God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The story of the Silver Wolf and the Willow tree went as thus;

The first primordial river split into three branches.

At the bank of the first river, the world tree was born, tying together all life and the fates of all existence in the universe.

At the bank of the second river, the first seed of the Hell Realms was planted.

And finally, at the bank of the third river, the first sapling of the Everlasting Willow Tree appeared.

It brought forth the first wind of waning, and it seeds washed over the universe, bringing with it the scent of life.

To protect the tree from corruption, the heavens themselves tore out a piece of itself then moulded it into the shape of a moon before handing it over to the Silver Wolf, the first born son of Darkness, to guard for eternity.

However, during the war of gods, the Willow tree was broken apart and its branches scattered to the waning wind.

The Silver Wolf was killed, and the silver moon broken to pieces.

The light, glorious and radiant, was consumed by the darkness.

***

Cain let his eyes drift down.

He had a feeling that if he stared too long at the god standing before him, he would not be able to live through it.

Azazel pointed at Cain,

"Rather, it is a matter of if you are willing to believe me."

Cain's face paled,

'Oi, bastard! Are you trying to get me killed here?!'

A rumble filled the air.

Azazel's words seemed to have had an effect on the wolf.

Cain swallowed loudly and looked up.

The eyes of the Silver Wolf were fixed right on him.

He couldn't help but freeze in place.

Seeing this, Azazel chuckled,

"This kid right there, might be— no. He is definitely related to your master in some way."

"Ashur is dead. No, what he suffered was a fate worse than death, Azazel." Sentry began speaking, forcing Azazel into silence.

"The heavens itself wiped his away from the world. His essence was snuffed out, and his Divine Flame extinguished forever. There exists to death truer than that.."

The Golden eyes of the Wolf flowers with a furious radiance,

"Please, choose your next words wisely, Azazel. I did not awaken from slumber to deal with your witty remarks."

Azazel looked up and nodded,

"I know. Which is why I ask that you believe me."

"As I am not here in person, proving this might be a bit difficult, but..."

Azazel turned to Cain,

"Get up."

Cain gritted his teeth and glared up at the Demon.

However, when he saw the serious expression on his face, he decided not to say anything.

Instead, he slowly rose to his feet. Although he staggered a bit, he finally managed to stand on his two legs.

Azazel nodded, then turned back to Sentry,

"The golden dragon might have died that day, but he did not completely die. I believe he left behind a few contingencies. One of them being... a piece of his own soul."

Sentry's eyes narrowed,

"I thought I told you.xm"

"Take a closer look, you damned dog!" Azazel spat angrily.

Sentry fell silent.

Cain felt his gaze drawn into the Golden eyes of the wolf.

He tried to resist at first, but quickly realized it was all in vain.

"Relax. Don't resist it." Azazel's calm voice wormed into his ears, forcing him to calm down.

Left with no choice, he quickly calmed him nerves.

Then he gasped.

It was. As though his mind had shot out of his body and was traveling amongst the stars at light speed.

And then, all of a sudden...

It stopped.

Time itself also seems to stop.

Even he had stopped. Time, his thoughts, everything had stopped for a moment.

Then it all returned to the way it was.

"This is highly unprecedented." sentry said as he shifted his gaze to Azazel.

The Demon chuckled as he watched Cain fall to his knees while sweating bullets.

The enormous wolf standing on the surface of the lake hummed deeply as he stared at the human.

Azazel grinned,

"So? Now you know I am not lying to you."

"That still does nothing to change the fact that our leader is dead. This... boy isn't him."

Azazel shrugged, "But he is the closest thing we've got. And probably the closest we will ever get."

Azazel's expression changed and his gaze darkened,

"He needs your help, Sentry. Surely, you won't turn your back on him now knowing all that you know "

The Silver Wolf fell silent.

Feeling the terrible weight pressing down on his from all sides being lifted, Cain finally stopped breathing so heavily as he sat up.

'Shit...'

"Human..."

Cain glanced up.

The enormous wolf was looking at him again.

"For what reason do you truly want my children?"

Cain was silent for a moment before understanding what he meant.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts,

"I believe in their potential and usefulness to me. It is nothing more than that."

He sucked in a deep breath and added,

"And I can assure you. It will be a mutually beneficial relationship. I do not plan on exploiting them."

His expression turned a bit strange,

"Also, I didn't really mean they should abandon you. I was just trying to provoke a reaction, I guess—"

"That is enough." Sentry said, his voice rumbling through the world.

The silver wolf took a single step forward and tilred its head down,

"I will instruct my champion to aid you. In exchange, I want you to agree to my terms and conditions."

Azazel frowned.

Cain raised a brow,

"And they are?"

"I know you plan to unify your world, perhaps through conquest. However, by children are not such beings. They do not desire conquest. Rather, they just desire the ability to live as they wish. Unfettered and unused. Once you have fought your battles, I ask that you give them a place they can call home."

Cain was silent for a bit.

That didn't sound like much at all.

"Is that all?"

The Silver Wolf shook his head.

"No. There is one more."

Cain frowned, "And that is?"

"I want you to take Tian's head."