Gun of Ashes

Lorenzo stepped over the long stairs, and then he saw it.

Brilliant light fell from the dome above, reflecting off the candles hanging on the stone pillars, illuminating the darkness below and lighting up the gray-white robes.

Lorenzo stood in place, dazed. According to his understanding, the Gap was empty, containing only solitary souls. He wandered in this empty Gap, tormented, much like William.

But what appeared before Lorenzo now was a presence far beyond expectations. At least a hundred priests were kneeling on the empty ground at the foot of the long stairs, surrounding in circles, each person cloaked in gray-white robes, completely covering their bodies, their faces hidden in shadow.

Standing silently like stone sculptures among them, if not for the whispering prayers, they seemed dead.

Lorenzo held his breath as he slowly approached. As he passed these priests, he could clearly feel their vitality; they were alive, vibrant souls one after another.

But it seemed as though they didn’t sense Lorenzo’s presence, their heads lowered, mechanically whispering, reciting the seemingly endless prayer.

”How is this possible...?”

Lorenzo murmured.

He found it hard to believe that the Gap contained not just one soul, but hundreds, thousands of souls.

Then he realized.

No... it could be possible.

Lorenzo’s Gap was like this too, not only was he present, other souls had gathered within his Gap.

It was the same with Him. He wasn’t wandering alone in the Gap; He had companions, traveling in groups.

”So... is that what’s happening?”

Lorenzo felt he had lost all strength and couldn’t move forward anymore, even though he had guessed this truth in his heart. Yet, when the truth was laid before him, he was still stunned and shocked.

Lorenzo, and Him, and Them, were of the same source.

Glancing around, Lorenzo couldn’t describe his feelings at the moment.

In a forgotten period within the Demon Hunting Order’s history, these Demon Hunters gathered here and collectively underwent a great Ascension.

They were Them, souls possessing the Authority of Gabriel, the Watchers guarding the barrier.

Forgotten souls gathered here, jointly forming this vast Gap, thus possessing massive bodies like mountain ranges beneath the sea.

Lorenzo reached out, trying to touch the priest beside him; the priest showed no response to Lorenzo’s touch.

Gritting his teeth, Lorenzo pulled off his hood, revealing a faceless visage.

No hair, no mouth, no eyes, no nose, no ears... nothing there, only nearly cold flesh, akin to touching a dead body.

Lorenzo turned around and pulled off another priest’s hood, one after another; he successively uncovered the hoods of several people.

Some were faceless like before, whereas some were missing eyes, or ears, some were left only with a mouth... yet they continued mechanically reciting prayers.

Lorenzo looked at these strange faces and suddenly realized that the prayer once echoed as immense, but for some reason, many had lost their faces and stood like sculptures in the midst, only a few continued reciting.

”What... is going on here?”

Lorenzo completely forgot about the confrontation with the Sea Serpent; he had stumbled into the heart of this mystery, and now all he thought of was finding the answer.

Suddenly there was a strange noise interrupting the prayer.

”The Requiem program has an anomaly.”

A priest suddenly raised his head; he was left with only a mouth, mechanically saying.

”Needs correction.”

Another voice arose, from a priest missing eyes and ears.

”Needs correction.”

”Needs correction.”

A dense array of voices emerged, interrupting the prayer.

Lorenzo’s heart tightened, as the other Faceless People remained silent, as if dead, while these remaining individuals talked stiffly as if awakening from a dream.

Fiery light surged from their eyes, and the next moment, all eyes turned towards Lorenzo.

Lorenzo felt a chill; although unclear what was happening, it was evident that these individuals hadn’t become Faceless People yet were each independent consciousnesses. He wasn’t facing one person, but a forgotten legion.

Given his current abilities, Lorenzo didn’t see how he could survive under attack from so many individuals; perhaps this would be his burial place.

He focused intensely, preparing for an imminent fierce battle, but soon, those eyes moved away from Lorenzo.

The priests raised their heads, gazing at the dome.

Countless white wings tore through their robes; they unfolded their wings, flying towards the dome.

The Angels did not descend from heaven but rose from the Abyss.

Lorenzo shielded himself, as Angels ascended to the dome one by one, disappearing from view, while the remaining priests lowered their heads again, continuing their prayers. Those Faceless People still showed no response, as if they had lost life.

”Someone has crossed the barrier.”

Lorenzo muttered to himself.

It was the residence of the Watchers; the colossal Gap was the sanctuary of these souls, guarding here for thousands of years, monitoring the world, slaying lives that crossed the barrier.