Against The True Gods

But it still remained foggy, unclear, sloppy, and directionless—untrained.

The countless advancements he repeatedly made stacked atop one another and constantly pushed back his mastery and skill.

While most lacked power but overflowed with skill, he overflowed with power and heavily lacked skill.

Apart from pressuring others and imbuing his Will into attacks…what could Caine truly do with his Will? What complex technique could he perform with it?

And now, now that his gifts had joined the fray along with Lady Gaia's runes, things would only grow more complicated.

But Caine wasn't very worried. Once all his current plans were completed, he'd have ample time to focus on mastery and skill—something that had always been his forte.

For now, raw and overwhelming power would suffice.

'…awaken…'

Caine's thoughts suddenly quieted, his mind an empty void as his aura faded, retreating into his body.

Unlike Elder Larisse, who'd forcefully forged her Will Nature, Caine would allow his own to awaken.

He'd let it form on its own and flourish in accordance with his most favored path.

WHOOOSH!

Just as Caine felt a stir in his body, his mind blanked, pulled elsewhere.

Before he could react, his body limply fell back.

***

In a void of endless darkness, illuminated by countless stars, wrapped around by cosmic storms of divine proportions, a battle unfolded.

On one side, a gigantic creature, entirely made out of emerald flames, with the grand body of a phoenix, majestically floated.

Atop the creature's head, a crown of blazing crimson flames stood, emitting such heat that even the fabric of the void itself seemed to ripple and melt under its might.

On the other side, a man stood, much smaller than the creature of emerald fire, akin to an ant facing a world.

The man had long white hair, his eyes a radiant gold, and his body rather frail for his towering frame. Black robes draped over him as his fair hands remained clasped behind his back, his apathetic gaze locked on the distance.

'Failure.' Caine, standing as an observer far from the battle, immediately recognized the man.

But this wasn't the only oddity. To his left and right, two other entities stood as bystanders—Mirror and Oldest.

Both seemed just as confused as him but remained silent, aware they were most likely observing a sort of vision or projection.

"Usurper of Light and Hope…" The creature of emerald flames spoke in a runic tongue, its voice filled with vicious hatred and contempt.

"…Slut of Fate, Son of Hatred, Slave of Origin…"

Failure chuckled. "Phoenix Bane, Flame Bearer, Lamp Storm, Beast Defiler…" Failure's voice trailed into silence as he grinned. "I have quite a few titles, hm?"

"BASTARD!" The Emerald Phoenix shrieked, a sea of flames erupting from its body to flood the void.

An overflowing domain of emerald flames formed around them, the Phoenix's crown suddenly erupting with power that slammed into Caine.

Or rather, attempted to slam into him.

"Come to daddy." Failure laughed and beckoned the Phoenix forward.

BANG!

The fabric of the void itself compressed and shattered as the Phoenix's wings flapped and it shot toward Failure.

From the fractured part of the void, countless more phoenixes soared out, rushing toward Failure with gazes full of fury.

But Failure remained rather indifferent to it all, his gaze focused on the humanoid figure that slowly walked out of the hole torn into the void.

But suddenly, just as the figure became visible, time seemed to halt and the vision faded into an expanse of endless white, leaving only Failure behind.

His head panned, his gaze locking on Caine.

"Up to now, I still don't remember." He chuckled. "How funny is that?"

In a step, he appeared in front of the three. Still looking at Caine, he asked, "Do you remember?"

Caine frowned slightly. "Remember wha—"
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"Your wishes."

Caine froze.

His first wish had been to keep his memories as well as the power of his soul form.

His second wish had been to be granted the highest level of talent and background possible and compatible with him.

And the third was…the third was…

'…I don't remember…?'

Failure smiled, seeing Caine's trembling hands. "What about the Sinner? Do you remember, hm?"

After Augustine granted Caine his three wishes and sent him into reincarnation, his soul had been intercepted by the Sinner himself.

There, he'd been given the original curses that allowed him to birth his blessed and cursed aspect nature. But beyond that, and most importantly, the Sinner had offered him a gift.

He'd be allowed to ask any three questions of his choice, regardless of their scope, and the Sinner would have to answer.

'…'

Caine didn't remember either.

"What about her name? Do you remember her name? The shape of her face? The color of her eyes?"

Caine didn't remember.

Failure's smile faded. "I'm sacrificing quite a lot to tell you this."

"Whether you make good use of it is up to you."

WHOOOSH!

Immediately, Failure's body exploded into a cloud of white gold runes that shot into Caine's body.

Following along, Oldest and Mirror's bodies also exploded, turning into clouds of runes that shot into his mind.

In an instant, Caine's mind was pulled back as his Natures rapidly awakened.

***

Caine's body shook as his Will cores trembled and etchings began to erupt across their surfaces.

Caine's body suddenly morphed, changing and awakening under the effect of his Natures.

His first Nature awakened.

'The Ouroboros.'

Crimson etchings settled on the surface of his cores.

His second Nature awakened.

'The Chimera.'

Multicolored runes overlapped atop the crimson etchings, settling and falling into harmony with the cores.

His final Nature awakened.

'Mother Gaia.'

Vines suddenly appeared, wound around his cores, tightly gripping and infusing them with vitality and protection.

His three Natures awakened rapidly, then immediately settled down, falling obediently into the ecosystem of his body.

Caine's Will path was finally and truly completed.

And yet, he remained seated, his mind void of any thoughts and his heart as serene as an untouched river.

Yet the slight shifts of his chest betrayed the true emotions bubbling deep within.