God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The fire crackled softly as Cain mulled over the implications of everything he had learned today.

The conversation had shifted from casual to profound in a matter of moments, yet that was the nature of this world now—one moment, they were just eating, and the next, they were discussing the terrifying depths of celestial mysteries.

"So, how does this Mana Tech handle something like Aether?" Cain asked, still studying the glyphs on Boulder's weapon.

Gloria gave him a thoughtful look. "Aether is a whole different beast. Our Mana Tech is designed to manipulate raw mana, and while it's versatile, it's not built to handle things mutations or the primal chaos Aether seems to represent. It's like trying to kill a flame with gasoline."

Khan chimed in, "That's the core problem. Aether doesn't follow the same rules as mana. It's unpredictable and dangerous."

Cain chuckled, "But summoners seem to have no problems using it."

Khan shrugged, "That's not it. They use Aether, but not as much as you think. For the most part, the creatures they summon are used as mediums to draw mana from the Aether."

Gloria sighed. "It's different for us though. If we tried to force Aether into Mana Tech, it would tear any equipment apart before we could even think of controlling it."

Cain leaned back, pondering,

"And yet, the Moon Goddess controls Aether beasts in such a massive scale. Doesn't that mean she must have an insane control Aether, even if indirectly. It means there must be a way. Something we're missing."

Boulder grunted, "Whatever it is, it's beyond us. Remember, this is a Celestial we are talking about. A literal God.

Gloria shrugged, "That's one of the selling points the Pilgrims use against the Moon Goddes. According to ancient manuscripts, we've had people in the past go mad, devolving into literal beasts, trying to harness Aether, turning themselves into little more than mindless husks."

Cain's mind immediately went to Hunter and the rest of the Beastmen.

'Isn't that the same thing? According to Hunter, Aether is responsible for their mutation, although it isn't as violent as these Aether Beasts.'

Lucia, who had been silent, finally spoke, her voice soft but firm,

"In the end, it makes no difference. We'll kill them all, down to the last body, and take this City back. Devil, Aether Beast, Celestial... It doesn't matter. All that matters is that they are in unwelcomed territory."

Boulder shrugged. "Careful. Being hot-blooded should have its limits."

Lucia clicked her tongue, "Whatever."

Right now, they were having a moment of rest after a few hours of mowing down Aether Beasts.

Since he had planned on using Devil blood to draw the magic circle needed for the Spatial Gate, he decided to take just a small portion of the meat from the creatures they killed.

The rest were stored in special portable, spatial storage containers Boulder summoned from his inventory.

Over this period, Cain had been able to come to various conclusions;

Boulder was strong, but he didn't reveal much. With his bow and arrow, he was capable of accurately calculating distance and the amount of lethality necessary to fell a foe. He also capable of defending himself at the very least, at close range.

Then there was Lucia, the trigger-happy War Maiden. Khan was more of a swordsman, with his dancing twin blades slicing through hoards of creatures at once.

As for the others like Gloria and Jasper, a short, lanky individual, who seemed to be no older than sixteen, they were very ordinary when it came to battle. Still, that was in relation to his own crew. They were still capable of holding their own without any deaths so far, which was very impressive.

He smirked slightly. It had been a while since he last saw the others. He wondered how they were doing. Not only that, but those on the ship hadn't heard from them in a while so it was only normal for them to be worried.

'I'll have to get this over with as fast as possible.' Cain said to himself.

A sudden gust of wind swept through the camp, the sound of air blowing through the desolate ruins was like the cry of a damned ghost, its soul locked in eternal torment.

The fire flickered due to the wind, drowning them in shadows. In this land of eternal night, everything seemed to serve as a reminder of how fragile their existence was out here, surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Every crevice, every shadow seemed to contain a fiend ready, just waiting to lunge out and bite their necks, draining their blood and soul from their bodies.

Boulder stood up, brushing off his hands,

"Enough of this talk for tonight. We need to move soon. There's no telling what's lurking out there."

The others nodded in agreement, rising from their spots around the fire. Cain remained seated, still deep in thought. His mind was a swirl of possibilities, dangers, and potential. The idea of what was to come intrigued him, and though the risks were great, the rewards could be even greater.

As the others prepared to put the fire out, Lucia walked over to him, her voice low. Her gaze seems complicated,

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something..."

Cain raised a brow, "Sure, go ahead."

Under the moonlight, this vigorous gunslinger seemed far more delicate that what she usually portrayed, making Cain a bit more cautious than using,

She seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking,

"Look, try not to do anything to rash from now on. Not only could you put the team in danger, you could also get yourself killed."

Her eyes steeled, "And I have no intentions of letting that happen."

Cain stared at her blankly for a few seconds before letting out a chuckle,

"Don't worry, I have no intentions of dying. I'm sorry for putting you all in trouble. I can assure you it won't happen again."

'Or at least, I'll try my very best not to let it happen.' He thought, keeping that part to himself.

She stared at him for a long moment, then nodded slowly.

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Cain alone by the dying fire.

As the night deepened, Cain closed his eyes and let the sounds of the wilderness fill his mind. Although his real eyes were closed, his Clairvoyant Eyes were wide open.

Aether. Mana. The Celestials. There was so much he didn't understand yet, but he knew one thing: if he wanted to survive, if he wanted to become the one true dominion that could stand against a figure as mighty ad the sky itself, he needed to know more. And he needed to take even more risks.

The few minutes later, the group was on the move again. They traversed through a portion of the dense, eerie buildings surrounding the blood-colored dome.

Cain was walking beside Boulder, his eyes scanning the area surrounding them.

For some reason, the ground was changing. There was no longer any cracked pavement in this area, leaving nothing but rocks and black soil,

"Where exactly are we heading?"

Boulder grunted, wiping sweat from his brow,

"There's an old warehouse up ahead. It used to be a base for a few humans like us back before the Aether Beasts swarmed this area and the Devils still ran amok. We should be able get a few necessities, ingredients and spices from this place."

"Don't you think it should all be gone by now? Maybe other humans or the Aether Beasts have probably gotten to it." Cain said.

Boulder shook his head, "The information we got says the last time a swuad came around these parts, the loot was still intact. Aether Beasts also have no interest in human things. I think..."

Cain sighed, "You think?"

Boulder nodded blankly.

"Always," Khan muttered from ahead, his brows scrunched up,

"They've noticed us. This place is crawling with Aether creatures."

A low growl echoed through the dark corners, as though to freeze everyone in place.

Cain's hand tightened on the hilt of his blade as he scanned the surroundings. The growl came again, louder this time, followed by the sound of something swift moving through the broken streets.

"We've got trouble," Boulder growled, raising his weapon and pulling back on the bowstring,

"Form up!"

The hunters quickly took defensive positions, their eyes darting between the empty streets. Cain stepped forward, his heart racing as mana flooded his being.

'Whatever it is that's coming, its coming fast!'

His eyes widened, 'Then I just have to be faster!'

Power erupted from his body as he brought forth the full power of the {Internal Mana Furnace} beating in his chest.

Out of the shadows emerged a hulking, yet lithe figure—a massive Aether Beast, its body rippling with unnatural energy. Its scales were a sickly shade of green, pulsating with veins of glowing Aether. Its eyes burned with primal fury and bloodlust as it let out a deafening roar.

Cain's pulse quickened as the beast charged toward them. "Here we go."

Without hesitation, he activated {Azure Burst}, turning into a streak of blue flames. {Platinum Genesis} sent forth a streak of white speed light, cutting at the beast with deadly precision. The creature turned around. In turn, the scales on its back hardened. The attack cut through the thick scales but was unable to drawn blood. However, it managed to stall the creature's momentum.

Boulder cursed under his breath. "This thing is rather tough."

Khan rushed forward, his blade shimmering with raw mana as he sliced into the creature's flank. The energy surrounding the blade extending, slicing through the creatur's softer under belly. The Aether beast howled in pain but retaliated, swiping its massive claws toward him.

Leaping backwards, a torrent of swordlights were launched at the creature, causing it to block.

The rest of them sent forth a hailstorm of bullets towards the beast, forcing it back.

Boulder, having been patient bidding his time finally saw his chance.

The deceptively normal arrow attacked to his bowstring was let loose, and in what seemed like nanoseconds, had managed to bury itself deep into the eyeball of the tenebrous beast, digging into its brain.

Of course, the creature's vitality wouldn't allow it to die so easily, so it entered a frenzy almost immediately.

However, Cain had already foreseen this conclusion.

Switching weapons to the {Scale of the Abyssal Flame}, he leapt as high as gravity would allow. The runes etched on his blade glowed with crimson light as he slammed the edge of the blade onto the creature's head, cracking its skull open and ending its life.