As far as could be gathered at this point, there was no supernatural presence beyond the general negative energy most of the planet of Ash exhibited.
"That's an interesting thought!" Sorey said excitedly to Remy.
"If organized religion existed when this temple was built, I'm afraid we have little to no information. The history of Ash before its fall is already hard to come by, let alone anything from its ancient times."
Artorius made a vexed noise.
"The planet was unknown to the Coalition only a short time before its collapse. It is an unfortunate case of a world corrupted utterly by malevolent forces."
"Could The Order have existed on Ash before its fall?" Mikleo asked.
"After all, they follow religious doctrine."
"Hmph. The Order is little more than a misguided, naive group of lost souls. They are like rats that seek out the darkest corners of existence to flourish and spread their pestilence. Most were led astray by a demon pretending to be a god, cementing them permanently as fools." Artorius' tone had grown sharp, sounding far more angry than any present had heard him up to this point. After a moment's pause, he looked to Will.
"How you have come to fight this group yet do not know what sustains them is beyond me. Malevolence is an energy present across all of reality. It is a natural corruption; a byproduct of existence."
"But for most worlds, malevolence doesn't amount to anything," Sorey added.
"Just about every living being produces malevolence as we all experience negative emotions. Just in some cases, malevolence can pose a real threat and can be used by certain individuals to do harm."
"As a whole, too much malevolence in certain corners of the multiverse cause imbalances that would affect all of reality. That is why we fight to eliminate malevolence."
The group began to reach an end to the initial tunnel, where the markings disappeared. Heavy debris marked the path at this point, evidently caused by several small cave-ins at points in the temple's history. Mikleo used water magic to blow some of the debris away as they went. They were about to reach an open area when a voice called out a question from the darkness, causing both Mikleo and Artorius to suddenly go on alert. Mikleo turned around quickly and raised his staff, conjuring a stream of water that reached out to grab the girl that had followed them into the ruins. He pulled her into Seres' light, just so she could stand before Artorius' outstretched blade.
"This is about as far from a public location as any place on Ash," he said, his eyes squinting to examine her in the dim light.
"Who are you? Have you followed us?"
Meanwhile, Sorey had found himself too intrigued by the open area just beyond, so he took a few steps ahead of the group to peer into the next area, which he found consisted of a rustic mining set-up. Stone steps led down to an open chamber, where wooden platforms and a cart system had been built.
"Woah... wonder what minerals they were finding down here!"
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