God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The tentacle then gently carried him up the ships deck.

His face was pale and covered in blood, but it was still possible to see his slightly handsome features.

He looked excessively lean, his bones almost being seen through his skin. This was a result of consuming all his Ki at once. His vitality had been seriously wounded.

\'You can rest now. I\'ll take it from here.\' Evangeline said in her mind, smiling down at Cain\'s unconscious body.

Jenny quickly ran up to them. Touching him, she could see that he was still alive. She heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness."

The others also approached them. Looking at his emaciated body, they all held concerned expressions.

Ignoring them, Evangeline spoke to Jenny,

"Take him to a room to rest. We\'ll handle the rest."

The tooth had been broken, but that didn\'t mean they were out of danger yet. Some jagged edges at the root of the tooth were present. Should the ship make contact with them, it was nearly guaranteed it would break its hull open and flood its interior.

Gwendolyn wouldn\'t make it a mile before it sunk if that happened...

Evangeline waved her hands, and in front of everyone, began chanting.

The water below them surged with darkness and rose up like a wave before the ship.

The blood spewing from the base of the tooth mixed in with the surging waves.

The creature beneath the waves seemed to have sensed something, as it began speeding up the process of Devouring the island.

Like a fruit being crushed open by strong jaws, the island was cracked open, and its vitality fell into the Abyssal maw of the beast beneath the waves.

Meanwhile, Evangeline continued to control the wave, eventually making it high enough, such that Gwendolyn could avoid the jagged edges.

Everyone held their breaths and onto the railings whilst saying silent prayers as the ship sped tumultuously past the other teeth.

Incredibly, they managed to make it out without a scratch.

Riding the turbulent waves, Gwendolyn continued to speed off into the distance.

***

In a realm of lightlessness, there stood a strange apparition.

This being knew what it was, but didn\'t know where it was, nor how it got there.

One moment, he existed in a place at a moment within the confines of space and time, but now, he existed in this lightless void, engulfed by eternity.

An eternity that is endless, void, and empty... Where time, matter and dimensions do not exist.

This place was the beings own mind. A strange reality of itself own making.

Perhaps it was a sort of defense created by the apparition to protect itself from descending into a corrupting madness.

That strange apparition was Cain, and Cain was the strange apparition...

As he sat in the darkness, Cain felt comfortable. He began to recall all the things he had experienced.

From the beginning, his dull, unassuming life that was not quite the same as everyone else. He had held a dream, thought it was vague now.

Then came the apocalypse...

Following that was what seemed like endless fighting and adventure. He had fulfilled that vague dream. He had acquired that feeling of being alive... more alive than he had ever been.

But now, that didn\'t seem enough. Now, his life couldn\'t just be about wanting to live, right?

That thrill of battle, that sense of mystery that came with the adventure... it was not all he wanted to achieve.

He let out a sigh. However, in this dark void, where air didn\'t exist, the sound should have been non-existent. Instead, it spread to every corner of this dark space, echoing back a few times even.

The power he had acquired along his journey had sometimes gotten to his head, but the constant arrival of even more fearsome goes, beings of ungodly might, helped him keep it leveled.

But that power, at some point, had ended up being corrupted. This corruption had spread to all parts of him, including his mind...

The strange apparition, Cain, locked in the dark void of his mind was not alone in the void.

Rather, there was something, or someone else there as well...

Looking in front of him, Cain could see the vague figure of what looked to be a colossal being. This being sat cross-legged in the void.

It had two long arms, one holding a wicked curved blade, and the other holding a spear forged from darkness. It was covered in a pitch-black armor, and had three horns jutting out of its head.

Behind it was a pair of wings, and a curved barbed tail...

There was also a giant serpent wrapped around the being\'s torso like a belt, its giant head resting on his shoulder.

The most eye catching thing about this being, were its eyes.

It had a pair of the most beautiful, yet harrowing eyes Cain had ever seen. One was like stars in the night sky, containing an infinite universe, while the other was like a sea of light with eternal darkness contained at the center.

\'Why do these sort of things keep happening to me?\' Cain could only lament. He had no idea what this thing was as well.

Rather than calling it a creature, it would be more accurate to call it a statue, or an idol. It didn\'t contain any signs of life, but it still held a certain majesty.

Cain observed this thing for a while before he noticed something strange. The statue was huge, but strangely enough, he could see every detail on it clearly.

On the forehead of the creature was a rather familiar looking rune. Just as he was about to look further;

The black void collapsed into itself.

Cain was taken aback as the ground beneath his feet broke away, leaving him...

Standing in a white void this time around.

"What the hell?"

"Cain... Come here and have some tea. Don\'t keep standing there like a dummy?"

A voice called out to him from not too far away.

All the tension in Cain\'s heart melted away and was replaced by burning annoyance.

He turned, and sure enough, seated on a mahogany chair equiped with exquisite decorations was the Demon, Azazel...

"This is your doing?" Cain asked, his voice surprisingly calm.

Perhaps taken aback by Cain\'s levelheadedness, Azazel blinked,

"Eh? I could have sworn you were flustered just a minute ago..."

Ignoring him, Cain approached the long table and pulled out a chair, seating down with a plop.

\'Hmm... Comfortable.\' He sank into the velvety goodness of the seat\'s cushioning.

Azazel snorted, "What are you playing atz trying to look u bothered?"

Cain shrugged, "What? I\'m just copying you..."

Azazel clapped his hands,

"Anyways... Congratulations on escaping certain death. Not only have you done that, but in such a sort time, you have managed to achieve what might have been impossible for most. Are you sure you are a hundred percent human?"

Azazel\'s question took him back a little. He hesitated,

"I\'m... not so sure."

"Hm?" Azazel, dressed in strange androgynous clothing didn\'t quite understand at first. However, a second later, a smile of understanding settled on his face.

"I see... Well, you don\'t have to worry about it too much. There is something strange in you that is preventing you from becoming a Devil Thrall, so you can thank your lucky stars."

"Really?" Cain didn\'t seem fully convinced.

Azazel shrugged, "You can believe or not. That is your choice. But I feel you also need to hear this next part."

Seeing Cain\'s intrigued expression, Azazel was tempted to tease him a bit, but decided not to.

"It might be a lot to take in, but although the Devil Essence in you won\'t turn you into a Thrall, it is also too powerful to be purged. Meaning you can\'t get rid of it ever. In essence, you have become a True Devil, in every sense of the word."

Cain\'s face turned pale immediately.

"What the hell are you saying? How can I be a Devil?? Is that even possible?!"

Azazel shook his head, "It isn\'t supposed to be. Devils are rather unique creatures. While other beings, except for Celestial beings, can accommodate a small amount of Devil Essence in their bodies, once it gets too much, they have to get it purged. If this isn\'t done, they die, agonizingly, or they transform into Devil Thralls."

Cain frowned, "Then why is my case different?"

Azazel smiled, "I have no idea."

Before Cain could answer, he raised up a finger,

"But I can think of one..."

Cain fell silent. A grin appeared on Azazel\'s face,

"You, Cain... Are a rather unique creature. Born with the body of a human, but with the soul of something my mind cannot even fathom."

Cain was taken aback by this praise. He could see a fervor he had never seen before in the Demon\'s eyes.

Azazel stared into his eyes, and conversely into his soul,

"The Devil Essence in your body can no longer be called that. It has changed to become further accustomed to your body. You are the only being since the creation of this reality, since the Nomad whispered before ethe creation, that had ever experienced this. At least that I know of..."

Cain was dreadfully confused, "Why is this happening? Could this all just be a coincidence?"

Azazel shook his head, "Don\'t stress your pretty little head over something like this. I can assure you, it won\'t be something you need to bother about for now. You might see a few physical changes, but they will be of no consequence. Probably..."

\'Probably?! That sounds awfully suspicious!\'

Cain breathed in deeply,

"So what comes next?"

Indeed... What was to come now? Now that his life wasn\'t going to ever remain the same, what was he to do? What course of action was there to take?

Azazel leaned back in is chair, gazing at Cain. However, Cain felt like he was gazing into the white void behind him instead, as his gaze was a bit blank. After a moment of silence, he spoke,

"You\'ll have to train. Who knows... you might become a very important piece in the chessboard one day."

Cain frowned. At the end of the day, that was what it was. This Demon, regardless of how harmless and eccentric he seemed, was a Demon. One that was immensely powerful. Cain could tell...

Azazel chuckled, "But the first think you\'ll need to do is wake up."

Cain raised a brow, "Wake up?"

Azazel put his middle finger and thumb together and snapped. The crisp sound traveled through the void and into Cain\'s ears.

"Wake up."

Cain gasped...

And his eyes shot open...