God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

A second later, a head burst out of the dark waters, frantically gasping for air.

"Fuck!"

Lukas and Steve rushed to the bank and reached into the water, dragging him out.

"I can't move."

Steve hissed through clenched teeth,

"Of course you can't, idiot! What was that stunt?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Staring up at the glowing algae that filled the roof overhead, Cain couldn't even managed a chuckle.

Seeing his condition, Steve gritted and yelled,

"We need your help! That think activated all its magic just before its death. If we don't drive something, he'll die!"

Susan left Ignis' side and quickly rushed over. Falling to her knees beside Cain, she closed her eyes and placed a hand on his chest and over his face.

She grimaced, "What terrifying magic. I've never seen anything like it before..."

Steve turned to her, his eyes grim,

"Will you be able to stop it?"

She was silent for a while, her face equally as grim,

"I can try. The magic is of the darkness element, so my magic will be effective. But that doesn't mean it will work."

She paused for a moment,

"Just like light pushes darkness away, darkness also limits light. I can do something, but not much."

Steve frowned, "Damn it..."

By now, Cain's entire body had almost turned rock solid due to the petrifying magic.

A few seconds, and he would be too far gone to save.

'Ah... I really don't want to die again...'

His thoughts were faint, like an almost inaudible whisper.

His body felt a bit cold, but that was okay, because cold was familiar.

He would die, and go through that horrid experience to come back. It wasn't something he hadn't done before.

His heart thumped...

'Like hell I will!'

His heart thumped again, then again, then again...

The liquid fire in his flames roared in excitement.

Steve's expression suddenly changed as he jolted back,

"Everyone, step back!"

Those around him moved back just in time to avoid the streams of crimson flames that burst out of his body.

His armor was immediately subjected to the extreme heat, and all the water on it instantly vaporized.

"Well damn, how unexpected..." Vincent muttered, staring at Cain that had now become a conflagration of crimson flames.

A moment later, the crimson flames flew back into his body.

Cain sat up, his expression a mix of confusion and curiosity.

"What the hell was that?"

Steve sighed and fell to the ground with a chuckle,

"Who are you asking?"

Cain lifted his head.

Everyone was staring at him.

Lukas had an inexplicable look on his face, Zue didn't even look him in the eye, relief was plastered on Susan's face, and Sue, Li, and Stan sported wide grins.

Vincent chuckled nervously when their eyes met, while Floki stared at him, his face cold, but his eyes filled with fascination.

Ignis leaned in, completely perplexed,

"You don't know what that was?"

Cain shook his head, frowned, then nodded,

"Apparently, it was the {Bloodflame}."

Steve sat up abruptly and stared at him,

"Could this be a hidden aspect of the skill?"

Cain shrugged, "Maybe. But it did save my life, so I'd say it is much appreciated."

Lukas gritted his teeth, "Whatever plot armor you have sure is gracious. I can't even seem to avoid getting injured these days."

With a sigh, Susan walked to him and placed her hands above his legs. Soft t radiance flowed down her fingertips and into his wounds healing them.

The holes closed up and no scarring formed under the wounds.

Susan turned to face Cain again, only this time, her expression was a bit darker,

"You said you would stop acting so recklessly. You could have died."

Cain wanted to say something, but remained silent.

If he hadn't done that, they might have had other casualties. That was one thing he couldn't allow to happen. The creature he has just defeated was a powerful Tier 1 beast. It was very capable of killing anyone of them.

Caution was a virtue, but only when it could preserve one's life. In a moment of absolute danger, abandoning caution was only normal and logical.

Of course, if he knew this, then Susan undoubtedly knew this as well.

He sighed. He dropped his head back onto the ground, hesitated for a moment, then sighed,

"Let's take a break..."

***

A fire was made.

They all retrieved rations of mutant beast meat from their inventories and ate in silence. The deeper they went into the system of caverns, the colder it got, so much so, that even with their strong defenses and vitalities, it was getting hard to bear.

As such, they had to rely on the most efficient way to fight the cold.

Cain stared at the dancing flames, lost in thought.

Change was truly a scary thing. It was always there, and yet, everytime it was noticed, it was so drastic and sudden.

His body, this mind, his soul... Everything about him has changed, and would continue to change.

Lukas suddenly stood up and walked away.

Vincent called out to him,

"Oi, where are you going?"

Lukas paused, turned slightly and said,

"To take a leak."

Vincent raised a brow, "Really?"

Lukas snorted, "Whatever, it doesn't concern you."

Zue also stood up, "I would also like to take a leak. If you would excuse me..."

The two left shortly after.

Vincent snorted and sneered, "What are those two buffoons up to?"

Steve shrugged, "Well, it is none of our business as long as it doesn't negatively affect the mission. I couldn't care less if they go suck each other off."

Vincent grimaced, "Way to paint a picture..."

Floki who had been silently munching on a piece of meat turned to Vincent,

"How far away are we from the checkpoint?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Vincent grinned, "I'm glad you asked!"

Light shimmered in his hands and he pulled out his map.

It had changed over the few hours they had spent down here, and it seemed even more detailed than before.

Cain's ears peeked up as he listened even as he sunk his teeth into the fatty meat.

"Let's see..."