God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain hummed to himself.

'Not a bad name.'

He shook his head to clear his thoughts of the murderous tendencies swimming within.

He looked down at the bound girl then sighed.

Then he looked around.

The rain was still beating lightly on the corpse covered ground. The scent of blood softly mixed in with the earthy scent of the light shower, forcing him into a confusion.

In this moment, he had no idea what to feel.

All these sights and smells made him feel things he didn't think he had every felt before.

Fighting back the urge to throw up, he looked down,

"Do you know why we are in this place?"

Roselle was silent for a moment before answering begrudgingly,

"No. I have no clue."

She squinted and pursed her lips,

"All I know is that I arrived here one moment, and the next, I'm sent into a killing daze."

Cain frowned and thought to himself,

'So we did in fact arrive here. The question is how long ago?'

He shook his head.

All that didn't matter that much.

He turned back to the girl on the ground,

"Do you know why we are here?"

Roselle scrunched her brows,

"I don't." She said, with a slight pause.

Then she continued,

"But I think I know where we can find out."

Cain couldn't help but be a bit skeptical.

Sensing the doubt on his eyes, Roselle rolled hers,

"What? I have no reason to lie to you. You have my life in your hands." She said, rattling the chains on her arms and legs..

Cain sighed,

"Alright, let's hear it. If it's believable, I might let you live."

Roselle frowned then shook her head,

"That's not good enough. I need a guarantee you'll let me go."

Cain's frown turned sour,

"Not happening."

Roselle turned her head to the side and closed her eyes,

"Then you can stay here. I'm sure if I leave you here long enough, you'll become one with the corpses eventually."

Roselle's expression turned bitter as she shifted uncomfortably. Laying on a bed of torn bodies was no lt very pleasant, it seemed.

She let out a quiet sigh,

"There was a flock of flying creatures. They were headed in that direction."

Cain frowned, "And what does that have to do with any?"

Roselle sniffled and adjusted her body,

"These birds weren't the type to feast on rotting corpses. In fact, they detest the scent of rot. I also believe they are native to this strange world."

Her eyes narrowed and she continued,

"That means wherever they are heading, there are no corpses. At least, for the time being."

Cain couldn't help but ask,

"Is that where you were headed before... this?"

Roselle glared at him, "Yes, it was. Unfortunately, I just had to meet you. Now,. I've lost sight of them, thanks to you."

Cain grimaced.

So he would lose the one hint he had found just like that?

He wasn't going to let that happen.

"What direction did you say they were headed?"

Roselle raised a brow, "My hands are tied. How do you expect me to point it to you?"

Cain thought about it for a moment. He focused for a bit, and with a thought, the chains he had used to bind Roselle disintegrated into metallic dust that drifted into the wind a moment later.

The lithe body of the mutant human sprang up and she immediately reached for her weapons.

"Wait! Just hear me out for a moment..." Cain said quickly.

Roselle narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything despite keeping her guard up, her hands tightly gripping onto the hilt of her weapons.

Cain sucked in a deep breath,

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done that a whole ago."

He pursed his lips, then added, a perplexed expression on his face,

"But I don't want to. I won't."

He narrowed his eyes,

"Right now, you are the only one I've met that still seems to maintain a modicum of sanity. I think if we work together, we can make it out of this hellhole."

Roselle was stumped.

On one hand, she really wanted to tear this pervert bastard to shreds.

On the other, her heart was filled with conflicting feelings she couldn't identify even when she tried.

It was confusing.

She frowned. Then her posture relaxed...

Seeing this, Cain breathed a sigh of relief.

"Show me where they were headed."

Roselle pointed towards the distant emptiness to his right,

"That way."

Cain frowned then closed his eyes.

'There was something...'

When they snapped back open, one of them had completely transformed.

There was only pale white sclera left, like the color of bleached bones. Within it were dozens, maybe hundreds, or even a thousand runes swimming within, giving him an eerie atmosphere.

Roselle took a step back in horror,

"Your... your eye!"

Cain ignored her and remained silent after a while, his brows shot up,

"There! They are headed that way."

***

Having been in this place for a while, Cain hadn't thought he would have gotten himself a companion so soon.

He frowned.

A lot of strange things had been happening ever since.

First, because he had willed it, a sword had magically appeared in his hands. Next, he had realized he could manifest objects of metallic nature from absolutely nothing.

His frown deepened,

'No, not nothing.'

Then his eyes widened, 'Mana.'

And now, he had come across another ability he didn't even know he had.

Not only did it allow him to see beyond the horizon and find the birds he was looking for, it also allowed him to finally see through the fog of darkness that had been clouding his mind.

His suspicions were right.

This thing, this murderous bug in his heart was not natural.

As he looked all around him, he saw thousands upon thousands of crimson threads floating from the corpses all around them into the distance.

There was one connected to himself and Roselle, but it was a bit dimmer compared to the ones attached to the corpses.

'What is going on, really?'

What were these red threads, and whydid they all seem to originate from the where the strange birds were flying to?

These was something off about this entire ordeal.

A distant rumbled and crash broke him out of his reverie.

Him and Roselle exchanged glances then rushed over.

A few minutes later, they arrived.

The scene was horrible.

The scent of burning wood and fat filled the air.

An enormous creature that looked like a living tree lay on the ground, its bark consumed by a fiendish violet flame.

The {Treant} let out groans as its body turned into coal and it died. However, that was not the worst of it.

There were many more corpses on the ground, some of them impaled by the vines protruding out of the {Treant}.

They were also being burned by the violet flames, letting out cries of despair.

There were still others fighting, their blood and sweat being spilled into the ground. At the center of the terrible battle was an enormous ethereal armored being created from particles of condensed light.

It carried an enormous shield with enough radiance, it was like a star at the center of the darkest depths of the void.

In its other hand was an enormous greatsword that it swung, trying to cleave off the head of a figure moving around it at great speeds, trying to reach the girl hiding behind the Guardian of Light.
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The figure darting around bared her teeth at the the girl behind the light guardian.

The figure puffed its cheeks up and its lungs swole. Then, it spat out a torrent of eerie violet flames. They bathed the guardian of light, forcing it to raise its shield.

The figure broke out into a delirious laugh,

"You freaking bitch. I'll burn you to death!"

Cain saw the girl behind the Guardian stare at the figure who now revealed itself to be a short, effeminate, crimson skinned creature with horns and a tail.

Her eyes were cold and if gazes could kill, the creature in front of her would be six feet under.

The short red skinned creature let out a chuckle. A long, purple tongue stretched out of her mouth and licked her lips.

Then, she dove back towards the ground, smashing her heel towards the head of the Guardian of Light.

The Guardian quickly brought its shield up. A second later, a loud bang rocked the world.

Motes of light broke off the body of the enormous Light Guardian, but its defenses held.

Then she followed up with another roundhouse kick, driving her heel into the the helmet of the enormous guard.

The guardian continued to receive a beat down whilst the girl hiding behind it, muttering something under her breath.

Cain frowned and exchanged a glance with Roselle.

It was probably just like all the other battle that had happened across the plains.

In the end, it was all the same.

Very soon, a few more corpses would join those on the ground.

They would die.

Cain drew his sword and dashed forward.