***
The burning rays of the radiant sky fell upon the Skeleton above the ashen field,
Shattered bones revealed the crimson forest trying to rise but was burned to ash by the blinding light.
Soon, the sun receeded above the shattered sky, and the five people frozen in place were finally allowed to move.
They all sighed with relief and greedily and quickly began to eat and drink.
Their journey has been stainous, but it was about to end, as their destination was right in the distance, visible to their naked eye.
Above the the titanic breastbone of the giant remains, a dome of pure shadow stood still, unaffected by the tyrannical sky.
A woman with silver hair stood still, her eyes locked on the distant dome, a sense of longing wrapping her heart.
And a faint trace of hope burning her soul. She was impatiant, her heart unable to wait any longer.
But she needed to prepare before approaching that place. If only...if only her suspecions are true, she cannot give a bad impession.
"Princess Nephis, Are you not going to eat? This would be our last outdoor 'meal'." One of the Saint asked.
Nephis looked back and nodded, saying, "go ahead."
**
After finishing up resting, the saints quickly prepared to move forward.
Nephis changed into a clean set of armor cleaned up, giving back her pristine and mesmeizing beauty.
Soon, they all moved forward, reaching close to the shadowy dome.
Suddenly, screeching noise of corrupted abomination reached their ears, and soon enough, large abomination was smashed into the pristine ivory breastbone.
Then, from the nearby fissure, a black hand rose, revealing the rest of the body.
All of them were terrified and awe-struck, as the giant shadow of a male knight stood atop the breastbone.
Looking closely, they realized that the knight was a statue, made of pure obsidian. But what shocked them most was it's rank.
'A Great Devil!' They all exclaimed in their heads.
The appearance of the Obsidian Knight reminded Nephis of two similar beings. The wandering stone statue holding a hammer back in the forgotten shore, and...the stone saint, or rather, the Jade Saint of an....old friend.
The twenty foot tall Obsidian Knight walked leisurely, his steps making faint treamors.
It closed in on the Corrupted abomination, a Corrupted Terror to be precise, and picked its corpse up with one hand.
As if noticing them just now, the knight looked down at them for a few moments.
Then, he waved his other han in a motion to follow itself and walked towards the shadowy dome.
On guard, the Saints present followed suit.
They walked through the shadwy dome, with complete darkness.
But it felt weird, the place was completely dark, so they shouldn't be able to see anything. But they somehow could see the Obsidian Knight walking in front of them, along with a the dark temple in the distance that should have merged with the surroundings,
After carefully following the Obsidian Knight to the front of the dark temple, the Knight stopped and put aside the corpse in his hand and gestured for them to walk towards the temple gates.
The other saints heitated, but Nephis walked forward resolutely, As soon as she stepped foot on the temple stairs, the gates moved, slowly opening to reveal the dark insides.
As the temple gate fully opened, the remaining Saints followed behind Nephis, their guards up and senses high.
They walked straight, and the deeper they went the louder the whispering became.
When they reached the center room, where a dark malevolent throne stood, the wispering became clear and disorted.
It was like prayers of a thousand devotees, retching of thousand abominations, and slapping flesh, making the whispering sound pure, grotesque, eerie and malevolent.
The whispering sent chills down everyone present, their heart filled with fear and warning.
"Silence." A clear male voice resounded through the walls, shutting up the whispering at once.
The surrounding shadows convulsed in front of the malevolent throne. The darkness around them flowed like water and the shadows convulsing quickly took on humanoid form.
Nephis clenched her hands tightly, her eyes showing a burning desire as she stared at the shadows forming a human male starting with the legs.
Obsidian cladded his skin and purple glow embraced them. Then, his pale neck was revealed with a scar reaching above his sharp jawline.
At last, his messy white hair formed. He then opened his eyes, purple pupils gazing at the group of saints.
He then sat on the throne, leaning his head on the fist laying on the armrest.
The Saints suddenly felt numerous gazes eyeing them. They could not see anything else except the man and the throne he was sitting on.
"Stop, Gaz." He said once again, and the gazes instantly moved away.
"So, Changing Star, Grandaughter of the Immortal Flame and Daughter of Broken Sword. What do I owe the pleasure of your visitation?" The man asked softly, showing no arrogance, but a calm indifference and a hint of interest.
Nephis kept staring at the man, his disheveled face and demeanor was attractive, but...it was not what she was searching for.
Her eyes dimmed, hands released and back to the cold appearance she showed everyone else.
She has already experienced this three times so far, including this one. Three people who were similar to 'him', but just not 'him'.
She stabalized her emotions before asked in the same old detached tone, "May I ask for your introduction? It seems to be our first meeting."
The man surprisingly showed a smile and nodded repeatedly.
"It is indeed our first official meeting. But I've known you for further long."
"What do you mean?" Another man among the saints asked before Nephis could say a word.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Inriam Gray, The Crazy Prince of the Fallen Shadow Clan." He said seriously as he looked at them, then at Nephis.
Before anyone could ask, Nephis spoke first.
"And What caused your clan to fall, If I dare to ask?"
Inriam stayed silent, then smiled with a mocking craze in his expresion,
"...A God..."
***
To be continued...