God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 939: For the Curtain Call, The End of the World as we Know It (30).

Chapter 939: For the Curtain Call, The End of the World as we Know It (30).

When he finally came to, Steve had no idea how much time had passed.

A soft drizzle beat against his cheeks, drawing his attention.

He raised his head and looked towards the sky.

The world was peaceful.

Not silent, but oddly peaceful. But this peaceful atmosphere mixed in with the pervading smell of blood made for a quite jarring expression.

"It’s raining..." He muttered as he looked up.

The soft pitter-patter of the rain filled his ears, drowning out the last ebbs of the war, and extinguishing the lingering flames.

The crimson moon had disappeared.

The Evernight didn’t seem so dark anymore.

It was like the dawn of a new day.

He let out a shaky sigh and brought his gaze back down to his world.

He walked forward a bit then stooped down to pick something off the ground.

There, lying in a pool of mangled flesh and black ichor, was the head of the Devil that had been at the center of the battle.

He finally remembered where he had seen this Devil.

Back then, all those months ago, it was the first Devil they had fought, before they even got to this ruined city.

Steve let out a sigh as he stared at the Devil’s head, eyes and mouth wide open, a picture frozen in eternity.

A flash of radiance enveloped the head and it disappeared.

The battle was finally over, it seemed.

The rain continued to pour.

For the first time in what felt like forever.

Above the City of Zoan, an entire patch of open sky was clear to reveal the true sky above.

It was brighter than the surrounding darkness, with soft streams of starlight filtering through.

Steve almost swore he could faintly see the moon, but perhaps his imagination was playing tricks on him again.

Compared to the glorious sky, the world it covered was filled with sorrowful cries and wails of grief.

In a miraculous turn of events, the Devils had been defeated. There has been a loud shriek that came from the city proper. Immediately after that, the devil army had collapsed.

Somne had scattered to the wind, others had run further inland, while the rest were struck down by furious human blades.

In the end, all that was left, were the smoldering corpses of the dead, and the soft rain.

A powerful wind blew as the intensity of the deluge increased.

The darkness behind him swirled, and from it a creature stepped forward.

It was a head and torso larger than he was.

Its skin was entirely black with golden runes and lines running from place to place.

It had the body of a man, but the head of a jackal.

Of course, it was the Dark God, a creature of the Hell Realms, Anubis.

Anubis stood there, watching the human for some time.

Steve glanced to the side,

"Is he alright?"

The Dark God chuckled,

"If he is anything like the one I remember, he should be fine."

Steve huffed,

"I always knew that guy was special, but to think he is actually—"

Anubis cut him off,

"The reality of the situation, for now at least, is that Tian cannot become aware of him. Of what he is. Your world is properly inhabited by Devils now, so chances are some celestial might have already detected it."

Anubis paused for a moment, then continued, its ancient voice ramming through Steve’s head,

"Your task is to make sure to watch him and assist his growth in every way you can."

Steve’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

Anubis, perhaps understanding something, paused for a moment then chuckled,

"It truly is an interesting play of fate. I wonder what will happen now."

Steve grimaced,

"Tell me something..."

"What is it you would like to know?"

"What will become if us?"

Steve paused for a moment then decided to rephrase,

"If you hadn’t shown up, this battle would have certainly gone the other way. However, it isn’t always going to be like that... What will happen in the future, when the Devils, the Beasts, and every other monstrosity that walks this world and the next, becomes stronger, more vile, more brutal and ferocious... How do we even fight against that?"

Steve chuckled bitterly,

"The future is so uncertain. I can’t even bring myself to smile or laugh. Just look. So many lives wasted. This world is ruined. And there is nothing we can do about it."

There was a long pause.

The rain was now fully coming down in earnest.

Each raindrop was suffused with insane amounts of mana.

On the carpet of corpses beneath their feet, a few hairs of verdant green had begun to poke out.

A land that had become barren with all the energy and essence sucked out of it was slowly being restored.

"Indeed, it is as you say."

Steve glanced up. Then he laughed bitterly,

"Not even going to tone it down a bit, huh. How heartless."

Anubis shrugged,

"What good will lies do? The order of your world came to an end many moons ago. This is no longer the same world you used to know. Get used to it."

Steve froze. His eyes were plastered on the sky,

"The end of the world as we know it, huh... How poetic."

Anubis chuckled,

"Your fate is now completely tied to his. Just like mine once was. Perhaps it still is. For now, try to keep what is left of your world from falling apart."

Steve nodded.

The darkness swirled, and a moment later, the dark being was gone.

Steve was alone in the rain for some time.

Then he began to limp towards the other survivors.

***

His back on the cold rubble, Cain closed his eyes to savor the cold rain.

It has been ages since it last rained.

The feeling of the cold raindrops hitting his face was rather nostalgic.

It had been the same on that night as well...

He let out a sigh.

He stared at the open patch of sky above. From where he was, he could see a few stars peeking through.

How many months had it been since he last saw them? He couldn’t recall.

’Ah. I’m so tired.’

His eyelids trembled.

There was silence for a bit.

Then he heard rubble shift underneath incoming footsteps.

Since he didn’t have the strength to turn around, he tried making a guess in his head.

He felt a soft pair of arms wrap around him and pull him up.

A scent that made his mind hazy filled his senses and his eyes were greeted with a scattering of silver strands.

Looking down at him were enigmatic ruby-red eyes, staring into his dark, golden-tinged eyes.

He smiled wryly,

"This... It still hurts all over."

Evangeline pursed her lips then chuckled,

"I’m impressed. You pulled it off."

Cain snorted, "Of course I did. I’m more amazing that you give me—"

A pair of soft lips press against his, filling him with warmth.

Unable to say anything, he closed his eyes and decided to savor it.

"That’s the reward I promised." Evangeline said softly as she ran her tongue over her lips, a coy smile hanging from them.

Clearing his throat, Cain suddenly felt the strength he lacked rush through his body.

He let himself be pulled up.

Leaning against her soft body, Cain looked around.

The world around him was in ruins.

But he wasn’t too sad about it.

After all, ruins could be rebuilt.

He stretched his hand into the sky.

A smile crept into his face.

Today, maybe even if it was just for today...

There was a reason to smile.

The rain finally eased up.

A soft radiance fell from the sky, blanketing the world beneath it.

The curse of Evernight was broken.

It was a new day...

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