God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Staring up into the grey listless skies, Cain let himself be drowned in thoughts. Ruby lay at his feet, breathing heavily, her body following the gentle rhythm of her heartbeat.

The heat of the mutant beast gave him some solace, but it was unable to drive the unease he felt.

Somehow, deep within, he had a feeling that the worst was yet to come. Up until now, he felt as though they had had it easier than he expected.

Sure, they had been through a lot of terrifying battles. However, they weren't fighting tooth and nail every day to survive. He had an unshakeable feeling that this was the best he would ever see life at in a long while.

He wasn't sure why he felt that way, but he did. There was no complicated answer. It was just a gut feeling.

The layers of concentrated mana that had replaced the skies imprisoned the light from celestial bodies, plunging the planet into perpetual darkness and gloom.

The inhabitants of the planet were changing under the effects of the mana and its influence. It was slowly corrupting them and their world, eating at the very origins of their lives.

'What is this feeling? Will something bad happen in the future, or is hell finally approaching?'

For all he knew, Cain was sure they had yet to descend into true hell. Hell looked nothing like this. If he had to guess, hell was a much more bloody, cruel, dark, vile, and terrifying place filled with a constant battle for survival.

And he felt they were just one step away from falling straight into its mouth...

Rubbing Ruby's smooth and silky fur, Cain decided to do some investigation to quell the worries in his heart.

'System, are there any changes going on with my world?'

It seemed like a stupid question at first glance. The world he currently stood in was constantly changing. However, it seemed like the system understood what he meant,

{Replying to host: To answer the host's question, several things are undergoing major changes on the host's planet. Purchasing these pieces of information will be very expensive. Does the host wish to continue?}

The familiar monotone voice of the system whispered into his ears,

'Yes...'

{Replying to Host: Purchase Confirmed...}

A second later, the system began...

{Due to the existence, presence, and influence of God Ash upon the planet of the Host, three major changes have begun...}

{First of all, the world again has begun to change, only this time, it will affect the growth and nature of the living beings residing on this planet}.

{It will also produce a few environmental changes that will either mutate the host's planet into a luscious paradise or a harrowing nightmare. This transformation will change the status of the planet from a regular pebble floating in the vast expanse of space to a Tier 1 celestial body}.

{All this is only possible due to the abundant God Ash present on the planet...}

{Second, in a few days or weeks from now, God Ash will fall once again, and the mutant beasts and devils will be able to absorb the abundant mana, allowing them to level up at rocket speed. Since humans do not possess mana generators, their exp-gathering speed will remain the same. However, each human's system will evolve in the best possible way to facilitate their growth once they reach Tier}.

{Finally, and most importantly, the planetary seal on the devils will be partially lifted once the planet moves to the next Tier}.

Rubbing his temple to try chasing the rapidly building headache away, Cain couldn't help but groan internally,

'Bad news... It's all bad, freaking, news!'

Staring at the grey skies in displeasure, Cain felt like throwing a few profanities at it. Maybe then it would know not to keep dropping bad news at his feet.

From all he had heard, Cain was able to glean one thing;

'Every single one of our enemies is getting rid of their chains.'

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Cain grimaced;

'It's not all that bad, right? We will also evolve once we reach Tier 1, so it's not all bad.'

Despite saying this, Cain knew things wouldn't be so simple. No matter how he looked at it, it just looked like the system had finally found a way to transform Urbus into a hell filled with Eldrich terrors.

Shaking his head to drive the bad thoughts away, Cain waved his hand and summoned a glowing crystal from his inventory.

This crystal was the strange lightning elemental mana core he had obtained from Azazel.

This was the first mana core Cain had ever held in his hands. Immediately it made contact with his skin, that area was immediately charred black. Dropping it immediately, Cain felt as though a million volts of electricity had been flushed into his bloodstream and was now headed to his heart.

'Crap!'

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Cain's eyes were filled with awe and fear as he stared at the shimmering orb of mana.

'A Manticore of Sky Purgatory, huh...'

If not for the blood element magic circle he kept activated beside his heart that could damn near revive him from the dead, Cain suspected his heart might have shattered into a million bloody bits, squashing out whatever flames of life he had.

And this was when the beast was dead...

Just thinking about how fearsome the beast could have been made Cain shiver a bit.

Touching it slightly, Cain quickly placed it back into his inventory. Even though it was for a very brief second h the damage he was dealt was still enough for him to cough up another mouthful of blood.

'No use thinking about it now, I guess...' Until he was significantly stronger, Cain didn't want to even go near the thing again.

Glancing around, he saw that the people around him were engaged in various activities...

Susan stared at a huge time with rapt attention, completely detached from the world around her. It was as though she wasn't seated on a floating iceberg, but was resting on a lavish throne of pure ice.

Steve on the other hand... Was staring at him with a gleeful and creepy expression that sent shivers down his spine.

'Damn! Such a creep!'

Seeing that Cain had broken out of his reverie, Steve took it as a cue to approach him.

"Hehehe... Comrade Cain, you seem to have gotten even more handsome since you left."

"Don't patronize me. What do you want to know?" Cain rolled his eyes and said with a smile.

"As expected of you. So direct!" Steve had a wide grin on his face as he immediately got down to business.

"I have two questions..." Steve said.

Looking deep at the tall, dark-haired man, Cain nodded his head...

"Where did you go?"

"..."

Cain fell silent for a while. He had known that he would have to answer this question eventually.

"I... I was transported to another planet," Cain said in a whisper.

Blinking, Steve had a concerned look on his face. Slowly, he said in a concerned tone, "Did you perhaps drink too much salt water?"

Gritting his teeth, Cain glared at Steve, "As much as I'd like to believe it wasn't true, I have no choice but to take my three months of suffering into consideration."

"Eh? Three months?" The strange look on Steve's face only grew stranger...

Staring back at Steve, his eyes completely serious, he said, "There are more worlds than the one we know of. In fact, this shouldn't be a surprise. After all, the universe is an exceptionally large place. Did you think we were the only beings to exist within its borders?"

"No, but... How exactly did you get there from under the sea? Don't tell me there is a portal there..." Steve's voice trailed off when he saw the serious look in Cain's eyes.

"Are you serious?" Steve said with wide eyes.

"Technically, it is in the belly of a behemoth of a mutant beast."

Steve had a frown on his face, "If you are right, then this changes a lot of things. However, it doesn't have any immediate effect on us." Although Steve said this, his worried eyes told a different story.

"Onto the next question: Did you learn any new magic there? I could sense the mana flow patterns around you have changed since you left. Almost as though you have taken a step directly into the spirit realm."

Staring at Steve silently for a while, a smile slowly appeared on his face,

"Your eyes are really good..."

The smile quickly changed to a very proud smirk,

"I have not only managed to grasp the true essence of magic in my hands, I was also personally tutored by an ancient demon of sorcery."

Steve's eyes turned into lighthouses as he nearly yelled into Cain's face,

"Tell me everything you know!"