"A pitiful child," The Red Queen said as she appeared beside Zeel.

Zeel stared at The Red Queen quizzically "She is older than both you and me combined,"

"She never matured as an angel so she could be considered a child in their culture," The Red Queen justified.

Zeel smiled and directed a contemptuous gaze at The Red Queen.

"You are becoming more and more human. That's not bad, but not as good either," he said.

With the matter of the Wanderer settled for the moment, Zeel continued to venture forth deeper into the confines of the tomb.

As he walked, he could feel the natural prowess of his body returning once more.

It seemed that the feather around his neck could block some of the suppression, and give him some breathing space.

While walking, Zeel was sorting through the moments that made up the lives of the warriors that died within the chasm.

Though the draconic energy had dissolved their bones, thereby freeing them from being bound to the tombs.

The prayers they asked of him before their departure still lingered in Zeel's mind.

Slowly, as he sorted the moments, a clear timeline of events was formulated in Zeel's mind.

∞∞∞

At a time of great war and turmoil, there was a shamaness-queen of Yamatai-koku in Wakoku.

That shamaness was named Himiko, it was a name that was passed down through generations of the family.

When a new 'Himiko' was born into the family, the previous would give up the title.

The new Himiko was only six years old when she met with misfortune.

As she ran through the forest with an arrow pierced through her shoulder, the little girl, Himiko, encountered a Wanderer by chance.

The Wanderer had just been sent down into the mortal world and was fairly naïve.

Seeing the state of the girl, the Wanderer took pity on the girl and hid her away.

Wanderers had a strict rule to only comfort the souls of newly departed who refused to relinquish mortal bonds.

The Wanderer and young Himiko hid for a year and became as close as sisters during that time.

A year later, the wanderer followed Himiko home.

It was then that Himiko's father, who had grown drunk on power, attempted to kill Himiko to retain the power he had gained in her absence.

The Wanderer was about to intervene but an angel shot down from heaven and restrained her.

The Angel brought a choice with it, save the girl and be condemned to a mortal existence or watch her friend die and return with her soul to heaven.

The Wanderer chose to save Himiko and joined their souls.

She would be a mortal for a couple of dozen years, and when Himiko died, the wanderer would be allowed into purgatory to redeem herself.

However, things didn't go as planned. Years after surviving the assassination, Himiko and the Wanderer was cursed by a God of Death.

Everything they touched would turn into death and spread that death.

The Wanderer and Himiko, ashamed of their power, rode to an isolated island with their most loyal vassals and condemned themselves to eternal darkness in a cave.

The cave was a forbidden location, so Himiko and the Wanderer used it to their advantage.

When they died, Himiko ascended to purgatory but the Wanderer could not because of her unique status.

And there she stayed… countless years in darkness as her mind grew corrupted.

The only way for the Wanderer to escape eternal Damnation was to take back the purity she had lost.

∞∞∞

'A sad tale,' The Red Queen said inside Zeel's head.

Zeel nodded in agreement but did not feel much after witnessing the timeline of events.

Unless it was something that would directly inconvenience him, Zeel did not mind others suffering.

A couple of minutes later, Zeel walked down some stairs into a huge shaft.

There he saw more pillars that detailed many things about his race, but with a couple splashes of blood. The pillars were soon crumbling from the inside-out.

In front of him, Zeel saw an ancient Chinese structure that seemed to be a temple for worshipping.

Zeel could feel the darkness lingering inside the temple, which hinted that it would be the place to find what he was looking for.

Still, something about the entire setup of the tomb irked him greatly. He felt as if he was missing something fairly obvious but also relatively complex by normal standards.

Not minding anything, Zeel quickened his pace and darted into the temple.

His heart beating in anticipation of finding the gateway and finally being able to get some answers to some much-needed questions.

*tap*

*tap*

*tap*

Zeel's steps slowed as he passed through a hall filled with bodies of the most honorable warriors.

Unlike the souls of those in the chasm, these prayers of these bodies did not even whisper or approach him.

As a God, Zeel could tell that they were present but reluctant to approach him.

Still, this was more a blessing but also irritating since their intense urge for freedom attacked his godly senses.

Even if they did not speak, he could still sense what they wanted most…. What was required to end their journey of life.

Passing through the hall, Zeel traced his finger over the walls, embedding draconic energy into the structure.

Not long after he passed by, the remains of the warrior disintegrated and become motes of lights that were consumed by the draconic energy and returned to Zeel's body.

However, doing all this while walking towards the main coffin up front, made Zeel slightly more distracted.

It wasn't until he was near the coffin that Zeel recognized the faint sound of breathing nearby.

*bang*

*bang*

*bang*

Zeel quickly used his hands to cover his heart and forehead location. Bullets penetrated both hands but did not go any further due to the resilience of his skin.

With some of the suppression lifted, Zeel's physique was once again beyond human limitations, but not fully recovered as yet.

The bullets could penetrate his defenses shallowly, but not penetrate deep enough into his body to cause lasting damage.

Zeel was blasted backward by the force of the bullets. The final bullet, a shotgun scattershot, penetrated millimeters into the skin of his stomach area.

However, Zeel was not someone to stay back and take a beating.

The moment his body collided with the wall behind, Zeel extended both hands in different directions and snapped his fingers.

*Pew*

*Pew*

Suddenly, two silver protrusions darted out from Zeel's hands, turning into thin spears that shot through the heart of the two hidden shooters.

Zeel had used the nanites inside his body to counterattack in an instant with extreme precision.

Everything was not to be concluded so easily, Zeel heard the shifting of a bullet into the chamber of a gun.

Snapping his head across the room, Zeel saw another soldier preparing to shoot at him.

*Whoosh*

Though he was much slower with his divinity sealed, Zeel darted across the room in a second, stomping the soldier into the wall.

When the dust settled, Zeel could see a perfect copy of his footwear indented into the man's chest.

"Woah, Woah, Woah!" Mathias yelled, exiting the hidden location behind the walls.

Zeel was poised and ready to attack, but Mathias made sure to emphasize the watch in his left hand.

Seeing that Zeel had directed his attention to the correct place, Mathias felt relieved.

"You see the watch has ten minutes remaining," Mathias said and then continued, "Someone told me you are good with technology so I went analog,"

Zeel furrowed his brows and thought back to the entrance of the tomb.

An image was presented in his mind, and soon Zeel found several bombs in locations he had previously ignored.

Of course, he ignored the bombs because they were of no threat to him, but now, being so close to the coffin, Zeel realized that bombs could trigger a secondary response from the death energy in the area.

"We can talk," Zeel said staring at Mathias intently.

It only took Zeel a glance to know that Mathias' and his interests did not collide, so why don't they both get what they came for?

Richard slowly exited the hidden wall, standing some ways behind Mathias, he was seemingly relieved by the fact that both Zeel and Mathias had reached a consensus.

However, not everyone was interested in talking, this became apparent when footsteps were heard by the coffin…