God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain watched in horror as a flaming foot quickly neared his face.

Tilting his head back, he managed to dodge it by an inch.

'She's trying to kill me!'

He firmly grasped into her leg,

"Hold on a minute!"

Ignis growled as she tried pulling away from his grip,

"Let go of me, you beast!"

Cain shook his head,

"I'll let go once you've called yourself."

Ignis let out a deep breath,

"I am calm."

"I can still feel your bloodlust." Cain said with a nervous chuckle.

"That's because you deserve death." Ignis said coldly.

Cain grimaced, "I was just testing something out. I didn't think it would work."

Ignis finally relaxed. However, she didn't retract her leg.

Instead, she asked,

"What was that? How did you do it? Was it your spatial magic?"

"It is a new ability of sorts..." He briefly explained the details of the {Beastmaster's Subspace} to her.

Slowly, her expression turned dark. Cain felt her bloodlust grow even more, causing him to break out into a cold sweat.

"Isn't this enough motivation for me to kill you here?"

Cain chuckled wryly,

"I don't think so."

He continued smugly,

"A [Body and Soul] contract means you give yourself wholly over to me, isn't it? This shouldn't make any difference, should it?"

Ignis grimaced.

The details of the [Body and Soul] contract were indeed quite strict on her.

For two whole years, she would have to comply with every order and command given to her, even if they were not appropriate.

Her skin tone changed.

However, she knew Cain would never order her to do something like that.

She let out a sigh and took her leg back.

Dusting her clothes, she placed her hands on her waist, glaring down at Cain.

Although it had been some time since she last saw him, he hadn't changed much.

'His hair is longer. And the Demon smell on him is a bit stronger too.'

She frowned.

Cain chuckled,

"I'll give you a heads up next time."

She sighed then looked around,

"So, what do you want, calling me here seems suspicious, especially when there's no one else around."

Cain waved his hands casually,

"Actually, I need your help with something."

Ignis raised a brow,

"Won't anyone do? I'm a bit busy right now."

Cain pursed his lips,

"Well, not quite..."

He pointed at a strange looking archway in the corner.

Ignis frowned. The first thing she noticed was that this strange archway didn't fit into the surroundings aesthetic.

For one, although the ship, Gwendolyn, was enormous grand, the interior was rather plain, built more for practicality than convenience.

There were little to no decorations and ornaments, and while the cabins were quite spacious, they were incredibly plain.

It was for this reason, that the archway looked so out of place.

It was covered in runes and strange looking ornaments, some more eerie looking than others.

Even more obvious, was that an archway signified an entry point. It did not belong in a corner.

Cain explained,

"That is a special item I once received from the system. The {Gate of Stars}."

Cain's eyes narrowed as he explained,

"Basically, it is a portal into the spirit realm, or better yet, a particular part of it."

Ignis' eyes widened,

"A portal to the spirit realm?!"

Cain nodded then smiled,

"Yeah, but since physical bodies can't enter through the gate, my body becomes completely inactive when I use it."

Ignis frowned then nodded,

"I see. So you called me here to guard your body?"

Cain nodded. Then he shook his head,

"Yes and no. I'm not particularly scared of something bad happening to my body. It's my spirit and soul I'm worried about."

Ignis' eyes narrowed,

"So the rumors are true."

Cain's brow shot up,

"Rumors?"

"While I haven't personally been into the spirit realm, according to what I've heard, some say that it is populated by many creatures. Some are benevolent and can even give you incredible powers. Others are not so kind and can smite your entire being into nothingness should you even gaze upon their form, or even corrupt you with malignant knowledge and madness."

Cain sighed, "Those rumors are true. A dive through the {Gate of Stars} is rather dangerous in that sense. Most of the time, I get lucky, but a few times, I run into these evil outer beings and my soul and spirit run the risk of being destroyed."

Cain stared into her eyes,

"So I need you to pull me back in case something doesn't seem right."

Ignis grimaced,

"What? How am I supposed to know if your spirit is being obliterated?"

Cain shrugged,

"I don't know. You'll figure it out."

Ignis felt her eyelids twitch.

Sensing the bloodlust in the room increasing, Cain tried to mellow things out,

"Of course, I won't ask you to do this for free."

A soft white light shimmered between his fingers, and a big red gem, smooth as a marble appeared, grasped between his thumb and index finger.

Cain grinned as he placed it in her hands.

Ignis' frown softened,

"A mana core?"

Cain nodded, "A high quality flame attribute one too."

Her lips trembled,

"I won't be shy then." She managed to say, quickly tucking th mana core away.

Cain chuckled,

"Good."

Ignis turned to the {Gate of Stars}, carefully observing it,

"Still, to think you had something interesting like this lying about."

She turned to him, a look of amazement in her eyes,

"Most beings know that the spirit realm is the source of mana. However, it is off limits for creatures like us. Something like this existing is rather surprising."

Cain walked up to it, running his fingers along the pulsing runes on its frame made of an unknown material,

"Apparently, it was made by an extinct race a long time ago."

Ignis frowned, "Dabbling with things like this, I can only imagine how they were wiped out."

Cain couldn't agree more.

"Although I think this thing is dangerous and would like to stop you, I have a feeling that would be futile."

Cain nodded seriously,

"You are right."

Ignis chuckled.

Cain smiled.

The {Gate of Stars} didn't require much to use. Long since familiar with the process, he projected his will forward.

Now that he was familiar with his Sea of Consciousness, projecting his will out was far more efficient than before.

In a moment, he found his consciousness drifting in a dark void.

However, the void was not completely empty.

It was littered with clusters of stars all dispersed to create a beautiful, breathtaking picture.

Each 'star' was a spirit. But Cain knew this was not the only form spirits could take.

These 'star' spirits were rather special it seemed. Although they were relatively motionless, he could sense the life bubbling within them, almost bursting out.

And he, he was just a lonely soul drifting through.

The closest star to him was a deep amber and gave off a feeling of intense heat.

Cain let the pull of the Star embrace him.

The warmth coiled around his soul. If he had a mouth, he would have let out a satisfied sigh.

He activated the {Mana Vault}.

The spirit organ slowly siphoned the rich mana from the Star, storing it within.

Once he felt he had enough, Cain let his soul wander further, anytime he felt a deep attraction towards a 'star', he would stop and allow the {Mana Vault} siphon a bit of mana from it.

The mana he did take was so little, it was barely noticable. Each star was enormous, titanic even compared to him. The amount of mana he had the capacity for would be restored in just a few minutes.

What was even better, was that these spirits seemed glad giving him a portion of their rich mana. Of course, this was because of his title, {Loved by the Spirits}.

'Now this is relaxing.'

Strolling through this galactic world of stars was calm and relaxing.

The ambient silence was relaxing, and the peaceful waves from the surrounding spirits was so serene, he felt like he could lose himself here forever.

'What a dangerous feeling.'

He had been drifting for a fairly long time when he came across an oddity.

It was not a star, neither was it an eldritch entity.

Rather, it was a flux in the void.

With {Spirit Sense}, it was rather difficult for him to understand what he was seeing.

The only way he could describe it, was an area in flux, constantly changing and undulating.

If he had lips, a frown would be in them as he quietly observed.

He suddenly came to tej realization that there were quite a few things he didn't know, and more that a few he couldn't quite understand.

Just like everything within the realm of spirits, the flux field also had an elemental affinity, although it was one he had absolutely no affinity for.

'The element of time.' Cain thought to himself.

Time was a strange thing.

So far, Cain had not met, neither had he heard of a being that could wield that element. He was even inclined to believe that it didn't truly exist in elemental form and was more of a conceptual existence than anything else.

'Then again, in a reality of magic, I suppose anything truly might be possible.'

Maybe, just maybe...