God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 862: The Human Condition (1).

What does it mean to live and die?

Many definitions and points of view exist.

As many as there have been living creatures to have walked the surface of the planet and swam in its watery depths.

Not every one would be recorded.

Not every one would be remembered and immortalized.

But they all did exist.

They all observed the world. In their own way.

They lived. And then they died.

All across the city, several human lives would come to an end every moment.

Pain.

Terror.

Darkness.

A festering wave.

Leaning against a broken stone wall, Steven groaned as he stirred into consciousness.

He winced as he reflexively shut his eyes, trying to keep the bitter scourge of crimson away for a moment.

Quickly realizing it was a fruitless endeavor, he let out a tired sigh.

Wiping his eyes with the back of his hands, he let out a litany of tired groans.

Over the last two weeks, he had gotten barely any sleep.

And that was because he was in charge of a large part of the logistics of the human army facing off against the devilish hordes.

'That damned Cain. Making me work overtime like this.'

He sighed.

Although they had managed to get by somehow all this time, even an idiot could tell that things weren't looking too good for them.

Steve sighed again as he summoned a stack of papers and laid them all out on the ground.

The papers were filled with scribbles of information he was too occupied to retain in his head.

He muttered to himself,

"Currently, the worst of our problems stem solely from the terrific power of the Devils. Then there's the {Zombies}; even just a bite from those annoying things can turn a human undead."

"Then there's the issue with water. Although food isn't that big of an issue yet, synthesizing water with mana crystals isn't very effective in the long run. We've used up a decent chunk of water elemental mana shards already."

He massaged his temples,

"Honestly, there isn't anything worse than this. The men are getting exhausted. The fights lately have been going terribly. Morale is also at an all time low..."

He chuckled.

He let his head fall back as he glanced at the huge crimson button in the sky.

'It's more of a saucer than a button, I guess...'

Although it was a rather annoying source of problems right now, it was still rather beautiful.

Steve thought back.

Back then, before all of this, the moon had been a small, ever present aspect of the night sky.

It was beautiful, in its own blemished glory.

Although this 'fake' moon had its own beauty, there was something off about it.

The proportions just weren't right.

It made the night sky feel intimidating.

Steve tore his eyes awake.

Currently, he was also in the city. However, he was located at a safer spot that had already been cleared for Devil activities. Even the amount of miasma here was negligible.

He yawned then glanced at a drafted map of the city.

Another huge cause of his worries, was the lack of rhyme and reason in the movements of the Devils.

Steve knew for a fact that Devils were impossibly coordinated. But their current movements showed something else.

This was another reason he had opted for a more cautious approach.

For one, he had no idea what was going on.

Were the Devil's going through a crisis, or was it some convoluted plan to lure all the humans together and exterminate them in one fell swoop. Either way, the uncertainty made him unable to sleep.

It ate away at him like maggots.

And yet...

It also excited him a bit.

Despite seeming like they were just doing whatever, he noticed a sense of direction in the chaos.

'Just what exactly are you bastards up to.' That was the most prevalent thought in his mind.

They had to be up to something.

And it was his job to figure it out.

"Hey, it's rest time. Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

Steve didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

He smiled,

"The body is willing, but the mond resists. What is a man to do?"

Blaze frowned as he walked over.

Staring at the pile of papers scattered in from of Steve as well as the runes floating in front of him, he sighed,

"You know, if you don't sleep or eat, you won't be able to function at your best."

Steve pulled a piece of mutant beast meat, roasted for preservation out of his inventory and plopped it into his mouth,

"I'm eating now, aren't I?" He said offhandedly, appearing completely buried in his work.

Blaze chuckled,

"Well, I guess."

He paused for a moment then began taking off his armor.

Steve raised a brow,

"Why are you stripping behind me? Just so you know, I am not interested in those types of relationships."

Blaze nearly popped a vein,

"Would it kill you to shut it?"

Steven chuckled,

"Lighten up, would you? It was a joke. A joke."

Blaze sighed. Then he winced as he took off his arm guards to reveal a deep nasty cut festering with blackness.

Steve turned around and frowned,

"You still haven't gotten that thing healed up?"

Blaze smiled wryly,

"The healers are valuable assets. It's best to save them on those who actually need it. I'll be fine."

Steve sighed,

"Devil Essence inhibits your body's natural healing mechanisms, slowing your regeneration significantly. No, it's worse than that. If you don't get treated, your arm might fall off. I can't have that type of negligence and selfishness, can I?"

Blaze shrugged,

"Enough of that. I came to tell you that Lukas' and Leah's groups have returned. They carried out their missions, albeit with serious casualties. Kai and Lukas' sister were badly hurt."

Steve sighed, "I suspected as much."

Blaze raised a brow,

"You did?"

Steve nodded,

"Dealing with those things was bound to bring tragedies. I just chose those that were most likely to suffer the least for the job."

Blaze wa silent for a moment,

"That's dark."

Steve chuckled dryly,

"Fair enough."

He looked up at the sky, trying to gather his thoughts together.

Blaze had finally changed into something more casual. He plopped down on the ground beside Steve,

"So? What are you doing now?"

Steve grimaced as he flipped through a stack of papers,

"It would be useless to tell you. You wouldn't understand in the first place."

Blaze shrugged,

"I might not. But it would never hurt to air out your thoughts, would it?"

Steve frowned, unsure of what to make of Blaze's words.

After a moment of hesitation, he gave in,

"You see those things over there?" He said, pointing at strange figures made from stone, placed on the map he had laid out.

Blaz nodded.

Steve explained,

"They represent the main Devil force at the Devil Spire and the three human divine settlements. It is wise for me to assume that all three are under siege at the moment."

He frowned,

"We chose to give up our walls. So right now, we are confronting the Devils directly. The Blood Moon people on the other hand have decided not to fight fair. Instead, they plan on burying us all alongside the Devils. As for the last, they have been stuck defending their walls for some time now."

Blaze placed a hand on his chin,

"I mean I get all that, but that definitely isn't what is bothering you, is it?"

Steve nodded. He sighed,

"Doesn't this look weird to you?"

Blaze frowned,

"Now that you mentioned it, your approximate of the numbers within the Devil force is quite high. What makes you think there's so many?"

"A few things. But I'll keep it simple. The numbers aren't adding up. And it isn't just the Devils. It is also the {Zombies} as well. It's been incredibly fishy."

His eyes suddenly narrowed dangerously,

"Come on. Look a bit more."

Blaze rubbed his chin as he scanned the map.

Suddenly, he paused,

"What the hell are they doing?"

Steve nodded, "Beats me. I have absolutely no clue as well."

He sighed,

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

Blaze scratched his head,

"I see. That must be tough."

Steve shrugged,

"Probably not as terrible as your case."

Steve smiled wryly,

"At least I'm behind the back lines. I haven't tried to gamble with my life in over two weeks. You on the other hand... You look like shit."

Blaze smiled,

"You look terrible yourself."

Then he turned back to the map,

His eyes narrowed

"A thousand means. A thousand possible outcomes. I wonder which is it..."

He turned to see Steve glancing at him incredulously.

Blaze scratched his head,

"It's something I learned sometime ago."

"A thousand choices, huh... I guess you can put it like that."

Suddenly, Steve fell silent.

"A thousand choices. A thousand paths. A thousand Devils and a thousand humans. I see... So that's it. That's what they want. How frustrating."

Blaze raised a brow, "You've figured it out?*

Steve nodded.

"Indeed I have."

Despite the achievement though, he didn't seem pleased or relieved in the slightest.

He appeared shaken even.

Steve sighed, throwing his head back,

"Cain. Where the hell are you?"