Hearing this, webs of questions were roaming in Ash's mind. But the most prominent of them was how his quest got connected with the prophecy.
'How can the god know I'm about to get the trial… no, no, I'm thinking about it the wrong way…'
Feeling his head aching all of a sudden, Ash looked at Minner and barely whispered these words:
"Can you explain what this prophecy means… ugh! This way it can help me so I can fulfill it to the best of my abilities."
Looking at him as if he were the avatar of the god, Minner didn't find anything suspicious and began to explain the tale to him.
"This land has long been abandoned by the gods, and that's why the corrupted creatures are running rampant. Because of it and the hoarding of the royal family... the kingdom has been plunged into a famine-like situation."
"People are stealing from each other... murdering just because of a single loaf of bread. Looting has become a common occurrence."
With a hint of sadness, he continued explaining.
"Pitying the situation, our god decided to announce a prophecy to the priest that he will soon choose an avatar and descend on the land and cleanse it of all its misery."
Hearing this, Ash scratched his head.
"If he will cleanse all of them of their misery... then where does this turning the kingdom into ash part come from?"
From his understanding, the prophecy leaned toward the god talking about cleansing the world, not burning it to ashes. He wanted to know the origin of this interpretation.
"That is the comprehension of the priests... they say... only those selected by the gods will be cleansed of their misery, while the heretics will die. The other day was the sacrifice for our second-to-last offering. The death of the priest would have ended things if it weren't for you."
Clasping his hands together, Minner bowed, his head touching the ground where Ash's feet were. Uncomfortable, Ash moved his head and asked to understand more about the world.
"Oh! How and when did this famine start? What was its beginning?"
Hearing this, Minner paused. The answer wasn't straightforward, so he needed some time to think about it.
"For the past hundred years, the world has been plunged into a plague. Rot has been spreading like a disease and, little by little, it is spreading throughout the world. Those caught in its clutches turn into corrupted beings."
"At this point, the entire northern continent has become a hub for the corrupted creatures. A single Abomination has appeared to rule them all."
"Hmm! Abomination? What is that? A corrupted creature?"
Shaking his head, Minner explained.
"Although it's a single creature… It's more like a title… just like how humans have divided their ranks by the power they hold, the corrupted creatures also have something like this. And an abomination is equal to the rank of a Paragon."
Hearing this, Ash remembered the explanation Imp had given and compared them.
'Paragon… someone who is two tiers above Tyrant…'
Before Ash could think anything further, Minner informed him.
"And to make matters worse, there is no paragon left in the world. You are our only hope left."
'Well, then it was nice knowing you. How can I compete against it when I can't even seem to be able to breathe in front of someone of a tyrant rank? What will happen if it appears in front of me... Don't jinx it, Ash, don't jinx it...'
Shaking his head, he quickly focused back on Minner's explanation.
"The corrupted creatures became united under its lead and thus began their conquest for the rule of the entire world. If the god doesn't descend soon, the entire world will be filled with rot."
Saying this, Minner looked at Ash with a hopeful gaze.
"And we are tasked with this duty... although our method is not exactly virtuous, the end result we want is the betterment of the world as well."
"If only these heretics were to listen to us… sigh!... but don't worry, now that we have you, we will succeed in our mission."
Hearing this, Ash remained silent. He didn't want to be the one to burst their bubble as to how wrong they were.
'Yay! About that... your god is full of shit, and instead of cleansing it from the darkness, he just wants a piece of this cake. You have a better chance fighting these creatures yourself than to believe in that bullshit god..'
If looked at through their lens, they weren't doing anything wrong. And so, instead of sitting calmly, they decided to do something... just that their method was a bit too much.
"Now that I'm here... don't worry, we will push through this..."
After motivating them a little, Ash moved out of their way and got closer to the giant. What was this twist of fate that, of all the people he had met until now, this giant was the purest of them all?
'Sigh! Ignorance is really bliss...'
After learning about the situation of the world, he found that getting out of this trial alive was becoming a fleeting dream.
At first, he had thought to take some time to plan and perfect his method, but now it was clear there wasn't much time in his hands.
'I have to take the gamble and escape out of here quickly...'
After practicing his telekinesis for some time, Ash suddenly felt tired. He tried to remain awake, but his body gave in, and he slept soundlessly. He only woke up when he heard the sound of someone ringing the steel bars.
Opening his eyes, he looked around and found that they had brought some food.
Not having eaten in so long, Ash wanted to get something for himself, but the guards warned him,
"Keep your ass there... the food isn't for free; this is only for those who fight... You fight, and you will have this as well."
Saying this, the guards remained until the prisoners ate their food. Taking the plates, they left the room.
'Man! They really are trying to make us despair, huh!' Ash thought, shaking his head.
After a while, another guard came and snuffed the candle out, leaving the area in the darkness.
"Good night, sweet little rats..." Saying this, he moved out of the way.
'Are we supposed to sit in this cold stone...'
Ash wondered, and, seeing that the other prisoners weren't complaining, he knew he had to spend the night like this. All night, he could only turn from side to side and couldn't sleep peacefully.
But night didn't care for his sleep, and soon the day arrived.
The guards came to light the candle and wake everyone for their daily routine.
"Hey!! You, wake up.. do you want to die or what?"
The guards shouted nonstop after finding that one of the prisoners wasn't waking up.
"Wake up… you little piece of shit…"
No matter how much they cursed, the prisoner didn't wake up. Fuming, the guard entered the prison with the thought of beating him to a pulp, but stopped upon seeing him lying on the ground.
"He died?"
He whispered, seeing that the one-handed prisoner had succumbed to his injuries and died in his sleep.