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"A goddess..." One from the front line said.
To everyone's shock, he really managed to speak. They all clamored to try their voices and none of them could contain their excitement and joy. It was like they finally regained something very precious, the feeling was so marvelous and indescribable.
They were finally no longer mute!
Meanwhile, the woman smiled at the man who spoke first.
"You are correct, young man. My name is Anda, one of the goddesses of this place. Please bear in mind that you are all now in the Underworld. This whole world is called that. This world is a never-ending wasteland. The only sanctuary for humans and all deceased beings is the sacred mountain behind me, Mount Balatukan."
The people expressed their confusion. They all inspected the mountain that stood tall after the forest. Then they began debating on what was currently happening and what the goddess meant when she said that. The young man from before kept frowning. He felt like he heard the name Mount Balatukan before, but it was that of a volcano… Wait, were his memories even reliable when he didn't know where he got them? He shook the thoughts out of his mind.
The goddess, Anda, merely smiled. One corner of mouth slowly turned up before she laughingly said, "Now, now, everyone please listen carefully. What lies in front of you is a sacred place. Of course, a test is a must to determine if you are worthy, don't you agree? After all, how could we call it sacred if all types of people could enter just like that? We must first see if everyone here fits the criteria. I'm sure you all understand what I mean."
Anda paused, watching everyone's reaction. The goddess's eyes twinkled in mischief before she continued, "I will now issue a simple task. Those who won't pass will be the proof why this world is called the Underworld. Look around, everyone. Carefully ponder what will happen once you fail the simple challenge."
Like magic, Anda's voice managed to make everybody inspect their surroundings. Earlier, they were all not able to see the place clearly due to the knee-high dust swirling about the whole area, thus they were only able to know the place was akin to a dead wasteland.
As they swept their gazes around… there seemed to be still nothing but dust? The people standing below the rock and the goddess did not shy away from expressing their confusion.
"Here!" The gentle and chime-like voice echoed.
After Anda's heavily adorned long sleeves swayed, the thick smog and dust around them suddenly and mysteriously vanished.
"Aaaaahhhh!"
What came next was the shrieking and screaming from some weak-willed women.
Everyone's eyes, except Anda and the werehorses, widened their eyes in disbelief. Even the young man in the black jacket was badly startled… because what they saw was a never-ending carpet of bones and skeletons, all seemingly from humans!
"My god!"
"H-human skulls? Dearest heaven! It's really h-human skulls! Human skeletons!!!"
"W-where are we! I d-don't like this p-place! M-mooommmmmyyyyy!"
Everyone felt like their hearts jumped out of their throats. Fear reigned upon them as many even knelt on the spot and made a fuss.
The young man also felt cold sweat trickling down his back. His gaze went to the werehorses neighing and laughing wantonly at the reaction of the stupid humans near them. One of the horse-headed creatures looked at him, laughingly taunted him with a cutthroat.
"Son of a stray cat!" He cursed out. However, his hands move to clutch his neck as if protecting it from something.
"Damn it, where am I? What's going on? Did someone kidnap me or some aliens captured me together with everyone else here for experimentation? No no no, I definitely don't want to end up like those skeletons!"
"Once upon a time, it was known that the God of Fire, who was one of the oldest Anitos in the Skyworld, hated the Devils so much because these creatures' ruler, and if one might say, the greatest ruler in history, had killed his beloved wife, a demi-god who used to hold the Law of Harvest."A voice echoed in a small dark room that was being occupied by two people. Two men. One wearing a red cloak that appeared to be burning and flowing at the same time, like lava. The other was wearing a pure white knight garment that seemed to be from the medieval times. The face of the former was hidden by his cloak plus he was bowing a little so his features were not visible. As for the other, the knight appeared to be not afraid to be recognize hence he did not even wear a mask to this meeting. He had blonde hair and brown eyes, and fairly handsome. However, that face of his was not what people who knew a little about history would notice, but the insignia on his breastplate, a symb
The Goddess actually had no use for the weak anito called Ley. Yet at the same time, she was not one to back out from her words. Although she sometimes do not play by Heaven's rule, she was one to demand equivalent exchange when needed. In other words, she was one who always upheld fairness.Her vow from almost a year ago was only to protect and provide guidance for Ley, the unknowing human whose fate had been severed completely from the Underworld due to her bet with Mayari. The young human forever lost the chance to reincarnate so as compensation, she used one of her quotas in ascending a being to godhood as compensation. She did the same to the old man who had been dragged to the mess. Of course, another questionable karma that she gained for doing these was causing Ley and Fernando to be rejected by the natural Laws since they did not become anitos through their own efforts. As another compensation, She decided to leave one of her mortal vessels there to act as thei
"Welcome back, Your Highness." Loud and clear, the voices of everyone else in the place echoed at the same time."We're most gladdened to be in Your Highness' presence again." They chorused.Ley slowly lifted his gaze up and saw that the person they greeted matched the appearance that was in his memories.A body of a girl in her late teens. Black hair that reached past her waist. Lean figure that was almost as skinny as some models in regular fashion shows. A face that was certainly above average, but not that excessive as to make one feel that she was the most beautiful in the world.Hana's figure appeared right above the statue depicting the Goddess of the Sun, a statue of a beautiful woman in a flowing dress crowned with a tiara shaped like the rays of the sun. The statue was massive and was in a giving pose, with her hands stretched outwards like it was offering the sun to the world. Hana appeared in those stretched out palms.
Time passed. In the mortal realm, a week had already gone by.Ley and Baram who had come to the western side of the globe to meet the Goddess was met with utmost care in their reception there. Ley had a hunch that the Goddess predicted that he would come here, either to give thanks or ask for Fernando's location so She left a message to the ones in the Blood Lake Castle to welcome them in.However, like Fernando who was made to wait for the Underworld god, they too, were made to wait for the return of the Goddess as she had long left before they arrived and the servants left there had no idea when she would drop by. These all brought endless frustrations to Ley. Yet he was not one with a close mind. He knew that the affairs of somebody high up like Hanan was not something that normal deities like him could imagine. Not to mention that Baram and the others in the castle already explained how serious of a matter an attempted Devil Sacrifice was.
"Home, huh?" The werehorse anito servicing under the Chief Deity of the Underworld, Sitan, was a bit absentminded as he recalled the conversation he just had with the human anito brought to the palace by his god. A few hours already passed since then. The werehorse anito had also just finished his duties and made sure that the entire palace was spotlessly clean and organize.The person he just spoke to was just a weak old human who possessed the Gift to command animals which was not really impressive as there were a few already who had the same ability, not to mention, those who hailed from the animal species had better control of those they could command.Nothing was interesting about the old human anito. Although he was silent about it, as he was one who was loyal to the Chief Deity and was extremely conscious not to question the deity's words, in his heart, he was actually wondering why His Highness became interested in Fernando to the point that he personally
While the two immediately set off for another country, they had no idea that the very reason that they were doing so was not really in danger, unlike what they had been assuming all this time.Fernando was just really teleported to another place so that a proper conversation could take place between them without interruption. He was in good condition and was even invited to the best and grandest place in the Underworld, the Palace of Soul owned by none other than His Highness Sitan himself.As for the reason why? Who knows.The old man did not ask. After discovering the identity of the other, he became very silent, and careful with his words. Or rather, he would not dare ask the man his real purpose for doing this since like Ley to the presence of the angel, Fernando immediately became cautious and conscious of his own status as he had learned that the person was not merely a strong anito, but an actual Underworld god.'What are th