God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"Alright, this is where we are headed today..." Boulder said, pointing at a certain point in the map.

Paying close attention, Cain was able to see that it was a not-so detailed map of the City.

Since he had lived in this place all his life, he knew how it had looked before. This map was very different.

For one, its scale was at least three times greater than the old one. Depicting the City, there were various things he couldn't understand on the map.

Some areas had been left empty, while others showed a bunch of lines, some of them straight, other slanted.

Not wanting to say anything, Cain decided he would passively observe for a while.

Lucia frowned, "The Dusk-Kin District again? We can most definitely expect some casualties if we head over there. Those guys don't play nice."

Boulder shrugged without a change in expression,

"Do we have a choice? That's one of the safer hunting grounds. Heading into any other place, especially with the way the Devils have been reacting, is a sure way to end up with a wipe out."

Khan stared at the map briefly before looking straight at Boulder,

"We might be pushing it a bit. You know the {Dusk-Kin Beasts} would be the least of our worries."

Cain chose this moment to ask,

"What exactly is it you all are so worried about?"

Boulder scratched his jaw leisurely,

"Well, I'd like to assume you know the relationship between most Celestial Beings. While they aren't downright hostile, they are all competing for resources within the same pool. They also do not probibut battling amongst their followers."

Boulder pointed at the map,

"This right here... all the way to here, and down this path encircling around this place, it's the outer border of the region ruled by the Goddess of the Moon and Blood. Stepping into this place means we're probably going to be encountering the Queen's Servants."

Cain raised a brow, "The Queen?"

Boulder nodded, his face serious,

"Don't let it fool you. Those bastards don't give a damn about taking a human life. Right now, we aren't on the best of terms, even though we are all humans."

Cain frowned, "If that's the case, then shouldn't you be avoiding going there?"

Boulder sighed, "What choice do we have? Where else can we get what we need? Even though this is the closest place, it's still very far away."

Cain fell silent. He had no say in the matter. However, what was this about hostility between both camps.

However, upon thinking about it, he realized it was probably a very common trend.

Like the Crimson Warriors Guy had led, and the Lightslayers. They had ended up spilling so much blood over something that had probably been orchestrated by human greed, but was operated behind the scenes by string-oulling Celestials.

It was probably the same situation over here.

'In the end, we can't win. Fighting a battle for a being that couldn't give a damn is going to become very common soon. Perhaps it is already.'

A Celestial's main goal was to grow the number of living beings that worshipped it by offering it Divinity.

A God on the other hand, was a creature that had ascended to godhood, possessing dominion over a certain thing,object, concept, and so on.

The distinction between the two made it so that while most, of not all Celestial could be regarded as gods, not all gods were Celestials.

And Celestials are the only creatures in the universe capable of leaving their legacies behind to be resurrected one day.

The problem with this, is that resources are finite. Celestials weren't easily killed, but a certain event a thousand millennia ago had caused the death of a lot of them.

Meaning as of now, there were a lot of dead Celestials.

And a lot of their legacies has fallen onto the surface of this tiny, insignificant world.

Once people began finding these legacies, the race for the resurrection of these gods would begin.

It would lead to a lot of bloodshed and disaster. He could already see the results unfolding. They wouldn't even need Devils to do them in at that point.

Perhaps foreign entities would use these opportunities to exert their influence on the planet's population. But for now, there was no way of knowing for sure.

Cain waited in silence, listening to them discuss.

Once they concluded, it was time to be on their way. They weren't the only ones going as well.

An entire entourage consisting of about twenty men, Hunters, to be exact, would be following them. These Hunters were the people who had voluntarily agreed to leave the protective domestic periodically to search for food, basic utilities and so on.

In reality, they were people with access to the system who desperately needed power.

There was no passive way to level up, so these people could only go about it this way as leaving the dome alone was a surefire way of their getting brutally killed and eaten by a Devil, or being captured by a Devil and taken to the spire.

Both were equally terrifying fates.

With so many people coming along, the danger levels of this singular mission were supposed to shoot through the roofs.

However, upon thinking about it, Cain realized that this was probably not the case. After all, these men had survived in this place for a long time now. They probably had a way of increasing their chances.

Seeing them conversing without much worry showing on their faces, Cain was led to believe this conclusion was the correct one.

Standing beside, Khan turned to him and smiled,

"Are you surprised?"

Cain nodded absentmindedly, "I guess..."

Khan chuckled, "While it is dangerous to leave the protection of the Sand God, it is also essential. It is impossible to grow in an environment with no threats. These men are strong men."

Cain nodded, "I can tell.'

However, in his mind,

'The question is how strong are they...'

There was only one way yo find out.

"So how are we doing this? Do we just walk out"

Khan turned to Lucia who seemed to be ignoring them both,

"Well, usually there are a few procedures to go through, but yes, it is just as simple as walking through."

Cain frowned, "Then how do you stop intruders from coming through, possibly invading, if anyone can walk through the barrier with such ease?"

Khan shook his head, "Only those with permission from either the General, the Champion, or the Priests can walk into this place. Similarly, only those with permission can walk out."

Cain stroked his chin, "Is that so..."

Anothr piece of vital information was revealed just like that.

The entire dome was a beacon of salvation, as well as a prison.

Boulder finished addressing the group and turned to them,

"Alright. Khan... Will you lead the ceremony?"

Cain raised a brow, "What ceremony?"

Boulder explained, "Before you can leave the dome, a ritual is performed to tie your soul to this place. That way, if you get lost, you'll know which way to go back to. Not only that, but you will also be granted a blessing the moment you step out of the dome."

Boulder stopped for a moment, hesitating, before he continued,

"However, in tying your soul to this place, if you die, your spirit and soul will come back and be assimilated into Balangol's Domain."

Cain was about to speak, but Boulder interrupted,

"It isn't up for debate or discussion. Partaking in the ritual was an important clause in you accompanying us."

Cain sighed, his face filled with displeasure,

"Fine."

Then he asked, a bit curious,

"What is this ritual about?"

Boulder looked towards Khan,

"Only an individual ordained by the God of the Sands can perform one."

Cain raised a brow, "You are a priest?"

Khan smiled softly, "Well, I guess you can say that. But I am not longer regarded as one. Priests of Balangol are called Pilgrims. One of the statutes to uphold as a priest, is staying away from anything involving magic. However..."

A strange rune gloated above his finger,

"As you can see, I haven't given magic up."

Cain was speechless. Staring at the rune, he could vaguely recognize the runic language, but it wasn't something he was very familiar with.

"Then how are you still a Prie– Pilgrim?"

Lucia answered this time,

"Apparently, the God of the Sands sees so much potential in him, it doesn't want to take away his Pilgrim status."

Khan embarrassedly chuckled,

"It's way more complicated than that."

Lucia snorted, "Let's just get this over with."

Cain stared at her, 'I wonder what's got her so riled up this morn– this night?'

Khan cleared his throat. Closing his eyes, the tattoos on his body began to glow as he spoke in a strange, obviously archaic tongue.

It was impossible to fully understand his words, but Cain could figure out a few. And from the few he could hear, he realized it was basically an anchor spell.

A spell to hold something in place so it doesn't lose its way.

Once the ritual was completed, they were ready to set out.

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