For the next hour, Hora interrogated the young human, Lucas.
Apparently, exposing the prayers that the humans offered to the gods was the greatest crime they could commit. Those found guilty of the crime would have their entire bloodlines wiped out.
Eventually, Hora convinced him not to worry. After all, he could easily just kill the man there and then. Then he would not have the capability to worry about his family.
Eventually, Lucas submitted. He realised that exposing the fact that such a prayer even existed was already bad enough, so exposing the rest of the details to save his own life was worth it.
Besides, he already planned on running far, far away from the Ascending Road after he was let free.
I will start a new life with my wife and son. We can find a foreign race that closely resembles the humans and beg for them to take us in!
But for now, he had to deal with the devil.
With all the information on the Human Prayer Trials, Hora came to a decision. If he wanted to infiltrate the White Ravine, he would need strength. And in order to gain strength, he had to push himself to the limits within this fantasy world.
According to Lucas, the humans worshipped four gods.
The God of Fire, Hephaestus
The God of Water, Poseidon
The God of Nature, Artemis
The God of Wind, Aeolus
These four gods could be prayed to using ancient prayers passed down by the line of human emperors and fed to the human nation.
All humans of the One True Empire were granted access to the most basic prayer, which would send them into low rank trials. However, as soldiers and political figures advanced through the ranks, they were granted access to prayers that could send them to more challenging trials.
Being a trooper of the one true army, Lucas knew prayers up to rank silver. As he told Hora this, he noticed a smile creep onto his face.
"Tell me the silver prayer dedicated towards the God of Nature, Artemis."
Lucas gulped. He had never entered a silver trial himself. It was often advised that a human didn't enter trials unless they were a rank above the trial.
"A-are you sure about this?" Lucas said as he handed Hora the prayer pendant. "These trials are much more difficult than your standard Black Dreams. The gods are merciless, especially Artemis."
Hora snatched the pendant and placed it around his wrist.
"I know all about the god's mercilessness. I am one, after all."
Afterwards, Hora learned the prayer...
He sat on the grass with Mariketh watching over him, and Lucas tied up sitting nearby.
With excitement, he muttered the words.
---
"By law of the forest,
I submit myself to the trial of Artemis;
Mother of the hunt."
---
Suddenly, the white grass surrounding Artemis began to shift. It became stained a dark green colour and grew long. Flowers appeared covering the grass, and insects crawled from the dirt, climbing across his body.
Before he knew it, he felt his consciousness fade away.
Meanwhile, Mariketh watched from the sidelines with great fear for her Ashlord.
"Ashlord Hora!" She cried, preparing to reach out and grab the man.
"Don't!"
Lucas' words cut her off. "If you touch him, you will die too. There's no reason for you to join him in death."
Mariketh's brows furrowed as she turned to the tied-up human in rage.
"The Ashlord will not die." She growled.
Lucas laughed. "He will. That prayer is for humans. Artemis will punish him gravely for daring to speak those words. Now hurry and cut me free. If you do, I'll let you escape, and forget about bringing you back to slavery."
---
[Trial of Artemis, Entered: Verdict of the White Tree]
[Trial Difficulty: Silver]
[Adjust Trial Difficulty Due to Incompatible Race...]
[Adjusted Trial Difficulty: Gold]
[Trial Conditions: Climb the White Tree]
When Hora woke up, he immediately had a smile on his face. He found himself standing amidst a jungle with thick brown trees towering over him, and the sun leaking through the leaves above.
It was the description of the trial that brought a smile to his face.
Gold. It was as he expected.
The prayers were a gift given to the human race. There was no room for the Ashfallen within the prayers towards the four gods.
If one who was not a human prayed to these beings, they would be punished with a trial much more difficult than they expected.
Most people would worry when finding this out. Hora on the other hand, knew that he needed to push himself if he wished to achieve his goals.
He had specifically asked to pray to the God of nature, as it was an element weak to fire. Everything was going according to his plan.
...
Hora could hear the sounds of blowing winds rustling the leaves, as well as the sounds of water dripping from tree branches and landing on the grass below.
But beneath everything else, he could hear something else. Dull, heavy thuds banging against something solid in the distance.
Hora looked ahead and saw that one particular tree stood much taller than the others. Its wood was white, and its leaves were red. It stretched tall like a skyscraper back on earth.
It was the direction from which the sound was coming.
It was the White Tree.
Hora's spine cracked as he summoned his wings, and at the same time, his Shadowsteel sword appeared in his hand.
He took in a deep breath to prepare himself. This was a gold trial, he had to use everything he had. Yet, he still did not know what awaited him at the White Tree.
"Alright. I guess it's time to defeat the odds again."