The dream clawed at Lee, dragging him back into the Ash Pits. The chill of the deep mines gripped him, suffocating, but this cold was sharper—alive—and carried the electric tang of ozone.
A flash of crimson light tore through the dream.
[ALERT: HOSTILE INTENT DETECTED]
[ALERT: LETHAL FORCE AUTHORIZED]
Lee's eyes snapped open. The room was freezing; frost traced jagged lines across the windowpanes. Silas was already on his feet, bow drawn, arrow nocked, his whole body wound tight like a bowstring ready to snap.
"We need to get out. Now," Silas hissed.
Before Lee could respond, the door exploded inward. Splinters rained down in a storm. The wood blackened and twisted as if burned to ash in an instant. Three figures emerged from the haze of smoke and dust, framed in the torchlight of the hallway.
The first was a broad-shouldered man with a predator's grin, a massive sword balanced on his shoulder like it weighed nothing. His sharp eyes locked onto Lee and Silas.
"Where you heading?" he drawled.
Silas's jaw clenched. "Dammit…"
Behind the giant, a pale man in a black cloak leaned against the ruined doorframe, twirling an ornate staff. "We would've been here sooner if you didn't stop to redecorate the place with corpses, Jax." He didn't yawn, but his boredom was a physical presence.
A girl with long dark hair and a smile stepped between them. "Quiet, Rai. You know the rules. No witnesses." Her gaze, cold and assessing, swept over them. "This town was a stain anyway. We're just here to clean it."
Lee's stomach sank. The tavern, the miners, the card players—all of them. Wiped out.
Rai's staff flickered, runes burning with pale frost. "Ice Magic: Rime-Shatter Lance."
The air buckled as a serpentine coil of frost twisted into existence, condensing into a massive jagged spear of ice. Its core burned with pale fire.
"Move!" Lee shouted.
The lance screamed forward. Lee and Silas dove in opposite directions as it obliterated the wall behind them. The building shook, debris raining down as frost spread across the floor in an expanding web.
"Go!" Silas barked, loosing an arrow at Rai to force him to stagger back.
They crashed through the shattered wall into the night, tumbling into the alley below. Jax's laughter followed, deep and cruel. "Why do they always think they can run?"
"Jax," the black-haired girl called from the wreckage, "do that trick you pulled last time."
"Don't order me around, Lyra," Jax snapped, though the grin never left his face.
Lee froze.
Jax sighed. "Guess I'll handle it myself. Earth Magic: Rock Wall."
The entire exit of Last Hope shuddered as jagged slabs of stone erupted, sealing the streets in all directions. Lee's breath caught. "What the hell—?"
Silas cursed under his breath. "He's locking us in."
Then Jax crouched low, pressing his palm to the earth. A grin split his face as cracks spiderwebbed across the ground. "Earth Magic: Seismic Dash!"
The ground detonated beneath his feet. With a thunderclap, Jax launched forward like a cannonball, the shockwave rippling behind him in violent succession. Explosions of earth chased his path—houses split apart, trees wrenched from their roots, the ground itself carved into a flaming scar.
By the time Lee blinked, Jax was already there. Face-to-face. Sword gleaming.
Jax chuckled, unbothered by the destruction in his wake. "Looks like I overdid it a little." His eyes locked onto Lee. "You see, the guy you killed? He was nothing but a messenger. Weak. Compared to us? He was a child."
Lee's heart thudded. "Compared to… you?"
Jax's grin widened. "Yeah. The rank we're at—and above—we've already reached Ascendant."
Lee froze. "Ascendant?"
Jax's laughter rolled like thunder. "So you really don't know. Perfect."
He leaned on his sword, speaking as if explaining to children. "When a Blessed grows strong enough—not just in level, but in resonance with their god—they unlock something greater. A half-divine state. Ascendant."
Lee's brow furrowed. Half-divine?
Jax continued, voice smug. "It's not automatic. You can grind levels all you want, but if you don't align with your god—if you don't embody their ideals—you'll never touch it. Two Blessed of the same god might end up with Ascendant forms that look completely different, depending on who they are. It's… personal. Beautiful, really."
He flexed his hand, veins glowing faint gold. "We don't just throw fireballs or swing swords anymore. Our power carries authority. Fire that burns fear. Shadows that suffocate lies. Ice that doesn't freeze flesh—but freezes hope."
Lee clenched his fists. His gut twisted at the casual arrogance.
Jax tilted his head, mock sympathy in his eyes. "You? You're nothing but a rookie. Barely scratching the surface. And you thought you could play hero?"
Silas's arrow was already drawn, eyes cold. "You talk too much."
A low chuckle echoed. Rai stepped out of the rubble, brushing frost from his cloak. "He always does."
And then Lyra emerged, shadows curling lazily around her fingers as if alive. Her sharp smile returned. "But isn't it fun? Watching prey learn how small they really are?"
The three of them stood together now, their presence suffocating, like a noose tightening around Lee's throat.
Silas's thoughts raced. I thought they were just assassins… but these people—no, monsters—are on a completely different level.
Lee unsheathed his sword, jaw tight. His mind screamed at him to run, but his body locked in place.
For the first time since he was blessed, he realized just how far he still had to climb