God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The world was suffused with light...

The clear crisp breeze carried a holy fragrance that dissolved impurities of both the mind and body.

The mana was dense and of high quality, leading any being that took it into their spirit and body to believe they were in paradise.

In this land in the midst of endless stretching clouds reaching out into eternity, it was as though they had arrived in heaven.

However, that couldn't have been further from the truth...

Because this place was no heaven or elysium land, of this, Cain was very certain.

The more strange beings that arrived on the island, the more he was further convinced.

Many of the things that arrived, both those of seemingly divine origins and fiendish entities that appeared as though they had taken a wrong turn on their way to the deepest, dankest abysses, had somehow found their way up here.

And yet, despite all this, none of them made a move to attack the other. It was as though they were cautious about something retaliating should they even show a trace of malice or murderous intent.

The same went for the strange creatures currently glaring down at him. Despite their obvious displeasure and ill will, they didn't for even a second, reveal an ounce of killing intent. It could have been that they truly had no intentions of killing them.

That, or they, like the other entities gathered on the island, were apprehensive of whatever force would retaliate if they were to do murder.

While he was tall for a human male, Cain found himself completely dwarfed by all five of the strange creatures.

He quickly activated the {Eye of General Observation} on all five of them.

***

{High Elves}

***

Cain frowned.

'That is odd.'

The {Eye of General Observation} usually provided him with basic information on whatever his target was, be it man, beast, or object. It worked very similar to what the system could do, and although it was inferior, it was also different, as it could provide information the system didn't.

One of the High Elves', who carried a spear with a shaft that looked like a twisted branch glared furiously at him,

"Impudent wretch! How dare you look at me with such eyes?! I should gouge them out!"

"That is enough, Vlad." Another High Elf said, staring at Cain curiously.

Vlad, the more burly High Elf gritted his teeth,

"Eziel..."

The smallest if the High Elves' turned to Cain with a calm smile on his face,

"Friend, forgive my Ally's outburst. He is rather short tempered."

Cain' frown deepened.

He could smell ulterior motives from miles away. However, he couldn't identify if they were real, or just a figment of his imagination.

As such, he had no choice but to be cautious.

He shook his head with a smile,

"No matter. I and my companions aren't bothered by it."

The High Elf called Eziel nodded with a smile. Looking around, he smiled,

"Well, he really can't be blamed. I am sure most of us mortal beings here can't help but have our nerves frazzled, it would seem."

Cain frowned, "Why is that?"

Eziel glanced at him in surprise,

"Oh my, could it be you are ill informed about this place?"

Cain answered honestly with a nod,

"I and my companions just found ourselves here due to happenstance. A result of our I'll luck."

The High Elf nodded understandingly,

"In that case, I'd better give you some information."

The High Elf smiled, although it didn't seem very sincere,

"This place is a Sky Bridge."

Cain raised a brow. It certainly didn't look or feel like a bridge.

Sensing Cain's doubt, the High Elf smiled,

"A Sky Bridge is a point between the Mortal and Heavenly Planes. It exists nowhere and elsewhere at the same time; a constant in reality, yet only few can reach it."

Cain couldn't help but ask,

"If few can reach it, then why are there so many things here? And..."

He frowned, "You said it is a place that connects the mortal and heaven realms. Then where did all these things come from?"

The High Elf shrugged,

"Perhaps from some border realm on the edges of the physical plane. Either way, it is not our place as mortals to ponder such things, is it?."

The Elf's expression turned a bit strange,

"Nevertheless, the Sky Bridge is not only used as a gateway to and from the Celestial Plane. As for the reason we are all waiting, I believe you will come to find out soon enough..."

Cain smiled and gave the Elf a bow,

"Thank you for your hospitality. I will repay this debt."

With that, he motioned to Evangeline and the others to leave. Eziel nodded, watching them as they made their way away swiftly.

Vlad the burlier elf couldn't help but ask,

"Eziel, I do not understand. Why do you interact this worthless creatures like humans?"

Eziel's calm, relaxed demeanor faded away like a lie, replaced with a sinister, almost snakelike expression,

"The one i spoke to was not fully human." The elf said cautiously.

The High Elves were sensitive not only to the elements and spirits, they had incredible affinity with mutant creatures.

Another one of the High Elves nodded,

"Indeed. That human possesses a trace of draconic bloodline. However, I do not know what kind. It is strange..."

"Perhaps the other humans were its slaves." Another elf said curiously.

Eziel shrugged, "It doesn't matter. I've gotten the information I want either way."

His wickedly deceptive eyes widened. With a grin, he salacious licked him lips,

"We've found out first prey."

***

Now, most of the beings, entities and things approaching the island had landed around the perimeter of the island

Despite the sheer size and quantity of the visitors, there was a ton of free space at the edge of the island.

They moved a bit further away from the High elves and sat.

Evangeline immediately said,

"That was a strange encounter."

Jenny's eyes narrowed, "That thing cannot be trusted."

She pursed her lips,

"What even are they? Why do they look so human?"

Cain answered her, "They are High Elves. While I can only imagine what sort of beings they are, if I had to guess, I'd say they are superior to us humans in every way."

Cain clenched his fist. He indeed was not impervious to it. Despite what Azazel had told him, he knew he still had a bit of human in him.

That bit of human had reacted to the presence of the High Elves. It was like akin to a tiny sparrow standing in the shadow of a hawk.

He could only imagine how it had affected the girls.

He glanced at them, but couldn't tell anything different. If there was anything at all, it would be that they all had worn out expressions on their faces.

Jenny frowned,

"Whatever they are, those High Elves, they seemed to hate humans."

Roselle shook her head,

"I don't think that was hate."

Susan who has been quite up till then spoke,

"That is because it was contempt. Theur eyes held the same kind of gaze one would have when looking at a nuisance, a bug, a pest..."

'Wonderful, how wonderful...'

Already, the Second Trial wasn't looking too good. However, it was still many times better than the start of the first one.

After all, he had not been captured by anyone yet, not had he been electrocuted into a black husk.

Evangeline eventually sighed,

"Frankly, I don't trust our situation."

She glanced at Cain with her eyes narrowed,

"It feels like the calm before a storm. There is much that doesn't add up. Why did the system send us here? Does it want us to head into the Celestial Realm? Are those High Elves significant to the trial?"

Cain sighed.

These were the important questions. However, he didn't have the answers yet.

"We can only wait. If what that Elf said is viable, we will learn something soon."

And sure enough, not even five seconds later, there was a stir, then a loud commotion.

Cain looked up to see an enormous magic circle appear in the sky. Compared to this, the magic and magic circles he could conjure felt like badly written humor.

Even staring too long ripped away his mind, causing him to shift his focus away from the runes.

And that was why he got to see it...

Out of the magic circle slowly emerged the frame of an enormous... something.

It was black, or rather the clothes it donned on were pitch black, like rippling, flowing darkness.

As more and more of this abstract entity emerged from the magic circle.

Whatever chatter and noise died away.

There was a moment of stillness. The silence was so thick, it would take a saw to cut through it.

Eventually, all of the creature was revealed.

It didn't look like something of this reality.

It has the face of a bird, an owl to be exact, with a long body hidden behind a cloak of billowing darkness.

No...

That was wrong.

The entity that had just appeared, that struck fear in man and beast alike, was not wreathed in darkness.

It was darkness itself...