God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

A loud crashing sound could be heard, followed by the sound of human flesh smacking hard concrete.

"Fuck! My arm!"

"What the hell was that?!"

Different exclaims mixed in with a decent portion of profanities flew out from the mouths of those taken on the strange spatial journey.

The journey has been jarring to say the least.

Not only that, but it had also happened completely unexpected. No warnings, nothing.

Boulder slowly sat up, rubbing his head. One look at him was enough to conclude on his current mental state.

He was beyond dazed.

It took him a while, but he eventually recovered his bearings.

The previous events that had led up to this quickly hit him like a truck.

Boulder sighed tiredly,

"Just had to jinx it. She just had to..."

He turned around,

"Gloria... What's the status?"

Gloria wiped a trail of blood coming down her nose,

"Terrible but fortunate, sir."

Boulder sighed, "Is that so..."

Gloria nodded, a confused expression on her face,

"Whatever it was that did this brought us here exactly, away from Devilish sphere of influence, to the outskirts of the Blood Moon Barrier."

Boulder quickly scanned his surroundings. There were bodies everywhere, but no one seemed to be seriously injured, let alone dead.

This was the best possible outcome.

Devilish sphere of influence was rather limited around the Barrier Domes. While they did attack the Magic Domes, they only did so periodically, and dven then, they weren't stationed there for a long time.

Rubbing her head, Lucia's face slowly contorted into a scowl,

"What happened?"

Boulder sighed again. Khan also picked himself up from the ground.

He looked around, and spotted Cain sitting not too far away from them, his legs crossed.

From the looks of it, he seemed conscious now. However, something seemed different about him. Very, very different, and yet quite hard to place.

Lucia seemed to have a moment of understanding, as her expression morphed from one of confusion into blind rage.

She menacingly walked towards Cain,

"You... You bastard!"

Cain quickly snapped out of his reverie when the intense bloodlust and killing intent washed over him.

"W-what the hell?"

His confusion was also apparent.

Just when he was almost done with creating his new skill, a strange feeling had overwhelmed him.

It was cold and hot at the same time, overwhelming his senses, nearly causing the magic circle to unravel.

The link between his material body and spirit body became stronger as well.

Because of this, he had no idea of knowing exactly, but it seemed he had brought upon himself the attention of a higher being.

One far above his understanding...

The feeling that had overwhelmed his body certainly didn't come from him, or so he would like to believe.

And then, in the next moment he found himself here.

A shiver ran down his spine as he recalled that eerie feeling.

The subtle moonlight spraying down from the heavens, but it did little to sooth him.

What was this mysterious power, and how did it affect him...

How was it possible for him to be moved through such a vast distance, alongside many others. It was just too incredible and scary at the same time.

Before he could think about it too much, he was forced to face the angry and vicious Lucia.

"What the hell did you do?! Answer me!"

Cain raised a hand in surrender,

"I have no idea what happened. Honestly..."

Lucia growled, "Cut the bullshit. We know you did something. If you didn't, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Cain sighed. Although she was right, it truly wasn't all his fault. How was he supposed to know there something would try to summon him here.

'Speaking of summoning...'

His eyes narrowed, 'Why did it being me here?'

He could see the ethereal blood-red barrier. Overhead was the illustrious moon that seemed to devour a portion of the sky itself.

There had to be a reason. Or did the higher entity just decide on a whim?

Or was there even a higher power to begin with...

Was this all in his mind?

Was there something he was missing? Or was this a reaction for creating the new Mana Heart. Speaking of mana hearts...

***

{Congratulations to Host... Your skill, Mana Heart, has evolved into the internal active skill, Internal Mana Furnace}.

{Internal Mana Furnace}:

Description: Mana has many forms, but at its core, it is a source of cosmic energy. A vessel for the embodiment of sorcery. This furnace, this heart, burns mana to create magic. This skill is divided into four sub-skills.

Mana Fusion Core:

The Internal Mana Furnace continuously refines the host's mana, enhancing its quality and potency. Mana stored within this furnace becomes twice as powerful, allowing spells cast by the host to be inherently stronger and more efficient. The host's mana pool is now increased by three times.

Continuous Mana Generation:

The furnace passively generates a thousand MP per second, drawing from the cosmic energies surrounding the host. This regeneration is fueled not just by the host's natural abilities but also by ambient magical energy, making it nearly inexhaustible in mana-rich environments.

Mana Combustion:

The furnace can overclock its output, converting stored mana into explosive bursts of energy. This combustion can be channeled into powerful spells, increasing their damage output by a hundred percent at the cost of temporarily reducing mana regeneration by half. After using this ability, the furnace enters a cooldown period where mana regeneration is reduced to fifty percent per second for an hour.

Mana Overdrive (Locked):

The furnace can be forced into an overdrive state, dramatically increasing mana generation and spellcasting speed by two hundred percent for a short duration.

During this time, all spells and abilities have their effects amplified by a hundred percent, but at the risk of "Mana Burnout." If the overdrive is sustained for too long, the furnace may overheat, causing the host to suffer internal injuries, reduced magic power, and slower mana regeneration after the effect ends.

***

The skill, {Internal Mana Furnace} was a strange one. He had believed he could create a second mana heart. However, along the way, both mana hearts being created had ended up fusing together, creating two chambers within the heart.

As he looked inwardly using {Spirit Sense}, he could see the otherworldly organ beating in his body, pumping mana through his being.

It was physical, yet spiritual at the same time.

Rather than creating a new skill altogether, what he had tried to avoid had ended up happening.

But shockingly, the change wasn't too disastrous. Apart from the mana heart growing a second chamber and looking a bit more strange, there wasn't much of a difference. His fears were completely unfounded after all.

Suddenly, the grip around his neck tightened, bringing him back to reality.

"Pay attention to me, bastard!"

Cain blinked, "Oi..."

The slight blush on her face and their proximity one another incited foul thoughts in his head.

However, a moment later, they were quickly separated by Khan.

"Now is not the time to be fighting! Look around."

Since they were in the area surrounding the Blood Moon Dome, it was only natural for them to encounter the creatures born from Evernight.

In this area, the buildings were tall and dark. The world was infused with a strange energy that wasn't unfamiliar at all.

Aether...

A power that could mutate creatures on a genetic level, turning them into beastly beings.

Cain let out a breath of air as he rose to his feet. Ignoring the strange look Lucia gave him, he stared at the building right in front of him. It was covered with strange, black pods. The entire building oozed with darkness and death.

Cain's eyes narrowed as he stared through the dark entrance.

Sure enough, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness. The sheer amount of hostility was enough to make the hairs at the back of his neck stand on ends.

And that wasn't all...

Another pair of eyes appeared on the darkness. Then another...

And another...

Until eventually, the darkness was embroiled with a dangerously wicked, blood-red glow.

They all took a step back simultaneously.

Suddenly, the pods on the walls broke open.

Bat-like creatures spread their wings and dove down violently. Their piercing shrieks carried a wave of tenebrous power that cracked the pavement beneath their feet.

A dull ringing sensation filled Cain's ears as the bats dove down.

The creatures hiding in the darkness dashed out, pouncing on them like rabid beasts.

Their fangs glistened with a clear poison, and the silver moonlight revealed the dangerous beauty of their metallic claws.

Cain let out a sigh.

His seemingly relaxed life has come to a halt for now. It truly seemed as though he would never escape the cycles of violence, bloodshed, and death. Although he wasn't complaining...

He could feel the mana surging through his veins. With the new and improved Mana Heart, his abilities would be greatly improved.

A slight grin rigged at his face as he stepped forward,

"Since I got us into this mess, it is only right I put an end to it."