God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain put his hand on the piece of armor and was a bit stunned when a holographic image was displayed from the armor.

{Heavy Armor}: Normal

Strength: +50. Attack power: +50%.

Agility: -50. Attack speed: -50%.

Defense: +50. Weight: 1000kg.

Requirements: 200 Strength and 100 Stamina.

Skills: Damage Reduction.

Durability: 100/100.

{Damage Reduction}: Reduce incoming physical damage by 10% and magical damage by 1%

Cain stared at its stats briefly, analyzing them...

'It's a double-edged sword. On one hand, my strength and defense increased greatly. On the other hand, my agility drops significantly. However, I have no intentions of using it in battle at the moment, as that would be too stupid.'

The real purpose of this armor was to help him increase the amount of ki he could gather. If lifting 400kg was so beneficial, imagine the gains he would get from using a 300kg suit of armor.

'Using it in battle might be possible if I pair it with {Metal Manipulation}, but while that may preserve my stamina, it would lead to overconsumption of mana.'

Cain decided that now wasn't the time to use it. The armor would grant him a lot more power, but the pros didn't outweigh the cons. Hence, he decided to store it in his inventory. With all these things within his inventory, there was only a little bit of space left within.

Cain didn't know what time it was, as he had no device on his that could tell the time, and there were no clocks he could see close to him, but if he had to guess, it would probably be around midday.

He had spent around five hours working on getting his sword out of the ground and creating his {Heavy Armor}. Using the period the god ash fell from the sky, which according to the system was midnight, to calibrate, that would mean that roughly twelve hours had passed.

This meant he had nineteen hours or less to prepare for their departure.

He could understand the sentiment of wanting to leave. Even he was eager to know what was happening in the outside world. The only barrier they had to overcome was getting through the forest in one piece, which would not be possible if they didn't make enough preparations.

He was a bit sore from sitting all day, so he decided to stretch his legs by moving around a bit.

***

Within the gymnasium, there was a ton of free space available, so they all sat where they liked. Cain peered out the windows made of carbon fiberglass, only for his eyes to be greeted with a world that still lacked color.

Although it was around midday, the entire pace was still very dark, as though night had never departed. This was because the grey clouds that covered the skies never left even after all this time, making Cain wonder if that was how things were going to be henceforth.

'System, why are the clouds still grey?'

{Replying to host: It is caused by a unique reaction of your planet to god ash. This unique phenomenon is called the Pearly blanket. It occurs when the god ash that falls onto a planet is too much for the said planet and its inhabitants to digest all at once}.

{Therefore, to avoid a situation where the entire planet ends up exploding due to the over-saturation of the incredibly dense mana, the god ash is separated into numerous layers. These layers stay within the atmosphere, and will only descend to the surface of the planet periodically.

That way, the planet can avoid certain destruction...}

Cain nodded in understanding, 'So what you are saying is those clouds are just layers of extremely concentrated god ash?'

Cain suddenly froze, 'Why do I feel like I've heard this before?'

{Replying to host: Affirmative... The layers of the Pearly blanket also determine just how far the evolution of that world will go, and how powerful the inhabitants of the said world would be afterward. The most amount of layers a world has ever seen in the history of the cosmos was 32 layers...}

'Was?'

{Replying to host: Affirmative...}

At that moment, the system seemed to hesitate, as though considering whether it should provide Cain with the next bit of information.

{The reason why that is a thing of the past, is that the system has just found a new record for a world with the highest amount of Pearly blankets...}

Cain blinked surprisedly, Oh? Which world is that?'. He wasn't really surprised, as he didn't expect this piece of information to be his problem. It all seemed like information he would need far into the future but was irrelevant to him presently.

{Replying to host: That world, is this one...}

'Oh? Isn't that a good thing?' Cain furrowed his brows. He didn't know why, but he was able to sense a tinge of foreboding within the words of the system...

{Replying to host: Not necessarily...}

His frown became even deeper, 'What do you mean by that?!'

{Replying to host: A planet can only support so much mana. That is one of the fundamental laws of the universe. If a world is greeted with too large of an influx of mana all at once, without having hundreds, or even thousands of years to digest it all... that world is doomed}.

Cain blinked a few times, trying his best to digest this very fresh, and very ominous piece of information.

'So what you are telling me is, baring no future changes, I'm fated to die?'

{Replying to host: Affirmative... If there no external factors appear, then this world is fated for destruction.

The only way for this fate to be avoided, apart from external factors, is if a majority of the god ash is absorbed by the planet and its inhabitants without it exploding into bits and turning into stardust. But in the case of this planet, that is near impossible}.

Cain wasn't even a bit panicked when he heard this. His heart was as still as the surface of a lake. Not a single ripple in sight. He figured that the system was probably just exaggerating things.

It couldn't be that bad, right?

'Why is this so impossible?'

{Replying to host: The previous limit recorded for a planet of this size to take, is eight layers. The highest amount of Pearly blankets ever recorded in the cosmos, where a planet hundreds of times bigger than yours struggled to accommodate, was thirty-two layers.

During your fight with the {Devil-eyed White Primate}, because you reached a high enough altitude, the system was able to accurately measure exactly how many pearly blankets are present in your world's atmosphere}.

A ripple spread across the calm lake...

'How many are they?'

{Sixty-four layers... There are sixty-four Pearly blankets...}

The expression on Cain's face was very dark. He knew the system wasn't making things up, so it had to be true.

Their planet was doomed for destruction, and there was nothing he could do. He wouldn't be so bothered if he could avoid this fate, but he couldn't.

If he couldn't find a way to miraculously leave the planet before it was destroyed, he would also be as dead as space dust alongside every other living being on the planet.

'How much time do we have?' Cain asked in a deep voice.

{Replying to host: When all the factors are considered, I would say this planet has about three hundred million years before it is completely oversaturated with mana...}

Cain found himself speechless, "What?! I thought you said this planet is incapable of absorbing so much mana?"

{Replying to host: Correction... the system reported that if there are no external factors involved, then this planet will be destroyed very soon, as it will be able to keep up with the rapid mana influx}.

'External factors...'

Suddenly, it seemed to click in his head, as a sharp light flashed across his eyes.

'Don't tell me the external factors you are referring to is-'

{Replying to host: Affirmative... The external factors are in fact, the devils that have invaded your world...}

Cain could feel his heart getting heavier by the second. He had a feeling that the delivery of bad news had yet to end...

'These devils... What exactly is their goal?' Cain asked as he stared out the windows to gaze at the bleak dreary skies, his expression complicated.

{Replying to host: The devils have had only one goal and purpose since the beginning of time...}

Saying that the system voice paused for a while. Cain couldn't tell if the system deliberately paused for dramatic effect or not...

{To devour... To consume anything and everything that crosses their path. They follow dense currents of mana flowing through the universe to locate planets like yours that haven't been through evolution.

Then they feed on the mana and vital essence of the planet and its inhabitants, sucking away until the only thing left is a dried husk of death and emptiness...}