God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 243: Aether Realm (4).

This world was unlike anything Cain had ever seen...

Even the otherwordly landscape of Prometheus couldn't compare to the grandeur of the world sprawled before him like a canvas filled with paintings of a mad god.

The sky, or what Cain could only think was the sky, was filled with countless floating pieces of rocks orbiting a much larger platform of solid earth. Some of them were small, empty, and barren. Others were filled with large and filled with many wonders, and dangers...

Looking behind him, Cain was able to see the rift he had left behind, as well as the two metal cocoons containing Jenny and Susan. Just below him, hanging onto its last breath, was the terrifying visage of the Realm-Walker.

The energy of the world seemed to work against its own, destroying the darkness that covered the creature.

There was no sun or moon in the sky. Instead, the entire field of broken islands was illuminated by a large beam of light that originated from the central Island and shot through the clouds in the sky like a sword.

Having appreciated his surroundings long enough, Cain quickly focused on the matter at hand.

The exit of the rift of the abyssal chasm was situated high up in the sky, and as such, Cain found himself descending at full speed onto this fragmented world.

However, Cain wasn't too worried about this. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he was finally able to feel mana coursing through his body.

'Finally...'

Activating {Wind Weaver}, Cain changed the trajectory of his flight from a straight vertical fall to a diagonal glide. The tunnel of wind was shaped, allowing his body to cut through the air and decelerate.

Eventually, after some time, he landed on one of the floating barren lands at the far edge of the floating fragmented landmass.

The floating islands didn't go on forever, though. At some point, the sky seemed to curve in on itself and envelope the entirety of the fragmented world. It was almost like the entirety of the floating landmasses was trapped in a spherical prison from which there was no escape.

Beneath the floating land masses, there was just darkness... Pure darkness...

'Ha... This just doesn't seem to be going my way. The world is out to get me at this point.' Cain grumbled internally but quickly sat up as some things required his attention.

Activating {Blood Regeneration}, he placed his hand on his most terrible wounds. Letting out a sigh, he watched as the familiar threads of blood mana wove themselves into reality and dug into his flesh. However, the wounds were too severe. He was just barely able to keep himself alive with it...

Letting out another tired sigh, he slowly limped over to the {Abyssal Realm-Walker}. The creature was now completely revealed to Cain. He started at it for a while before shaking his head,

'Pitiful...'

It seemed like the creature was about to meet its death. Like a fish out of water, the creature spasmed regularly, its glowing red eyes on the verge of being extinguished.

'Let me put you out of your misery...'

Grabbing the hilt of the {Scale of The Abyssal Flame}, Cain poured in the little bit of Ki that he had managed to restore. The sword became heavier and sharper, but Cain held onto it firmly...

With a grunt, he stabbed the sword deep into the creature's chest and pulled up, destroying the creature's spine and ending its life...

***

{Congratulations to Host... You have killed an Abyssal Realm-Walker}.

{You have Leveled Up!}

{You have Leveled Up!}

{You have Leveled Up!}

{You have Leveled Up!}

{You have Leveled Up!}

....

{+100 to Strength}.

{+100 to Agility}.

{+50 to Spirit}.

{You have Obtained an Item}.

{You have Obtained a Weapon}.

***

'Depending on the distance between the killer and killed, the rewards either spawn in my inventory or fall to the ground. How fascinating...'

Cain had long since realized that the inventory function of the system was some sort of spatial attachment. However, there was a distance limit to it. If he threw an object too far away, the spatial enchantment would fail to activate. Similarly, if he was too far away from a defeated opponent, the rewards would simply manifest physically.

On the other hand, if he was closer, it would spawn directly in his inventory...

'It's like it wants me to increase my chances of dying.' Cain thought to himself...

Letting out a sigh, he dug through the corpse of the creature and retrieved a vicious-looking black gem that devoured the light around it.

'Jackpot...'

The {Abyssal Realm-Walker} was a level 100 with a (Half-god) rank. While rank didn't directly correspond to power, it usually indicated the creature's potential. This meant that by following a natural path, the creature would eventually achieve the power of a (Half-god), which for some reason, was lower than the power of a celestial.

'But aren't Celestials gods themselves? So confusing...'

Letting out a sigh again, Cain moved to the cocoons he had carted between two worlds and placed his hand on it. They shone with pale light for a second, then disintegrated into countless specks of gold dust.

Standing there with confused expressions on their faces, Susan and Jenny stared at Cain. The confusion quickly changed into panic, then fear, then concern...

"What is going on?! What happened to you?!"

"Yeah... You look like a mess..."

The two girls moved closer, then stared at the hulking figure of the {Abyssal Realm-Walker}.

"Did you..." Susan said, staring at Cain with an unsure expression.

Struggling to remain standing, Cain let out a chuckle,

"Of course I did. That damned thing didn't stand a chance."

Susan stared at him for a while, her face gradually turning grim.

"What are you even doing on your feet? Sit down. I'll treat you." She said as she gradually moved toward him.

Feeling a bit panicked, Cain took a step back,

"It's alright. They aren't as bad as they seem..." Cain lied. The wounds were much worse than they seemed. The harrowing darkness that accompanied the attacks of the Realm-Walker ate at his flesh and negated a large portion of his {Blood Regeneration} skill's effects.

Staring at him with a frown, Susan shook her head, "That's a lie. They are much worse than they seem..."

'Crap...'

"Well..."

Without waiting for him to respond, She placed a hand on his chest, forcing him to remain quiet. Since the effects of the frost curse weren't activated, he quickly calmed down.

A deep radiance flowed from her hand onto his body, driving the insidious darkness away and providing soothing relief to his injured body and soul.

'This... This feels nice.'

"Here..." Taking a step forward, Jenny handed Cain a bottle of the HP regen potions that had been made on the northern Island before they left.

Because there was no need to use them previously, each member had a decent number of them stashed away.

Muttering out a thank you, Cain uncorked the glass tube and emptied its contents. Feeling the familiar heat wash over his body, he let out a satisfied sigh.

A few minutes later, Susan removed her hand from his chest...

"There... I've done the best I could. That thing... Whatever it was, can negate healing spells, it seems." There was a real smile on her pale face.

Cain let out a weak smile, "You've done more than enough."

Despite the terror of the darkness that had infected his wounds, it was no match for Susan's magic. Under the power of her light, the darkness was chased away, then his flesh was gradually healed by the light.

Turning away from Susan, he stared at the piece of land they had landed on. It was larger than most, barren, and devoid of any signs of life. There were numerous piles of rocks all around them, and Cain had just managed to land directly behind one of them.

"Jenny, can you scout this island and find out where we are?" Cain said with a frown.

"Roger that..." Nodding her head, Jenny cast a brief glance at Susan before jumping behind a pile of rocks and disappearing.

Letting out a sigh for what felt like the thousandth time in a few minutes, Cain stared into empty space, allowing his thoughts to consume him.

There was so much to digest from the previous battle. Every action he had taken in the battle replayed in his mind. With every scene that passed, his face grew darker and darker...

'Not good enough, too weak...'

Letting out a sigh, Cain turned his head to the side and caught Susan staring at him.

"What is it?" He asked with a raised brow.

The beauty sat close to him, her features slightly illuminated by the dim light that spread across the sky.

She stared at him for a few more seconds,

"What happened there?"

Cain held the stare for a while then turned his head,

"Not much... Could've died, but didn't... Nothing more to the story than that."