Ash stormed forward, lungs burning. The shattered echoes of glass chased him, each one a death cry from the battlefield below.
He caught sight of them—two godborns just ahead. A girl was dragging a boy who could barely stand.
The boy's voice broke through the wind.
"Leave me. You can still reach it. Just go."
The girl shook her head, jaw clenched tight.
"Shut up. If anyone's leaving, it's you. You've got a home. A family is waiting. I've got nothing but this fight."
The boy gave a tired laugh, his body sagging against her.
"You're going to die being kind, you know that? If it were me… I'd already be gone."
But she didn't stop. She kept pulling him forward, step by shaking step.
Then the boy's golden eyes widened. He turned his head—and saw Ash closing in fast.
He shoved her forward with everything left in his broken body.
The girl stumbled, almost falling, before an unseen force lifted her—an invisible wave of energy that hurled her closer to the altar's light.
Her voice cracked.
"What are you doing?"
The boy forced a weak smile.
"Run. Don't look back. Somebody has to make it. This isn't a story where we all survive."
Ash heard every word as he raced uphill.
The girl hesitated, tears spilling down her cheeks. But then she turned, fists clenched, and sprinted toward the light.
Ash closed the gap between them.
Until the boy raised a hand.
An invisible wall slammed into Ash's chest, knocking him back hard.
Ash skidded across the dirt, breath torn from his lungs. He growled, pushed himself up, and charged again.
The boy didn't flinch. His hand stretched out again—another invisible blast throwing Ash backward.
The trial beasts roared behind them, their claws tearing into the dirt, shaking the ground like thunder.
Ash coughed, gripping his sword.
He glared at the boy standing between him and the last altar.
The boy's voice was steady now, quiet but sharp.
"It's too late for us. Just let her go."
Ash spat blood and wiped his mouth.
"Like hell I will."
He sprinted forward, faster, harder. The boy's next blast hit—but Ash kept moving, feet sliding, sword raised.
And behind it all, the beasts closed in.
The mountain shook beneath their fury.
Ash forced his legs forward, each step like dragging dead weight. This time the boy didn't stop him. Ash didn't know why, but it seemed like the boy had used up all his energy.
Then something cold and trembling wrapped around his ankle.
He looked down.
The boy clung to him, tears streaking his dirt-smeared face.
"Please… just let her win. She deserves it. I held her back. If not for me, she'd already be there."
Ash stared at him. For a second, something tightened in his chest. Pity? Maybe. But pity wouldn't save him.
He shook the boy's grip loose and broke into a sprint.
He wasn't dying here. Not for strangers. Not before seeing home again.
Ahead, the girl stumbled. Her legs gave out, and she fell hard, dust rising around her like smoke. She forced herself up, knees shaking, only to fall again.
She glanced back.
And saw him.
Ash. Racing toward her, his steps steady, his eyes sharp. Like the weight of this hell didn't touch him.
But it did. His body screamed, his muscles burned, and his lungs tore with every breath.
Still, he ran.
The girl tried again. She pushed herself up and staggered forward.
The altar was there, so close she could almost touch it.
Ash gritted his teeth.
He raised his sword.
And threw it.
The blade spun through the air and drove straight into her leg.
She cried out and crashed to the ground.
But she didn't stop.
Hands bloodied, she dragged herself forward, pulling with raw desperation.
The altar's light bathed her face.
Almost there.
Ash stormed past her broken body and slammed his hand onto the altar.
A burst of golden light erupted, swallowing him whole.
For a moment, everything was still.
He looked back, the golden barrier dulling the world beyond it.
The girl lay on the dirt, reaching out, her fingers barely missing the stone.
His voice slipped out, quiet but sharp as a blade.
"I'm sorry. But I've got people waiting for me. I won't die here without seeing them again."
He wasn't sure if she heard him. Maybe it didn't matter.
Beyond them, the beasts lunged toward the boy still sprawled below. Claws ready to tear flesh from bone—
And then they vanished like smoke.
Ash let out a slow breath.
'So… the creatures fade when the trial ends. Good. At least they didn't die today.'
But the thought soured in his mind.
'No. This world is cruel. Two tier 0 godborns alone on that battlefield… they wouldn't last long. Even if the monsters were gone, something worse would find them.'
The light before him shifted.
He turned his gaze forward.
Floating above the altar was a cube, spinning slowly.
It burned with a thousand colors, shifting and twisting like the sky at dawn and dusk.
A pulse echoed from it. Deep. Hollow. Calling to him.
Ash froze. His chest tightened as the truth hit him.
The corrupted altars.
He hadn't thought about them. Not when the pressure of death was crushing his mind.
And now… this altar was the only one left. No choice, no second chances. He had to choose it.
Ash gritted his teeth again, feeling the familiar frustration gnawing at him. Lately, that was all he could do. Clench his jaw and move forward.
He glanced at the others. Their faces were pale. Fear clouded their eyes. Just like him, they had gambled. No one knew which altar was safe, not fully.
The only ones Ash could trust were the ones he saw in the vision. Tachyros, Serian, Vynessa. And those altars had been taken.
This was the last.
He stared at the cube, spinning in the air, waiting.
He didn't pray. He didn't beg.
He just hoped.
The cube cracked open. A pulse of condensed light floated out, warm and steady, sinking into his chest.
For a moment, it felt like breathing again.
The voice echoed in the soul space.
"[Skill Acquired]"
Ash almost laughed. Another skill. He didn't think he'd get another one, but he did.
But the weight of reality snapped him back. Just like before celebration could wait.
A Scream tore through the air.
Ash spun around.
One of the altars next to him pulsed black, thick, and rotten. The person inside was burning, their form swallowed by shadows, skin and bone peeling away until nothing remained but silence.
Ash turned, scanning the others.
All the other altars were empty. Their golden beams had faded, their bearers already gone. Except for one. Another altar, still black. Whoever touched it was already lost.
Ash let out a slow breath.
He didn't pick a corrupted one.
But the dread remained.
Why was he still here?
The cube hovered before him, still glowing softly.
Then a voice filled the air. Cold, layered, shifting through hundreds of tones. Male and female. Young and old. All speaking at once.
"Oh, I see it now. An anomaly. But somehow… this is still how it should be."
Ash froze.
He knew this voice. He heard it when the trial first began.
"This is rare. A soul like yours doesn't belong here, yet you've completed the trial. You will bear its mark. Even if you are no godborn, your soul is claimed by it now. Bound to a body that was never meant to be yours. Interesting, isn't it?"
The voice curled in his mind, cold and sharp.
"I could stop this. But I won't. This is the path written for you. And as for your future… it is not as bright as you think. But it will be yours to carve through blood and pain."
Ash's breath caught.
The voice dropped lower.
"I look forward to meeting you, Ashley Burns."
His heart stopped.
His real name.
He tried to speak, but no words came.
Then the voice spoke one last time.
"You have survived the first trial of ascension. But your journey is far from over. Like all gods, you will rule by your own strength. Kill. Conquer. And when the time comes, take the next trial by force.
I wish you luck, young godborn."
Everything shattered.
The light faded.
The world fell away.
Ash's eyes snapped open.
Cold silence wrapped around him. No wind, no breath, no voices. Just emptiness.
His hand lifted to his face, slow and uncertain.
'What…'
The words died before they left his lips.
A chill crept down his spine.
'Was it all… a dream?'
He squinted into the darkness.
'Wait… what did I dream about?'
He narrowed his gaze, trying to hold onto something, anything. But his mind felt empty, like waking from a deep sleep where the memories slip through your fingers.
He forced himself to look around.
Shattered wreckage spun slowly through the dark. Broken ships, torn engines, and splintered towers of stone and steel drifted weightless. It was quiet… too quiet.
In a shard of metal, he saw himself—wrapped in a faint white glow, soft as moonlight, steady as a pulse.
His chest tightened.
And then it hit him.
The asteroid. His brother. The explosion.
Space.
His hands shot to his mouth, but—he froze.
He was breathing.
A deep inhale.
Then another.
Cold Air filled his lungs, thick and real, when there shouldn't have been any air at all. He exhaled, but it didn't clear his mind. His hands curled into fists.
'I can breathe, but how—'
To the side, something moved.
Speedy
He was hovering nearby, motionless. The same faint white glow clung to him like a second skin, pulsing with a quiet energy.
'him too? Just what is going on'
Suddenly he remembered and quickly turned his head. Behind him was the space creature. Its body seems to be glowing too.
Ash gritted his teeth and quickly turned.
'My blade—where did I drop it?'
There. A few meters away, floating just out of reach. He shifted his body, slowly drifting toward it, every movement strange, like swimming through thick air.
His fingers closed around the hilt.
Then his eyes locked forward.
In the distance, faint shapes floated—figures. His chest tightened.
'They better be alive.'
A low hum stirred in his damaged suit. A pulse, like something waking up beneath his feet. Then the flicker—
Blue fire burst from his boots.
The force pulled at his body, and he surged forward, cutting through the black like a thrown spear.
————
Max drifted in the void, his suit torn wide open, blackened flesh exposed to the cold. His left arm was gone. His right leg—missing. Energy crackled at the edges of the wounds, faint traces of the blast still clinging to him.
Inside the shattered helmet, a voice echoed, flat and mechanical.
"[WARNING: Host vitals critical. Heartbeat… absent. Initiating emergency resuscitation protocol.]"
A jolt surged through his body. His fingers twitched. His chest rose once, then fell back still.
"[WARNING: Host remains unresponsive. Increasing charge.]"
Another pulse. Stronger. His body jerked, spine arching, but no breath followed.
"[ALERT: Unidentified cellular activity detected. Attempting removal…]"
The AI paused.
"[ERROR: Foreign cells cannot be removed. Anomaly detected… initiating adaptation protocol.]"
White light bled through the severed ends of his limbs. Thin strands coiled out like threads of silk, weaving through empty space. Bone shaped itself. Muscle wrapped around it. Skin followed, pale and whole.
Ash cut through the debris, his thrusters blazing, eyes locked onto Max. He slowed, seeing the glow swirl around him. The missing limbs—reforming.
His breath caught.
"Max!"
His voice cracked across the void. He lunged, arm outstretched just as the final surge of energy rippled through Max's chest.
A sudden gasp. Max's eyes snapped open.
Ash grabbed him and gave him a hug, relief hitting like a wave.
"You idiot! I thought you were dead!"
Max blinked slowly.
"What…?" His voice came low, dry.
"[Host has been drifting in space for… 48 hours, 36 minutes.]"
His mind kicked back online.
'Forty-eight hours.'
His gut clenched.
"Two days?"
"[Affirmative. During this time, the host's body has undergone an unforeseen transformation.]"
He looked down. His hand clenched, skin whole. No pain. No tightness. Just strength. Solid and raw.
"What the hell does that mean—"
Ash turned, already facing forward.
"No time. We need to find Kael."
The jets on his boots fired. He launched ahead, light trailing behind him.
Max took a breath. His body moved with him—fast, smooth, alive. He leaned forward. Fire burst from the thrusters beneath him, and he shot after Ash, cutting through the wreckage.
They flew side by side, chasing the last survivor of their team.
Far in the distance.
Kael drifted, motionless. He was shirtless and only wore underwear. Embers danced past his hair. The last traces of the battlefield still glowed.
A burst of static cut through Max's comms.
"[Heartbeat detected. Subject is alive.]"
He let out a slow breath, shoulders easing.
"Good… He's still breathing."
The AI went on.
"[All heartbeats in this area remain active.]"
Max's brows pulled together.
"What? You mean everyone survived that?"
"[Affirmative.]"
Below, Kael's fingers twitched. His chest moved. Slowly, his eyes cracked open, dazed by drifting light and shadow. The world spun as his senses caught up.
"[They appear to be regaining consciousness.]"
Two figures hovered nearby, silhouettes against the fractured light. His vision sharpened.
Ash's voice rang out.
"Took you long enough."
Kael blinked. The memory hit like a wave—fire, pressure, the asteroid shattering underfoot. He shifted, groaning.
"Ugh… What the hell happened? And why are both of you glowing"
Max crossed his arms.
"The asteroid got blown to hell. You blacked out like the rest of us. And... you are also glowing."
Max looks at his hand
"I still don't understand what all this is, but somehow it's keeping us from dying. "
Kael flexed his hands. His arms ached, muscles tight from the hit. He turned his head slowly, taking in the field of floating bodies.
"Damn… So we lost?"
Max didn't look back.
"Not yet. We're still breathing. That means we've still got a shot. But I think we should retreat."
Kael let the words sink in. He sat up straighter, eyes sweeping the wreckage. Some of the others twitched faintly. Others floated still, but their vitals flickered on the HUD.
Max narrowed his eyes.
"We should move. Apex troops won't wait long."
Ash's body lit with a faint blue glow from his boots.
"Then let's not waste time."