God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"The Champion of a God is in a way, no more than an avenue for a Celestial, fallen or not, to exert their power and authority in the lower mortal and heaven realms."

Azazel calmly overlooked the scene playing out below, his expression unchanging.

"For a Celestial, having multiple Champions was only normal too. The boy was just one of the many Champions of Balangol. Nothing special."

Then his expression changed ever so slightly,

"Then, what exactly is the reason behind a Celestial, a being of near omnipotence to take on a creature lower tjan itself to grant it power and a portion of its authority?"

The being of darkness floating beside him stared at him silently for a moment,

"Reincarnation. A God can only be reborn after their deaths through their incarnates."

That was the secret behind the Divine nature of Celestial Death. It was nothing special...

Once their bodies were destroyed, their soul and spirit would live on forever, but they would not be able to return to the mortal and heavenly planes without a physical body.

As such, they train up a whole array of Champions scattered across the universe until they gather the best of the best.

Azazel chuckled,

"Although it varies, most Celestials wait until their candidates have matured enough, before pitting them against each other, forging them through flames and rivers of blood until the best, their ultimate champion, is produced. This is the way the Celestial Deities have retained complete Hegemony over this universe for eons."

His face turned bitter,

"Those bastards..."

Then he sighed,

"What exactly did it mean for a god, a Celestial Deity to be made manifest on this small, forgotten world?"

Azazel could see it right before it even began.

There was no doubt what would happen.

Therefore...

He turned to the undulating being of darkness,

"I believe it is time for me to intervene. Sit back and watch the show, please!"

The being of darkness was silent for a moment before speaking,

"Alright. However, remember. Although he should be greatly weakened, this is still a Celestial. Be cautious."

Azazel waved his hand casually,

"What do you take me for? In all the heavens and the mortal planes, I am the best there is at preserving his life."

There was a hint of dark malice in his eyes as he added;

"Besides, I have truly missed the feeling of drawing divine blood."

***

There was silence...

However, this silence was not natural. It also wasn't forced.

Rather, it was a direct result of the presence of something that was not supposed to have appeared in this world.

The silence contained many things, a very decent portion of it being pure horror and fear, while the rest was confusion and awe.

Finally, the silence was broken.

Gilead fell to a knee and bowed his head.

His trembling voice resonated through the silent world like a piercing arrow,

"My God..."

All over the bloodstained battlefield, the Pilgrims fell to their knees, reverence resonating from the depths of their very beings.

Wulf fell to his knees as well, a wide grin on his face and deep scorching malice in his eyes as he glared at Steve,

"Our god has descended onto this world! Our foes will be scourged with nothing left behind but tainted memories and bleached bones!"

Steve glared back, then clicked his tongue,

"Son of a gun..."

He stared down, a tinge of panic on his face,

'How could this happen?' He thought to himself.

'We were winning! And now, something like this just comes. Why on Urbus is this even possible?!'

The being that had taken over Kaelin's body looked up into the sky.

A frown appeared on his face.

BANG!

Every human and beast was slammed into the ground with tremendous crushing force, some of less resilient ones even killed on the spot.

At the very forefront of this pressure, even Cain, with his incredible physique, was unable to bear it at all.

He lay there sprawled on the ground, blood leaking from his nose, mouth, and eyes.

'Can't breathe!'

It was like dying all over again. He could feel his organs collapsing. His thoughts felt heavy, and any skill, active or passive was deactivated. Continue your journey on m|v-l'e m,p| y- r

Yet he could still see the mana flow patterns of the world very clearly.

As he looked up, he could see it. However, he wished he couldn't. Just a mere look made the bleeding even worse.

"D– dam– ack!"He tried cursing out, but he obviously was unable to.

'So this is what it feels like to be in the presence of a god. Looks like my luck has finally run out.'

Cain sighed and prepared himself for death. There was no escape from it this time.

And yet, that death never came.

In fact, the Celestial Deity of the Sands and Death completely ignored him and the rest of the mortals.

Instead, this nebulous entity continued staring at the starless sky with a frown.

Eventually, he spoke.

His voice was quite different from Kaelin's. However, it was also a bit similar. However, there was a godly amount of pride flowing out of every word he spoke. This amount of pride and ego was not something an mortal being could possess.

"Come out, Demon."

Space folded in on itself, and out walked a majestic looking man wearing a pair of swimming trunks and a pair of goggles.

He grinned at Balangol,

"Wow! If it isn't the Sandman himself! I never thought I would see you so soon. How long has it been? A thousand Millennia? Perhaps even more?"

The being that had possessed Kaelin's body said nothing. However, the ancient, and archaic air surrounding him bore down even more, causing more and more ehymans to die.

Azazel looked around and shrugged,

"This... Do you really want to go about killing your subjects? That wouldn't look too good for you, now would it?"

Balangol shrugged, "My children are welcomed in me even in death. To them death is nothing but an inevitable grace."

Azazel sighed,

"You gods and your foolishness. Whatever, I don't really care. However, for you to gone back from the grave personally, that must have burned a ton of Divinity. Why would you go through that trouble?"

Balangolcs frown turned deeper and darker,

"Don't play this game, Demon. You know exactly why I am here."

Azazel smiled lightly,

"Hmm... I thought things like vengeance were beneath those of the Celestial race. I guess I was wrong."

"I will kill him. It can be done with a mere thought." Balangol said, his divine words spreading through the world, causing those with weaker souls to die instantly.

Azazel suddenly burst out laughing. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes,

"If that is so, then why don't you just go ahead and do it?"

Kaelin's eyes widened. Azazel shrugged,

"Well, I'll tell you why if you don't want to say it."

His eyes narrowed, "You are scared, aren't you..."

BOOM!

The pressure came crashing down again.

The gorge was immediately flattened, and dunes of sand turned into towering mountains.

Screams of terror and despair were carried into the wind as all bore witness to the power of a god.

Cain watched it all happened with wide eyes and a hollow heart filled with dread,

'My goodness...'

Whatever has been of Kaelin was gone, that much, he was sure. Instead, what had come had consumed him, and as such, had become him.

Then realization struck,

'I can breathe.'

The pressure on him was gone.

He looked down on his hands. His sight was still a bit blurry, as he had become so used to passively observing the world around him with the {Eye of Clairvoyance}. Still, he was happy he could finally breathe.

He looked forward with narrowed eyes.

Amidst the storm of boiling sand, two beings were currently staring each other down.

Upon closer inspection, Cain could see that the other being there, was the untrustworthy demon himself, Azazel.

'Could it have been him?'

The fact he could breathe now was not a testament to his own power. Instead, he was sure someone had helped him out.

With the appeared of the fallen angel, he could guess who was responsible for preserving his life.

He slowly stood up, his legs shaking from the feeling of weakness that permeated through his entire being.

"Shit!" He cursed and spat out some blow.

Wiping his face, he walked forward.

Azazel suddenly turned around,

"Don't move anymore, Cain."

Cain paused in his tracks,

"What's going on, Azazel?"

Azazel shrugged, "Do I have to spell everything out for you? This god has risen from the grave to claim his pound of flesh, in other words, you."

Balangol took a step forward,

"And nothing will stop me."

He stared right at Cain, a tumultuous dark light growing in the depths of his eyes.

Azazel cleared his throat,

"What, do you think I'd just stand here and watch you kill him?"

Azazel's grin turned fierce and wicked,

"I had read about it, but actually seeing it is quite a refreshing sight."

Balangol's expression turned dark and furious.

Azazel ignored it and spoke, a wide smile on his face,

"When a Celestial is reborn into the physical realm, their power corresponds to that of the champion they become, perhaps a Tier or two higher at best.

A hint of schadenfreude appeared in his eyes,

"I have to give you credit though. To think you have the ability to boost this mortal to Tier 3 in one go. That must have taken a lot of Divinity, it seems."

Balangol's furious expression suddenly died away, replaced with a calm, but cold facade,

"What do you want?"

Azazel chuckled,

"You know you cannot defeat me now. So here's what we are going to do;"

He turned to Balangol,

"We'll have the both of you battle to the death. Balangol, if you win, I promise to spare this incarnation of you..."

Then he turned to a pale faced Cain,

"And if you win, Cain, besides the obvious benefits that would come from defeating a Tier 3 Celestial Deity, I will also grant you three wishes you desire, within the scope of reason of course. Granted, I cannot grant something along the lines of make you the sole ruler of existence after all."