God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Often times, fear is depicted as an obscene creation, the representation of all that is profane and profound.

A psychological adverse reaction to mysteries and dangers, be they rational or otherwise.

Every being with a soul had the potential to feel it.

It gripped the heart like a vice, offering both salvation and damnation.

When he felt his blade cut into nothing, Cain felt fear.

Its grip was cold and uncaring around his heart, unlike a mother's embrace.

The moment that fear enveloped him, he felt a crushing force come at him from the side..

It smashed into his ribs, breaking a few and tearing his flesh.

With a boom, his body was sent flying into the distant crashing waves, his body bouncing on the waves a few times.

Just before the churning waves could swallow him, Cain regained his composure and balance.

Steadying himself above the waves, he had just enough time to use {Hell Step} again, rapidly changing his position.

A moment later, the patch of water he stood upon turned into misty foam that rose into the air.

'That was strange. Very strange.'

Running upon the waves, he silently considered what had just happened.

Earlier, he had been very certain his pursuant had been at that exact spot.

His observational skills, especially with the existence of the {Beholder's Eye}, were not normal by any means.

And yet, his sword had failed to hit whatever it was that was after him.

Coming to an abrupt halt, Cain grunted as he pushed his body close to the limit, the muscles on his legs bulging. Despite his extreme speed, he somehow managed to make a sharp turn, narrowly dodging death, as a moment later, a large area of water in front of him sank in and collapsed into itself like an enormous meteor had suddenly crashed into it.

An enormous wave rose into the sky.

With not enough time to even wipe his sweat, Cain considered his options as he ran,

'I could keep running, but my stamina will eventually run out. Still, running for five hours isn't enough to get me exhausted.'

And yet, for some reason, he still felt a terrible premonition. Like running alone would not be able to keep this thing away.

He shook his head, 'To properly evade this thing, I need more information.'

As it stood, he was clueless.

Sensing danger approaching, he quickly evaded again, this time, jumping high above the waves and into the air.

A circular golden disk manifested below him, providing a platform for him to stand.

"Much better."

"That's five minutes. Your instincts are rather impressive." Cain heard Melech's voice reach him.

He turned and stared at the Devil floating just a few meters away from him, his brows furrowed in annoyance,

"What exactly is this thing?!"

Melech grinned, "A very special being. One I think you will have a hard time handling. There are many creatures hidden in the depths of this ocean, but this is the only one that will not kill you instantly yet still offers a challenge."

Cain went silent.

Melech cackled, "That look on your face. Is that despair I see?"

Cain took in a deep breath. His eyes scanned the waters, taking note of every change there possibly was.

What exactly was this creature?

Was it just invincible, or could it turn its body immaterial?

There was a problem with both explanations.

If it was just invincible, then that wouldn't explain the fact that he couldn't strike it back.

However, if it could turn immaterial, then, how the hell could it hit him? It would make sense if it could shift between a state of material and immaterial, but this thing couldn't.

And yet, it could do him harm. On the other hand, he was completely helpless.

'This is what I get for making a deal with a Devil, it seems...'

Granted, the deal was an irresistible one. But that didn't matter now.

The same persistent feeling of dangerous returned, and Cain was forced to evade skillfully once again.

This continued on and on for a while longer as he tried to figure something out.

A few minutes had gone by when the next change occurred.

The familiar feeling of danger came and Cain made a move to dodge it.

This time though, luck was not in his side.

All this time, he had managed to successfully evade all the incoming attacks through sheer premonition.

Unfortunately, said premonition failed him in this moment.

Staring down at his missing hand and the stream of blood flowing down from the mangled stump, Cain felt his mind go blank.

First it was from the confusion. A moment later, the pain came.

Biting down on his teeth, he muffled a grunt and a groan.

"W-what just happened?"

His tolerance for pain had always been high, and with more power he accumulated everyday, it only continued to grow.

Yet this pain...

The pain was so terrible, he felt his consciousness slipping away.

'Damn it...'

"How wonderful! How marvelous indeed." Melech laughed boisterously.

He grinned sadistically, looking down at Cain who was curled up like a shrimp, firmly clutching his bloody stump,

"Well this is embarrassing for you, isn't it? After all that confidence and ego. Yet, it is quite amusing."

The Devil's eyes glimmered with a strange, dark radiance,

"This thing has grown quite a bit. A little more than I expected, but such changes are only welcomed." He muttered to himself.

He looked down at Cain and spoke,

"On a world far away from this one, I was fortunate enough to encounter a settlement of strange beings that are rather rare to encounter in a backwater part of the universe like this place. Do you know what these creatures were?"

Through the pain, it was hard for him to hear anything. And yet, the words of these Devil wormed their way into his mind. Like he had no other choice but to listen.

"A clan of strange beasts. Beasts with bodies that do not exist within the normal plane. After slaughtering the whole, I took one for myself. A hatchling barely out of the womb. And then, I placed it within this sea to hatch."

Melech's grin widened, an expression of insanity overcoming him,

"After absorbing the Soul Essence of a Devil, this creature has become Wonder. Glorious! How I wish you could see it. My own child. How I wish your mortal eyes could gaze upon its divine visage."

His grin turned even more sinister,

"I am tempted to ignore the wishes of the goddess and give your body to my child as a gift for awakening. That doesn't sound like a bad idea, does it?"

Staring at the shifting waves, Cain finally realized something.

He couldn't help but laugh to himself. Laugh at himself.

"I see. I'm such an idiot, aren't I?"

Melech stopped laughing.

He smiled, "Oh? And why would you think that?"

Cain stood up, his back as straight as a sword.

The blood dripping down from the bloody stump left behind had slowed down to a dribble.

"I haven't been thinking straight." He said calmly.

He looked around.

The air, the sound of the crashing waves.

The feeling of the salty wind hitting against his skin.

"None of this crap is real."

Melech sneered, "Self-deception is a terrible thing, Cain."

Cain shook his head,

"They might exist within your soul, but this creature that I am to evade, it isn't a physical being. I have been trying to run away, when inbl reality, it could have caught up to me at anytime. I have been dancing in the palm of its hand, of your hand, all this time."

Melech's smile slowly faded away.

Cain let out another sigh, his other hand dropping to the side,

"Which is why from here on our, I cannot run, no... I cannot fight like what I am fighting exists."

Cain turned to face Melech. The smile on the older Devil's face had been wiped out completely.

Now, there was only a dark, menacing expression on its face, completely highlighting its wicked soul.

Cain grinned,

"That's what I've been waiting for. Yes, that look. Now, that is fitting for a Devil."

Cain grinned.

Indeed, he had been foolish. The battle he was fighting was not supposed to be fought with blades and spears. Or magic even.

No.

He finally realized what his opponent was.

'A Soul.'

It had taken him some time to figure it out, but he had finally gotten it.

It was much like the {Dark Soul}, in that physical attacks had no way of harming it. However, it was also different, in a way.

In his current arsenal, there was only one weapon that could harm a Soul Creature.

A deep flame.

Soft and vain.

Terrible and destructive.

The manifestation of chaos, born from eternity's void.

The eyes of the old Devil widened in shock.

Cain let out a loud laugh, one filled with near insanity.

A golden flame burst forth from his depths, covering the face of the mighty sea.

The white and black of his eyes had completely disappeared, replaced with a magnificent golden radiance.

"Burn to death!"