He saw his life flash before his eyes once again...

He felt like he was getting electrocuted on a full stomach. This terrifying experience overwhelmed his entire being, making him wish for death over and over again.

This was to be expected, as he was literally doing this without any concrete preexisting knowledge on the subject, especially when it came to the delicate matters of the soul. Without proper guidance, this was bound to happen.

His soul was being overrun by mana. He didn't have sufficient preparations in order, and as a result, he was about to lose his life. There was nothing he could do about it, as the endless tidal waves of arcane energy flooded his sinking soul.

There was a reason why this stage claimed the most victims. Only those favoured by fate, as well as those with sufficient preparations could survive this stage.

There were special controlled environments that could dampen the strength and intensity of the mana Influx, increasing the probability of success for the individual.

But Cain had access to none of that. Even the very heavens where against his favour, and would want nothing more than to see him perish.

However, how could the incarnation of the Golden Dragon be easily defeated so easily...

With a roar that could pierce the heaves themselves, Cain glowed golden. Golden veins stretched across the surface of his skin, and the runes on his body shone brilliantly.

ARGHHHH!!!

How field of vision was completely filled with interwoven colours. Suddenly, it was gone. That stream of mana that threatened to swallow his soul was swept away by the golden glow that was emanating from his body. He didn't understand what was going on at all.

This moment of respite however, was what was needed for him to get a grip of reality. He endured the surging pangs of pain, and eventually got a hold over his spinning senses.

He used his soul to observe his surroundings. He noticed something odd almost immediately. Contrary to what he had expected, the golden glow that surrounded his body wasn't pushing the waves of mana back. Rather, it was burning the ever flowing currents like it was merely a fuel source.

The mana was being consumed by the golden glow that burned like ferocious flames all about him.

"What the hell?!"

Fully expecting death, Cain was surprised to see that he was still amongst the living. He was ready to go down into the yellow river, but his most precious skill had once again saved his life. Feeling gratitude to Ashur, in this case, himself, he studied his surroundings.

The golden glow around his acted like a fire, treating the mana around his like firewood. This was apparently the only way he could have saved himself from certain death, as it had managed to stop the flow of mana.

Now, Cain finally understood a bit. Skills and spells were created as a result of the interaction between the soul and internal mana of an individual with the environmental mana and the spiritual realm. From what he now understood about the skill, {Golden blood} activated the hidden potential in his soul, and infused mana according to the mana flow patterns necessary to activate the necessary set of sequences to produce the desired effect.

With how powerful the skill was, Cain could only admit that it was truly the work of a genius. The complexity involved in this skills creation was nothing short of incredible, and Cain was sure as hell that he still didn't understand even half of what the skill pertained to. It was through this skill that he was able to activate {Eye of Clairvoyance}. He had seen in his earlier visions that the Golden Dragon, Ashur, was also in possession of the same set of skills.

However, no matter how powerful Ashur was, he was still killed in the end. The powerful and almighty Golden Dragon was put to death by a great adversary. If he wanted to cross the hurdles that his incarnation couldn't overcome, he would have to push on and strive to do better than him. To do this, he would have to go through greater and more terrible circumstances.

Only the finest of gold could survive the flames. He needed to polish himself in the hottest of flames to know if he was worth to bear the burdens of his predecessor. If he couldn't, then he would accept his fate, and die trying, as there was no reason to live if he couldn't accomplish his goals. That is what he truly believed...

Through the curtain of gold, he could observe the mana flow patterns better. Not only was his body coated with the golden aura, his soul was also protected. What this meant however, was that although he was safe from the powerful mana currents, he was unable to make any contact with it. Any steps involving progression on the path of the runecrafter could not be skipped. If he wanted to become a runecrafter, he would have to find a way. The {Golden blood} skill was a way to completely stop mana from flowing into his soul, but he still needed to come in contact with the mana if he wanted progress.

Cain sat there for a while, deep in though on what to do. He finally concluded on the most brutal and savage course of action to take. What he wanted to do was very dangerous, and would have his life balancing on the knife's edge. He planned on doing what he had initially done, until he had grasped the right method to control mana. He would keep going at this, with his life hanging on the balance to serve as a sort of compelling force. Maybe he would be able to force his potential out when he recalled the sword of Damocles hanging over his head...

He had made up his mind. Even if it killed him, he would still do it. No risk, no reward. This was the attitude Cain had that kept him going through the hard times. It was