God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

***

{Congratulations to Host. You have slain the Tier 1, Epic-grade Mutant Creature, Herald of Darkness}.

{+5,000 Free Attribute Points}.

{You have acquired a weapon}.

{Angel of Fallen Grief, Gihenai}: Tier, Weapon.

Description: Lucien, first Battalion commander of the Divine army of Tian, earned the heavenly Monarch's displeasure.

As such, his beautiful wings were torn off his back, and he was cast away from the Celestial Sky. As he fell, grief consumed his body and soul, turning into everlasting hellfire, bringing about one of the first great calamities of the mortal realms, devouring hundreds of worlds in its wake. All was consumed by Hellflame, except for the feathers tempered in the flames of grief.

After the devastation, and after the Hellflame had died out, these feathers were gathered by the Dwarves of the Scorching Mountains, and were used to forge a Divine Weapon as light as a feather, yet as heavy as grief.

{Angel of Fallen Grief, Gihenai}:

Attack Power: 500.

Attack Speed: 5.4.

Durability: 5,000/5,000.

Skills: Hellflame of Grief, Heavy as Grief, Light as a feather, Soul Devourer.

{Hellflame of Grief}: Born from the tears of a god whose grief was so great, his soul refused reincarnation was Hellflame, a fire that scourges all things living.

{Heavy as Grief}: This weapon can bond only to the a heart unburdened with grief.

{Light as a Feather}: Created from Divine Feathers enchanted with the power to resist the pull of the mortal realm.

{Soul Devourer}: Grief forever consumes the souls of all things living. These weapons can consume the essence of life to become more durable.

***

The evil flock suddenly became very disorganized. Their assault continued, but they were no longer a cohesive force. Some of them took to the dark skies, while some began killing their kin.

The ones close by tried attacking him frantically, but he managed to evade.

Burdened with exhaustion, his momentum finally stalled. Cain began falling towards the dark sea.

Staring into the grey sky up ahead, he gently closed his eyes. He had burned through his mana with that last one.

"Haha..." Cain let out a hoarse chuckle as he deactivated all the skills and abilities cloaking his body.

If one were to gaze upon his falling form, all they would see, was a frail human burdened heavy chains.

'Falling... is strange.'

Just when he was ready to embrace the cold waves, he found himself in the thick, slightly cold, and yet comforting embrace of shadows.

Knowing he was safe, Cain closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink into a deep sleep.

***

The storm had finally come to an end, and the dark sky had rolled away like a scroll.

Staring at the aftermath of the devastation, Blaze felt something rise within him.

Was it indignation? Or simply self-loathing? He wasn't sure...

'At least we survived...'

Barely. The deck was filled with a mournful air as many charred and torn corpses were hidden from a sight with white sheets.

He let out another sigh, turning his sights to the grey skies up above.

The nightmare was not over yet...

Walking across the deck, he stopped before Steve, who was busy nursing a canister of water, his arm heavily bandaged.

As he approached, he could hear him mumbling things like, "Damned birds! This freaking hurts!" or "Will I ever recover from this?"

Clearing his throat, Blaze tried bringing Steve back to reality.

"Hm? What do you want?" Steve said with a scowl.

Blaze sat down, "How's he doing?"

Steve shrugged, "Exhausted. We all are, but he's even more so. Killing such a terrible creature isn't easy work, you know?" Steve said, finally snapping out of his bad mood.

Blaze frowned, "I feel... like we are holding him back. During the battle, if we had been more useful, then perhaps..."

Steve snorted, "Trust me, you are strong enough. That damned Guy is the outlier."

Steve's frown turned even deeper, "From what I've been told, he could contend with a first Tier creature while still Tierless. It's that incredible?"

Blaze chuckled darkly, "I guess it is. But that doesn't mean anything."

He clenched his fists tightly, "I haven't been training asuch as I'd like, my skills are too simple-minded, and I have no outstanding qualities."

Steve stroked an imaginary beard, his eyes narrowed,

"So you are lamenting your own normalcy?"

Blaze chuckled again, this time, more deprecatingly,

"I know. Pathetic, right?"

Steve guffawed. Blaze frowned,

"Am I so pathetic that it's funny?"

Steve shook his head, wiping a tear drop from the corner of his eye. Once he calmed down, hos words came out shockingly firm,

"Heavy is the head that wears the crown. In this case, to bear great power, your arms and legs must be strong enough to bear it. Else, you can buckle under the weight of your own strength."

Blaze sighed, "I get what you mean, but-"

"Do you know how stars die?"

"Hm? What has that got to do with anything?" Blaze said, a bit amused.

Steve grinned. Raising his index finger, he explained,

"A star dies when it can no longer bear its own weight. It contains so much power, it can no longer bear it and so, it buckles under its weight and turns into a supernova."

Seeing the confusion deepen on Blaze's face, he sighed,

"All I'm trying to say, is this; there's only so much you can handle. Some people are meant to shine brighter than others, but those are the ones that tend to buckle under their own weight far sooner. Do you understand now?"

A conflicted expression appeared on Blaze's face.

Steve patted his shoulder as he stood up,

"If you want to do something, then do what you can within your means. Perhaps you might have your lucky break, or simply standing close to the brightest star might increase your shine, who knows..."

Blaze scratched his head, "So what are you saying? Will Cain be able to bear his weight?"

Steve grinned, "Who knows! But I'll tell you this. I believe he's going to remain shining for a long time. So I'll try my best to hold him up until my arms can't anymore."

Blaze let out a heavy sigh, his head smacking against the metal railing,

"Why do you believe in him so much?"

Steve fell silent for a moment, then laughed,

"Call it a side effect of dabbling in divination a bit, but I can sort of see the shine of destiny, I guess..."

Blaze was skeptical, "Really?"

Steve shrugged, "Even I doubt myself sometimes. Nothing is ever set in stone. Alright, that's enough talk... Let's get to work!"

Blaze rose from his seated position.

There was indeed a bit of work to do. The first thing on the list was finding a proper way to take care of all the corpses.

The easiest way to do this would be to simply chuck the dead bodies overboard, saving a ton of space and effort.

Still, it was best to send the souls of the deceased off properly...

Then, there was the issue of repairing the damages the ship had suffered. The ship was built with quite sturdy material. The wood and metals used to build the ship were incredibly strong and durable, so much so that they were able to endure the chilling battle that had taken place not too long ago.

Still, that didn't mean everything was dandy. The ship has suffered considerable damages but not so much that it would hinder them.

"Still, this ship sure is amazing." Steve muttered to himself."

Blaze couldn't help but agree, "Even Hellflame couldn't do considerable damage."

"Where have you guys been?" Walking with a huge sack swung across his shoulder, Vincent spoke through gritted teeth.

Steve stared at the sack curiously, "What's that?"

Vincent grinned, "This... is a few kilograms of the meat from those accursed birds."

Steve and Blaze exchanged looks.

Vincent explained, "Their talons, beaks, and even feathers, make for good materials. However, their meat is absolutely fetid and putrid. Can't be eaten..."

Steve nodded, "In that case, carry on."

Vincent yelled, "Where the hell do you think you're going?! Come help me with this stuff!"

Steve grinned, "We have other business to attend to."

Blaze nodded obediently.

Vincent flipped them off then proceeded to dumb sacks of putrid meat overboard. In reality,

'Hehehe... Fools! Give them an opportunity to stroke gold, and yet, they throw it away!'

Since he was in charge within harvesting the materials from the corpses of the mutant creatures, he determined how much resources were gotten.

Meaning there was nothing stopping him from pocketing a few resources for himself.

Chuckling darkly to himself, Vincent continued his dirty work.

Shaking his head, both Steve and Blaze descended into the lower layers of the ship.

There were numerous things to attend to, they quickly got busy...

Staring at a jar of bubbling, putrid blood, Steve had a serious expression on his face.

Having little idea as to how he had gotten here, Blaze asked,

"So... what are you planning to do?"

Steve replied without turning around, "What do you think?"

Blaze was silent. How was he supposed to answer that?

Steve sighed, "I'm going to decipher the secret to those flames."

His eyes shine with dark curiosity, startling Blaze greatly,

"And you, my friend, are going to help me."

Blaze pointed at himself, an uneasy look on his face,

"Me???"