God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 320: Difficult Answers.

Cain stared down at Evangeline's with a frown.

'Something is wrong...'

She didn't look... normal. Her eyes were closed, and beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. Her lips were also pale. The clothes she had on were also torn around the chest area, so he had to avoid looking.

The strangest part of it all was that with his close she was to him, he could feel that she currently had two heartbeats.

'Could it be?...'

There was no other explanation. The false heart of the Primordial Devil was inside her chest.

"Ah... Just how complicated can things get?!" Cain lamented.

He truly was at a loss...

'Not now.' With a sigh, he looked down. {Wind Weaver} was still active, so he was currently gliding through the air with Evangeline in his arms in a princess carry.

'So that is how it works...' Cain looked down at his chest, his expression complicated. The {Elemental Vault} had two aspects. Absorption and release.

The Absorption aspect allowed him to gather as much elemental energy as the interior of the mana core could contain. The Release aspect was a bit more complicated.

It allowed him to release all of a certain elemental energy stored within the vault at once as long as he could manifest it as a spell, not a skill.

The best part about it was that all this energy was released at once. Meaning, the power of an elemental spell could be boosted immeasurably as long as the specific elemental energy of the spell was already stored within the Vault.

'This ability is simply... wonderful.'

The reason he was still airborne, was that the elemental power of wind within the Elemental Vault had yet to be exhausted.

The released energy made him surpass the spell's original output by numerous times. As such, his speed when {Wind Weaver} was active was simply far beyond what it had originally been.

Still, the only downside, was that all the energy could only be released at once. If he decided to activate a single wind elemental spell, then he would need to consume all the wind elemental mana within the vault before it could close.

Cain's mind went into overdrive when he thought about this. The possibilities were endless. Just thinking about it made him giddy.

However, now was not the time to be jubilant. He had to figure out what was wrong with Evangeline. He had no idea what the implications were.

'System, what do I do? Is there any way to wake her up?'

{Replying to host: That will not be necessary, as she will regain consciousness in a few hours. Her body and mind are simply getting adjusted}.

'Did she really absorb the heart of the chaos devil?'

{Replying to host: Affirmative. However, it isn't the true heart of the Primordial Chaos Devil, but an artificial one, much like the veins gifted onto the host by the Primordial Devil of death}.

Cain was a bit shaken, 'I see. But why didn't I collapse like her?'

{Replying to host: There is a big difference between receiving something as a gift and stealing it...}

"..."

He couldn't argue because the system was right. Flying through the air, Cain couldn't help but sigh, his heart filled with amazement. To think that when {Wing Weaver} was pushed to its limits, he could gain the power of flight. Even though it was only temporary, it was still an amazing realization to touch upon.

Cain remained silent for a while before asking a question,

'System, just how strong are the Primordial Devils?'

{Replying to host: Stronger than you can comprehend. Although they seem weak now, what you have seen isn't even comparable to 1% of their complete power}.

Cain couldn't help but feel a hint of doubt,

'Then why? I am not even a Tier 1 being. Surely, even a casual sneeze from such a being should be capable of killing me, right?'

{Replying to host: If it had a nose to sneeze from, sure...}

Cain couldn't help but feel like the system was toying with him. Feeling a bit annoyed, he asked again,

{Replying to host: While the Primordial Devils are strong, they have gone through many hardships for so long. Their souls and bodies have depreciated. It will not be a far stretch to say that they are completely different beings than what they were before. While their reasons for not being able to kill you might differ, it all boils down to one thing, you... }

Cain couldn't help his confusion,

'Me?'

{Replying to host: Affirmative...}

Cain wanted to scratch his head, but realized he was still carrying Evangeline,

'But why?'

There was a pause from the system, almost as though it was trying to calibrate the best reply for him without breaking any of the rules,

{Replying to host: Fate and Karma... The system cannot provide the host with a more concrete answer...}

Cain couldn't help but groan internally,

'Fate and Karma? What do those have to do with the Primordial Devils and me?'

{Replying to host: All that exists in all the planes are joined together with invincible threads that influence actions and outcomes. The only reason the host draws breath still is because these strings seem to bend around the host oddly}.

{If the host had come to this place a few years later, the Primordial Devil of Chaos would have completed a portion of its new body. The host would have been torn to pieces as soon as he stepped a foot near that mountain.

The host would probably not even die at the hands of the Primordial Devil of Chaos, as the {Chaos Orc} would have probably achieved the next stage of its evolution and would have turned into a {Chaos Ogre} by then...}

Although Cain appreciated the information, he couldn't help but feel like the system wanted to dull his spirits.

'Okay, okay... I get it. So with more straightforward words, I got lucky. Super lucky...'

{Replying to host: ...Affirmative}.

Cain didn't know what to say to this. When he thought about it, he realized that regardless of how heartless the monotone voice of the system sounded, it was right at the end of the day...

He had survived his first encounter with Og-solath purely by the skin of his teeth. Although the Primordial Devil had taken on his form, it was still strong enough to kill him. If Og-solath didn't have a use for him, he, Susan, Jenny, and Ignis would have been put into the ground long ago. When he encountered Lyx, he was spared thanks to Ashur's intervention.

And although he would have liked to believe that he survived against Bemethshal through his power, he couldn't help but accept that even during the fight against the {Chaos Orc}, there had been many times he was convinced he would not make it. He survived because some invincible force was pulling the strings behind the curtains.

Now that he had gotten answers, these answers left a bitter taste in his mouth,

'What luck! I'll survive through my efforts!' He thought indignantly.

He had worked hard and strived to attain the power he had now. Being told that all this power couldn't keep him alive was rather demoralizing.

With his head filled with thoughts, he continued flying through a wind tunnel in the air. Eventually, after an hour of steady flight, the wind elemental energy coming from the space around him began to dissipate.

'It's almost gone.'

For some reason, Cain felt like he could see how much energy was within the Vault if he tried.

Sure enough, when he focused on the strange feeling at the center of his chest, he felt his mind being pulled into the space stored within.

He was a bit disoriented but managed to regain his composure after a few seconds. He soon realized that he was no longer flying in the sky. His body was, but his consciousness was somewhere else...

It was within the mana core turned Eneegy Vault. That was stored somewhere inside his body.

'This is very... interesting.' Cain was at a loss for words.

Within the Elemental Vault, he was able to see a few strange things. There were pools inside the Elemental Vault. Pools of elemental mana swirled around to form tiny whirlpools.

The largest of the whirlpools was a deep red color, while the smallest was white mixed with flashes of violent blue sparks. There was also a pool of golden energy that had rather sharp shards of unknown materials floating on its surface, a pool of brownish-yellow energy with chucks of rocky material floating within it, and a pool of reddish-orange that looked like it was made of lava and flames.

There was even a green one that looked like it was made of clouds. However, the green pool was rotating faster than the others and its volume was decreasing at a steady rate.

They all floated within this space, occupying a majority of it. At the center of all the pools, was the complex magic circle he had created. It rotated in tandem with the pools of raw magical power, as it was most likely the origin of their rotation. Apart from the red pool, the second biggest was the brownish-yellow one, followed by the golden one.

The next was the reddish-orange pool, and finally, the white one.

Cain was able to tell their attribute almost immediately,

'Blood, Earth, Metal, Fire and Lightning. I'm guessing the green one is the wind element.'

Now that he had a better understanding of this ability of his, he couldn't help but think about how he could use it in the future. This also made him think about other things. He had an inkling that it would be best to ask the system about his concerns,

{Replying to host: Indeed. It would be best for the host not to acquire any more skills, spells, or abilities, and simply focus on improving the ones he currently has. While having a lot of abilities and means of attack is not necessarily a bad thing, it is also not advisable, as it might serve as a distraction to the host}.

'I thought as much...'

Cain had been bothered about this for some time now. He realized that he simply had too many skills and spells. Having too many would mean spreading himself thin. He would eventually have to abandon some of them as he claimed further up the totem pole, but he still couldn't have too many of them.

{For good measure, the host should strive not to acquire any more abilities, spells, or skills until he reaches Tier 2 or 3}.

'That far ahead?' Cain asked with a raised brow.

{Replying to host: Most of the abilities the host currently possesses are just as effective and potent as a few Tier 2 and 3 abilities}.

Cain couldn't help but feel a bit proud at the system's compliment,

'I guess I really am awesome!'

{Replying to host: "..." }