Gun of Ashes

[Gap].

The spirit world of life, the dwelling place of the soul, an untamed form of existence.

Lorenzo stepped into the rift, the inside was narrow and crowded, except for the path beneath his feet, he couldn’t see anything else, there was only pure darkness, his consciousness was obstructed, and he couldn’t wander freely.

The black walls were both a barrier against invaders and a cage for monsters, his actions were constantly hindered, as if it aimed to imprison Lorenzo, the intruder, as well.

The journey was so long, Lorenzo kept moving forward in the narrow darkness, with nothing but monotonous darkness, in the silence Lorenzo’s perception of time gradually blurred.

He didn’t know how long he’d been walking, only that he repeated his steps, continued forward, his cognition slowly collapsing, until Lorenzo almost forgot his original purpose.

The sound of cracking echoed around, the walls on both sides started closing in, the rift becoming more and more crowded, it seemed to be merging, this was the first feedback from the outside world during the long journey, a glimmer of light appeared in Lorenzo’s lost eyes.

The prolonged silence drove people insane, this sudden change made Lorenzo delirious with joy, his journey wasn’t in vain.

Quickening his pace, Lorenzo sprinted quickly, as he went deeper the darkness gradually shattered, he could see more details, and it was at this moment that the complex wailing started, as if a thousand people were weeping.

The eternal silence was broken, the howling sound was enough to destroy a person’s sanity in an instant, crying, wailing, lamentations, even the cries of babies, the sounds were stretched out, sharp and long, overlapping, roaring around Lorenzo’s ears.

Accompanying this was a mad dance of death, rising flames erupted from the walls closing in on both sides, within the scorching white, Lorenzo could see the surface of the walls squirming, and amidst the frenzied screams, he could discern the sound of crumbling stones.

In an instant, countless arms pierced out from the walls on both sides, dry and decaying arms stretching, swaying like lush seaweed, sharp nails trying to scratch Lorenzo, tear open the flesh, blood gushing out.

This is the world of the mind, yet the pain is so real, as if Lorenzo is in another reality.

They tried to hold Lorenzo, pull him into the walls, merge with these grotesque abominations, at the roots of the arms, grotesque heads could be seen opening their mouths greedily, flames rising in their eye sockets.

Vague whispers issued from their mouths, as if calling out an unspeakable name.

The noisy roar intertwined with the whispers, like the prelude to doomsday.

Lorenzo continued forward, he could see the end of the rift emerge with a faint light, he finally saw the end, while the walls on both sides closed in even more quickly, behind Lorenzo, the arms clasped together, continuously sealing off the retreating path, forcing Lorenzo to flee.

He took a deep breath, his mind tense, an arm grabbed Lorenzo, but failed to hold on, sharp nails ripped off large chunks of flesh from him, feeling the pain, Lorenzo felt a piece of his memory was missing, his consciousness torn apart.

More arms grabbed him, coming from all directions, one after another grabbing Lorenzo’s body, tightly entwining his limbs, grotesque heads whispering madly by Lorenzo’s ear.

Lorenzo tried to reach out, to touch the light at the end of the path, but more arms came out, intertwining, obscuring all the radiant light.

Everything once again returned to dead silence.

In the gray world, the stone walls were carved with reliefs of angels and demons, the collapsing rift dividing them, but as it closed, the broken image pieced together again, the ghost gods raised their weapons, casting the flames of war between Heaven and Hell.

Time froze at this moment, eternally framing this scene.

So it was a thousand years ago, and so it would remain for millennia.

But nothing is eternal, even in the deep cold and dead silence, faint sparks still flicker.

In the silence, a faint heartbeat sounded, followed by the heartbeat growing more intense, like dense drumbeats, disturbing the dead calm.

The grotesque ghost gods on the reliefs appeared as if given life, continuously trembling until a small crack appeared on them.

The crack began to crumble, spread, in a blink turning into a huge rift, inside, a beast-like panting sounded, until a blood-stained arm punched through the barrier.

Two hands grasped at the edges of the rift, forcibly prying it open, until the bloody self completely emerged from it.

Lorenzo, covered in blood, walked out of the rift, overcame layers of obstacles.

Behind the rift’s darkness, all the howling stopped with Lorenzo’s breakthrough, the sound paused, the waving arms froze stiffly in mid-air, finally a helpless sigh sounded from the profound darkness.

The rift closed, the shattered image pieced together again, Lorenzo looked at the relief on it, it was so familiar, he never expected to see it here.

”Gate of Celestial Kingdom.”

Lorenzo gazed at this seemingly endless stone wall, the reliefs on it he had seen before.

This was precisely the Gate of Celestial Kingdom separating Saint Nalos Cathedral and the Static Holy Temple.