Though its sky is washed in darkness, forever, never to see the illuminance of the sun, moon and stars beyond its own, in its blackness dance a billion of stars portrayed above. It's inner vessel a silent chamber yet alive with echoes like beating drums within. And It's land, a marriage between mortals and nature; animals strive a protected society for no one or thing to harm them, blessed with food and shelter, warmth and water, as so is it by the sanctuary, home to the ancients that dwelled long ago. But by a dark glass one looks to, a deer's time is disturbed, running away from the one who troubles it, from Nahshon who snaps a photo observing it in its element, basked in lower light as hundreds of fireflies illuminate the area.

"That thing you're hearing is the machinery, helps run the place," Astrid tells Nahshon, seeing as he becomes puzzled by it, its beating like a melody that is trying to serenade him to sleep.

"Ah," He answers, his eyes back on the little fawn who returns to look at them. "And what about the animals? Where are they from?"

"From the generations before," She tells him, as they begin pacing to catch up to the others. "With being here, the ancients grew livestock as well. They had to stay here for a while, and they needed to eat, so they got busy. Hands of all kinds built this place; here they lived, eat, had children, and taught them, for all the next generations to come. Until our angry Allfather decided to relax, and they finally left. And speaking of devils...well, him"

"Fascinating. Seems we have entered the house of worship," Garkari informs them, as their eyes lay onto a piece that gifts to them a presence, their souls blessed and enlightened, as before them is the history left behind by the ancients before them, all preserved equally and beautifully, none aged by the hands of time. "And there my friend, the symbols of the gods, each and every one of them. Magnificently done, I must say"

Without Garkari saying anymore, to his mind's will could Nahshon already understand the hieroglyphs left behind, finding the gods to be fitted as a circle, also realizing that some are of different cultures from the ones of the Vikings as well, both of holy and the dark, one above the other, separated with a hemisphere, with only one who stands in the middle. Without a second guess, the boy could already perceive who was the highest of all the other gods, the Allfather he knows, his representation an owl hugging a spiral, a depiction of the universe in his protection, his creation.

"By Allfather, you mea-"

"That is right," Garkari answers Nahshon, chuckling. "His name is Zathereth; The God of Life, Death, and the Universe. He who reigns over all other gods, he who reigns over Allkind, within and outside of our own culture, and even our own world"

"The World? Aliens are actually here? You weren't joking??"

"I wasn't. Look there," Garkari points to another drawing, to one of the stars, to the ones designed to be unique, a message that tells of more than one world. "As we've discovered in another section of the sanctuary, they tell of worlds in our universe like our own, with life, systems and cultures, with their own gods under the AllFather the same. Come, observe and look for anything else you would like to know"

And so they roam farther, and to another they stop, captivated by the writings in the letters of the ancient language, entailing the Allfather and others who make an appearance, seeing a woman with gauntlets equipped on her hands, a being of light, and another dressed in armour of black, drawn in layers descending down to an end, telling a story that that seems to have a bad twist by the close of it.

"What's going here?" Nahshon points to it, Garkari in silence to comprehend it.

"The origin story, perhaps? Of why we built our sanctuaries," Garkari implies, as in the background are the girls playing around, Ayame scaring Astrid with a beetle she found as Hazel tries to stop her, with Arwyn scratching the floor with a metal stick he found, bored out of his mind. "The tale before his wrath upon the world. It all began when the Allfather was confined in the depths hell, imprisoned for thousands of years by the Devils and Kings of the underworld that conspired against him. It was until the Goddess of Thunder, Mógnor, and the God of Light, Neritheos had heard of his capture and so they began their journey through the underworld to his rescue, helped by a demon king as they battled the underworld, Deauxios"

"Hmm...how did that happen?" Nahshon questions, looking at the Allfather depicted to have being in a circle of runes when he had been imprisoned.

"He had given up his throne," Garkari continues. "He grew bored of his rule, so instead he had yearned to, well, explore his own creation, the universe. And within that journey, he had made his way down in hell, where he was tricked then trapped when he sought to look for a fruit he craved for"

"That is when he saw what was happening to the world, and had gotten enraged by it" Nahshon figures, looking at a part where he sees the owl returning to earth.

"That's right. As he was gone for a long time, many problems befell in his absence; the heavens shifted into chaos, as the other gods quarrelled over who was to be the next Allfather; and below, a new era sat its course, as a familiar race, new to our own, now walked the Earth alongside us, Allkind. And though they came in peace, he was enraged, and one came forward to ease his anger, but failed, Deauxious, killed in a fit of rage by the AllFather. But all he asked, was for a new life for his people, one from hell itself, falling in love with our own, but sadly, the Allfather was not fond of their presence, and so he let go upon them his wrath that made the world scream in agony"

"Wait, you made it sound like it was just a simple theory the last time. Why is that?" Nahshon reminds him, his eyebrow flickered up in his confusion. "Aren't there any evidence to prove any of this??"

"Yes, like our sanctuaries, evidence of burials those 10,000 years ago, rituals made in the hopes of the father's forgiveness, and the demons themselves. But..."

"Hmm?"

"For they were spared, that is why it's so confusing. Nowhere is it told that they were to be forgiven by the Allfather himself, as if they were simply...forgotten about, left alone. But a God like he is; once a promise is made, be it to fix something or rid of it, he gets it done, and never has he gone back on his word..."

"This was the first promise he had ever broken?" Nahshon looks at the depiction of Deauxios getting killed.

"Yes, precisely...fun fact: There is no one in this world that has reached those years, have you ever been told that?"

"Are there suppose to be??" Nahshon tilts his head.

"Yes, boy. Like us dragons, we have an expectancy of 10,000 years. But none has reached it, neither are any from that time. Unusual...anyhow, after his rage had passed, it came to him, what he had done to his own creation, and he was saddened by the sight of it; many dead, the earth's soil cursed and its water tainted with blood. There he made another promise, to never curse his creation ever again, not by his own hands it will never happen again. Soon after, he had retaken his throne as Allfather and would regain order and peace once more. But few things were different, as disciples of some gods became their own gods, that is why you'll see multiple gods of fire, for example, some cultures and maybe the other worlds having their own differently from others"

"I see. So the demons, are they still here?"

"Yes, they strive even; They have their families, houses, jobs, and they're even bosses of their own big corporations. But to this day, many blame them and their king for what had happened that time long ago, you could they say are a race of outcasts to many"

"Hmm," Nahshon nods in silence.

"You guys ready to move on?!" Ayame calls to them.

"Yes, we'll be there shortly! Ah, this world's history is quite puzzling. Your world would probably laugh at ours," Garkari chuckles with the boy, Nahshon shaking his head.

"I don't think ours is any better," Nahshon finishes, onto catching up with the others through the long hall of many doors as like they stretch for miles, the boy prompting Garkari as right, as the structure stands to him eerily similar to the one of the Overseer, discovering smaller stories within rooms they find, small treasures and weapons as well, with Ayame trying to stuff as many coins in her pockets as she can, excited like a thief as everybody else does it in humble practice.

"You alright, kid? You looking sleepy. Tired of this adventure already?" Arwyn comes, pacing beside Nahshon once more as they move on to another room, the boy shaking his head to his comment.

"I guess it's how I always look," Nahshon smiles.

"Really? Well, welcome to the club then. Leave your credit card information with me, and get our v.i.p membership after we're with this adventure," Arwyn jokes, both chuckling, as once again they pass another painting of the Owl God seemingly creating the stars. "You learned a lot about our own, right? What kind of gods do you have in your world?"

"Similar ones, you could say; with the structures, symbols and all"

"Really? Kind to give me an example?"

"...Like Christianity, represented by a crucifix; a cross with the bottom part elongated"

"Christianity, you say. Interesting. Who's God of that faith? Any stories you could tell as well"

"His name was Jesus Christ, the son of God. And he was birth by a woman called Mary, a virgin that was made pregnant without her doing anything. Then he spent his life helping others," Nahshon teaches, doing his best to form it properly. "He gathered disciples, preached the word of the book called the Bible, the holy text for them, and then he died on the cross, hence it became his symbol as he died for our world's sins"

"Huh...Your world's god was a man? And he's dead? Sounds like a strange God to me" Arwyn says, careful in not outright disrespecting a religion of the other world.

"Yeah, well...it's complicated, you could say. The way I see it, he was the son of the actual God, like a representative you could say. And Christians cheer his name whenever they pray"

"So Christians actually worship two gods then?" Arwyn questions, having Nahshon hold his head as he's sorry his explanation was not clear.

"No worries, I think I got it," Arwyn chuckles. "So they worship the actual God, and thank his son for saving their asses"

"Yeah, something like that," Nahshon smiles, glad Arwyn could understand as he sees him nodding.

"How about you? Do you have a god you put your faith in?" Arwyn asks the boy, Nahshon going into silence with his eyes looking up to the stars above, his chest collapsing from the air he blows.

"...I'm not sure...I haven't prayed in a long time," Nahshon states, looking at the glistering water he passes by, and beyond it, a large door with figures standing before it.

"Hm, don't worry too much about it, kid. Live your life. Just make sure to not be an asshole about it," Arwyn advises, Nahshon nodding, coming to another pause to their journey, as the boy stops to take another of what is beyond the stream, Arwyn seeing Nahshon's curiosity in the structure. "Probably filled with more treasure than we've seen before. Thinking of taking a look?"

"Yeah, but...it's weird"

"What's weird?"

"I don't know...I...it feels like I'm having deja vu right now," Nahshon realizes, taking another breath as the others trace alongside him.

"Then we may have come down here for a far greater purpose, greater than to find loot," Hazel states, looking at Ayame who's eyes spell non-acknowledgement of why she's being stared at. "Maybe the gods have given you a vision, what do you think?"

"Mhm, we should investigate," Astrid tells them. "If it is true, then we may find something of importance there. So?"

Listening to the possibility, all heads nod in accepting a new goal, and there they go, down by a long, metal bridge where they now stand, with streams of light carved onto its path, and at the end of it, that large door with statues that stands before it, weapons in their hands that press against their chests, all of them looking impressive and disciplined.

"Alright, these statues," Ayame pulls Nahshon as she points at them. "Those are security to this place. Lucky we didn't cross any before"

"Those things can actually come alive??" Nahshon questions.

"If we don't open the gates before then, then yes," Hazel states, then onto pointing to another platform, showing to Nahshon an arrangement like a switch. "If we can get the switch without getting into their proximity, then we won't have to waste our energy"

"But it looks like we'll have to anyway," Arwyn states. "The moment we cross one, there will be a timer, a warning of five minutes will come on. If we get it before then, then we're good. Are you ready? We'll both take a switch"

"You sure you wanna go at this, Nash? We can always switch," Ayame suggests, realizing she had done a pun, getting a shake of Nahshon's head. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Nahshon accepts, looking at the one to his left, seeing the obstacle he'll have to go through. "I'll take this one"

"Alright then. Don't fuck this up, kid," Arwyn smiles, both of them chuckling.

The spectators inciting them with cheers, quickly they set off, Arwyn showing excellent acrobatics as he bounces off like a monkey through his obstacle; while on the left, Nahshon demonstrating his own skill, he showcases a mixture of parkour and magic he uses to launch himself higher, the others hoping they can reach before time runs out, as now appear a multitude of lights that awakens in the eyes of the statues in front, blinking along with a percentage they see appear within the streams on the bridge. And by his switch, Nahshon reaches his in time, cheered on as he pushes up the switch, leaving Arwyn to get his in the last minute remaining. Everybody counting on him, Arwyn reaches his last obstacle, balancing himself on a strip of what is left as a pathway, reaching his switch with his hand stretched out, but so does his run dry, only to feel the beneath his feet the crashing down of the floor, saved by his quick reflexes as he hastily holds on to the edge.

"Bummer..." Garkari utters, as time has finally run out, signalling the wake of the statues that lift their weapons, calling the start of a battle the group prepares for, with Arwyn finally turning his switch, disappointed that he could not show off properly as his side opens the rest of the door.

"Looks like they're more threatening than ever!" Astrid tells them, as comes the first statue that swings its sword, it's blade calling howls as it cuts through the air, stopped by her familiar that wakes from her crystal and absorbs the damage, and in a single strike, through its chest, burrows a scar of claws done by the familiar of the princess, the defence suffering another attack as it is then pummeled where it stands, breaking apart as it is pushed back, but to rise again, its parts coming back as one with advancing once more along with the many like it by its side.

"Someone has to get the switch! Look! Beyond them! By the gate!" Hazel points out a device by the bridge with a button, icing away the statue that comes her way, only to see it break away with ease, dodging the swing of its hammer that comes down like a meteorite at her.

And jumping back from their platforms with fusing their attacks, through a shared thought of protecting their party members, watching as Ayame blasts her way through with bomb seals as she runs to get the switch, a spear of lightning and light is struck upon the statues in her way, all defeated only to be reanimated. And in her movements becoming limited, Aya,e looks up to a strike she fears she cannot evade, quickly turning her body in deflecting most of the damage to be done by the hand of the statue that swats her away, then saved by Hazel from more as the tank cuts its head away, Hazel setting her sword and shield where she stands as she begins banging it against the ground, calling upon a strong gust of wind that brushes against the others, catching those who don't know her by a surprise.

"She's that type of tank, huh. Not bad," Arwyn states, as within they sense a buff that was created by her, wielding his sword with added strength and speed.

And so one decides to take on the challenge of ending this battle, Nahshon who speeds through as the others fight, Hazel chilling one from getting in his way, with Astrid also stunning one with the pressure of her familiar and magic, but so does the boy still come to a stop, as issues another he knows he will not past with sheer confidence alone, as in front, is the biggest statue of them all who sets its shield in front, heavy drift of wind as its feet stomp like thunder as it runs for no one to challenge its power, but so it is stopped by one who dares to do it, Garkari who calls upon a heat so fierce that its heats the steel of its armour to bright red in seconds as it tries to still push through his will. And seeing other joining its side, by his whole palm they bend to his will, upon calling a heat fiercer, melting away their iron skin, dropping them for good as their host is destroyed. And with that help, Nahshon finally reaches the button, pulling a ball from out its hold, exposing its energy that electrifies as it tries to return to its socket, dying as the boy successfully gets it away, their eyes fading to darkness as off they go, the soldiers that protect the gates, ending the battle.

"We're here" Arwyn states, he and the rest of them crossing the bridge.

"Glad you hadn't failed miserably, Captain," Garkari smirks, everybody laughing at Arwyn who scratches his head.

And in they go, stepping into the chamber that was so protected by the soldiers before, their hearts wavering to many emotions, hoping Nahshon's intuition was right, and so they awaken all the lights within that reveals to them a shock, their jaws dropped to the ground, their eyes wide open to the masterpiece they have found, not wanting to blink for now they fear it will be a dream. Like the one of the Owl God's drawing, his story, its presence almost as graceful and powerful, still this one surpasses the rush that was given by it, as on this wall, depicted is a man that hovers over a darkness below, his sword entangled within its grasp as he seems to be pulling away with a shining bronze crown upon his head.

"Is that...my father?" Astrid questions, holding her crystal to the shake of her body.

"Your...majesty," Garkari utters, looking up to the drawing in total awe.

"Holy shit..." Nahshon utters, stunned by the depiction of King Horik, his sight powerful in his eyes.

"H-Hey, kid. That Jesus guy you were telling me about," Arwyn starts.

"Yeah," Nahshon looks to him.

"If anybody was to be like him, or close...it would definately be this guy," Arwyn tells him, as in its presence, one man sculpts himself in their heads, one name is placed on their tongues; King Horik, hero, and majesty of Verencia.