"O-Oh god, I am still alive. I cannot believe I managed to survive the demon dogs with my fragile body."

Clement dramatically whaled as he checked up on himself. He was surprised that he had managed to live this far and it was all thanks to his mysterious partner.

When he had picked this kid to help, he had not been serious about it. A lot of people tried to get out of this place but they gave up as soon as they saw this cliff and the demonic dog.

Clement was responsible for breaking the spirits of rebellious people and making them want to stay in the village.

Never in his life had he thought he would see the top of this cliff in such a manner. A lot of unusual things had happened in a day and Clement had a feeling it was all thanks to this man in front of him.

"Clement, get up and start moving. This is no time to be resting around like this."

Keith's order was calm and clear even in such a difficult situation. Nothing seemed to bother him and he was always calm and cold.

Somehow, he looked like an untouchable immortal to Clement. Someone even heaven and hell could not touch with their filthy hands.

'Keith said that he was someone amazing in the real world? I find myself believing him. Shit, I will never be able to repay him even if I work my whole life now.'

Clement was bitter about his powerlessness and he vowed to do better in the future.

"Clement, stop wasting time and tell me what we need to do next."

Keith spoke harshly and Clement looked up. Suddenly, he realized that he did not know what to do next from here.

The cliff had been easy guidance since it was a place Clement had often seen before but no one had been over the cliff so there was no information.

"Sorry, but this is my first time up here as well. I am as out of depth as you are."

Clement was sorry he could not guide Keith more but Keith did not seem to have taken Clement's words to heart.

He calmly waved his hand and spoke with a soft voice.

"If you do not know where to go from here, then it is not your fault. Let me take on your burden and lead us out of here."

Clement could see it now. Keith was not normal; he was a divine being sent down to give him salvation. After a century, it seemed like Clement's prayers had been answered by his god in the form of his messenger.

Even if he never got out and lost his life, Clement would not care and he would not curse his god out.

...…..

Keith flinched as the cliche words left his mouth. He wanted to smack himself to forget all he said but that would not be a wise decision to make in such a dangerous situation.

'Ugh, me and my big mouth. I should not make promises I cannot keep. I have no idea what to do from here in the first place.'

Keith was lamenting what he spoke about but there was nothing more he could do about it. He needed to start moving since this place was dangerous.

"Let's look around and find a place to rest first. We still have no idea if this is still inside the rift or if we managed to leave it behind."

Keith had a weird feeling about this clifftop. There was a sense of familiarity in this place and it was pulling at his senses. It wanted him to follow their directions.

"O-Oh, sure? If you lead me then I am willing to go wherever you take me to."

Clement agreed easily and fell in step behind Keith. They walked until they finally hit a village.

It was destroyed and had nothing intact in it. The best building was a large shrine which looked to be untouched by all the calamitic happenings around him.

Some kind of force pulled Keith toward the building and he moved toward it. The huge door was open and gave Keith a view he would never forget in his life.

At least 10 to 20 fallen gods laid down on the ground, their unconscious forms not moving. They looked almost as if they were asleep and everyone in there had a different size than the other.

"O-Oh god. I thought that there was only one of these things. Why are there so many?"

Clement seemed to be having a hard time coming around but it was given with the current situation.

The man had just watched his life's truth being turned upside-down without any guarantee that things would go back to normal.

"Shhh, we cannot be caught. We should hide somewhere safe for now since it looks like the night is about to fall. These gods become more active during the night so we need to wait the night out."

This infrastructure of this place reminded Keith of the first temple that had ended up dumping him into this rift. It was the same feeling he had from this place.

He was certain that the rift to go back was in here somewhere.

Soon, the night fell. The fallen gods woke up one by one with a confused aura and looked around. They seemed to be looking for something but they did not find what they were looking for.

Then, one by one, they left the room and headed toward their destination. Keith was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and exit the room.

The feeling he had gotten in the morning got stronger and Keith decided to follow it and let it led him outside.

It soon led him toward a small opening that had an arch and familiar looking writing on top of it. Keith could not read it so he decided to take a photo to decipher it later.

"Look, it's a small portal in here. Will it take us home?"

Clement questioned as he touched the small blue square.

Just as they were about to exit, the door opened with a screech and a fallen god entered the room.

It was smaller than the others Keith had seen, almost 7 feet in height and it seemed immature as well.

It looked at Keith with a confused look before something shifted in its body and it ran toward Keith as fast as it could.

"Clement, hurry up and start the portal. Otherwise, we will be caught and made into god's food."

Keith instructed Clement and the man panicked. He squeezed the blue square and it expanded, closing around Keith and Clement.

Keith closed his eyes as the fallen god almost touched him.  A clawed hand touched Keith's nose before he disappeared.

The white featureless face was so close to Keith's that he was sure he would get nightmares about it his whole life. But at the end of the day, Keith had managed to escape without dying which was a plus point in his book.

"O-Oh god, what happened? Did we just live the wrath of a fallen god? And how many were there? Are the others going to be alright back home?"

Clement questioned as he thought back at what he had lost. He had not meant to leave the place but just find a way out.

But it was also not like he was losing a lot by running away. He had no close attachments to the place he had been thrust into.

Keith looked around his new surroundings. They looked normal and he quickly checked his phone. It had a signal again. Keith quickly dialed Clair's number, wanting to tell her what happened.

*ring*

Clair picked up at the second ring, her voice breathless.

"Grandmaster, what can I help you with? Before you ask, now is not a good time so I will call you later when I have time to call back."

Clair did not sound worried about Keith so that meant it had not been long since he was thrown down the cliff.

"Hey look, this is a plaque with the same signs as the ones we saw in the hall. Does this mean the cliff is on the other side of the world? And what about the fallen gods? Are they some kind of creatures and not fallen gods like in the story?"

Clement questioned with a curious expression on his face. He was someone who had a lot on his plate and seeing him made Keith sigh in a tired manner.

He wanted answers as well but there was just too much on his plate.

"Clement, would you like to take on my commission to look into these rifts? I will provide you with funds and other things if you need to."

Clement looked thankful at Keith's offer and the spark of devotion reminded Keith a little too much of his guild.