The wind over the Salt Cliffs was sharp and clean—untouched by spores, untainted by breath.
But deep within the monastery, Kazuki learned that even the sky had been stained.
The Forgotten Order
The monks, who first welcomed him with silence and salt, now unveiled their secret:
They were once Celestial Custodians—an order of ascetic warriors who served directly under the gods themselves.
But they had turned away.
"The heavens rotted long before the earth," whispered Elder Zuur, his skin like cracked porcelain.
"We could no longer wash the altars with clean hearts… so we left them behind."
They no longer prayed.
They remembered.
The Stained Pantheon
Kazuki was taken to a sealed chamber—lined not with salt, but ash.
There, through murals and mirrored relics, he saw the truth:
The gods, once beings of pure essence—Light, Growth, Order—had become grotesque shadows of themselves.
Bathmu, Lord of Renewal, now bloated and leaking gray ichor.
Velrane the Bright, her light dimmed into a sickly fluorescence.
Gur'Khaz, once god of industry, now a rusted, oozing thing that breathed black fumes.
These were the Stained Pantheon—immortal, eternal… and infected.
"Some gods grow strong from mortal filth," Zuur said.
"They do not stop it. They feed."
The Revelation
Kazuki stood before the statue of Bathmu—the once-clean god whose temples had first taught the world of soap and sacrifice.
Now, even his icon wept mold from its stone eyes.
Kazuki clenched his fists, not in anger… but in understanding.
"This isn't just about saving cities," he murmured.
"It's about saving the sky."
End Scene
And so Kazuki's mission changed once again.
To cleanse the world, he must rise beyond it.
The filth runs deeper than flesh or stone—it festers in the divine.