God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"The {Gate of Stars}..." Cain muttered.

Calling it a gate would not be exactly correct. Staring at it, Cain was a little bittaken aback. For one, the gate didn't look anything like a gate. Instead, it looked like the entrance into the underworld.

***

Gate of Stars}(Legendary):

Durability: N/A

Skills: Origin of Energy, Insight.

{Origin of Energy}: Upon stepping through these gates, the host will be able to delve into the mysteries of all forms of energy.

{Insight}: Within the gates, the hosts ability to understand basic and complex principles will be increased by a thousand percent.

***

The moment he took it out of his inventory, it quintrupled in size, becoming tall enough for him to step through easily.

"Now that I look at it, it looks a lot like that portal..." Cain said to himself as he reminisced on the tribulations he had been put through by Azazel.

The overhead arch was covered in numerous murals, with the skull of a strange creature at the center. Looking at the center of the skull, Cain was able to see a gem that emitted immense starry light.

The {Gate of Stars} was pitch black, covered in numerous glowing runes. Cain could feel the archaic arcane powers just waiting off the nebulous object.

'System, who created this thing, and why?'

{Replying to host: The Gate of Stars was created by a race of Astral Beings who wanted to learn the secrets of the universe. In doing so, they were infected with the madness hidden within the forbidden knowledge, and that race was destroyed and forgotten. This is one of the relics they left behind...}

Cain's brows shot up, 'Madness hidden within the forbidden knowledge? What is this forbidden knowledge?'

{Replying to host: For the host's sake, it is best if he refrains from asking such questions. Also, it would do the host good not to delve in too deep into the mysteries behind this object, as it is deemed cursed by many races, and with good reason}.

Cain went silent, his brows furrowed...

Forbidden knowledge? There was such a thing as forbidden knowledge? What was that, and how had it infected an entire race with madness, leading to their ruin...

He was curious...

However, as the saying went, curiousity killed the cat, and he sure knew he was no cat...

Still, he couldn't help but ask,

'Can this gate show me this forbidden knowledge?'

He asked with good reason. One of the skills of the Gate, {Insight}, seemed very suspicious now that he had heard the system warnings...

{Replying to host: Indeed. However, should the host attempt to delve in too deep, you will be automatically ejected from the gate as a safety mechanism}.

'I see...'

Although he was curious, he understood that the system wouldn't take such precautions for no reason.

'So how do I activate it?'

{Replying to host: By stepping into the gate, the host leaves his mortal coil behind and travels to the dimension of energy...}

'Dimension of energy?' Cain couldn't help but ask.

{Replying to host: Indeed. A place composed only of arcane energies. The Spiritual Plane is a part of this dimension. It is a strange place that can only be accessed by spirit beings. The {Gate of Stars} acts as a tether to the Physical Plane so that the host's spirit does not get lost when traversing that accursed place...}

Cain scratched his head... All this seemed oddly convoluted. The Spiritual Plane, the place that mana and elemental energy was said to be originated from, was in an even bigger place called the Dimension of Energy.

He suddenly felt small. Just how big was all of existence. He didn't even know how big Urbus was, and now he was going to observe an entire dimension of existence altogether.

'Ha... I feel like I'm skipping a bunch of steps over here.' Cain sighed internally.

"Alright, let's do this!"

{Replying to host: Once the host passes through the Gate, your spirit will be plunged out of your body. Do not fight it. As the host's soul is still fragile, the journey will only last five minutes}.

Cain sucked in a deep breath and stepped towards the Gate. Up close, it looked even scarier. A deep seated fear, one that didn't come from any logical part of him, but from the deotsh of his very soul.

Swallowing it up, he took a deep breath and stepped through the gate. The moment he did, he fell a force pulling on his very being.

{Don't fight it...}... The system seems to whisper into his ears. Hearing that, Cain relinquished control over himself. Almost immediately, his Spirit body flew out of his flesh, leaving it behind, and breaking through the confines of space and time.

***

Darkness...

First there was darkness...

And then, he began to see it.

Stars...

There are stars everywhere...

Cain tried to breathe, but he realized he couldn't. In this strange state, he couldn't breathe because there was no need to. His body had been left behind...

Cain stared all around him. He stared at what he could only describe as stars. Whole galaxies and constellations... He was surrounded by it all.

He looked towards one star. It seemed very far away. It was a very pretty blue. The moment his eyes locked onto it, he could feel a chill rise up from the depths of his soul.

'What the hell?! How can a star be cold?!'

He stared into the distance at another one. This stare was brown, and emitted a dull yellow light. The moment he focused on it, he could feel an incredible force of attraction from it, like a magnetic field on a piece of iron.

He quickly tore his gaze from it...

'What the hell is this place?'

He was taken in by the wonder and amazement...

His soul felt at peace. This place was incredible...

He kept observing numerous stars. Each one seemed to have a different principle governing it. Some where cold like icebergs, others were hot like the sun. Some made him feel like he was about to fall into them, others pushed him away. Some emitted dazzling light, while others were as dark as the abyss.

Some seemed to be filled with glorious green life, while some were filled with the stench of decay and the aura of death and desolation...

It was a strange odd feeling...

Then, he decided to look even further...

This mistake almost cost him his life. The moment Cain tried peering past the stars, his soul was shaken. In the emptiness surrounding these stars, he could see some things moving. He couldn't tell what it was, so he decided to stare a bit longer.

The thing his attention was focused on stared back. Gazing into eyes that were filled with archaic wisdom, Cain felt like he had been plunged into an ice bath.

Those eyes... Countless eyes that seemed to contain the mysteries of everything, that stared right back into his own, were also filled with madness that his soul could not withstand. Less than a second of staring into the eyes, and his soul was already on the verge of being annihilated.

'No... No.... No!!!'

Cain wanted to scream, to cry, to beg, but he could do none. His soul was about to be ripped to shreds.

{Attempting forced retrieval of host... Attempt failed...}

{Attempting forced retrieval of host... Attempt failed...}

...

Just when his soul was on the verge of being eradicated, a few of the closer stars began to shine with dazzling light. Their light immediately traversed the black expanse and shot into his soul.

If Cain was able to see his spirit body, he would see that there was a shard embedded directly within it where his heart would have been in his normal body. That shard was currently glowing with immense power as it pulled in more and more light from the surrounding stars.

A soothing warmth enveloped his from the depths. The creature that had its eyes on him was still staring in his direction, so the pressure had not gone away. In fact, it was increasing. But thanks to the power from these stars, he was no longer in any immediate danger.

Instead, he was finally able to truly understand and peer into the truths of these elements...

'I see... So this is what energy truly is!'

Cain was struck with an epiphany. His understanding of the laws of energy increased. His understanding of the basis of the magic principle was solidified.

Then he heard a sound coming from the depths of the black nothingness surrounding him.

"Seckthar illuma vivinadti..."

Words he couldn't understand. Words that seemed to contain some strange meaning and symbolism. The moment he heard them, his mind was immediately assaulted with pain.

'Damn it!'

The malevolent entity he had gazed upon. That was where these unholy words were coming from. And he has no choice but to bear with it.

Suddenly, redemption finally arrived for him...

{Attempting forced retrieval of host... Attempt Successful...}

Immediately, that familiar suction force came over him and he submitted himself to it.