God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Silence...

Asteron stared down at Olirod's dead body with cold indifferent eyes,

"The outcome was unexpected. Regardless, the fool brought it up on himself."

Then he turned to Cain,

"No one will seek trouble with you and your people again."

Cain gave him a curt nod then turned to Grimm with a small smile before walking away towards Evangeline.

Her eyes were still cold, like she had not just brutally slaughtered something.

Although the wounds she had suffered from the battle were already closing, they still looked serious, especially the rather deep cut in her shoulder.

Susan walked up to her, her healing spells already activated.

Cain gave her a small smile,

"That was impressive."

She gave him a blank stare then snorted,

"He was not much trouble, really."

Then her eyes narrowed as she asked,

"Did you see all you wanted to see?"

Cain smiled wryly,

"Maybe. But that doesn't matter much, does it?"

She went silent for a moment then sighed,

"I guess not."

"With that problem taken care of, I guess the next trial will be coming soon." Jenny said as she walked over.

Cain nodded in agreement. Perhaps the lengthy rest period was to give them the time needed to prepare for the horrors to come.

Maybe...

Regardless, Cain felt he was as ready as could be, at the very peak of his combat ability too.

He had enough rest, and had even gotten to see quite the interesting spectacle.

In other words, he was ready.

"There. You are all set. Your wounds heal quite quickly so you don't need any more healing?" Susan said briefly.

Evangeline gave her a nod as thanks then turned to Cain,

"We should discuss our cooperation with Asteron."

Cain nodded, "He should be coming around any moment now."

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the tall figures of Asteron, Avalon and Thern cast shadows over them.

Despite being in their humanoid forms, these godly realm creatures stood much taller than them.

He couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable.

Thern glanced down at Evangeline with narrowed eyes,

"You did well against that idiot, although I'm not surprised."

Evangeline raised a brow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Thern pursed her lips then asked,

"You make use of Shadow Origin magic, don't you?"

Evangeline's brows shot up. Cain was surprised to see her that surprised.

"How do you know about that?" Evangeline said after a moment of silence.

Thern shrugged, "Origin magic is quite special. Has a unique flair about it. I didn't notice it at first, but observing your battle with that idiot told me all I needed to know."

Avalon turned to Cain who didn't understand what was going on,

"The {Giant} race aren't better gifted with using magic. In fact, most of them don't use it at all. However, they are very sensitive to mana, or energy in general."

Cain nodded. That explained why the Giantess was able to know exactly what type of magic Evangeline used.

However, that was not what he was most curious about.

"What is Origin magic?"

Avalon fell silent, his wings trembling a little.

Thern turned to him with a grimace,

"An ancient form of magic that can only plbe practices by a select few. According to what I know, most celestial beings can't use it either."

Cain's eyes widened. He turned to Evangeline who's expression had turned cold once again. However, he could sense that the atmosphere around her had turn a bit strange.

Thern continued, looking at Evangeline, a hint of respect in her gaze,

"It is said to be magic older than even the Celestials and Devils. Magic used by the Nomad to create this universe. At least, that's what I have heard. Never would I have expected to see a human use it."

Asteron spoke up,

"That's enough, Thern. We shouldn't pry into their business."

Thern snorted, "Who's prying? I was just a little curious, that's all."

Then she turned back to Evangeline,

"You have a lot of potential, even by my standards. If you ever find yourself in the godly realm, I could— Ack!"

Putting his arm down, Asteron let out a sigh,

"I apologize on her behalf. Sometimes, she gets a bit carried away."

Evangeline shook her head,

"It is of no consequence. But I would rather not discuss it anymore." She said, giving Cain a subtle glance.

He got the message. She wasn't going to discuss it with him either.

Although he was curious, he respected her decision.

'System, what is Origin magic?'

{Replying to Host: Origin magic, are derivations of the ancient arts and runes used in the creation of the universe itself. There is much history behind them, but to put it simply, it allows ones to utilize mana at its very essence, at its most pure and raw forms}.

Cain frowned, 'How does one go about acquiring such magic?'

{Replying to Host: It is impossible to acquire such magic}.

Cain was even more confused now,

'What? What does that mean?'

{Replying to Host: Origin Magic is not acquired. It can only be inherited through blood}.

He frowned. That didn't make any sense at all.

Did Evangeline have blood ties with some ancient dark deity that devoured worlds with its shadows?

'Is this thing trying to throw me off?'

His eyes narrowed. He let out a sigh.

That was impossible. Right?

He decided to drop it for now.

Suddenly, the world rumbled.

He was already familiar with what was about to happen.

'It's time.'

This time, Viden, the Arbitrator, didn't appear. Instead, the statue of the eyeless sword maiden opened up and the stream of water beneath the statue flowed in.

Cain let out a deep breath.

Asteron huffed deeply. A torrent of light enveloped him and his huge frame swelled, turning exponentially bigger.

The original form of the {Wind Drake} was revealed to the world. He dwarfed most of the creatures surrounding him. His very presence commanded a different type of respect.

Asteron looked down and spoke his voice rumbling like thunder,

"Get ready."

Before long, they were all headed towards the statue.

Most of the beings of the Godly Realm cm gathered moved together, while most of those from the Godless realm did the same. There were very few outliers.

Slowly, the bodies of beasts, both big and small descended into the stream of crystal like waters. Regardless of their size, they were swallowed all the same.

Cain stepped into the stream of water.

He sucked in a deep breath. Like usual, his body was enveloped by the cool water as he plunged into it.

It swallowed his body, and carried him through the base of the statue.

***

There was darkness.

Then his eyes opened.

Cain stayed still for a few seconds before sitting up.

Around him, the bodies of other beings lay on the moist forest floor.

They were currently in what Cain could only assume was an enormous forest. The forest had enormous trees that dwarfed even a standing Thern significantly as far as he could see.

The forest was also completely covered by fog. Even with the{Eye of Clairvoyance}, he couldn't see the crown of the trees. It was even worse when he tried to peer through the fog deeper into the forest.

Susan let out a groan as she sat up as well. Their eyes locked. Susan quickly tire her eyes away from his.

Then she looked around. Slowly, her expression turned sour,

"This..."

More and more creatures slowly came to their senses.

Cain heard the ground shake. He turned around. Asteron, Avalon and Thern stood directly behind him.

Avalon spoke, his voice grim,

"My eyes cannot see through this fog."

"Because it isn't normal fog. There's traces of magic even I have never seen before." Thern said with a frown.

Asteron's voice was loud, but calm,

"Let everyone gather around. We should make as little movements into this fog as possible."

Midread, the Gnat slowly walked over,

"Lord Asteron..."

"What is it Midread?" Asteron said.

Cain looked over at the Gnat. Its face was not pretty. It had bulging cheekbones and grey skin.

All four of its eyes were huge and in the fog, they glowed an eerie yellow.

However, despite how unpleasant it was to look at the Gnat, Cain could still see the obvious fear etched into its features.

"There's something..."

Asteron growled, "Speak up. What is the matter?"

Cain frowned as well. Suddenly, there was a piercing screech that pierced through the fog.

Cain's frown deepened. The scream was laced with fear, horror, and despair. Luckily, it came from far away.

Asteron's eyes narrowed as he growled,

"What in the hells was that?"

Midread finally spoke, albeit in a shaky voice,

"Lord Asteron... There is something in the fog."

Asteron's eyes lit up,

"What do you mean? There is nothing here."

Cain was tempted to nod. Besides {Eye of Clairvoyance}, his perception stat greatly increased his other senses.

With them, although he couldn't see through the fog, he could still sense the presence of the creatures within.

All the signatures he got around were familiar. There was nothing alien around him.

At least, that's what he wanted to believe.

However, another ear piercing screech tire through the fog, forcing all heads to turn.

Midread spoke again, this time, his voice trembling even more,

"Lord Asteron, you have to believe me. My Gnat race is sensitive to the true evils of this existence. There is something in the fog."

Cain felt a subtle terror creep into his heart when he heard the words of Midread.

It would have been easier to dismiss such claims.

But he could help but feel like the Gnat was not lying or making things up.

Asteron didn't say anything.

Instead, the mana around him stirred. The he opened his enormous maw up.

And then he roared.