Chapter 250: Ethereal Goals.

The memory of Ashur suddenly turned to face him,

"What about you?"

Stunned, Cain tried to reply but realized he was unable to say anything, unable to move...

He was one with the world around him, and never there at the same time...

Looking deeper into the eyes of the perfectly sculpted creature before him, he realized that he wasn't looking at him. He was peering much further, deeper into space.

A voice shook the heavens like the call of nature itself,

"What are your goals, Ashur?" The voice said.

Ashur bent his neck and turned to look at the sky. A wild grin made its way onto his face,

"You should know this by now, Old Man. To defy fate and destroy Karma..."

The voice went silent for a while,

"Why?"

Ashur fell silent, but when he spoke up, his words were filled with boundless darkness and malice. A deep purple magic circle appeared on the ground beneath him, and his eyes immediately changed colors. The left one was as pale as bleached bones, and the other as black as a nightmare.

The armor on his body immediately split from the back, as two beautiful golden wings stretched out. Two magnificent horns grew out from his temple as well, turning him from a deity to a beautiful abomination birthed from the union of god and beast.

Cain watched this transformation in awe. He even felt a subtle force in his mind that seemed to be trying to push him to his knees. Just looking at his glorious figure was more than enough to fill his heart with reverence and fear.

"The Tower of Babel is a harrowing, insidious, and evil place," Ashur said. After a brief pause, he continued in a darker tone,

"But the knowledge contained in the pages of its books do not lie. The burden of knowledge is great, but with it comes responsibility. We cannot let that madman do as he pleases. He is going to destroy us all!"

The voice in the sky boomed, "And why do you think it is your duty to stop him?"

"Because that's just the side quest. Father or not, that bastard must pay for what he has done."

At that moment, Cain felt a connection to Ashur he never had felt before, it was real and almost physical. Despite the godly image being portrayed before him, when he looked, all he saw was himself.

They were both weak, unable to do anything, but they didn't want to lose to whatever scheme fate was planning.

'A goal, huh...'

Cain realized he had finally gotten an inkling of what he wanted to pursue, but before that, he needed to find the most important thing.

"To kill the bastard and sever the cords of fate, I need one thing. Power! Strength! Warriors! Weapons! Anything I can get my claws on!

This, this is my goal..."

The dream shimmered and burst into countless dazzling particles. He was surrounded by darkness once again...

The image of a golden dragon slowly filled his field of vision...

"You look like you've seen a ghost..." Ashur said, slightly amused.

Cain was silent for a long time. When he spoke, his voice was weak and listless,

"A goal. I need a goal."

Ashur let out a deep chuckle that shook the surrounding void.

"I can tell you many things, but what I can never tell you, is what goals to pursue. Your life revolves around the choices you make, and despite how things may seem, I am not you..."

There was a short pause before Ashur spoke up again,

"More accurately, I have not lived your life. If you need a goal, figure something out! Hahaha!"

Then, the image of the golden dragon floating in the void broke down as well. Cain felt his mind travel through endless space before it flew back into his body.

***

'Ha... No more dreaming for me for some time, I guess...'

Cain pushed through the swiftly forming headache and sat up. He was still in the same old cave, surrounded by darkness.

'A goal, huh... That bastard could have at least tried to cheer me up!'

Gritting his teeth, Cain pushed himself up, leaned against the adjacent wall with his back, and looked around. Susan slept beside him, her bountiful chest falling and rising heavily.

Not too far from them, Jenny sat, her back against the wall and her sniper rifle in hand. However, she was also lost in sleep.

'It seems we were all burned out.'

They had fought continuously for hours on end, so the rest was well deserved. Not wanting to disturb them, Cain walked toward the entrance of the cave and pushed the corpse of the {Vile Centipede} away.

Walking out of the cave, he looked around...

The sky was the same one he had not gotten the time to become accustomed to. The ground was filled with numerous hills and naturally formed rocky surfaces and depressions.

There was no sun or moon in the sky, but the pillar of light in the far distance managed to spread its dim lighting to the far reaches of the fragmented land.

"Damn this place, damn my luck..."

Cain stretched a bit before he spread his attention out. The {Dark Soul} was still hiding in the shadow of the cave, without Cain giving it any other orders, it continued to diligently watch and monitor the perimeter.

'Such a good abyssal nightmare...' S~eaʀᴄh the NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Nodding in satisfaction, Cain left the creature alone and walked a bit further.

He pulled up his status screen and turned his attention to his inventory. There, a suit of blood-red armor sat. It was the {Weak Blood Carapace} he had received from slaying the {Vile Centipede}. As the first piece of armor he had ever received, it held a lot of sentimental value in his heart.

'Come to think of it, my first weapon was called the {Bloody Katana}. Coincidence, or is my life going to be forever centered around bloodshed?'

Embroiled in meaningless thoughts, Cain straightened up and summoned the armor. Piece by piece, it slowly materialized on his body. It was a scale armor, and unlike the ones he had seen in books back on Urbus, this one was fitted to his body like a second skin.

It didn't bring any discomfort, and while it was a bit heavy, it wasn't out of his comfort zone.

The pauldrons, shin, shoulder, and knee guards, and the breastplate made from a single type of material also materialized as well.

Soon, he was clad in a fearsome piece of armor that radiated bloodlust and multiplied his fighting spirit.

Cain checked the details of the armor again...

***

{Weak Blood Carapace}: The Corrupted Blood Wyrm, Leonis, was captured, placed in an eternal prison, and kept as a slave. Consumed by anger and madness, the Blood Wyrm traveled the length of her eternal prison, capturing other creatures and corrupting them with her tainted blood.

While this blood contained great power, it also contained the divine insanity of a once great creature, now reduced to a mere dog.

{Weak Blood Carapace}: Special [Armor]

Defense: 300

Weight: 100kg

Skills: Nascent Blood Armor, Providence.

{Nascent Blood Armor}(active): A thin film of blood drains your life force to increase your defenses.

{Providence}(passive): While worn, HP pool capacity is increased by 30%, with an additional 600HP per minute regen rate.

***

'With this, I won't have to worry about how fast I regain health during a battle.'

Cain was very pleased with the armor. The two auxiliary skills that followed it made it all even better.

'In that case, let's get to work...'

Cain stretched his hand forward, and a weapon suddenly materialized in his hands.

***

Description:

Tears of the Water God (Maelstrom): In his dying moments, the water God, Typhoon, had a wish. Birthed from that wish, was the bringer of Calamity, Maelstrom. Its potential was so great, it made the heavenly emperor seal its true powers away. Even then, its power was feared throughout the universe. However, after many years, the weapon has been damaged and lost a majority of its strength...

{MaelStrom}: Bow

Strength: 100.

Agility: 50.

Perception: 3.0.

Durability: 1000/1000.

Skills: Cosmic Water Arrow, Tidal Sensing.

Weight: N/A.

{Cosmic Water Arrow}: Water can cut through the strongest of stones and defenses. Concentrate Cosmic water into a single arrow and fire to pierce through your enemies without limitations. No defense or boundary can impede the flow of Cosmic water. Only one arrow can be created every second. Each arrow has a piercing effect and will deal damage equal to the host's magic stats.

Cost: 1000MP per arrow and 100Ki points.

Cooldown: 2 seconds.

Tidal Sensing: Creates Imaginary waves that are linked to the mind and soul of the user. Any disturbance within a 500-meter radius is sensed by the user.

***

The bow was light and easy to use, almost like an extension of his body...

A tidal wave spread out with his body as the epicenter...

The {Tidal Sensing} skill attached to {Maelstrom} was a magnificent passive skill that allowed him to sense the vague shapes of all creatures around him. It was almost like he was sensing the way their bodies distorted the imaginary tidal wave that had spread out from his body.

He could sense Susan and Jenny. However, he couldn't sense the {Dark Soul}.

'So it doesn't work against spirit beings...'

Remembering all the instructions on how to use a bow he had learned from the system, he pulled on the bowstring.

The runes on the beautiful weapon glowed with blue light, and a wave of water materialized out of thin air. It concentrated and collapsed in on itself until it took the shape of an arrow that was now locked into the bowstring.

The arrow of water looked almost like a physical one. However, it was much sharper than a mere physical arrow. The arrows the Tears of The Water god could produce were much sharper and more deadly than a mundane arrow.

It could ignore a major part of an enemy's defenses and strike at their flesh, increasing its damage output greatly.

Cain was excited to try it out...

Shifting his body, he pointed the sharp arrowhead at a distant {Blood Abomination} that was busy feasting on the carcass of a recently slain enemy.

It was covered in wounds and blood, but most of the blood on it belonged to its vanquished enemy now turned dinner.

Cain steadied his breathing and closed his right eye. Concentrating on the creature, he activated {Eye of Clairvoyance}.

The {Eye of Clairvoyance} allowed him to see everything in the world. He could see the controlling muscles beneath the creature's fur and skin, as well as the way the muscles around its ribcages rose and fell violently.

'Its heart...'

Cain drew on all the knowledge of marksmanship he had accumulated in his time being hunted by {Lythoran Wyrms}. His aim might not have been exceptional, but it was good enough...

His heart was tranquil...

He relaxed his tense muscles and let the arrow of cosmic water fly...

The arrow tore through the air silently and buried itself deep into the side of the creature. However, it didn't stop there. Instead, it continued, piercing through its heart, and the other side of its body before piercing the stone on the other side.

Only when most of its shaft had disappeared into the ground was its momentum killed.

The terrifying abomination was slain with a single arrow...