God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

War is a sordid thing.

Meaningless, yet an action frought with all sorts of reasons.

Why did it exist?

A means for conflicting groups, ideas, and creatures to extinguishe themselves, only allowing for that which is superior to reign victorious.

As the world froze over, Cain found himself contemplating the strange trivialities.

However, that only lasted for a moment, as the next second, he felt a wave of heat.

His body completely encased in ice, he was only able to lift his eyes.

And that is when he saw it.

A massive burning star of pitch black flames.

This star was much similar to his dark {Supernova} from combining the {Flame of Darkness}, {Vampiric Star}, and {Imploding Star}.

But it seemed far more volatile than his.

And hence, much more dangerous.

'It is also hotter.'

Under the effect of {Frost Temple}, his body had been frozen in place, but that was about it if he ignored the biting cold. It seems his body was rather resistant to the Frost element.

All around him was a silent, frozen hell.

The Devils and {Zombies}, their faces trapped in twisted agony, their bodies now still sculptures.

Cain activated {Nexus Tether} again.

His body blinked out of existence and was replaced with a golden star-tipped blade, frozen within the thick ice in his stead.

The moment he did, the black star fell.

There was a brief pause.

The cool air wafting about the frozen world drafted upwards while the air boiling from the influence of the burning flame star surged down.

When the two opposing streams of air met, a blinding light pierced through everything.

And then, an explosion that tore the world asunder followed.

Then a much more terrifying explosion than the first followed as the ball of flames slammed into the frozen wasteland, bathing everything in black fire.

Across the land bridge, Hunter shielded his eyes from the light.

The scowl on his face turned ferocious as his body began to change, becoming larger and more beastly.

He didn't have to say anything.

The horde of Beastmen behind him, armed to the teeth with swords, spears and crafts of war roared as they charged forward, their eyes alit with the flames of bloodlust.

With a loud battlecry, Floki turned into an enormous into a seven foot tall creature covered with icy white fur and eyes as blue as the frigid depths. Despite the heavy armor, tower shield and battle-axe he wielded, he was incredibly fast.

Together, the first wave of fighters galloped across the land bridge.

Steve standing at the edge of the chasm, Steve turned around,

"Well, the battle has begun. We can't let ourselves be outdone, now can we?"

Luke chuckled dryly. Then he turned to Steve with a complicated look on his face.

Steve raised a brow,

"What?"

Luke paused for a moment, then shook his head,

"If I die today, tell her not to mourn me for too long."

Steve went silent. After a moment, he nodded,

"I will. Now, you can fight to your heart gives out."

Luke roared in laughter.

He turned around.

Winifred and Reginald stood behind him.

Adjusting his glasses, Winifred spoke casually,

"Unfortunately for me, it might take all I have to keep you idiots alive."

Reginald exploded in laughter as he slapped Winifred's shoulder violently,

"Come on, Winnie! If we die, let us die together as brothers!"

Winifred winced,

"Who the hell is dying with you?! Go die on your own."

Turning to Luke, he paused for a moment, then wore a small smile,

"What? Aren't you going to lead the charge?"

Luke smiled. He brandished his sword and his hands became enveloped with a wave of viscous, black, malevolent energy, transforming them into something not human.

His mutated {Devil Arms}>

"You heard the man. Don't let yourselves be outdone. If you are going to die, might as well bring at least three of these bastards down with you!"

Loud frenzied cries exploded forth as all the unchanged humans surged forward as well, waving their weapons wildly.

He turned back to Winifred,

"Don't die."

Winifred shrugged,

"Tell that to this idiot over here."

Reginald roared wildly as he swung his large war hammer,

"For honor~!"

His voice trailed off as he barreled away from them.

Winifred sighed tiredly.

Muttering almost silently, he cast a spell on himself and Luke.

Then he turned to Steve,

"I'll head in close with these ones. Someone has to look after them."

Steve nodded, "Then you do well to keep yourself alive."

Winifred nodded then placed an arm on Luke's shoulder. A moment later, they both disappeared.

Now, the only ones left on this side was Steve.

And someone in the shadows.

Turning to look at the stretching darkness behind him, Steve raised a brow,

"You aren't going to join the fight?"

A chuckle came from the shadow's darkness,

"You all seem to be handling it just fine. I doubt my help is needed."

Steven nodded.

Then he turned and began walking towards the land bridge,

"I just hope you aren't doing anything shady. Betrayal is a rather ugly thing."

The voice came again from his shadow,

"Do you doubt me?"

Steve shrugged, "Of course I do. Always running off and disappearing, I think anyone would have doubts. But for some reason, Cain seems to trust you."

He glanced back, this time, his eyes burning with a frigid glare,

"If he cannot doubt, then I will do the doubting for him. Call it a part of my job description. I can't have what we have all worked so hard to build come crumbling down due to negligence."

The voice in the shadows chuckled,

"Calling your leader negligent... Isn't that rude?"

Steve shrugged,

"Trust sometimes makes humans blind to reality. It is a rather nasty double edged sword."

"I see. All I can tell you is you can alleviate your doubts."

Steve shook his head,

"It is better to remain cautious. I don't know what it is you are planning, but whatever it is, I will be ready when the time comes. Mark my words."

Sensing the person within his Shadow's departure, Steve sighed and chuckled bitterly,

"Cain... You are making all the crazy ladies fall in love with you."

"I'm so jealous."

***

Landing on his back with a groan, Cain lay still for a while.

His face and lips were purple, and he was just a little bit short of dying from the horrible cold.

He lay there, dead center of the land bridge.

For some reason, the space around him became abnormal after he used {Frost Temple}, making it difficult for him to utilize spatial skills.

Luckily, it had worked, although it had malfunctioned a bit.

He lay there, staring at the dark sky and the bleeding moon.

His breaths were slow and laboured, coming through his lips in cold, white puffs.

His healing had also slowed down tremendously, making the process even more unbearable.

Suddenly, he felt a warmth cover him.

Then a big, sloppy tongue slobbered all over this face.

"Hm?"

"You aren't dead, are you?" He heard someone say.

It took his a moment to come to his senses.

Then he chuckled, his voice coming out in hoarse croaks,

"I'm not dead. But I sure wish I was. It hurts all over."

The faces of Ruby and Sue filled his vision, blocking out the nightmarish sky.

Sue smirked as she poked his stiff face with her index finger,

"I'm glad you made it out in one piece as well. But it isn't over yet."

From her fingertips, a soft warmth spread, encasing his body.

Cain felt the chilling pain slowly subside. Coupled with the warmth from Ruby's fur, he felt he would be good as new in only a minute.

He struggled to stand, using Ruby as a crutch.

He couldn't help but gasp in shock when he witnessed the devastation on the otherside of the land bridge.

Surprising, there was no crater formed.

However, everything as far as the eyes could see had been flattened. The topography of the land had also changed drastically.

All around, there were enormous planes of steam ice as well as small pools of molten magma.

All across it, Devil and Zombie corpses were scattered, not even a single body intact. The hard exoskeletal armor of the Devils could protect them against much. But not against this one.

It was terrible. Cain counted at least ten thousand dead Devils already.

However, his expression was still hard.

Although many Devils had died, it seemed most of them had survived.

A swirling cloud of bile green miasma floated above the chaotic world.

It was viscous and gave off the vile scent of evil. It screamed, as though trapping and tormenting the souls of the dead.

With his eyes sharper than that of any avian creature, he was able to see the being at the center of this toxic miasma cloud.

He grimaced, feeling a deep sense of familiarity.

The Devil saw him at the same time.

Their eyes locked together.

In that moment, Cain swore he had never seen a Devil look so enraged in his entire life.