Lowly Ascent

Cain's group was close to the Inner Sanctum, it wasn't long before they found the next door. However, unlike the others, this door was made of wood and covered in mold.

"Raven, are you sure this leads to the Inner Sanctum?" Darla was covering her mouth from the stench.

Cain replied sarcastically, "This is the only path forward, what do you think?"

Funnily enough, the Great Herald didn't wish to touch the moldy door either.

Boom!

The door was blown open with the force of Cain's soul. The path was clear.

"This is just a small prayer room? How odd." Entering what was to be the Inner Sanctum, the group only found themselves in a simple prayer room with melted candles.

However, there was a large crack in the wall to the side, a crack just wide enough to fit a person.

"A crack that led to the well...." Cain remembered the tablet's words and immediately went over to the crack and squeezed through it.

"Everyone, follow me, there's a cave system on this side."

The adventure continued, the dry caves strangely becoming wet as water dripped and small streams ran toward their destination.

"How strange, are we near an underground reservoir? No wonder there's a well down here."

The cave system went down in a spiral, it was hard to tell how deep the cult went before they entered a chamber filled with water, filling the floor up to the knees.

'Ah, this was the place that was dispersing my soul energy! It was too vague to tell before but this is the core! This the center of this place!' Cain's eyes sparkled.

Water sprung from the walls and the floors, a thick earthy permeating the chamber. In the center of the room was a large well overflowing with water. Next to the well were stone signs.

The signs were left behind by mad believers. Engraved were their final words:

"This well is the masterpiece that will bring a new age, it will birth the monster that ends all, the one who frees man from the prison of life. Chosen, make a deal with the devil and prove thyself the monster who will free humanity. We shall forever sing your name and praises, for you are the God of Man, though we may not worship you, you are our God."

'So they didn't succeed in creating a monster? Did they leave this in hopes someone else would find it? How strange...'

"Raven, is the devil in the well?" Darla was becoming worried, this place was too odd.

Staring at Cain, Darla's face warped and lost color.

Cain's mouth had curved beyond human means, his eyes glowing red. "I will go find out. Don't worry, my little raven, no devil can kill me!"

Walking through the water, he pressed his hand on the well and peered into his depths. All Cain saw was darkness, all he saw was an abyss.

"Good thing I can breathe underwater if I use soul energy." He was excited.

Mystery bred curiosity, and Cain was the most curious of them all.

"No, you can't go!" Darla grabbed Cain from behind. "It's dangerous, I don't have a good feeling!"

The two Apostles concurred, "Herald, this indeed is dangerous, let us take some reading first at least. We beg of you."

To no avail, Cain remained stubborn. "No, I need to go now. I must quench my thirst." He broke through Darla's grip and dove inside, water splashing everywhere.

"Nooo!" Darla tried to grab Cain again but he had already begun his descent.

"No...."

...

In the small confines of a one-way path, Cain was at home. He swam deeper into the well without a care, the walls of the well around him brushing up against him from time to time.

'This isn't as bad as the abyss in the Dream Realm. Though I can't see the edge of the well and keep banging into its sides... oh well.'

Continuing his dive, pressure continued to pile on Cain's body. Yet, this was a world of souls, and Cain's was among the sturdiest, the pressure could not stop him, for a time at least.

The world should not be underestimated. After a certain depth, Cain felt the pressure go up hundreds of notches, he immediately deployed all his soul energy to stabilize his shell. Yet, the pressure continued rising, soon becoming a desperate fight for survival.

Cain was losing.

'Fuck! Why is it so strong? Is it the pressure from this so-called devil? Do I have to use everything soon? Such a waste of energy...'

He was right, the pressure again kicked up. This forced Cain to activate his cores. He distorted the power of his soul energy and strengthened his shell to the extreme.

Unfortunately, the pressure was still too strong.

'Damn it all, I refuse to give up! This is all just a storm, I need to reach the eye of it all! I can feel it!'

In his excitement, a decision was made that wasn't very smart. Cain activated the Dao core and used the Space Dao infected with Chaos. He planned to teleport straight to the bottom of the well.

'Here goes nothing!'

With a flash of light, his body vanished. Countless feet downward, he manifested, no longer in the well but in a massive underground ocean, but nothing existed, it was completely dark.

'Where is this?! Where is the devil?'

It was then Cain felt ripples in the water. With the ripples, sound entered his ears, the sound formulating into a voice.

"So we meet again Vessel. You've grown a lot, to make it here is impressive. The planet's core is a place no one has made it to. I congratulate you on this achievement."

'What?! Who are you? We've met?'

The voice got closer, "Of course, I helped you back when you were in that cage remember? I helped you discover yourself!"

'You? But this is different from the place we last met, that place was like the cosmos, but this is like an ocean's depths.'

"I am only a sliver of myself, left here to make sure no one plays dirty in this game I've made. But let's not talk about that, let us talk about you. You're doing good, the Path of Soul helps greatly with your uniqueness, it's why I made it the core path of this world, it fits perfectly since physical flesh cannot exist in my presence."

Cain's eyelids shook, 'What do you mean...what do you mean your presence, and what are you....'

"What? Didn't I hint at it before? I am Doom, the Concept representing the end of all. This place is mine, and this little planet you find yourself in is a pet project. This entire world is mine!"

'You are no devil.....'

"Devil? I am far beyond such a weak creature! I am the consumer of worlds, I am the end of all things, the final destination of time, the all-consuming maws that rip apart even the laws! Or at least that's the goal. The laws are eternal, no one has found a way to destroy them."

Those words rippled in Cain's mind, destroying all notions he had. Before he thought it was a powerful lower God striving for Concept-hood. Little did he know it was an actual concept that was playing around.

'How does the System allow this?' He couldn't believe it.

"It has no choice, the Will of this Universe may be powerful, but it's badly damaged, it can't fight me even on its home turf. Alas, I cannot fight it either, the majority of my body is elsewhere, leaving the part of me here in a stalemate with the owner. Luckily, I can cure my boredom, making this planet for that purpose. My boredom can even be a boon for the one who wins this game of mine."

'T-Then, do I have a chance to get this prize? What even is it?'

The voice paused. "Hmm, I will tell you, but first, have you thought of how you will manifest your goal, from being a weakling to the strongest?"