God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"Son of a...!"

Cain cursed out loud as his body was flung out of the {Gate of Stars} and onto the hard floor. He had decided to enter through it inside the {Draconic Blast Furnace}, just in case. His caution had turned out to be not unfounded, as he was currently in the worst dillema possible...

'It hurts! So bad!' Cain groaned as he tried to endure the pain.

{Warning! The host's soul has been damaged!}

'Fuck!' Hearing it from the system made him realize his worries were not unfounded.

'What the hell happened?! I thought you said it was safe?!'

{Replying to host: The Host's spiritual sensitivity became stronger than expected for a moment, causing the host to be noticed by that Primeval Entity}.

Cain fought both pain and confusion, 'Primeval Entity? What the hell?!'

The system responded in a somewhat grave tone,

{Replying to host: Their origins are unknown. All that was recorded, it that they are guardians of forbidden knowledge, and gazing onto them means inviting madness into your soul. Fortunately, the host was rescued in time before any significant damage was made}.

Cain was surprised, 'Rescued? By whom?'

{Replying to host: The host was rescued by the Spirits}.

Cain frowned. All this was so strange.

'Why did they help me. No... What are these spirits?'

{Replying to host: Beings of mana, the original beings. Their origins are the Spiritual Plane, and they are the very source of magic and all things mystical, in a sense...}

The system's way of speaking had changed all of a sudden. Cain could sense slight fluctuations behind the words, almost like there was a bit of emotion...

It was strange...

'Well, why did they help me?'

{Replying to host: Because the host has the titles, {Blessed by Mana} and {Loved by the Spirits}.

'Titles...' Cain seemed to remember something like that.

{Titles are special affixes that might not grant power, but might as well grant the host some special affinity or authority over a principle, or recognition by a group of beings, either positive or negative}.

'This all seems so strange.' By now, the pain in his head had gradually simmered down.

'What is the extent of the damage?'

{Replying to host: A portion of the host's spirit body was infected by madness, so the system forcibly seperated it from the main body. Had it been allowed to stay, it would have festered quickly and devoured the entirety of the host}.

Cain took in a deep breath. In just a few minutes, he had danced at the edge of death. Why was nothing ever safe?!

Cain gritted his teeth, 'This is all your fault, system! Looks like I won't be able to use this accursed thing.'

Cain wanted to pull his hair. He really wished he had chosen the stupid wheel instead.

{Replying to host: That may not be the case, host...}

Cain frowned. Something about the system's wording made his feel slightly off,

'What do you mean?'

{Replying to host: Although it indeed comes with great danger, the only reason the host encountered it, was because the host was too curious. Reaching out with your {Spirit Sense} into the depths of madness and not expecting to find it there was incredibly foolish. However, it was indeed my fault, not warning the host beforehand. It is an unforgivable error}.

Cain's furrowed brows eased up a bit, 'It's okay... I'm not that mad.'

As he though, the system seemed more human as of late...

{Replying to host: As long as the host exercises caution and does not attempt to seek out more knowledge, the danger quickly diminishes}.

'I see...' Cain thought about it. Although his first attempt nearly ended his life, he wasnt6teuly going to call it quits. After all, he had already reaped significant benefits.

His eyes glowed slightly as he used his {Spirit Sense} to gaze into his soul, or rather, into the {Elemental Vault} embedded within his soul.

'My God...' He was stunned speechless...

Previously, his {Elemental Vault} had been a small space packed with different elemental mana pools. Metal, fire, and even poison and wind...

When he absorbed elemental energy from the atmosphere, he stored it within the Vault. The Vault also had a capacity, so it filled up quite quickly, and each pool was drained after a single usage.

But now...

Instead of a white void, the inside of the spatial crystal in his soul was pitch black, just like the void he had escaped. Within this void were five objects.

One was a flaming red star. Within this star was a rune shaped like a crimson bird of flames.

The second was a cold star of absolute frost. Its bitter chill nearly froze his bloodstream just from gazing at it.

The third star was one of inky black shadows. A shadowy world that devoured all light within it. When he stared into it, he felt his soul become filled with darkness.

The fourth one was a star that appeared to be an orb of soul extinguishing lightning. Faint rumbling sounds could be heard from it occasionally. Staring at it, it gave him the feeling of a bomb just waiting for a trigger to explode. He was filled with dread just from staring at it.

These four stars were small, and they revoloved around the fifth and final object. It was a singular sharp-edged white gem. The moment Cain stared into it, he felt a rush of power overwhelm him. Power unlike anything he had ever felt.

Around this white gem was a pool of nebulous energy. It looked like a dust clihd with countless stars twinkling within.

Cain was absolutely dumbfounded by what he saw.

His gains this time had been unimaginable. Just looking at each of them filled him with power. He suddenly realized just how much of a treasure the {Gate of Stars} were.

'System, what is that thing?' Cain asked, referring to the white gem within his {Elemental Vault}.

{Replying to host: That is Ki}.

Cain was taken aback. However, after thinking about it for a while, he realized that was the case. That feeling of absolute power. It was indeed Ki. However, the real question was...

'If it is Ki, how did it get here? Isn't Ki supposed to be formed from living flesh only? How did it get into a place inhabited by spirits and malevolent evil beings?'

{Replying to host: The Dimension of Energy is a strange place. All of its history and information are not recorded within the database, so there is no information on this anomaly. However, this Ki might be from a creature that once inhabited the Spiritual Plane. And judging from how it entered the {Elemental Vault}, it might still have a will. It is best the host avoids it at all costs.

Coming in contact with it might lead to the invitation of a foreign, yet immensely powerful will into the body and soul of the host...}

Cain quickly moved his eyes away from the energy source. If the system said it was dangerous, then it probably was. He wasn't about to learn from experience.

He let out a sigh, his eyes blazing with excitement.

"I've truly made a lot of gains this time! Mana, elements... Runes, magic circles... Their relationship with one another..."

By delving into that plane, he had gained a lot of insight thanks to {Insight}. He had come to understand things that even the most brilliant elven scholars would crack their skills open to figure out.

Many schools of magic existed within the wide universe. Beings of the highest Tier each had their own understanding of magic.

Spells, skills, curses, hexes, enchantments, incantations, sigils, runes, hand signs... All these things were different across each school, as no two individuals could possess the same understanding of something as varied as the mystic arts.

With the {Gate of Stars}, Cain had the potential to discover and unlock things that had never been seen in the known universe.

Cain stood to his feet. Right now, he was witiin the {Draconic Blast Furnace}. He was surrounded by piles of special ores and stones, each one with unique functions and properties.

His mind churned as he thought up ways to make better weapons and gear with his newfound knowledge.

"Runes and magic circles act as conduits for mana, elemental or not. Just afgixing a spell to a stone isn't going to suffice. One has to take in the properties of all the materials involved with the preparation of the weapon."

As he pondered, his hands were not idle. He began the process of treating mutant beast leather he was going to be using. The fires within the forge came to life as he began smelting.

He washed the mud and impurities of the gemstones as well, preparing them for usage.

'I really should find something nice for Pudding to eat. She's done a good job this time.'

The metals were of decent quality and we're bountiful as well, perfect for what was to come. He readied himself.

It was to e to make some weapons!

***

The Beastkin were busy with everyday life. They had once been normal humans, but the the changes in the world had turned them into monsters. Some people couldn't accept this, and had killed themselves when the apocalypse had begun. Others had been killed by Devils or mutant beasts. Those who had survived this long were true survivors.

Hunter stared down from a slightly tilted high rise building.

This place had once been bustling with life... Filled with people burning with aspiration and dreams. Now, it had been reduced to a bit more than rubble.

Still, the flame of life refused to die out. He watched as numerous squads of Beastmen patrolled around the area they had made their living space. It wasn't much, but it was enough to house the number of people living here.

They hunted, scavenged for useful things to make their lives easier, but things were become difficult day by day. Right now, their lifestyle was akin to animals. This was no way for anybody to live...

A squad of patrolling guards had encountered a Mutant Beast that was lurking in the shadows, most like6trying to launch a sneak attack. They quickly engaged it in battle. Luckily, there was quite a number of them, and they managed to bring the creature down, albeit with a few injuries.

These Beastmen were blessed with superhuman prowess. However, what made them even more powerful, were the Ki Plundering Techniques Cain had provided and made widespread for them to use. Thanks to the Blessings of the Beast God, Pluto, they were unable to wield mana. However, there was nothing saying that mana was the only form of energy in the world.

Hunter could see their potential very clearly. He heaved a sigh, causing a clihd of foggy air to escape from his mouth.

"Mr. David..." His eyes wandered a bit.

"What are you thinking about?" A voice called out.

Hunter turned slightly to see Blaze seated at the edge of the building with his spear resting on his shoulder...