affinity for unlike fire, darkness, and light. He could feel that he was on the cusp of grasping a greater understanding of the element as he meditated in the calm waters, but his enlightenment didn't come until at least a full day later when his awareness of his surroundings disappeared.

When Kayn finally emerged from the waters of the lake, the temple had collapsed under the pressure due to losing the mana that was stabilizing the entire structure.

Kayn was elated with his gains this time as the waters had cleaned out his blood and even changed it on a cellular level. Each blood cell was now infused with his pure mana. This meant that even if he somehow received an injury to his mana circulatory system, he would still be circulating mana with his actual blood that followed along similar pathways.

He also learned that being the primordial goddess of water gave Danu affinity to all liquid, not just water. Now that Kayn had partially gained this talent, more doors opened for him as he should theoretically be able to use anything in a liquid state now. The possibilities were endless in his mind.

There was also the terrifying thought that maybe he could now manipulate someone's blood from a distance, but this wasn't something he was planning on testing anytime soon. Maybe when he was eventually back to assassinating people again, but not on Earth. It would also take him a long time to fully digest all of the information he had gained, but now also wasn't the time for that.

Then came the news that felt like a bitter pill that he had to swallow, he had officially regressed back to the 3rd stage. While he was far more powerful now than he was even before this whole process started, it still felt bad to see all of his hard work disappear.

Kayn pushed his bitterness to the side as it was all worth it in the end as he launched into the sky, he then began flying towards Egypt. There were four temples there that would help him significantly and also fulfill his desire to visit a temple of all elements before he moved on to repeat elements or the unknown.

The four temples were of Ra for fire, Geb for earth, Amun for wind, and lastly Horus for light as his first repeat since he wanted to try for a better light aspect. Horus was known for his healing, so he was quite hopeful.

Kayn was actually pretty excited to visit Egypt. He had always wanted to see the pyramids and other marvels of that era, so why not use this opportunity to be a tourist?

There were no battles occurring in Egypt, or Africa for that matter, so it should be quite the peaceful retreat. He also hadn't seen the researcher woman during the last two temples, so he could only assume that she stayed in Greece and its surrounding areas as there were quite a few temples there that were uncovered there.