Two gods descended to a forest, like lightning striking a ground – majestic, yet destructive.

One of the gods was wearing a white robe, her white hair matches with her long robe. She glows like a shining star, and the elegance of her dress and poise rhythms with the solemness of the forest.

The other was wearing armor, covered fully from head to toe. Stature resembles a great warrior – a brave and strong being of power.

Mina: Is this the place?

Taino: Yes, I think…

Mina the goddess of knowledge and Taino the god of lightning, both of which came from the Centennial Abode, came down to Elyn to look for Marcus – the god of destruction.

Taino: The god of destruction, who only knows about nothing but destroying, was stuck in this peaceful forest for what – a thousand and a half years?!

Mina: We sensed that he was able to produce a demigod… but no one’s here…

Taino: Yeah, after our humans raided some demi-wolf tribes, no one’s here except animals and insects… and plants… you like plants?

Mina: Shut up.

Taino: The raid was – well, a part of your idea.

Mina: Shut up, or I’ll explain to you for another millennia how beneficial to us this event was.

Taino: Yeah, yeah, I’ll shut up now.

The two walks through the forest. On and on, until they reached a burned tribe with mounds on the sides of the burnt huts.

Taino: Look at your success. Liking it?

Mina: I wouldn’t call it a success if the humans killed that demigod.

Taino: Really? This is part of your plan, right?

Mina summons a lance and points it at Taino.

Taino: Woah, woah!

Mina: You want me to splice a bit of your –

Mina was distracted as she looks at the shrine cave of the tribe, seeing the stacks of metals on the side with grown moss on it.

Mina: These – these armor sets. It belongs to Altruis soldiers…

Taino: Yeah, what of it?

Mina inspects the armor sets one-by-one. She wipes the moss covering it, revealing the damages it has.

Mina: Look at it, all of it were torn, punctured…

Taino: The damage… was it done by Marcus’ heralds?

Mina: I think not.

Mina points out the abnormal holes on the armor chests, and the dents that looked like it was crumpled like a leaf.

Mina: Something else did this.

Taino: What do you think it is?

Mina casts a spell, creating a magic circle as wide as the whole tribe area. Ethereal figures of knights and demi-wolves appear, reenacting the events that transpired in that place: knights and mages of the Altruis killing the demi-wolves, at the center was a female demi-wolf engaging with an Altruis summoned hero, and later the hero manages to cut off the demi-wolf’s arm. After that, the hero leaves, and the higher knights takes the place, but then things get weird.

One-by-one, the knights and mages were taken down abnormally – their heads and knees bust open like it exploded, and the live ones were getting dragged to bushes by something. The two tried to look past the bushes but they see nothing. Then the three high knights seem to engage on something they can’t see – something that doesn’t have mana in it. The three were utterly defeated – their armors being torn and bodies getting damaged by an invisible force. The only remaining demi-wolf floats into the shrine cave of the place.

They followed it and saw that the injured demi-wolf was slowly descending on a flat surface, like something was carefully placing her down. Mina knew that the sword used by the hero was a corrupted divine relic, capable of slicing the souls of its prey, making the soul of the demi-wolf have a missing arm and dark veins appear on its skin – indicating corruption leading to death. But the spread of the corruption stops, making her think who and how she was healed. The effects done by a corrupted divine relic cannot be undone but somehow the demi-wolf was healed from its corruption. They observed further the demi-wolf, Mina fasten the process since they only see that the demi-wolf was sleeping until they saw it stood up.

Taino: How long was that?!

Mina: Two days… she’s been out here, asleep, for two days and miraculously no monster went in here to check the bloodshed and found her…

They followed the demi-wolf’s ethereal figure outside, and thru observing her body poses she’s confused, and so is the two gods. The bodies were gone, buried already to the ground. The demi-wolf presses further to the forest and hides to the bushes, then she stands up and shout at nothing while casting a spell.

Taino: She’s seeing something we can’t see!

Mina: This doesn’t make sense… even if that thing who attacked our knights and taken care of her was a monster or something, or a god, we should be able to see their souls and mana… even if it’s a golem or an undead we should be able to see those!

Taino: This is ridiculous! We should be back at the abode drinking wine!

Mina: Then go back, I don’t even need you here.

Taino: Jeez, can’t take a joke?

Mina: This – this isn’t a joking matter…

They kept on observing the ethereal demi-wolf – from the way it talks to its ‘conversations’ with the invisible something, and then finally when she steps outside the tribe area. They followed her into the woods, then they saw an injured orc wherein the demi-wolf assists it. At this time, Taino senses that someone was following them. Mina deactivates her spell and readies themselves.

The two sensed powerful presence, similar to them. They confronted the stalking figures and saw two of the demon lords of the Underworld – Zenus of the Blood clan and Temis the Spear God.

Zenus: Well, well, well. Look who it is, the gods of the shitty abode.

Mina: What did you say?

Temis: Zenus, cut it out!

Taino: Can we please not start something here? Mina, you should be the most reasonable one and getting provoked by a lowly demon lord was a thing to you?

Zenus & Mina: WHAT?!

Temis: Oh, in the name of the whole Elyn, stop this ruckus!

The demon lord of the Blood clan and the goddess of knowledge stopped arguing.

Taino: SO… umm… hi?

Temis: We’ve been looking for the wolf god, Perdius… and you?

Zenus: Hey, we’re not supposed to tell them!

Temis: Oops… sorry…

Mina: Leave, whatever we’re doing is none of your business.

Zenus: HUH?! You really want some spanking, huh pretty girl?!

Mina: What did you say?

Taino: Well, umm… we we’re looking for the god of destruction, Marcus. Mina here casted a spell which we’re using to track down Marcus and ended up here.

Temis: Well, we we’re tracking Perdius’ mana scent that also leads here.

Mina: Taino, don’t say it.

Zenus: Say what, huh?! Afraid of getting outperformed by a demon lord?

Taino: Can we stop! I just wanted to go back to the abode, so we let the demon lords do their thing and we do ours, is that alright?

Temis: Alright, I’m sorry about this ruckus. Let’s go Zenus.

Zenus: Tsk!

The two groups went to their separate ways. Mina and Taino kept on following the ethereal figure, leading them to a cave entrance. However, once the two gods of the abode reached the cave entrance, the two demon lords happen to be leaded by their senses towards the cave entrance.

Mina: By the heavens…

Taino: Ooookay… what’s going on?

Temis: We – we followed Perdius’ mana scent?

Mina: This is a waste of time… no harm in going with us, right?

Taino: Well – we’ve got different objectives...

Temis: What are you looking for, exactly?

Taino drags Mina away and whispers to her.

Taino: Should we?

Mina: They might help us…

The two faces went back.

Mina: We’re looking for a demigod, of the race of demi-wolf. Apparently that demigod was the God of Destruction’s child, and we’re tracking her leading us here.

Temis: I see… no harm in coming with us, right?

Zenus: Really?! With them?! Come on!!!

Taino: Hey! We might help each other on the way through, so shut up!

Zenus: Ugh…

They entered the cave, went deep until they saw corpses of mutilated goblins and ashes of an unknown burned being.

Temis: What happened here…?

Zenus: Purging, duh!

Mina: So uncivilized…

Taino: Something is off…

Mina: I agree… I sense abyss magic in here, but it’s so faint…

Temis: Abyss magic, huh? So, are we in the right direction?

Mina: You agreed to come with us, it’s not our problem if you two didn’t get your objectives.

Temis: Well, our senses also guide us towards here… but the scent was also getting faint.

Mina: I see…

The group kept on walking, they walked and walked, until they reached the dead end. Zenus checked the place and found a hole, covered in overgrown white molds.

Zenus: What in the world is down there?! It smells like shit!

They went down the hole and saw a weird chamber with walls made of rotten flesh, covered in molds and maggots.

Mina: This is… human flesh?

Zenus: What?

Temis: This isn’t something a simple monster can do…

Taino: Probably done with magic?

Mina: No… it’s natural… like, this place was made of human flesh…

Mina took another step, finding the strange hole on the flesh wall. She tried to look inside of it, but the other side was pitch black. She casted a light magic, only to see a huge empty place.

Mina: What happened here…?

The other three went to Mina and saw the unnatural empty area on the other side of the hole.

Temis: Oh my…

Zenus: God…

Taino: I think we should – you know – leave? The air in this place… is getting cold for some reasons I don’t know…

Mina: You’re right… let’s get out of here, the mana in this area is weirdly less and thin…

Temis: Wait, wait, wait, we’re just gonna leave? With empty hands?!

Mina: You want to go inside this hole? Are you mad?

Temis brushes off Mina, going inside the pitch-black area with Zenus. Taino immediately rushes to Mina and whispers at her.

Taino: Hey! We’re just going to leave them? If they found evidence of the slaughter we planned on that village, we’re toast!

Mina: What are you suggesting? Tag with them? Inside that weird place?

Taino: Duh! What else could it be?

Mina sighs, then she enters the other side of the cave with Taino. They could see the casted light magic from Zenus and Temis inside that dark chamber, but as they approach the two demon lords they suddenly fell through the ground. Both demon lords screamed briefly before disappearing from the sight of the two gods. Mina and Taino ran to reach them out but got only confused – there’s no hole where the two demon lords fell through.

Taino: What’s going on?! Where did they go?!

Mina: Calm down!

The two felt something underneath them, as if they were sinking in a quicksand but something is weird. The floor is still intact, which means the two were passing through the ground. They tried to use all of their strength but they can’t escape.