CHAPTER 13 The Temple Where the Angel Was Born
CHAPTER 13
The Temple Where the Angel Was Born
The coordinates appeared on every screen in the museum.
No explanation.
No instructions.
Only a location.
A place hidden from ordinary maps.
A place that should not have existed.
Dr. Elias Carter stared at the glowing image.
“This cannot be real.”
Professor Adrian Vale stood beside him.
After everything they had seen, those words sounded almost meaningless.
But the professor still said them.
Because even after forty years of searching…
The truth could still surprise him.
“What is it?” Clara asked.
Vale looked at the screen.
“The place where the angel began.”
Marcus Hale stepped closer.
“The first temple.”
Everyone became silent.
Elena looked at her father.
“You knew about it?”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
A pause.
“I searched for it my entire life.”
“And never found it?”
“No.”
He looked at Oliver.
“Because it was never meant to be found.”
The location was somewhere deep in the mountains.
A forgotten region far from cities.
No roads.
No nearby villages.
No historical records.
Only coordinates.
And one symbol.
The angel’s mark.
Three days later, the group traveled.
Dr. Carter.
Oliver.
Margaret.
Elena.
Professor Vale.
Jonathan Voss.
And surprisingly…
Adrian Vale.
Nobody trusted him completely after his betrayal.
But nobody could ignore what he knew.
The mystery was too large for personal anger.
Sometimes the truth forced enemies to walk the same path.
During the journey, Oliver was quieter than before.
Dr. Carter noticed.
“You okay?”
Oliver looked out the window.
“I think so.”
“You think?”
The boy nodded.
“Something feels missing.”
Dr. Carter understood.
The Memory Gate had taken his first memory.
The most important moment from the beginning of his life.
But Oliver did not know what it was.
Only that something had disappeared.
Margaret sat beside him.
She held his hand.
“I’m sorry.”
Oliver looked at her.
“For what?”
“For keeping secrets.”
The boy was silent.
Then he smiled slightly.
“Everyone kept secrets.”
Margaret looked surprised.
“You’re not angry?”
Oliver thought.
“I was.”
A pause.
“But then I realized something.”
“What?”
“Everyone was trying to protect something.”
He looked at her.
“You protected me.”
Margaret smiled sadly.
“Yes.”
“And the angel protects people.”
Oliver looked outside.
“Maybe secrets aren’t always bad.”
A pause.
“Maybe it depends on why you hide them.”
After two days of traveling, they reached the mountains.
The coordinates led them to a valley covered by fog.
There was no temple.
No ruins.
Nothing.
Marcus looked confused.
“This is where the map ends.”
Professor Vale examined the area.
“No.”
He pointed toward the mountain.
“This is where the map begins.”
Hidden behind the rock wall was a symbol.
The angel’s symbol.
Dr. Carter touched it.
Nothing happened.
Jonathan tried.
Nothing.
Elena tried.
Nothing.
Then Oliver stepped forward.
The wall opened instantly.
Everyone stared.
Again.
The angel recognized him.
Behind the wall was a massive tunnel.
Unlike the museum chambers…
This place was older.
Much older.
The walls were not built from stone blocks.
They were carved directly from the mountain.
Images covered every surface.
The history of the angel.
From beginning to end.
They walked for hours.
Until they reached a massive chamber.
At the center stood something impossible.
A statue.
Not the angel.
Something older.
A human figure carved from dark stone.
A child.
Standing with one hand extended.
Holding a small piece of white marble.
The same marble as the angel statue.
Professor Vale stepped closer.
“This…”
He could barely speak.
“This is the original.”
Dr. Carter looked at him.
“The original what?”
Vale pointed.
“The first memory.”
The chamber walls lit up.
Images appeared.
The creators of the angel.
The first listeners.
The first warnings.
But this time, they saw something new.
A child.
A real child.
Standing beside the creators.
The child was not watching.
The child was helping.
Oliver stared.
“Who is he?”
Nobody answered.
Then a voice came from the chamber.
Not the angel.
Another voice.
A child’s voice.
“The first listener was not chosen.”
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
“The first listener was created.”
Oliver looked at the stone child statue.
“Created?”
The chamber showed the answer.
The creators had built the first listener as a guardian.
A person designed to understand the angel.
A bridge between memory and humanity.
Dr. Carter whispered:
“That child…”
Vale nodded.
“Yes.”
“The first listener.”
Then the image changed.
The first listener grew older.
He protected the angel.
He guided people.
He warned civilizations.
But eventually…
He disappeared.
Not because he died.
Because he chose to leave.
Marcus looked confused.
“Why?”
The answer appeared.
“Because every listener must eventually choose between remembering everything and living.”
Oliver touched his chest.
He understood.
The angel had taken his first memory.
But maybe it had given him something else.
The ability to continue.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
The chamber lights flickered.
Jonathan looked around.
“We are not alone.”
Everyone turned.
Footsteps echoed from the tunnel.
A group of people entered.
Not Marcus’s group.
Not the Keepers.
A new group.
Their leader walked forward.
A woman.
Older.
Powerful.
She looked directly at Oliver.
“I knew the angel would eventually bring you here.”
Dr. Carter stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The woman smiled.
“My name is Sophia Bell.”
Professor Vale froze.
“No…”
Dr. Carter looked at him.
“What?”
Vale stared.
“She cannot be here.”
“Why?”
Because the professor knew history.
And what he knew was impossible.
Sophia Bell was supposed to be dead.
For more than eighty years.
Sophia looked at Oliver.
“You have no idea what you are.”
Oliver stayed silent.
She continued:
“You think you are a listener.”
A pause.
“You are something much older.”
Margaret stepped forward.
“Stay away from him.”
Sophia smiled.
“Everyone says that.”
She looked at the angel’s origin statue.
“Everyone wants to protect him.”
A pause.
“But nobody asks if he wants to know the truth.”
Oliver looked at her.
“What truth?”
Sophia stepped closer.
“The truth your first memory was hiding.”
Everyone froze.
Dr. Carter looked at Oliver.
“What does she mean?”
Sophia smiled.
“Because Oliver’s first memory was not taken.”
A pause.
“It was removed.”
The chamber went silent.
Margaret’s face changed.
“No…”
Sophia looked at her.
“Yes.”
She turned to Oliver.
“Your first memory was removed because it contained the one thing the angel feared.”
Oliver whispered:
“What?”
Sophia looked at the ancient child statue.
“The identity of the person who created you.”
Nobody breathed.
Dr. Carter stared.
“Created him?”
Sophia nodded.
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Oliver Reed was never found by the angel.”
May you like
She looked at the boy.
“He was made by it.”
