God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

He felt the heat rise almost immediately.

A slow, creeping warmth at first—like fingers pressing into his skin. Then it surged, an inferno raging through him, consuming every fiber of his being.

To every part of him. Every crevice, every hole. Into his spirit, saturating his body too.

It was not a gentle warmth. It was brutal, unrelenting, primal.

Cain barely had time to react before his nerves screamed in agony. It was as if his very essence was being boiled alive, each part of him unraveling like frayed threads of an old tapestry.

He let out a desperate scream.

But the scream was silent.

His lips parted, his throat convulsed, but no sound emerged.

It was terrifying.

Not the pain.

Not even the heat.

But the silence.

As if the world had been stripped of sound, leaving only the raw sensation of suffering.

Yet he had only a split second. And so, he used it wisely.

Through sheer force of will, Cain wrestled back control. His mind, though teetering on the brink of collapse, found clarity in the chaos.

With a thought, he let his spirit connect to the physical world, to his body.

The Spatial Mana core in his hand floated towards the orb of golden mana above him and bonded with it.

Then they shot past his body and rammed directly into his spirit.

His consciousness reeled as his insides twisted and turned. His soul convulsed as if rejecting the foreign force. But Cain clenched his teeth, unwilling to let go.

Inside his spirit, his {Mana Furnace} churned with as much power as it could muster.

Like an engine pushed to its very limit, it roared to life.

The pressure was unbearable.

Cain felt something wet trailing down his lips.

A stream of blood ran down his nose.

He was unaware of that.

There was no time for awareness. No room for distraction.@@novelbin@@

Then, it happened.

A violent, incomprehensible reaction.

The orb of golden light separated from the mana core and shot towards the Spatial Mana shards that held the {Elemental Vault}.

The shards trembled. The vault groaned as if resisting.

But cracks suffused with golden light began to appear.

Cain stared all around him, a grim determination in the depths of his eyes.

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His fists clenched, his spirit bracing against the force threatening to rip him apart.

Failure meant death, and that meant he couldn't afford to fail.

Then—

A split second later, the {Elemental Vault} crumpled in on itself.

A shudder.

A rupture.

A collapse.

Then it exploded.

The resulting blast was cataclysmic.

A blinding golden light engulfed everything.

The shockwave rippled through his soul, a tidal wave of raw energy that disintegrated everything in its path. It was as though a star had gone supernova in the depths of his being.

Cain's body jerked violently in the physical world.

Blood tinged with hues of gold erupted from his nose, his eyes, his ears—every orifice.

Some even seeped out of his pores, staining his skin.

His veins bulged, straining under the sheer pressure.

His muscles seized, spasming uncontrollably.

And yet—

Time seemed to come to a halt.

His mind floated, caught in the eye of the storm.

'This is it...'

The fine line of life and death.

The delicate balance.

The gamble...

If it went wrong, he was doomed.

His spirit trembled, and for a moment, it felt as if the abyss was calling for him.

But—

The Spatial Enchantment of {Burning Spirit} immediately kicked in.

A stabilizing force.

A final hope.

The mana core within his spirit enlarged and blossomed, swallowing the dying star in the depths of his soul.

Then it shrunk, compressed down to its original size.

A heartbeat passed.

Then another.

Then—

***

{The host's ability, Elemental Vault, has been destroyed}.

{Congratulations to Host... Your ability, Elemental Vault, has been evolved and transformed into the skill, Mana Vault}.

{+10,000 Free attribute points}.

{The boundaries of the host's mana capacity have broken past their limits}.

***

It all happened fast.

Too fast.

The danger passed by in the blink of an eye.

Yet, the aftermath remained.

Cain felt his consciousness rising to the surface. It was sluggish, as if he were wading through thick tar, but eventually—

He was pulled back to reality.

The scent of iron was thick in the air.

The sweet taste of blood filled his throat, forcing him to descend into a violent coughing fit.

He doubled over, hacking up crimson, his chest rising and falling in ragged breaths.

Then—

A soft, warm hand was placed on his back.

Gentle. Grounding.

He cracked his bloodshot eyes open, his vision still swimming.

Through the blur, he saw them.

Four stunningly beautiful faces peering down at him.

Relief. Worry. Exasperation.

All written clearly in their expressions.

Cain blinked, then forced a grin.

"It was crazy, right?"

Silence.

Then, they exchanged glances.

Susan let out a shaky sigh, running a hand through her disheveled hair.

"You..."

Her voice was thick with emotion.

Evangeline in the other hand, wore a small smile on her face.

"It was."

Cain chuckled—then winced as a scalding pain lanced through his body.

'Ah... Right. My body's a mess.'

Still, he tried to sit up. The moment he did, his vision darkened for a second.

A flood of information filled his mind.

***

{Congratulations to the host for passing the Trial of Avarice. You have received the Godly Grade weapon, {Fang of Gluttony}.

***

A magic circle appeared beneath them instantaneously and transferred them back to the floating platform in the sky.

This time, there was no period of dark intermission.

The scenery was filled with white light for a moment, and the next second they had arrived before the stone statues of the four Judges b

Cain's breath hitched.

A weapon?

A Godly Grade weapon?

'This time, the reward was a godly grade weapon.'

It was a pleasant surprise.

His fingers twitched, his instincts screaming at him to summon it immediately.

But his body was weak. His spirit drained.

He had expended a lot pulling that stunt off.

In the end, it has all been worth it.

He used {Spirit Sense} to look inwards.

There were a few rips and tears in his spirit, but other than that, the damage was not too severe.

Upon looking further, he got to inspect the new {Mana Vault}.

{Elemental Vault} had been destroyed. All the energy he had absorbed from the {Gate of Stars} and elsewhere has exploded with the Vault.

All that had been absorbed by the {Mana Vault}.

Staring at the contents of the {Mana Vault}, Cain was a bit confused. There was no sight of any elemental mana within it.

Instead, there was endless darkness stretching in all directions. And seated within the dark void, was a burning sun, far bigger than any he had seen before.

It revolved slowly, pulling in what seemed to be the debris produced by the explosion of the {Elemental Vault}, and devouring it.

His eyes narrowed. He was curious, but now was not the time to immerse himself in his curiosity.

He needed a moment of rest.

Or maybe… just a few moments.

All that mattered now was that he was still alive.

Even better, they had all survived once again.

Susan worried expression slowly faded away and she crossed her arms, raising a perfectly arched brow at him,

"Well?"

Cain tilted his head, feigning ignorance.

"Well, what?"

Susan scoffed. "Don't play dumb. You... You caused all that just now, right?! You almost got yourself killed, didn't you?!"

Cain wiped the blood off his face then shrugged,

"Almost. But I made it, didn't I? Thanks to me, we all survived."

Jenny sighed, shaking her head,

"That was reckless, Cain."

Her brows creased as she added,

"Saving us shouldn't come at the cost of your life."

Caon shook his head,

"I prefer the term 'strategically bold'. And I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't confident in my abilities." He said, lying right through his teeth.

Roselle studied him with narrowed eyes.

"Cain…"

He turned to her. "Yeah?"

She hesitated, her lips pursed and her fists clenched.

Then, in a softer voice, "Are you okay?"

Cain paused.

The question hung in the air.

Was he okay?

He had just danced on the edge of death.

Had felt his very spirit nearly shatter.

Had almost had his soul, spirit and body become individual beings.

And yet…

He grinned lightly,

"Yeah. I feel awesome."