God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain stood before the smoldering debris, a dark look on his face.

'I... did this.'

He did not doubt that he was the cause of this destruction, although it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

'How unsightly...'

As he walked forward, he felt something crunch beneath his feet.

He looked down.

A portion of an arm, the rest of the body buried under huge chunks of stone, blood slowly dribbling down from the side.

Cain felt the world shrink in on itself.

His extreme senses could feel it.

Many lives had been extinguished here, their bodies still holding lingering warmth, buried under the rubble.

And who was their killer?

He was.

He had murdered them all.

He tilted his head back and let out a sigh.

His dark eyes was a perfect reflection of the Evernight sky.

Nothing.

He felt absolutely nothing.

No guilt, no shame.

It terrified him.

He brought his head down.

"We managed to evacuate all the normal civilians before things got ugly. But are you okay?" Je my said with a worried look on her face.

Cain wore a blank expression,

"Yeah, I'm good."

Then he glanced down.

Arde was staring at him, his grey eyes filled with an ocean of clashing emotions.

In an instant, the old man seemed to grow a few decades older.

His stylish mage robe was worn down and covered in dust and rough cuts, making it lose its tidiness.

"Why? All this senseless death could have been avoided." Arde said softly.

Cain sucked in a deep breath,

"It's about sending a message. Not only to others like Carrion that might appear again, but to myself too."

The darkness in his eyes waxed greater.

"The human inhibition to the murder of one's kind. A fault of morality. It can be seen as a strength and a weakness."

He looked around,

"None of these people dead here are innocent, are they? Including you."

Arde's face paled. He couldn't reply.

Cain sneered then shook his head,

"That doesn't justify me killing them all. Still, if I had to, I'll do it all over again."

His eyes narrowed dangerously,

"So tell me. What should I do with you?"

Ignis snorted as she remarked coldly,

"Just do away with the both fo them now. There's no reason to keep them alive."

Arde sighed. A soft pristine radiance appeared in his hand..

Caon's eyes narrowed when he saw a small silver knife appear in his hand.

Arde gently caressed the blade. Then a wry smile appeared on his face.

He glanced at Lily.

Her eyes moved erratically, her hand tightly gripping the handle of her rifle. Still, the fact none of them had made a move to disarm her meant they didn't see her as a threat at all.

Then he looked up at Cain with a dignified expression on his face,

"You can kill me. Spare her."

Cain raised a brow,

"And why would I do that?"

Arde spoke calmly,

"Because I have something you might want."

"And what could that possibly be?"

Arde pointed at his face, specifically, at his eyes,

"You can have these."

Cain paused, unsure of what to think.

He frowned, "You want to give me your eyes?*

Arde nodded, "I can sense you have Devil Eyes as well. They seem to be the special kind too. It is no wonder Carrion couldn't defeat you."

Cain waved his hand, "Stop being long-winded. I haven't got all day. You want to give me your eyes? How is that possible?"

Arde answered, "I received these eyes, not from the system, but from a certain individual I encountered in a strange world. Apparently, ownership of Devil Eyes can be transferred, although with little success. I was fortunate enough for the process to be successful."

Cain frowned, 'System, is this true?'

{Replying to Host: Affirmative. Ownership of Devil Eyes can be transferred from one individual to another. However, the success rate is rather low for those without existing Devil Eyes}.

His brows furrowed,

'Then it's higher for those with Devil Eyes?'

{Replying to Host: Affirmative. It is exactly a fifty percent chance of success}.

Cain couldn't help but chuckle,

"Well I'll be damned."

A second Devil Eye? He hadn't thought about that.

Arde spoke softly,

"I planned on giving them to Carrion when I could no longer follow him on his journey. But that is no longer possible. So instead, I might as well make use of them in another way."

Cain was silent for a moment,

"It is only a fifty percent chance of success. Quite frankly, I don't really like those odds."

Arde glanced at Lily, then back at Cain,

"Well, it's all I have. You have the choice of killing us both and gaining nothing from it, or killing me alone with the possibility of getting a pretty bonus. Isn't that a fair trade?"

Cain smirked, "It certainly isn't terrible, I'd say..."

In his mind, he had already made a decision. In the first place, he was no longer in the mood for any more killing. He planned to recruit Arde and Lily to his side. Both were Tier 2 humans. Rather valuable assets to have at the moment.

However, the temptation of the Devil Eyes was nearly too much to bear.

After stalling a bit, he declared coldly,

"I have a counter proposal. Instead of dying, how about you come work for me? Give me the Devil Eyes and the two of you can join the Golden Asura. How does that sound?"

Lily spat out through gritted teeth,

"I'll never join you, demon bastard! You killed everyone."

Cain glanced at the girl.

She was pretty and petite, with a head full of golden hair.

She looked eeriely similar to Carrion, making him wonder if they were related.

Arde went silent, as though considering Cain's proposal.

Then he shook his head. Calmly staring at Cain, he explained,

"You killed Carrion, the last heir to the Ravenwood house. I swore my life to that family, yet I was unable to prevent its eventual demise. No, I was the one that brought about this ruin. My punishment for that is death."

He took in a deep breath, his white hair swaying in the wind.

A solemn air surrounded him,

"I ask that you fulfill the final requests of this old fool."

Silence...

A thin line separates glory and ruin. Some say the two are born of the same bosom even.

All it took, was a single act of destiny and a play of fate.

Cain felt his arms go cold.

'It really is chilly out here, huh.'

He pulled out a magic gun from his {Armament Armory} and threw it at Arde.

The old man caught it.

"Use this. It will be quicker." Cain said after a moment of hesitation.

Arde paused for a moment, then chuckled,

"I knew you had a kind heart."

Cain grimaced, but said nothing.

'System, how are the Devil Eyes transferred?'

{Replying to Host: The Devil Eyes are given the same way they were received}.

Cain frowned, unsure of what those words meant.

The next moment though, he came to understand fully.

He watched in silent horror as Arde jammed his fingers into his eye sockets and ripped both of his eyeballs out.

"Arde!" Lily wailed as she held the groaning old man nightly.

Tears of blood streaked down his face as he gritted his teeth. Still, with trembling hands, he presented both of them to Cain,

"H-here you go."

Cain's eyes were wide from shock.

He paused for a moment, then knelt before taking the eyes out of the Arde's hands.

Then he quickly put them into his inventory then reached over to grab Lily.

"Let me go, you bastard! I'll kill you."

She bit, screamed, and even pulled out a small knife from her inventory to stab him with.

With a hit yo the back of the neck, he rendered her unconscious before she could do anything.

"We have to leave here soon. Gilead will clean this mess up." Cain said.

Then he turned back to Arde, who was not truly blind.

The old man clutched the magic gun tightly.

For some reason, he turned to him, despite not being able to see,

"It's embarrassing, so I would like to be alone in my final moments. You kids should hurry on along now." He said with a smile.

Cain wanted to say something, but found nothing to say.

With tears of blood running down his face, the old man still found it in him to smile.

Cain let out a sigh then turned around and began walking away.

Ignis glanced at Arde then sighed,

"I assume you have no regrets?"

Arde shook his head,

"I'm old. Adventures don't suit me. It's about time I was on my way, although I did find magic exciting."

They all left quickly, leaving Arde behind.

He let out a sigh.

Now, he wa sin total darkness.

But that was fine too.

He didn't need to see anything else. He had seen enough.

'Still... That kid. No, nevermind. It's none of my concern anymore.'

He smiled wryly.

Then he pressed the muzzle of the gun against his head and gripped the trigger.

The magic gun lit up with a low hum.

"I can finally go home, huh..."

BANG!

A fountain of blood erupted. Torn flesh, brain matter, and bone fragments splattered onto the ground.

With a thud, the gun fell as well. A second later, Arde's body followed.

Silence...