God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain took a deep breath.

'Focus.'

If he panicked now, he might as well have slit his own neck with the blade.

Instead of mindlessly devouring the mana, he has to slow it down, then carefully channel it into his {Mana Furnace}, and allow it to enter into his spirit.

At the same time, he couldn't take more than his spirit could bear. The moment he did, he would be damning himself to a fate worse than a physical death.

He felt every strand of energy, every pulse of raw power. It was like balancing on the edge of a blade—one misstep and he would be overwhelmed, lost to the endless hunger.

Beside him, Susan was pale, sweat dripping down her forehead. Her hands trembled, but her breathing was controlled. She was holding on— albeit barely. Golden cracks ran across her beautiful face, making it seem all the more divine.

Jenny had dropped to one knee, gripping her rifle like a lifeline. She let out period gasps for air, but for the most part, was able to bear it. It didn't seem like she would be Imploding any time soon.

Roselle, on the other hand, seemed eerily still. Her eyes were closed, her expression serene. She couldn't make use of mana due to the special condition she had inherited as a divinity shackled of Pluto, the God of Beasts.

However, for some reason, this golden mana was overwriting the gods programming, something that should have been set in stone. Still, she didn't seem as much in danger compared to the others. There were no golden cracks running along her body.

Only the occasion golden drop would seep into her skin every once in a while.

He was a bit worried about her because she didn't seem conscious. He didn't have the grace to worry about others though, as his situation was still dangerous.

Further away, others were not as fortunate.

More implosions. More people succumbing to the madness.

Asteron stood tall, his golden aura blazing, absorbing without hesitation. His body welcomed the storm. His kind—beasts of the godly realm—were born within these types of environments.

He was made for power.

Most of the beings that were succumbing were creatures from the mortal realms that had managed to come so far, only for them to die due to their limited potential.

The {Wind Drake} let out a prideful roar.

But even he was sweating a bit, although it was hard to see it behind the enormous scales.

Avalon and Thern were in the same spot as Asteron. Most of the other godly realm beings were experiencing the same. Grimm and Cello were still alive as well.

Cain shut his eyes.

There had to be a way to do this.

If they were inside Buldokak, then this wasn't just random mana. A being that devoured entire worlds. Never in his life, had he imagined this is what its innards would look like.

A being of the purest form of avarice.

He was tempted to put all the free attribute points he had gained into his control stat. However, he doubted a small increase would do much.

Cain's fingers clenched.

He could survive by simply forcing himself not to take more than he could. He would limit himself and work within his limits.

The limits that a human spirit could handle.

Something whispered in his mind.

Maybe it was madness, maybe it was something more. It was difficult to tell.

If he gave in, if he tried to break away from his limits, would he succeed?

The {Mana Furnace} in his chest burned with a soft glow visible only to eyes that could see beyond the flesh.

He could stop fighting the hunger.

And instead—embrace it.

Like the beasts and beings of the Godly and Godless Realms.

That would be the height of madness.

But it, perhaps, was another way for him to pass the trial.

***

Time passed...

Cain had no idea how long exactly, but it felt like days had gone by.@@novelbin@@

His body was on the verge of complete collapse.

He gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath,

"Eva, are you there?"

There was no answer.

Just when he thought the worst that could happen had happened, Evangeline's voice wormed into his ears,

"I'm alive."

It sounded weak and shriveled, but she was alive.

There was no doubt she was facing the same troubles he was.

He couldn't help but chuckle.

Her voice came a moment later,

"What could be so funny right now?" She sounded a bit annoyed.

A drop of golden sweat rolled down his face.

He breathed heavily, but there was a light smile on his face.

"I was just thinking... If I do end up surviving this, how strong will I become?"

He clenched his fists. The depths of his dark eyes were suddenly tinged with golden hue. Then it disappeared a moment later.

"It will be a significant increase. But our chances of surviving this aren't very high."

She let out a sigh,

"It is a bit humorous then. There will be no opportunity for last words. Our bodies, spirits and souls will be extinguished and turned into essence for this... beast to devour."

More and more implosions of golden light occured within this light filled stomach.

Cain inhaled deeply. Another bead of golden sweat rolled down his brows.

He grinned.

All this time, he had been running several simulations in his head.

To absorb more of this mana, he had to do a few things, the first of which, was to find a way to increase his capacity.

Besides pouring a ton of free attribute points into his magic stat, there was no direct way to raise his mana capacity.

There was the option of the {Elemental Vault}, but for some reason, it refused to open up in this place.

'There has to be a reason for that.' He had thought to himself.

And so, he had pondered for a long time.

Eventually, he had come up with a theory.

{Elemental Vault} was not exactly a skill. Instead, it was a spiritual phenomenon that had manifested as a skill.

It had been created by him using the Spatial Enchantment of {Burning Spirit} to create an enclosed space within his spirit that could indiscriminately store an egregious amount of mana regardless of his spirit's capacity or his elemental affinities.

It could be described as a storage units of sorts. He couldn't take everything out at once, but he could pull a small amount every once in a while.

The stomach of Buldokak on the other hand was an extremely mana rich environment.

If he opened up the {Elemental Vault} in such a place, chances are it would attempt to siphon as much mana as possible and then some.

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If that happened, his fate would be sealed as the Vault would not be able to bear it and it would break apart.

The deluge of mana that would be released as a result would wipe his spirit away.

What he wanted to avoid would end up an inevitable reality...

His inability to open the Vault was most likely than not, his spirit's way of protecting itself.

His grin turned a little insane.

"Eva..." He called out to Evangeline once again.

"Cain..." She answered in turn.

He paused for a moment, then asked,

"What would you say if I told you I was about to do something crazy?"