God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"What are you trying to say?"

Cain shook his head, "Don't you think it is weird, how this lake of blood appeared here? There is no logic behind it."

"I've come to believe that what we call logic is very fickle these days," Evangeline responded sarcastically.

"That might be true, but regardless of how strange or anomalous something might be, it still follows a set of basic rules and principles. Magic is the same..."

"And? What does that have to do with..."

Cain pointed at the red lake of blood,

"There is no way this thing just came into being. It must have a reason for its existence."

"Well, I think I can answer that for you," Evangeline said as she pointed at the many skeletons still littered around the lake, bowing toward the throne of bones.

Cain nodded, "Yes. All this blood most likely has been collected over a long period and also belonged to those corpses." He said, pointing at the kneeling skeletons.

"But... there is one problem."

Evangeline raised a brow, "And that is?"

Cain paused for a second, then spoke,

"Just how the hell were all these creatures brought here? It most certainly cannot be through the same path we followed, at least that would be the logical conclusion..." Cain said.

Then, his voice dropped suddenly,

"The path we used to enter here is not a naturally occurring tunnel. Someone or something must have created it. Yet, that vertical drop is still not something any {Chaos Goblin} can survive. That is not a very smart choice, is it? Why make things harder for your meals that are ready to deliver themselves?"

Evangeline was at a loss for words. However, she gradually began to understand what Cain was implying,

"Maybe they just claimed the walls like us."

"Maybe. However, there are no scar marks along the walls apart from the ones we made."

Evangeline frowned, "So? Maybe they had degraded over a long period."

Cain shook his head, "That may be so. But, it is also not very likely."

Cain stood up and looked ahead, his keen sight penetrating through the rippling waves of red.

"My guess is that something brought them here. Using magical means. The path here was sealed by a sturdy rock wall. The goblins can't walk through walls, can they?"

Evangeline fell silent as she pondered as well,

"So are you saying we might not be the only ones in here right now?"

Cain nodded, "Don't you find it odd? It is almost certain that the celestial cannot kill the Primordial devils."

Cain's eyes narrowed dangerously as he continued,

"However that bastard told me that Bemethshal was killed. I was skeptical at first, but then I realized I had no choice but to go ahead with it, even if it was a lie."

"So you are saying..."

"Yes. I think he isn't dead. Regardless of how strange the principles of magic and energy in the universe are, some laws cannot be broken. The Primordial devils are the progenitors of the Devil race. Some might view eternal life as an eternal blessing, but to some, it might serve as eternal chains. I don't think that is something that can be dealt with easily."

Evangeline stared at the dried-up skeleton seated on the throne of bones...

"But that isn't him, is it..."

Cain nodded, "Yes and no. If I had to guess, that thing is most likely the framework for its new body. Its real body, or whatever is left of it is, most likely down there." Cain said, pointing at the lake of blood.

Evangeline threw Cain a meaningful glance,

"How are you so sure?"

Cain grinned at her, "I'm not. I'm only speculating."

Evangeline let out a sigh, "Even though you say all that, what do we do about it? If you are right, then the heart we are looking for is beneath the pool, not the one in the chest of that skeleton. But if we even touch that blood for a second, we will die." The finality with which she spoke made Cain gulp down a mouthful of saliva.

"I know that. However, you are mistaken. Just because the heart in the chest isn't the real deal doesn't mean it isn't the heart of the Primordial devil of Chaos."

A look of understanding finally appeared on Evangeline's face,

"What is the plan?"

Cain smiled when he heard this, "We will have to take a gamble. If it doesn't work, we will undoubtedly be screwed..."

Evangeline didn't even bat an eye as she stared at Cain, her red eyes burning with fervor,

"What's the plan?"

Cain was speechless, 'Are you that eager to die?'

Cain let out a chuckle as he realized he was also the same. He also felt his heart thumping in his chest.

"I have a certain skill that allows me to observe the mana flow patterns of the world. I have another skill that allows me to influence these mana flow patterns. I'll create an opening for you. This is where things get complicated..."

Cain frowned as he continued, "There are so many different types of energy jumbled and mixed in here. I heavily doubt it will work. It might even backfire and cause my brain to explode..."

Upon saying that, Cain paused immediately, as he didn't want to jinx his already abysmal chances any further.

Evangeline threw an odd look at him,

"Despite the danger, you are willing to risk it all? That is foolish."

Cain shrugged, "Maybe so. However, you don't seem to be against it."

A small smile broke her usual indifference,

"Being ready to risk your life means you have mettle, which is a good thing in my eyes. It might be foolish, but I admire it."

Cain didn't know what to say...

"Ehem. Anyway, your job is to push past the blood lake as soon as I give the go-ahead. heart. If you can't find it, take the one in the skeleton's chest."

"Damn. Greedy... I like it. How much time am I working with?"

Cain hummed as he did a mental calculation,

"It can be as short as three seconds, and as long as a whole minute. It is difficult to make conclusions right now."

Evangeline nodded, "I just hope you know what you are doing."

With that, she fell silent...

Cain fell silent as well and began to concentrate on his thoughts. He already has an idea of what has to be done. However, the risks were simply too much. In the best-case scenario of something going wrong, he would die immediately.

Despite the obvious risk, he had still made his mind up...

'By activating {Intermediate Seal}, I can temporarily stop the movement of all forms of mana in a certain range. However, doing so will mean death for me. The energy is just too violent and chaotic for me to control.'

Although things were calm on the surface, what lay beneath was anything but calm. It was in fact, the direct opposite. Energy was constantly flowing in the world. It was never static. The energy in the cave took that to the most extreme. Not only that but numerous forms of energy, not just mana and its many variations, were flowing within the cave.

If Cain wanted to do anything, he had to specifically target the energies that weren't needed, as well as the ones that behaved the most violently, and seal them away.

This was a test of how much control he had over mana and his understanding of magic. The moment he activated {Intermediate Seal}, his life would be in danger. Unlike regular elemental skills or spells, the {Intermediate Seal} made use of the most simple form of mana, which was just a combination of the various elemental forms. However, it was not just a simple combination.

In reality, all elemental, paraelemental, and variant forms of mana were derived from this basic state.

As such, skills and spells like {Seal} and {Intermediate Seal} were very special...

Cain sucked in a huge breath of air,

His eyes became wide as he activated {Eye of Clairvoyance}. White radiance exploded from his eyes, followed by a small pop. Cain's face paled when he realized that his eyeball had exploded. The urge to scream in agony poked at his brain, but he fought it back.

Evangeline looked at him, her face revealing shock and a hint of concern. Before she could say anything, {Draconic Transfiguration} began working its magic.

His left eye was restored in a few seconds. Heavy breaths escaped his mouth as he fought against the lingering pain.

Even though his eye had been restored, blood still streamed down his face like tears. However, the bloody tears fell from only one eye, creating a very scary and eerie image.

"Haha! Looks like this won't be as easy as I thought!" Cain said out loud with a grin.

'The problem now is the activation of {Eye of Clairvoyance}. I need to find a way to slow the energy flow down.'

With that thought in mind, Cain took a deep breath and activated {Eye of Clairvoyance} again.

Pop!

This time, his eyeball popped out of the socket and fell to the ground. A stream of blood also erupted from his nostrils and mouth.

Cain's other eye was wide open as he coughed up clumps of blood. Evangeline watched from the side, not saying a word.

Once he was done with his coughing fit, Cain exclaimed loudly,

"Again!"