Gun of Ashes

This is endless darkness. After losing all light, only those quietly burning eyes remain here. Watson feels immense pressure, breathing in as time and space seem to gradually drift away.

”Do you know what’s below?”

A voice comes from ahead. Sainy Loter looks as though he’s been here many times, his reaction much calmer than Watson’s, lightly brushing the Silver Binding Bolt-crafted well wall, judging the path forward through the faint light.

”I don’t know, I never imagined there were stairs here.”

Watson answers, the Well of Ascension has always belonged to a kind of alchemical device within the Demon Hunting Order, mysterious though it is, it hasn’t been activated many times. Besides, no one ever thought there was anything hidden beneath this dark deep well.

she closely follows Sainy Loter. This darkness seems to have a life of its own, slowly writhing, devouring the blood and flesh of the living. The Demon Hunter’s Purifying Flame simply won’t ignite, with its light only able to illuminate the nearby corner, probably just two or three steps away.

Watson has a bizarre premonition, if the light were to disappear, after being swallowed by the darkness, something terrible would definitely happen here.

”Purify impurities, making the material more pure, beautiful things ascend upwards, dirty things fall downwards...”

Sainy Loter whispers.

”Ascension.”

Watson responds from behind.

”That’s right, you should have guessed what’s underneath by now, right?”

Watson takes a deep breath and slowly responds.

”Those filthy things.

Secret Blood is refined from the Well of Ascension. It ascends, while those shed impurities are thrown into the well.”

”Yes, impurities, the world’s filth and malice. From the moment the Demon Hunting Order was established, as this Well of Ascension was first forged, impurities have been accumulating in the darkness below. They grow more numerous, even mutating into a strange living thing.”

Sainy Loter suddenly stops, turning to look at Watson behind him.

”The Static Holy Temple is alive.”

Watson stiffly nods, she answers.

”This I know, all the Demon Hunter’s Secret Blood comes from a Demon that has survived since ancient times. And our [Gap] is connected to a system called the Heart Core Network, which is why we can hear commands from the Silver Binding Bolt.”

She hasn’t felt this kind of emotion in a long time, she continues.

”So the conclusion is only one, the ’Static Holy Temple’ itself is that ancient Demon... and now it’s right there in the deepest darkness below, isn’t it?”

Sainy Loter nods, with things as they are now, as information comes together, the mystery only becomes clearer. Moreover, under the protection of the Well of Ascension, they needn’t worry about attacks from the Silencers for now.

”016, there’s another intriguing point among this information, you’ve noticed too, right? Silencers hunt humans, only those who touch [Truth], they’re protecting this secret.”

”[Boundary] beyond [Truth].”

Watson responds quietly.

”So have you thought about what the significance of the Well of Ascension is?”

Sainy Loter gently strokes the old patterns on the well wall, his voice filled with doubt and amazement.

”This is a construct completely beyond what modern technology can forge, even today with advanced steam technology, we’re unable to carve such a structure this deep underground, let alone one fully cast from Holy Silver without a single seam.”

Sainy Loter, after inadvertently entering this place, has returned to explore multiple times. Each time he returns, his mind is rocked more intensely.

”This is craftsmanship beyond our understanding, I don’t even know where such vast amounts of Holy Silver come from.”

He retracts his arm and meets Watson’s gaze. In this pitch-black abyss, a stench and bone-chilling cold rise from below.

”With the explosion of the Night of the Holy Arrival, the entire Demon Hunting Order’s system suffered a period of discontinuation. After I came to power, I attempted to revive this glory, but couldn’t achieve it, nothing remained.”

Sainy Loter recounts.

”Until I hit a dead end, until I turned my gaze to this Well of Ascension.”

His voice carries a hint of laughter as he asks again.

”Guess what else I found here, 016?”

”I can’t guess.”

Watson also reaches out to gently touch the well wall. Upon entering the Well of Ascension, she’d already noticed the carvings on the well wall, first depicting the magnificent Celestial Kingdom, then the battlefield of Angels and Demons, followed by a hideous and terrifying map.

This is a scroll of Celestial Kingdom and Hell, from top to bottom.

So, beneath hell?

Watson’s gaze falls to the unknowable abyss below her feet. If those depicted on the well wall serve a purpose, what lies within this abyss below hell?

”Follow me, this will require some courage, you’re about to see [Truth]... at least part of [Truth].”

Sainy Loter’s voice is very soft, his body as if losing its supporting strength, he leans forward and falls into the pitch-black abyss.

”Raphael!”

Although he says Raphael is dead, Watson can’t help but shout out this name-like name. She reaches out her hand trying to grab him, but under that eerie coldness, her actions slow, only able to watch as Sainy Loter falls into the darkness.