God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Just like Cain had predicted, night came.

And it came swiftly...

Indeed, the dangers in the darkness were much more oppressive than expected.

Staring into the darkness, he couldn't see much with his own eyes despite his high perception stats. Luckily for him, he had the {Dark Soul}.

With the Dark Diver leading the way, they had no issues navigating the darkness of the world.

Then, they encountered a scene just like earlier. A hill of corpses with blood flowing down its contours like rivers.

It was a gruesome sight, but luckily, the others couldn't see it.

Taking that as a blessing in disguise, he didn't mention it and led them past it.

The first danger to strike was a pack of wild wolf-like creatures that's too taller than a fully grown man on both legs.

They were vicious animals that attacked without warning.

And just as swiftly as they had come, they had gone.

The thick scent of blood filled his nose forcing him to scrunch his face up.

Spitting out, he wiped his lips and waited.

Then he sighed,

'I don't feel anything different.'

He had expected there to be some sort of change, but there was none. He had figured out was so when even after killing so many {Shadeworm Deviants}, but he had decided to hold his judgement because the killing had occured within the {Shadow World}, which he didn't think was part of the trial grounds.

Now, his suspicions has grown even more solid, although there were still a few holes.

'For now, it is best to respond reactively.'

He would rather not go around looking for trouble if he could, especially after seeing to much death on the way.

Through the night, they were attacked and ambushed, each one getting more dangerous as time passed, with their opponents getting more cunning with every attempt. Each time, they managed to turn the tables and wipe out their attackers, in turn, wetting their hands with blood.

Cain snapped back to reality and winced.

Susan frowned, "Hold still. The wound won't close up if you keep fidgeting."

He smiled wryly, "Sorry."

The last battle had been rather troublesome. The opponents this times were humanoids. When they had been completely caught off guard.

Even worse, was that the weapons of the things were coated with some substance that severely hindered healing. Those who were attacked would find themselves on the verge of bleeding out within minutes.

Luckily for him, his vitality was rather strong, and they were able to wipe out the pack of {Underthralls}.

He winced again as the light from Susan's hands melted into his flesh.

They had decided to take a short break to eat and recover from injuries and exhaustion.

In order to avoid attracting more attention, they had chosen not to turn on any lights.

They remained in silence for a while before Susan suddenly spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Good work today."

Cain raised a brow and turned to her,

"Hm? What do you mean?"

She pursed her lips, a strange look in her gaze,

"Nothing. Just try to be more careful in the future."

Cain was silent.

A warm feeling filled his chest.

He was confused. Why did he feel this way?

The recent events had indeed changed his way of seeing things.

Seeing the corpses of beings that were much stronger than he was on the ground, their eyes lifeless and their souls wasted...

He couldn't lie, it filled him with fear.

If he felt this way, he could only imagine how Susan, or Jenny, or Roselle felt.

Even then, she couldn't help but worry for him.

"You shouldn't worry about me too much, you know." He finally said after a while.

Susan paused, then snorted,

"Idiot. Who's worried about you? I'm just letting you know that if you die, the rest of us won't have much of a chance getting out of here alive. So..."

She suddenly gripped onto his arm tightly,

"Be careful, okay?" She said softly.

The hotness in his chest blossomed even more.

He turned to look at Susan. Even in the darkness, he could still see her face when it was so close.

Her face was flushed and her eyes twinkled as she gazed at him intensely.

Cain didn't know what came over him, as in the next moment, he reached over and grabbed her face with one hand, pressing his lips against hers.

A burst of fragrance touched his lips and wormed its way onto his tongue gue, sending jolts up his spine.

He had never been this bold before, but the combination of their current situation, plus the present atmosphere had changed something in him.

Susan also seemed taken aback as she turned stiff like a board. When the reality finally dawned on her, she responded in kind.

They shared a passionate kiss for a moment before breaking away. Feeling his breath stolen from his lungs, Cain took a few seconds to calm down. Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire

"Sorry." He said, unsure of what words to use now. He still didn't know why he had reacted like that.

Susan shook her head then said,

"It's fine. Your wounds are fully healed. Rest a bit more."

With that, she stood up and practically sprinted away, leaving Cain alone in the darkness.

A few seconds later, Cain let out a groan as he gripped his head,

"So stupid!"

What was he even doing?!

Meanwhile, Susan finally stopped. Her face was flushed, and if there was some light, it would look like a tomato. He lightly brushed her fingers against her lips.

"He... he kissed me."

What did that mean? Why had he done it here of all places?

Her heart raced. She didn't know what to feel. On one hand, she was happy, but in the other, she was confused and frightened.

'Just forget it. There's no use thinking about it.' She thought to herself.

Her mood suddenly soured.

'That's right. We could die at any moment.'

Whatever thoughts flew through her mind suddenly seemed like wishful thinking.

Perhaps he was also just caught up on the moment.

The stared into the night sky.

It was empty, with just a touch of radiance, as though there was a silver moon hidden by the overhead clouds.

In this world without a star or moon in sight, both hearts were wreathed in absolute chaos.

The brief period of rest passed quickly, and they continued their journey.

To take his mind off what had happened, Cain threw himself into the slaughter even more, turning all his focus into battle.

At the same time, he sharpened his skills. Every creature that had dared enter this place was a champion in their own right.

Be it combat or power, they were at the peak of what was possible in the Tier.

Blood spilled through the night, but there was no one to bear witness. Every body left out in the cold night would soon be forgotten, becoming nothing but a faded distant memory in the future.

After a while, the night faded away and morning came...