Chapter 314

Ascendance (XV)

Cain and Quinn didn’t make any noise, ensuring not to draw attention to themselves. They mostly used Mana to conceal themselves and stalk others, picking up Voidscrolls occasionally and inspecting them. Curiously, Cain mused, they were similarly fashioned to one-time talismans, though with even more restrictions, such as that any contact with unfamiliar Mana caused them to self-detonate.

He hadn’t encountered something quite like it ever before, but it was interesting nonetheless. Furthermore, the weapons they found were also of the better make, and though their overall strength was quite basic, it was still above average for their tier.

Their main focus, however, remained locating the prime body of the creature who created this massive ‘illusion’. After all, no matter how many of its clones they killed, it would be for naught if its main body continued to exist as it could just resupply itself by sucking up more Mana.

Even Cain, however, was unable to do that quickly as he had to follow the minute traces of expelled Mana each time somebody died--and he only had a brief few moments before they disappeared. It was frustrating, to say the least.

“Ah, I’m gonna rip out some fucking spines at the end of this,” Cain mumbled, nibbling away at some beef jerky. “And shove a whole pole up his ass and squash his eyes with my fists and break every bone in his body and grind it to dust--”

“Alright, alright, just calm down,” Quinn said, blowing at her soup. “You sound like an impatient child.”

“... it’s frustrating, how well he’s able to hide,” Cain sighed, leaning back. “I’m just jealous.”

“Ah, yes, a guy hiding within the world created by the creature...” she rolled her eyes. “Your standards are not right in the head.”

“’cause I ain’t right in the head--no, wait, that was a... never mind. Just eat.”

“I think you went on a painful mental journey there that had nothing to do with me.”

“...”

Days passed in rather boring consistency. Every day, the two managed to pick up on a few, at most, traces of foreign Mana, following it. They drifted further toward the canyon’s far edges, but there still wasn’t enough for them to project a trajectory, at least not one they were confident in. It was then that a savior appeared.

“Stupid human, I’ve found it!” Te’gha popped its head and informed Cain with a pride grin on its face.

“You did?!! Fuck yeah! Quick, tell me!”

“...”

“... what do you want?”

“Kekeke! The stupid thing has a Chaos Core! I want you to feed me it!”

“Fine, I’ll give it to you,” Cain nodded without much thought while Quinn nearly stumbled over and fell. “Now quick, tell me where the thing is.”

“Kekeke, here,” the ‘young’ cat injected a tiny mote of Mana, projecting the directions for Cain before disappearing back into inventory.

“Haaah, finally. I’ll commit some inhumane shit on that thing.”

“Did... did he just say Chaos Core?” Quinn suddenly asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“... I... I can’t fight it,” Quinn shuddered. “Nobody can! It’d be like walking in the core of the Primal World! Chaos Resistance necessary is almost at 1%!”

“... ‘s that so?” Cain calmed down, frowning. Not because he was unable to fight it as well--as he certainly had enough Chaos Resistance for it--but because this, distinctly, wasn’t a Primal World.

“Yes!” Quinn exclaimed. “We need to get out of here before it notices us and run!”

“I’ll open a tunnel for you,” he said. “You can wait for me with Lear.”

“Yes--wait, what? You aren’t coming?”

“There’s a battle to be fought.”

“Are you insane?! You’ll die!”

“I like challenging death!”

“...”

“Fine, I’m actually really greedy for the Chaos Core...”

“You--you... aah, fine, let’s go,” she said suddenly, surprising Cain. “We... I can fight for a while. Maybe if we surprise it...”

“...” Cain’s gaze mellowed out for a moment while he smiled, shaking his head. Just as Quinn was about to say something, he tapped the back of her head and forced her unconscious. Wrapping her up in a blanket of Mana, he put her back in the cave and closed it up. She’d be out for a few days at least, and should be protected against everything.

As for him, he was getting curious. He’d never fought a Chaos creature before. It wasn’t as though he was rushing in--he had many, many life-saving measures that he could execute in case things went awry. But he still wanted to see, to witness. After all, that was one of the reasons why he departed in the first place--to experience different things and enrich himself through his findings.

Chaos was one element that he was most curious of as it was found everywhere, yet nobody ever got the ability to control it. The closest anyone got was likely Cain himself, through ‘Creation’ of all things.

Nonetheless, he followed Te’gha’s instructions, avoiding the still-struggling masses on his way over. The amount of Mana required to set up something like this... he might have been joking, but he was genuinely greedy for the secrets. He prided himself on his Mana reserves that were not just levels ahead of curve, but Awakenings ahead. And yet, even if he had a whole year to set it up, he still wouldn’t be able to maintain something of this size.

“And yet, I’m about to fight it,” it was that minute change, he realized, built entirely on the bricks of confidence. In his past life, he lacked it--the confidence to face challenges he was uncertain with. He never plunged in a battle blind, needing every in-and-out about it before attempting it. This time around, however, he was far freer.

Confidence led him to try things he never would have even dreamed of before--confidence in himself, in his abilities, in the strength that could measure up even against the strongest.

He hardly bothered to hide his presence when he reached the location Te’gha pointed him to, a tiny crack in the mask that was this world. Without hesitation, he stepped through the glass-like-crack in the membrane of reality, pushing through the void and landing himself in a completely alien place--a throne room of all things.

Suddenly, something within his inventory rang, calling him. Taking it out, he realized it was the crown that he’d almost forgotten about--Evermoon. The crown that made him a King. He never had it activate ever since he acquired it, but it mostly had to do with the fact that he went on hiatus almost right after acquiring it.

It shone in resplendent, yet dimmed emerald, crying for him to put it on. It spoke no words, but spoke and projected emotions clearly and loudly. He raised it and, slowly, put it on his head, letting it surge through him. Just then, he felt a pair of eyes land on him, stirring his heart.

“A King? A Thief? Hoh. Life is full of surprises,” the voice was low and melancholic, sourced from deeper inside the throne room. Cain followed the traces among the standing pillars rooted in darkness, heading toward the distant source of light. “You are a long way from home, little thief. And well beyond your head. You should turn. From one King to another, I need not neither your crown nor your fiefdom. And you can’t acquire mine.”

“Yeah, I don’t care about those things,” Cain spoke. “I do want you, though. Well, your secrets, anyway.”

Opened doors welcomed him to the last part of the throne room, opening up a well-lit chamber full of tall pillars upholding the ceiling that he couldn’t even see. The centerpiece was a massive throne the size of a tower made entirely out of black stone and rubies, all framing a solitary-looking figure seated on top of it.

It was a young man, a teenager, in fact--at least, that was the appearance. He donned a crown of fire that acted like a beacon, drawing the eyes to the face of harrowing beauty. A pair of ruby eyes stuck out against the pale skin and bloody-red lips that seemed full of knife-like scars.

“Welcome, Thief,” the man spoke, spreading out his arms, his face expressionless. “To my humble home. The last bastion of my Kingdom.”

“... the last? Why? What happened?” Cain quizzed.

“What besets Kingdoms if not ruin, young Thief? A King should die with its people, but my people died for their King. And now... I limber and lumber. Waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“To resurrect my Kingdom.”

“How?”

“How are dead things resurrected?”

“Magic?”

“Divine Will.”

“So, what? Don’t tell me all of this is just some big sacrifice.”

“It is.”

“Oh.”

“Which is why you should leave,” he said. “The Council does not view you as an enemy, Thief. In fact, among many dregs dragging their corpses through the Prisons, we see you with favor.”

“...” Cain frowned, trying to catch up mentally to the story he was being put inside of.

“You are still a pup,” he added. “But you show promise. Don’t discard it for vanity. Leave. Put down that inherited Crown of yours and return home. Neither this world nor the Colony of Discarded are befit of you. Grow within the encased walls of prison and break out with splendor of grandness.” the boy’s armor was indicative of a Mage, Cain realized. It wasn’t, however, the kind that Cain had ever seen before--it was like a mix of plate and cloth, a combination of oxymorons that seemed to somehow fit.

“And if I don’t want to?”

“Then this world will become your eternal grave.”

“You seem confident in beating me up,” Cain smiled faintly.

“... I thought you clever, not hotheaded.”

“Look at this from my perspective,” Cain said. “I just found a King abandoned, one rife with Mana, holder of a Chaos Core, and someone connected with Council, which likely means you’re loaded with at least knowledge. Your Mana signature, though powerful, is reliant on the fact that you bear traces of Chaos, making you essentially a God amongst Conquerors. But... I don’t care for that Chaos. So, if we take that out of the equation... our raw abilities shouldn’t be incomparable. With a little luck, I can defeat you.”

“... you wish to fight me?” the boy stood up slowly, causing the entire room to shake suddenly. “Are you certain?”

“...”

“... very well,” the boy nodded, spreading out his right arm and summoning a sword made entirely out of black-dyed Mana. “At least I shall have an eternal companion in death. There is solace in suffering.”