God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The gate within the mountain.side was grand and magnificent.

As they approached, Cain noticed a few things peculiar about the gates embedded within the mountain.

There were murals all over the the frame and arch of the enormous gate. In his eyes, they made absolutely no sense. They were mystical and obscure, not to be understood by a creature like him. Trying to peer beyond with {Eye of Clairvoyance} made his mind cloudy and almost caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

The air was thick with tension as the golden light from the ethereal gate bathed the group in its glow. Cain, still felt the lingering pain of the storm's aftermath, so he took a slow breath and exhaled.

The pressure the gate exuded caused his body to ache and his to spirit trembled. But none of that mattered.

Because he was deathly curious. His mind stirred with curiosity.

Asteron's words lingered in his head,

"This will take us into the heavens."

This gate screamed 'Entrance to Heaven!'

Considering that the trial was dubbed the 'Trial of Heaven', it would not be a surprise it this gate, located in a mountain that pierced through the sky, led to the heavens themselves.

His gaze flickered...

Evangeline remained unreadable, though her eyes held the sharp gleam of contemplation.

Grimm, his usual crude demeanor momentarily dimmed, examined the structure with a wary squint. Meanwhile, Cello crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her elbow, her forehead scrunched up together, completely deep in thought.

Then, Avalon finally spoke,

"This place reeks of the Divine."

His voice was calm, but there was a flicker of something beneath—perhaps wariness, or apprehension, or maybe even reverence.

He turned to Avalon,

"Do what you have to do."

Avalon nodded, then closed his eyes. A set of trigram appeared from the ether around the cuff of his arm, revolving in place.

As he changed, the runes circles faster. A few seconds later, they stopped, then faded away.

Cain couldn't help but be curious.

"What was that?"

Asteron answered, "A blessing used to dampened divinity."

Cain raised a brow. Why would they need something like that?

He stopped to stare at the gate. Then he frowned.

'How can they tell there is divinity here?'

He knew that divinity was a special energy form that existed in all things living, but could only be used by the Celestial and Devil races.

At least, thats what he believed it to be.

Sensing the doubt on his face, Asteron clarified,

"Make no mistake... Only beings of Celestial and Devilish origins can make use of the Divinity. However, we lesser beings are not completely helpless against it. The patron God of the {Cynogryph} race is well versed in the mystical arts of blessings, curses and hexes that can weaken the effect of divinity based attacks.'

Then he glanced at the gate,

"It is just a precaution, nothing that completes guarantees safety, so be vigilant."

Then the {Wind Drake} stepped forward, extending a clawed hand towards the gate. As his fingers neared the surface, a ripple of energy spread outward, and a voice—subtle, yet incredibly terrifying—resounded within all their minds.

"Welcome once again, participants."

Cain's eyes widened. He recognized this voice!

The voice belonged to the Arbitrator, the owl-faced being that had welcomed them at the beginning of the trial.

The moment they blinked, it was there.

Standing before the gate, looking down on all of them. Asteron scurried back, a look of fear on his face. They all took several steps back as well.
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It was shocking, to see such an expression on the usual stoic {Wind Drake}.

The Arbitrator chuckled,

"One with the blood dragon's blood flowing in his veins should have a more dignified demeanor, don't you think?"

Asteron forcefully stopped his trembling and gave the creature a bow,

"You are right. I apologize for portraying such a disgusting scene to the Arbitrator.

The Arbitrator chuckled,

"Call me Viden, please..."

Then his eyes scanned the crowd,

"Hmm... Quite a colorful bunch this time."

Evangeline walked up,

"What do you mean by this time?"

Viden tilted his head curiously,

"It is exactly as you imagine in, human. There are many paths on the road to the heavens. You and your friends here followed one. Many have come before you, and many will follow after."

Evangeline's eyes narrowed,

"So we weren't the first to get here."

Viden chuckled,

"Of course not. But do not be dissatisfied. The trials are just beginning after all..."

Cain couldn't help but shiver.

There was something in the way this strange creature said those words that made him feel uneasy.

Also, what did he mean by the trials were just starting?! They had already gone through all sorts of crap to get here, but they had barely broken the surface.

Suddenly, he felt the gaze of the Arbitrator fall on him. He froze, unsure of what to do.

After a while, Viden spoke,

"There is only vile malice in the worlds below. The heavens exist because mortals may dream of a better place."

Cain couldn't aised a brow. What could that mean.

The gates behind the Arbitrator slowly began to open.

The Arbitrator floated over to the side,

"You may now enter. I cannot give you any advice, but you can accept my prayers. And condolences..."

Cain grimaced.

Ignoring the obvious ill omen and implications behind those words was not going to be easy.

Looking around, he saw from the expressions on their faces that everyone agreed with his sentiments.

Then, the gate pulsed. The golden radiance pouring from within intensified, washing over the group in waves, scanning through them.

Cain felt something tug at his very core—his mana, his spirit, his very essence. It was as if something unseen was pulling at him, urging him to step forward, beckoning to his very soul.

His breath hitched.

This was it.

The trial was a about to begin!

Asteron exhaled deeply. The wind around him became turbulent as he took a step forward towards the gate.

Once he started, he didn't stop until he was enveloped by the golden radiance.

"What an arrogant beast." Viden said with a chuckle.

Then he turned to the others,

"Well, what are you all waiting for?"

Thern clicked her tongue then walked forward as well. Followed by Avalon and then Grimm and Cello.

Cain and the rest began walking towards the gate as well, but he was suddenly stopped in his tracks.

His body trembled. For some reason, the Arbitrator had bent its enormous body, and was not at eye level with them.

The Arbitrator tilted his head,

"Hmm... I am old. And yet, I have never seen a creature with a soul as confusing as you have, young human."

Cain chuckled nervously,

"Must be something I ate..."

Viden chuckled,

"Perhaps it is."

Then he stood back to his original height.

"You may proceed. I wish you success, although I doubt you need it."

Cain took a deep breath in, then continued walking forward.

'That was scary!'

They moved through the gates without looking back.

A moment later, they gradually closed. The lofty figure of Viden in front of the gates turned intoma stream of darkness that seeped into the earth.

***

The gates shut behind them. However, Cain didn't look back. Because what was before him had captured his attention completely.

He was enraptured by the scene in front of him.

Streams of water ran down from four outlets connected to the lake at the center of the enormous circular floating podium before him.

The lake reflected the beautiful scene of the stretching white clouds overhead, besides that, there was little more than endless stretching clouds just like the ones surrounding the mountain.

Beneath them there was nothing but white clouds. Above them, the same was true.

Floating above the podium, directly adjacent to the four streams flowing into the sea of white clouds below, were four stone statues..

One was eeriely similar to the {Stone Bloodknight, Collosus}. Another looked like an enormous winged beast with a robust body and two small wings on its back.

It had two long stone tusks jutting out of its lower mouth, and four horns forming a crown on its head.

The third stone statue was that of an angelic looking woman with angel like wings. She held a sword in one hand, and a skull with three eye sockets in the other. The clothes the statue wore were revealing, yet it didn't incite any lust within him.

What was most peculiar about this statue though, was that the statue of this woman lacked eyes. The eyes were not hidden by a blindfold or anything like that, no.

They simply didn't exist...

What was most disturbing about this, was that to him, the statue didn't look strange this way.

His mind told him such an image was the epitome of perfection.

He suddenly felt the urge to rip his own eyes out so he could be perfect too.

Such a feeling filled him with deep fear...

He sucked in a deep breath.

And then, there was the final statue of stone.

This one by far was the strangest...

It was a humanoid stone skeleton. The initial three had a defining feature about them. But this one was just a plain old skeleton.

The one peculiar thing about it, was the lantern burning with a golden flame in its grip. The same golden flames burned within its hollow eye sockets...

The gate had put them on a path that led to the circular podium. There were three other paths that led there, with thousands of creatures headed towards it.

There was a flash of light behind them, and a group of creatures walked in.

Cain let out a sigh,

"We best get moving."