God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

As they walked further into the Temple, the illumination surrounding them seemed to decrease even further, and the chill permeating the air grew stronger, as though there was some hidden entity siphoning all warmth.

Despite this, Cain maintained composure. The Sky Ward didn't seem to have a problem with it, so he decided not to show anything.

'How has he been able to hold on for this long? Most people would have passed out by now.' Edward thought to himself, glancing back at Cain.

Thinking about their battle, he couldn't help but sigh to himself.

'That witch was right. This boy is something else. Perhaps that is how he and his people managed to survive outside the Dome for so long.'

'Still...'

As they arrived at the inner chamber, Cain was finally able to see a change in scenery.

The darkness gave way to a dimly lot hall. Several torches powered by mana hung from the walls. The walls and ceiling were covered I different paintings and murals, although he couldn't make out much of what he was seeing.

However, there was one thing he did make notice of.

Located dead center of the ceiling, was a particular image he wasn't able to get out of his head. The image was merely an extension to the entire mural, but it seemed to have more depth than the others.

The moment he saw the image, a thought entered his head.

'A giant golden dragon, with wings that covered the starry sky. One eye as dark as the depths of an abyss. The other eye was like a shining star, but its radiance was slowly being consumed by a stark whiteness until there was nothing left but a deathly aura and the paleness of bones. An eye of Death.'

He had no doubts about who the image was portraying. After all, he had seen this exact same dragon more than a few times.

However, that was not all. The golden dragon was locked in a fierce battle with a fiendish looking spectre. The specter looked like the embodiment of death itself, clad in a flowing black robe, wielding both a scepter and a scythe.

It was impossible to see its eyes became its face was hidden with a mask. A mask that seemed to portray a thousand expressions and faces.

All the other murals told stories, but this one seemed to depict just a single battle.

It showed the dragon and the specter were locked in a fierce battle, leading up to the defeat, death, and eventual consumption of the specter.

Cain frowned. According to the mural, Ashur and Balangol had fought a fearsome battle to the death which eventually led to Balangol's defeat.

This got him thinking. What exactly was Ashur's goal? Why did he go about killing and devouring all these Celestials?

He had a fued with the Lord of the Heavens, Tian, but somehow, that fued had led to him killing off entire pantheons of gods.

It was a bit... overwhelming.

'Why?'

Why did he hate Tian so much? Had his hatred burned so bright, he desired the death of everything in existence?

Whatever it was, Cain didn't want to think about it. He could already feel his heart beating but faster.

Eventually, they walked past the hall and into a smaller, separated room.

In the room was a single individual, wearing a deep scarlet robe, as well as a matching mask that looked to be the gnarled, twisted root of some burned tree. The Pilgrim's hair was neither short nor long, sitting comfortably at their shoulder.

Seated beside the Pilgrim on the ground was a giant creature that resembled a Tiger greatly. It had giant horns on its head, which told him for a fact, that this beast was not a Tiger.

To top it all off, the moment he stared at the damned beast, it stared right back at him. He could sense its intelligence almost immediately.

'Creepy bastard!'

"We are here." The Sky Ward said the moment they stepped into the room.

The Pilgrim in the red robe nodded at him, then turned towards Cain, or at least, he thought so. After all, the mask hid all their features, including eyes.

As such, he stared right back. This Pilgrim seemed odd.

Although he has seen a bunch of ridiculous masks since coming here, none of them were as strange and remarkable as this one.

This entire situation seemed odd as well. He had expected to be surrounded by a bunch of scrawny looking old men waving scepters around the moment he stepped into this place.

'Is this dude... no, wait. Is it a she, perhaps.'

Because of the mask, or the robe, or perhaps it was both, Cain was unable to tell exactly what gender the red robed Pilgrim was.

He was even more unsettled...

Eventually, after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, the Pilgrim spoke,

"You can call me the Heart Ward. Your name is Cain, right?"

'A she, huh...'

Suddenly his eyes widened,

'How does she know my name?!'

A frown appeared on his face, "How do you know my name?"

The Heart Ward answered him calmly,

"I'm afraid I can't reveal that. But fear not. I am not a mind reader. I just happen to know more than you would expect."

Her words made Cain pause,

'More than I would expect? What does that mean?'

"I'm been told you desire to serve our Lord and offer him your Divinity. Is that true?"

Cain hesitated for a moment before nodding.

The Heart Ward tilted her head,

"I am glad to hear that. But I am a bit curious. What made you consider this decision?"

Cain mentally let out a deep breath of air,

'This is it.'

He could choose to lie, but he had other things in mind,

"I want you to let my friends go."

The Heart Ward fell silent for a moment,

"I see... Is that all?"

Cain nodded. Well, that was all he was willing to reveal at least.

"Very well. Then, we can initiate the ceremony."

Cain raised a brow, "There is a ceremony? Don't I just have to come in contact with the God Remnant?"

The Heart Ward nodded, "Indeed, that is so. However, in this Temple, things are done differently."

She stretched both her hands, "This is all that is left of the Remnants of Balangol."

Cain was confused, "What do you mean?"

The Heard Ward put her hands down,

"You will understand in a moment. Come with me."

With that, she turned around and walked out of the room. Cain turned to stare at the Sky Ward, but he said nothing. Eventually, he let out a sigh and followed after her.

The Sky Ward remained in the room on the other hand.

'Looks like this is where we part ways, huh...'

Although he didn't miss the gloomy, always silent half-bird, Cain wasn't bothered by his presence.

This Pilgrim on the other hand, deeply unsettled him.

For a woman, she was incredibly tall, standing over six feet. She was almost as tall as he was.

Because of how large the robe was, he was unable to detect any bumps and curves that would indicate she was a woman as well, which greatly threw him off in the beginning.

'I wonder what they all look like under the mask.'

Both Cain and the Heart Ward traveled down the same path he had come through before stopping in the hall with the murals of Ashur and Balangol.

The Heart Ward looked up,

"A battle against a being who personified death, and another who consumed it."

She turned to Cain. Somehow, Cain felt deeply unsettled by the fact that she was staring at him despite him not seeing her eyes,

"Balangol, is a false God. A fake, if you will. All Celestials are fakes. A Dead God of Death..."

Cain scratched his head nervously,

"This... Are you sure it's okay to say that here?"

The female Pilgrim shrugged,

"Don't worry. He isn't eavesdropping on this conversation. His influence only goes so far."

"I see..." Cain could only accept.

The Heart Ward turned to stare at the murals,

"A war that brought down so many powerful beings. It was unlike anything the universe had ever seen before. A true Catastrophe."

She bent to touch the ground,

"This Temple... It was created using the last remnants of Balangol. As such, it is his final relic on this world. It serves as both a temple, as well as an altar. It is also the medium in which your Divinity can be transferred to him."

Cain finally understood, "So this is what you meant. Then... How do we get things started."

The Heart Ward tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

Cain raised a brow, "When does this this ceremony begin?"

The next words that came from the Pilgrim were a bit muddled. However, he was able to hear everything,

"The Ceremony has already begun. In fact, it began the moment you stepped into this place."

Cain's eyes widened. To his shock, he watched everything around him collapsed into a giant cascade of sand.

In the blink of an eye, everything was consumed by darkness.

A few seconds later, Cain forced his eyelids open.

The Heart Ward was still standing there calmly, staring at him.

However, their environment has changed completely.

They were currently in a desert filled with sand. In the sky, there were three suns in the west, and seven moons in the east.

The loose golden sand was all that could be seen for miles on end. Even in the distance, there were structures as huge as mountains, consisting of nothing but this sand.

Cain felt dizzy, and a bit nauseous. When had it happened? He hadn't even noticed a thing.

He forced his gaze back to the Heart Ward who seemed unaffected by all that had just gone on.

Suddenly, she spoke,

"To think I would meet a human that has some a connection to the Bastard son of the Heavens in my lifetime."

Cain's expression darkened, "What have me away?"

The Heart Ward shook her head, "Nothing. However, as I told you before, I know more than you think."

'This woman...'

Cain had no idea how it had happened, but the cat was out of the bag.

He stared at the strange sky,

"So where is Balangol? I thought he would have arrived by now to consume my Divinity, and probably my body and soul as well..."

The Heard Ward was silent for a moment before speaking. This time, Cain could sense a hint of amusement in her voice,

"I lied to you earlier, Cain. Although, it seems you have already figure it out."

Cain pursed his lips and nodded. He had in fact, figured out, that this place, was not infact the place where Balangol would take his Divinity. In fact, there was no hint or sign of the Celestial anywhere."

Cain was more that suspicious now. He was extremely curious.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Cain asked.

The Heard Ward's hand moved to her face, and she took off her mask to reveal a stunningly beautiful, yet oddly familiar face. A small smile hung from her lips,

"I just want to talk, Cain."