God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

For a while now, Cain had wondered where the sun and moon had gone.

His previous understanding has been that the layers of celestial corpse dust covering the the atmosphere was what his them from his sight.

But now, that theory was completely scrapped. Or was it...

It this world of magic and wonder, it was easy to forget how things could become so affected by magic-induced change.

Staring at the world under the vibrant moonlight, Cain became filled with complex emotions.

It was difficult to describe, like the tingling in the heart and knuckles when staring into the eyes of an unfaithful lover.

'What do they call it again... Wretched love, I think...'

The moonlight bathed the world in its wretched light.

Staring towards the sky, Cain could see with utmost clarity, that the heavenly body know as the moon, was many times closer to Urbus that it had been before.

'How close is it?' One might ask...

Cain could see visible craters on the surface of the moon, the large, pale heavenly body almost completely filling out a portion of the sky.

The entirety of the sky was filled with tuffs of grey clouds. However, they could not hide the magnificence of the moon.

However, the light from the stars could not reach his eyes, creating a strange sensation he couldn't quite place.

Hunter walked up from behind,

"Looks like we've made it." His voice was grim.

Cain nodded, "Looks very... different. Very much not what I was expecting."

Hunter shook his head, "Who would have expected this?"

The world under the moonlight did seem strange.

Turning around, Cain stared at the dark world they just left behind. It was like a curtain of darkness and storms behind him.

'Could it be that the moon light stops the storm from coming closer, but the power of the Death Zone also doesn't allow for moonlight to penetrate through?'

Shaking his head, Cain turned to face Hunter.

Sensing his gaze, Hunter spoke,

"Everyone is mostly rested up. We are ready anytime you are."

Cain nodded, "Then let's get on with it. Get the anchors ready."

***

Having seen the shoreline and actually seeing what had become of the world they had left behind was two separate things entirely.

As they approached the City, Cain had a frown on his face.

'What the hell is that?'

With his perception stats, he could see things incredibly far away with frightening clarity, but even then, he was unable to make out what it was exactly he was bearing witness to.

The edges of the land curled up like blackened pillars created from volcanic activity, or the curved, serated teeth of a titanic sea creature of unfathomable size.

'Docking the ship here isn't going to be easy.'

Whatever bridges and roads has existed around these ends were all gone by now, destroyed by the encompassing expansion of the world.

Evangeline morphed into existence from the shadows behind him. She walked forward,

"The edge of the continent. Quite the sight, I see..."

Cain nodded, "Tell me about it."

He then turned to her, "We'll probably have to walk a bit to get to the city."

"And that means we'll get to fight a good amount of bastards too."

A voice came from behind. Turning around, Cain saw Rollo walking from the deck below, his large broadsword resting on his shoulder, his face impassive.

Cain grinned, "Yeah. That too."

"Hehehe... Can't wait. Cain! I'll go on first!" Manny swung from somewhere high above and landed with finesse.

Just as he was about to jump off the deck and into the luminous waters ahead, Cain grabbed him by the collar.

"Cool out, would you?" Cain said blankly.

He turned back to facing the shoreline. His mind was occupied.

'We'll probably have to leave the ship behind.'

Having crossed a great length of ocean, it was about time Gwendolyn had her rest.

And so they sailed towards the land engulfed in the subtle light of the giant moon.

Hunter stared at the moon with a strange look on his face,

"What do you think is the reason for this?"

Cain frowned, "Magic? What else?"

Hunter sighed, "If the moon is here, the the sun probably is. Or, the moon doesn't go away and is constantly here."

Cain smiled, "The City of a night that never ends. How poetic."

After a few hours, the ship finally closed in on an relatively decent docking area. All signs of civilization had vanished for a while now.

Stepping into the dark stone that lined the shore, Cain stooped. Picking a relatively smaller rock from the ground, he studied it for a moment before activating the {Eye of General Observation}.

***

{Bubonic Rock}: A strange metamorphic rock, with incredible tensile properties, formed by the interaction of cold water and volcanic action in the presence of Devilish Miasma.

***

Cain frowned, 'Devillish Miasma? Then, Devil Essence, huh...'

This could mean only one thing...

'Devils are here.'

He had expected as much.

He sighed, 'Looks like things aren't going to be easy."

Throwing the rock into the air, the body of water behind him stirred, and a giant shape revealed itself.

A worm-looking creature the size of several buses soared above his head like a fish.

Cain chuckled, "Dig in, Pudding."

With a loud piercing cry, Pudding dug into the rock without a care. Sharp teeth tearing through the hard rock like it was styrofoam, in a few seconds, all that was left behind was a hole.

'With this rock, I'll be able to make a whole lot of things.'

With that thought in mind, he began walking back to the ship.

Hunter jumped down, "We've anchored the ship to one of the rocks. What do you think? Should we send some scouts out first?"

Cain shook his head, "I have a better idea."

Hunter raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

Cain grinned, "Let's get on board first.

***

Gathered in a rather familiar room was a little over thirty people...

"Lukas! Lukas! You are alive!"

With tears and snot running down her face, Suki clung tightly to Lukas' waist.

Lukas snorted, "I'm not that easy to kill."

"I knew it! The apostle of God would come back to us!" With tears and snot running down his face as well, Zue yelled at the top of his lungs, prompting a yell of joy from his fellow Lightslayers.

Standing behind them was Chloe, a difficult expression on her face,

'He's really alive, huh...'

Not one to wear her emotions on her face, it was unknown what her true thoughts were.

However, Lukas' eyes drifted a bit until they locked with her's. His lips formed a thin line as he gently disentangled himself from Suki.

Walking forward a bit, he came face to face with Chloe.

A strained smile formed on her face, "Brother..."

Without saying anything, Lukas leaned in, and gave her a tight hug.

"I'm sorry. I truly am."

Eyes wide in shock, Chloe was unable to say anything, merely staying still.

Disengaging with a sigh, Lukas has an unfamiliar warmth in his eyes,

"I..."

"You don't need to say anything."

Lukas turned to Cain,

"Alright, let's here it."

Cain smiled, 'Straight to the point, huh? Can't even hug your sister for longer.'

With that out of the way, Cain began,

"Essentially, we don't know who or what to expect. So, rather than a regular scout team, I'll be selecting a team that will accompany me. Once we know what's going on, we can take further action."

Floki raised his hand, "And how do you determine who goes and who doesn't?"

Cain cleared his throat, "First of all, them must be at Tier 1. Second, they must agree to it. This is probably going to be dangerous, so I'm not going to be forcing anyone."

"In that case, count me in." Manny said with a wide grin.

"Me as well." Floki said, his voice coated with an extra heavy layer.

Cain smiled wryly, "Well, we still need a few of us to stay back and keep everything here in check."

Lukas snorted, "Suki, you'll stay here with the others. I'll accompany this fool."

Jenny turned to Li, Stand and Sue, "You guys, stay here. I'll go."

Sue shrugged, "Fine by me."

Li shook his head, "Although I'm curious, I'm not that curious. Opportunities will come. In the meantime, try not to die, okay?"

Stan simply nodded.

Cain turned to the other major groups.

"I'll go." Roselle said calmly, her eyes narrowed in on Cain. The others didn't seem to oppose her.

"I'll go with you as well." Luke said.

Lukas snorted, "Careful with this one, Cain. He might stab you in the back when you aren't looking."

Luke stared at him calmly, "We were never on the same side, Lukas."

Lukas nodded, a derisive sneer on his face,

"Well, what can I say? I should have expected it. After all, only a dog quickly jumps from one master to another the moment its old manster dies."

Luke's eyes narrowed dangerously, "I dare you to say that again."

Cain cleared his throat, diffusing the darkening atmosphere...

"That's enough. We have more than enough numbers."

And so, after a little back and forth, it was decided.

Cain himself, Evangeline, Susan, Jenny, Roselle, Rollo, Lukas, Luke, Hunter, Manny, and Floki.

These were the first humans that would be exploring this familiar, yet unfamiliar territory.

With death and unknown terrors paving the way forward, what was there to fear?