God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Lukas flipped backwards, throwing as much as he could of his weight back, he twisted his body at whay seemed lile an impossible angle, using his sword to block a bullet that seemed to come out of nowhere.

There were different types of powers that could be discovered with or even without the system.

The various types of energy; mana, Ki, Aether, Devil Essence, and even the more obtuse and strange Divinity the Celestial beings coveted so much.

All of these energies interacted with the world differently, and this difference was based largely on the entity responsible for the change.

When God Ash descends on a planet, that planet absorbs the mana and terra-forms itself. This changes in the planet are said to be largely random, but some believe that with the inception of God Ash on a world, said planet develops, or rather, gives borth to a soul.

And that soul is responsible for all the different directions each portion of this mana infused world can travel in.

Usually, the planet in question expands itself so its inhabitants would be able to survive despite the harsh conditions that come with the corresponding amount of God Ash.

Just as a each world goes down a unique route, such is the same for other beings, most especially humans.

The skills, spells, and abilities they develop as a result of the harrowing, terrible experiences they have to face as they struggle to survive in their rapidly changing world.

Spells that summon winds and storms, skills that grant them immense physical might and speed, and of course, mystical abilities that allow them to do esoteric things like see the future...

Or manipulate time, of course.

'No, not manipulating. It's much stronger than that.'

Evangeline dove into the shadows, becoming one with them for a moment as she gathered her thoughts.

Quite frankly, she didn't believe it was possible for one to manipulate time to such an oppressive degree, especially with how weak they were.

Esoteric concepts like time, space, and such were difficult to tamper with, even with mana, especially something with as delicate a flow as time. Space could be broken through with raw power, but time, as a concept, rather than a thing that could be interacted with physically was on a level higher.

'He's not tampering with time. Not that. Dust of Chaos, huh...'

The name of the ability the Lord of the Head Priests had so proudly proclaimed.

The name of a spell, or skill usually contained a fair bit of detail about what exactly it was.

However, this name didn't seem to contain any relation to the strange nature of the ability.

She stayed in the shadows for a few more seconds before jumping out.

As she manifest, a blood spear appeared in her hand. She threw it at Duke Blackwater, who calmly tilted his body to dodge.

"You can't get me with something like that–"

BANG!

A loud explosion, and the blood spear exploded.

Lukas landed on the ground near Evangeline and brandished his sword. A grin expression was on his face. Luckily, he didn't seem to have suffered any more injuries yet.

On the other side, Duke Blackwater calmly wiped the blood away from his silver mask with his gloved hands.

"That was... unexpected."

Evangeline nodded, "Indeed it is. Not as unexpected as the discovery I just made thought."

Her blood red lips curved up slightly,

"Your ability threw me for a loop there. Luckily, it wasn't what I feared."

Duke Blackwater paused for a moment, then sighed,

"I must say, I'm impressed. That was quite quick. As expected of a daughter of that woman."

Evangeline frowned, "I'm not her daughter. Don't tempt me into cutting your tongue off." Despite how beautiful she was, her words were incredibly crude and vicious.

Duke Blackwater chuckled, but said nothing more. Instead, he pulled two new magazines out of his inventory and calmly replaced the old ones with them.

Evangeline used that moment to say a few words,

"His ability is strange, but it isn't what we thought."

Lukas raised a brow, "He doesn't manipulate time?"

Evangeline nodded, her eyes narrowed into slits. Then she frowned,

"Well, not quite. To say he doesn't won't be accurate. However, the degree at which he does it isn't as terrifying as I thought."

She paused for a moment, then continued,

"Dust of Chaos. No matter where you go on the solid surface of this world, unless the ground is entirely encased in ten feet of solid ice, there will be dust in the air. I believe the reason he can dodge anything aimed at him, is that he can project his senses through the dust in the air. Therefore, if there is even the slightest movement in the air, he will know before it happens. I believe this is what happens when you increase your perception and control stats past a certain limit."

Lukas was shocked, not because of how powerful the ability seemed, but because Evangeline had figured this much out in such a short amount of time.

She continued,

"I noticed that he couldn't attack me when I entered the shadows. That is because dust does not exist in the realm of shadows. Therefore, he cannot see what happens there."

Lukas frowned,

"Still. A difference of a few meters shouldn't matter. He shouldn't be nearly fast enough to react to me with that inch of breathing room."

Evangeline nodded, a strange expression on her face,

"That is where the time manipulation comes in. Frankly, I wouldn't have noticed if not for what he said."

This time, she spoke loudly, as though she wanted the Lord to hear her words,

"If I am to guess, it is a {Devil Eye} skill."

Duke Blackwater had finally reloading his guns. He guffawed loudly,

"Indeed, it was my mistake to underestimate you, Miss Evangeline. I offer my deepest apologies."

Evangeline shrugged, "No offense taken."

Then she turned back to Lukas,

"To put it simply, all your attacks meet him. In the future. But because he sees this in the past, he can take measurements accordingly."

Lukas' expression was bitter,

"In other words, he knows what we are going to do before we even do it."

Evangeline nodded, "Yes, but to a very minute degree. If I have to guess, it's about a few seconds."

Then she turned back to Duke Blackwater,

"Honestly, I'm impressed. That sort of ability isn't easy to come around. However, unfortunately for you, it has piqued my interest."

Her own eyes began to shine with a hint of barely hidden malevolence,

"It is a powerful ability, but it is wasted on someone of your caliber."

Duke Blackwater's eyes shone with a strange light. A set of esoteric runes manifested in their depths,

"Oh... If that is so, then what are you going to do about it?"

Evangeline smiled. It was sweet and sinister at the same time. Like a honey flavored poison.

"It I can see through your ability, don't you think I would be able to counter it?"

Duke Blackwater shrugged, "You might know how sharp a blade is. Doesn't mean you possess the equipment necessary to protect yourself from its cruel edge." Explore more stories at m,v l'e-m|p y r

He twirled his guns on his index fingers,

"Knowiyhow dangerous something is, and having the power to confront it are two different things entirely. How about I educate you a bit..."

Evangeline sneered. Her eyes never leaving the Lord of the Head Priests, she spoke to Lukas in a low voice,

"Combining those two abilities allows him to see what actions you would take before you even take them. That is also the reason why you can't dodge or block his own attacks effectively."

Lukas breathed lightly,

"In other words. Fighting him on his own field is a losing battle."

Evangeline nodded.

Lukas immediately understood her intentions.

'Incredible.' Lukas could only think to himself as he prepared to make a move.

In the end, all he could do was find himself being beat up. His marvelous light, something he had been so proud of, had been reduced to a parlor trick in front of this dangerous individual.

He wondered how Evangeline's power would fair against the bastard.

"If you will keep conniving over there, don't blame me for making the first mive onca again." Duke Blackwater said as he took aim with his guns again.

Lukas and Evangeline dashed to opposite sides.

The Lord responded accordingly, he let the bullets loose, emptying the magazines in a rather short period of time.

That spilt second of respite their opponent would use to reload was more than enough time they would need.

Lukas quickly closed in on him. His speed was truly impressive, so much so, that although he spoke so nonchalantly, Duke Blackwater had no choice but to treat him as a threat as much as he did the Crimson Princess.

Behind the mask, his eyes were narrowed into slits. Now that they had figured something out, their counter attack would begin. He was not a single bit curious.

He made the move to continue avoiding a direct confrontation and keeping them at bay.

His vision split into two, both scenes playing out in his mind concurrently.

Evangeline had been spot on with her analysis. He indeed posses a Devil Eye that could slightly perceive future occurrences, although that was not all it could do.

He also possessed the ability to spread his senses through individual dust particles. If there was even the slightest disturbance in the flow of dust in a three mile radius around him, he would be aware instantaneously.

That was what made him capable of responding to the speed of these Demons.

Just as Lukas made his move, he already knew what he was going to do.

At the same time, he spread his senses out. Much to his displeasure, he realized he had no vision on Evangeline, which really set him on edge.

She was the real wildcard here. He had a rough understanding of the boy's abilities, but he couldn't get a reading in her at all besides her ability to move through shadows and control blood elemental energy to a certain degree.

'Wait... Shadow!'

The moment he realized it, it was already too late.

A torrent of power exploded forth from Lukas as he swung his glowing blade at him, forcing him to take a step back.

At the same time as he took a step back, he felt his leg enter what felt like quagmire.

He instantly realized he had erred.

'They caught me.'

His own shadow came alive.

The black tendrils of shadows stuck onto his body and pulled him in, devouring him whole.

As he was sucked into the shadows, a voice echoed in his head,

"Welcome to the Shadow World, Duke Blackwater."