Chapter 317: Ascendance (XVIII)

Chapter 317: Ascendance (XVIII)

Chapter 317

Ascendance (XVIII)

Cain stood up from the ground by heavily leaning onto his arms, panting and heaving in the process, coughing while trying to expel dust from his lungs. Looking around, he couldnt really discern much; most of it was covered beneath the layers upon layers of dust, flickers that rose into storms that clouded the skies above.

All around, rubble and debris coalesced to form indiscernible ruins of places that used to be. Mountains were no longer mountains as rivers were no longer rivers and forests ceased to be. Instead, they were all replaced by ravaged landscape turned upside down, wrung and strung together in a manner that seemed impossible.

Coughing again, he took out a bottle of water from his inventory and doused it, recovering somewhat. That final clash... broke the world, it seemed. He had no clue where he landed as the sheer expulsion of energy created a whirlpool of Mana that swung him round and round for nearly half a minute before tossing him away.

It split the world in two, and when it all blew up, things burned. He was blinded for a moment and even lost consciousness for a split second as he overcharged on his Mana usage.T/his chapter is updated by nov(ê(l)biin.co/m

Its been a while, he mumbled, straining himself to walk. Every inch of his body hurt, with gashes and lacerations just now being clotted with Manas help. More than that, several of his ribs were cracked, his right shoulder was dislocated, and a good chunk of his bones were at the very least bruised.

It truly has been a while, he mused, since he last got so hurt. So long, in fact, that hed nearly forgotten the pain. But it was back and it was burning, reminding him of many, many painful memories.

He began to drift through the dust, though not encountering anyone or anything. It wasnt strange; outside of him, it was unlikely that anyone caught in the immediate vicinity of that collision survived. No, not unlikely. Impossible, though he didnt burn through any of his true life-saving measures, he was on the cusps of it, especially toward the end.

Luckily, he managed to drink a single Mana Potion which allowed him to absorb some of the injuries that could have propelled his body further into shock. Nonetheless, the pain was still ever-present, causing him to grunt with each step. Though he was healing, even with Mana to use, it would still take time.

Sighing, he found a nearby rock and sat down, taking out another bottle of water and drinking through it. Of many things that accompanied fighting, this was one that he didnt miss. Still, he won--at least he was fairly certain that he won. The last time he saw the King, the man had his sword-arm ripped to shreds, with the blade disintegrating straight after.

And though he had no idea where he flew off to, it was likely that even if he survived, he was on his last breath. This was the inconvenience of not having a system in place as it would have confirmed whether he succeeded or not.

He he, stupid human! You were almost kind of cool there!! Tegha gingerly peaked his head out of the inventory and made himself comfortable in Cains lap.

Huh? Stupid cat, couldnt you have helped me slightly?

S-stupid cat?! Who are you calling stupid cat?!! Grrr! Ill scratch you, stupid human! Besides, humph, Great Tegha doesnt fight weaklings!

... hoh?

W-w-whats with that expression?

Nothing, Cain said. Im just thinking of having you fight that Divine that shows up from time to time. If you kill her, were bound to get tons of rewards.

...

Anyway, seeing the hurt and conflicted face of the tiny cat, Cain felt much better, petting the little felines head. Can you sense where anything is? Im really fucking lost right now.

Is that really the case? Cain mused aloud. Why cant you just leave?

Who knows? Ha ha. Pride? Comfort? Greed? Multitude of reasons, I suppose--gah, the man coughed, spraying out a mouthful of blood. Damn. Dying hurts.

Yes, that tends to be the truth.

At least... I get to go out proper, he mumbled. To another King.

... Im... happy for you?

Ha ha ha, youre a strange one, eh? he coughed yet again. After I die... the Council will take more caution around you.

Thanks for the warning.

Its good to be someone with a level-headed approach, but theres a good reason why most of the cosmos elected to side with one of the two, he added. Not because all of us believed in our holy causes. But because it was the only way to truly survive.

... Im not judging. Nor do I care, to be honest.

Thats good. Hey, I have a favor.

What?

Burn me.

... will do.

Haah, dying really hurts...

Sure does...

Its... strange...

Sure is.

I...

Rest now.

... yeah. Cain remained seated as his eyes closed and the last breath left his lungs. A few moments of silence settled in after, with even Tegha not making any sound. In the end, Cain stood up and sighed, conjuring up a fireball and gently laying it onto the body, letting it burn. Life was much like this fire, he realized. It seemed impossible to extinguish during the certain portions of it, but, inevitably, it fizzles out and fades, leaving in its wake only a few pieces as a reminder of what was once there.

How many people has he watched die? Too many, he recalled. It has gotten easier, but hed never become immune to it.

Hmm? he exclaimed softly, inspecting his Mana flow. Wait... realizing something was strange, he ran a complete check as his jaw abruptly opened and dropped. Did... did I just Ascend?