God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Inside the Sanctuary of Blood...

The sanctuary of blood, also known as the Red Shield was created using the blood essence stored within an eternal tear drop of the Blood Moon Goddess.

It was said that on the day of her death, the Goddess of the Blood Moon had wept until all the blood stored in her veins bled out through her eyes.

Calling it an infinite amount of energy wasn't doing it a disservice. After all, it had come from the body of a Celestial.

Inside the dome, the layout of the world seemed to change from dystopian ruins into something more organized. The destruction had been cleared out to some degree, and the desertification that seemed to plague some parts of the ruined City was nowhere to be found.

Instead, the beautiful silvery moonlight streamed in from the sky, lighting up every nook and cranny of this fairytale world.

Yet, because of this moonlight, shadows were bound to exist.

The nature of the buildings had also changed, as towering pagodas had seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, looking more than a bit out of place within the destroyed modern cityscape.

Altogether, behind the shimmering crimson aegis were twelve pagodas in total that signified the twelve branches of the Blood Moon sect, named after the Goddess of the Blood Moon herself, created with the goal of reviving the forlorn goddess one day and offering the world of Urbus into her hands.

This was the ultimate goal of the Blood Moon sect.

From on high, in the uppermost room of one of the Pagodas laying on the Western corner, the sounds of wet flesh slapping against wet flesh pervaded the air.

As the winds made the curtains flutter, a young man with flowing, long dark hair, could be seen aggressively pounding his body against that of a dainty young woman.

Firmly grasping her lithe body, he pounded away without a care in the world. The young woman let her shrill cries and moans ascend to the heavens, as though attempting to appease the moon goddess.

After a while, the sounds died down, leaving the two to bask in the degenerate afterglow.

Nebula brushed his hair back as he rose from the velvet rug,

"Get dressed and get out. I want to have some rest."

The pretty young woman simply nodded without saying anything, tying up her robe before leaving the room as swiftly as possible.

Once she was gone, Nebula walked to a decorated chair located at the edge of the room and sat down.

Producing a metal flask and cup from thin air, he emptied some of the contents into the cup before bringing it to his thin, red lips.

Letting out a sigh, the hedonistic young master leaned back in relaxation,

"This is the life..."

It truly was indeed. To be able to live like a king while others slaved away, barely able to survive in this world of perpetual dusk was truly an intoxicating feeling.

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What made it even better was the fact that he could get whatever he wanted with a snap of the finger.

Food, alcohol, women, whatever it was he desired...

Why was this so? Why had he realized his reality?

It was simple.

A grin spread across his face.

He had been chosen. By the goddess herself. He was one of the venerated twelve elders of the Blood Moon Sect; Black Steel Viper, Nebula.

But that was not what he used to be. In his former life, before the world had turned on its head, he had been a regular human, going through the motions everyday.

But now...

Now, he was free to push the world to its limits and bask in the revelry he could languish in.

It would have been truly romantic, of he didn't have duties to attend to.

The doors to his private chambers were flung open as am individual dressed in all black barged in before kneeling at his feet.

Nebula frowned, "What is it?"

These faceless men were instruments of slaughter only he had command over. They were a tool, an extension of his Divine Blessings, granted onto him by the goddess.

By stealing the identity, the faces, of these men and women, he could make their loyalty forever his to command. So long as he stayed true to the Matriarch and the goddess.

'This better not be another call to clear out the rats outside the Sanctuary.'

"Infringers have been spotted on the outskirts of the Sanctuary, Master." A soft, emotionless voice came from behind the black veil.

Nebula frowned, "So? Deal with them like always."

The Black-robed killer spoke again,

"The first ambush ended in failure, and over fifteen of our men were slaughtered."

Nebula raised a brow, "Fifteen? That's new. And you said it ended in failure? That's unusual as well."

Nebula sat up, swirling the wine in his cup,

"Usually, even if we lose so many men, the heads of the sacrificed would be enough to atone. How many heads did you claim?"

The Black-robed Blood Moon Assassin bowed deeper,

"Three, Master."

Nebula waved his hand,

"Explain in detail."

Once he had heard the whole story, Nebula finally clenched his fist, prompting the Black-robed Assassin to stop.

His eyes slowly opened, revealing his strange, serpentine pupils,

"So you are telling me of the infringers, one man was able to kill more than ten of the Faceless?"

"Yes, Mast-"

A head with a black hood and veil attached to it was sent flying.

Nebula sighed as he tapped the edge of his cup with his fingers, looking absentmindedly into the wine sloshing around,

"What a bunch of incompetence. If you can no longer do your job right, there is no need for you to live anymore."

Since they were tools, they could be disposed of at any moment. That was how Nebula felt.

In this world that would be offered to the sovereign of the moon and blood, there could be absolutely no imperfections.

Lightly running his tongue past his abnormally sharp canines, Nebula had a thought,

"A strong human, huh... How intriguing. Perhaps there'll be more fun prey coming around these parts soon. Maybe those dumb sand turtles are going to be sending more prey over."

Pushing himself off his comfortable chair, Nebula slowly walked towards the door.

Light shimmered all around him as he donned on his clothes.

Pushing the doors to the room open, he spoke without looking back,

"Clean up the mess."

The two attendants standing at the door rushing in, ready to cleaning dispose of the corpse on the room, wiping off any and every trace it ever existed.

Now dressed in a long, flowy black robe, Nebula walked down and out of the pagoda.

Each pagoda was separated by vast distances, meaning each elder has a vast amount of territory of their own. Within these territories, they were responsible for their men and the people assigned to each piece of land.

Nebula walked past the emancipated sack of bones lying on the roadside, without even the slightest of regards for whether they were, or one once were human life.

It didn't matter to him even if they all died. He truly believed the apocalypse was a cleanse. A cleanse to see who was truly worthy. Those that were worthy would survive, and those that weren't would simply die out.

As he calmly walked on, he spoke onto the whispering wind,

"Contact the Stone Ox King and the White Fox Priestess. Tell them we have some.bigs to get rid of."

An individual dressed in black appeared out of thin air behind him, gave a brief nod, before vanishing into the dark wind once again.

Letting in a fresh breath of air into his lungs, Nebula summoned the magic flowing around him.

Thousands of sparkling, glittering stars appeared from the nothingness.

These stars were not actual stars, but rather metal throwing stars infused with so much mana, each one had the power amd speed of a missile.

But this was just an extension of his power.

A deep resonance came from somewhere farther in space, and Nebula's body glitched out of reality before reappearing somewhere else, this time, not wreathed in the glowing stars.

He had appeared directly at the top most floor of another Pagoda located tens of kilometers away.

Seated in the room was a slightly older man.

Nebula stared down at the man, unable to contain the disdain on his eyes,

"A few Sand Turtles have appeared at the border. Apparently, they are quite stronger than the last few they've sent over. They managed to drive my Assassins back."

The older man said nothing, calmly thumbing through the papers on the desk before him. It was as though he truly didn't see anyone standing before him.

'Arrogant prick.' Nebula thought to himself.

Finally, just when he thought he couldn't take the silence anymore, the Shadow Rat Keeper, ome of the twelve elders, spoke up,

"You are seeking approval to leave the Sanctuary?"

Nebula nodded calmly, driving his intended outburst down.

Nockt, the Rat Keeper frowned, "Are you sure that is your only reason? Or are you bored again?"

Nebula clicked his tongue, "Does it matter to you? Just give me the permission. If there are infringers at the border, it is my duty as the Steel Viper to take care of the nuisance. Or do you want to prevent me from carrying out my duty, Rat?"

Nockt calmly stared at Nebula,

"The time of the goddess is swiftly approaching. Very soon everything will be in place. If you go out there and die, even your soul won't be spared."

Nebula sneered, "Do you know who the hell you are talking to? Believe me when I say there isn't much out there that can takey life even if I handed it over on a silver platter."

The Rat Keeper sighed. Weaving a sigil into existence from his fingertips, he pointed at Nebula, causing a light to shine on him.

He waved dismissively,

"There, you can go play now."

Turning around, Nebula left the place without wasting a second.

Meanwhile, Cain had no idea a terrifying Hunter had set its eyes on his heels.