Temple.

"Ha ha ha ha ha"

Liam breathed heavily as he waited for the catastrophe to reach his position… to be honest, he hoped the catastrophe won't reach his position.

Time passed slowly as Liam's heavy breathing calmed down. "Seems I'm safe," Liam muttered, his voice unexpectedly echoing through the room.

"Huh."

Huh huh huh huh

His voice again echoed through the room, sending chills down his spine. For his voice to echo in such a manner, Liam knew he had to be in some quiet place. After all, he had only experienced such situations in desolate and scary places.

Not like it was something he didn't expect. But, due to the circumstances, logic became a distant concept for Liam.

'Spiritual sense!'

Liam thought, activating his ability to check the presence of any living creature in the vicinity. After minutes of concentrating, he came out with nothing. Liam sighed in uncertainty, thinking of his next action.

'I'm all alone… guess I just need to move forward.'

Rising from the ground, Liam caught a better sight of the entire room. It was a massive room with an unknown length and width.

Similar statues to the ones outside were situated at different corners of the room, some having alter-like places before them…

Calling it a place of worship won't be strange. 'So I was right… it's indeed a temple!'

Liam decided not to air out his thoughts, picturing the scene of these statues rising from their slumber to batter him.

'What a strange place… having statues with different features… it's just like a temple for multiple gods."

Liam didn't stay in one position as he headed for the closest statue to him. It was like a depiction of the supposed devil on Earth… though he won't say it for all people. The statue had horns protruding from its forehead. They were black. 

The face was a different story, having a red color, with a long nose, and a small devilish smile noticeable on its lips.

'Seems it's a god of evil… its features say it all.' Liam thought, shaking his head to clear off all negative thoughts. 'I should stay void of any criticism… though, I don't think my former words were critical.'

Forming a thoughtful expression, Liam scrutinized the statue. 'Fuck! I need to get my priorities right!'

Slapping himself, Liam walked away from the devil-like statue, moving to another with a snake feature. 'World serpent?!' 

That was the first thought on Liam's mind as he eyed the mythical statue. The world serpent which was one of the characters in Norse mythology had been a great attraction for Liam as a lonely boy. Using mythology and history to help his boredom… one can't survive by adult films alone?!

'Am I in some museum…?!' Liam thought as he looked at all the statues in sight. 'Of course not… I can't be in a museum… it's the house of mythical creatures…! I already named it a temple, why confuse myself?!'

Liam outburst… though in his mind, was loud enough to awaken an unknown force, deep within the confines of the temple.

Liam though, due to his deactivated ability couldn't sense anything, causing him to continue his exploration.

"You there!" Said the figure in an authoritative voice. The creature's voice demanded reverence from whoever listened to it. Though, his main target couldn't hear his words.

'This… it's like some lightning god statue!' Liam exclaimed in his mind, moving around the statue in admiration.

You can say he had forgotten about everything, lost in the world of admiration and curiosity as he moved from statue to statue, admiring their depiction.

The weapons and other ornaments they wore affected Liam, making him let go of all insecurity, tracing his hand over the statue's hard surface.

Twitch

"What's wrong with this kid?" The creature muttered in annoyance, glaring at Liam.

It was not close to Liam, though it could see all his movements clearly.

"Not like it matters. I just need to get a grip on him."

Smirking, the creature did everything in its power to get Liam attention but failed at every step.

"You dare!" It roared, causing the structure to tremble.

"Huh?!" Liam released a shriek, preparing to escape the room.

'Where did the sound come from?!' he asked himself, using his ability to check the room.

"Eehh!" 

Liam could sense an energy signature from a direction. "Did my ability fail… maybe it's overheated?" Liam muttered to himself, doubting the current situation. 

He had made sure to cross-check for any living creature, spending minutes scanning to his limits. So Liam found the current energy signature… faulty.

The weirdest part of the situation was the energy form or rather appearance. It felt like nothing he had pictured through his journey, though he just gained the ability… all creatures he met had something in common. But, the current one differed a lot from the rest.

'Spiritual sense!'

Activating his ability again, Liam still sensed the same presence from the left side of the structure, tempting him to move slowly in that direction.

'I'll have to check it out,' Liam thought, creating a reason for his sudden demeanor.

As he moved to the location, Liam passed by different statues but was so focused on his destination to bother with his admiration and curiosity toward their existence.

'It's just like the stream… drawing me in with no care to my will.' Liam thought in horror, trying to escape the forceful movement. 'just as before… I can't fight against this force.'

Slowly, Liam arrived with no power to defy the course of fate. It was an agonizing experience for Liam.

'Why am I so weak…? I can't even lift a finger against my adversary!

Why… I need power!' Liam thought, annoyed by his current situation.

"Muahahahahaha!"

A loud voice came from a statue, a few meters before Liam, causing him to jolt out of his thoughts.

Liam immediately retreated from his position, hoping to create more distance from whatever made the villainous laughter. But, he failed miserably as an intangible barrier held him in place.

"I thought you needed power, boy?" Said the husky, sending chills down Liam's spine.

"Don't fret, kid. Or is my voice that bad?" Came the husky voice, originating from a skull head that lay before Liam.

"I...I" Liam stammered, still struggling in his futile attempt to escape the force that binds him.

"Forget escaping, kid… let's talk business."

A demonic grin appeared on the skull's facial structure as its eyes lit for a brief moment.

'I'm done for!'

[I'll need comments to know your thoughts on the novel... I appreciate your compliance.]