Chapter 237: Ascension Treasure (Patreon)

The world of the dreamscape was a shade too crimson in the evening as the sun made its descent in the far west beyond the ocean. Usually, whenever I happened to be inside my dreamscape, it was day—but whenever I stayed too long, I realized it too had its own full day and night cycle. Granted, I had never stayed long enough to reach the blissful night even once.

It was always morning whenever I stepped in here. But maybe I should stay more often. The thought made me laugh— hah— and blissfully sleep while doing so, letting the world leave me behind. There certainly was no such ideal rest for someone like me.

Even today, the need to stay within was borne from something else.

I looked down from the small hill that I had made my resting spot. The occupants of the space were the usual ones. Lotte was… I didn't know where, she had vanished, probably for good for some time. Doppel-me sat beside me, knees pulled to her chest, humming an alien tune I wasn't privy to. The Heavenly Leviathan reclined on my other side, a smug expression on her face as if she were seeing things and finding them amusing, almost expecting me to ask what they were. And finally, someone who was a much more recent presence here: the unusual one.

Lysska sat behind us, cross-legged, her three dark tails unfurled calmly behind her. Her state was one of focus.

I had come to know of her condition via Alice earlier. The dilemma was rather simple. She had been at the top of her red core for far too long, all while continuing to grow. This resulted in a phenomenon called Core Overflow— a painful affliction that ailed its wearer with frequent episodes almost similar to a heart attack, because her mana was growing higher than her core could possibly hold, resulting in its slow fracture.

If left untreated, Core Overflow itself could be fatal.

It was absurd how much doppel-me had planned for all this. After all, this Core Overflow state could easily be prevented if they ascended to Gold—which Lysska was eligible for, but couldn't because she was missing one key piece. Everyone was.

That was the Overlord's design, after all. First, take away their System so they couldn't get any hint about their progression or state of being. Second, ban the transfer of knowledge itself in the waking world. Apparently, she had left these… beings affiliated with the System itself— some kind that watch over the continent as the guardians of her laws. Whenever they sensed anyone breaking it— even by saying or closely hinting at it— they would descend and scour both speaker and listener from the mortal plane.

And I had sort of encountered one of those beings, unknowing who they were. When I controlled that entity during the whole Vor'akh purge at Viera's ball, one I had unknowingly summoned to purge that even platinum-cored being in the Hell Plane, and erased all Vor'akhs involved.

Those beings— yes, plural— were the Overlord's Lawkeepers in this continent. One that staunched any sort of knowledge regarding ascension to permeate throughout the continent, crippling it fully. Even the study of magic was rigid. There was no allowance for any sort of innovation, so the doors to magic itself stayed shut—nobody wanted to break these unspoken rules. And that was the reason my own knowledge regarding it was so primitive.

Now, her reason for doing it was simple: she didn't want to deal with too many variables after her birth, and wanted to quickly complete her ascension by just reaping it all. I'd had plenty of time to think about that, and none of my thoughts softened my loathing—but that's besides the fact. The main fact was the ascension conditions.

While one could ascend all the way up to yellow core relatively easily, it was just a matter of reaching the top and subconsciously reaching for the next class. With the System, it might have offered a more customized take—seeing what classes you had unlocked and picking the one that fit best. Without it, the only change was that you ascended via your own instinct and didn't really get a feel for all available options. I'd had time to talk about how the usual System worked with the Kovraths, and they had shown a great deal of enthusiasm in explaining it all to me.

I now know stuff about classes and how their own ascensions worked. How having a rarer class meant you would ascend faster through the core colours— much like the rarity of my own evolutions, which had made me ascend so much faster. I had only just realized it now. It was nice to draw parallels between the two. Nice to know how exactly it worked out for humanoids, and how exactly my own path might change after ascending this time.

Now, the main change came from ascending from yellow to red. It wasn't simply a matter of reaching the top of your core anymore. You had to have "resonated" with the concept behind your main element— the one you wished to ascend further with. That could come from anywhere: your own experience, your own willingness to look within yourself and see where you stood, what your element had done so far, what it meant to you and to the element itself. Even without any external guidance, one could still fundamentally resonate with what it was. Furthermore, the Core Overflow phenomenon at yellow core was much more forgiving compared to what came next.

Because ascending from red to gold was… not so simple. And it was another reason why I hadn't commenced my own evolution even after knowing I was the safest being within this trial. Even if the System offered no protection, I was still surrounded by these titans, so I would be more or less just as protected.

And the reason was the ascension condition itself.

To go up from red to gold, one needed to fulfill another condition that was almost impossible to find instinctively— so much so that once they did find it, it was a once-in-a-decade fortuitous encounter. And that condition was not an enlightenment or realization one could find within themselves, but something that rooted them in the wider world itself.

The core philosophy was as follows: at red, you resonated with the undercurrents of your element. At gold, you were required to channel those wild currents into the bedrock of the wider world— a sort of foundation of your being that came from outside. That was the requirement. An object that belonged to the world, becoming the channel of your power as you ascended, serving as a conduit for your core.

Such objects were called Ascension Treasures. They could be anything, as long as they carried the essence of your element—artefacts, mystical objects, ancient treasures, it did not matter. But they were also very rare to find. And their role was more than just granting access to the elusive gold core; they also set your foundation going forward.

The theme of your own abilities would depend on the kind of treasure you used during ascension.

Now, the reason there were so few gold cores was simple, and that also explained why I had never seen that many people at the peak of red core either. They either died from Core Overflow, or ascended to gold following a fortuitous encounter. The former tended to happen far more frequently than the latter.

Lysska would be fine for quite some time, but the issue would persist. It was a slow process, after all, a rather painful one at that.

But that was where I came in. The Lawkeepers of the Overlord were rather… monstrous and strict, if that was the term— but they weren't omnipresent. Their influence only extended through the continent itself, not any of the associated planes. Especially not the specific dreamscape of someone currently in a different plane.

Now, it could have been simpler— Alice could have accessed Lysska in her dreamscape and delivered the information there— but it seemed that was still under the influence of the Lawkeepers. Furthermore, my dreamscape was much more protected, because of Lotte's presence. So, it was the safest place there could be to impart such information.

Pulling Lysska in here and imparting this knowledge was the first step. The second step was healing her core, which was a bit damaged right now—the Heavenly Leviathan helped with that and parted the knowledge of how to do it correctly.

And the third part was in Lysska's own hands. Even if she knew the knowledge, finding the sort of treasure that (1) resonated with her element, and (2) resonated with the kind of powers she wanted to build upon her ascension into gold— was a path no mentor could walk her through. I could just wish her luck with that.

As for me, well, I'd have to find something too before I initiated my evolution. The thing was, there was very little of use within the trial. It was a very closed ecosystem. Such Ascension Treasures occurred naturally in the waking world. But there was no knowledge or System to facilitate these ascensions.

Here, there was knowledge and a System present, but no treasure to facilitate ascension. Thus, both paths were stagnant. At least here, the high number of red cores made a lot of sense— since they knew about Core Overflow and knew certain ways to mend its effects, namely using diluted divinity and having specific healers for such afflictions. It made a certain sense.

But that also meant I wouldn't be able to evolve here.

Or… would I?

There was one thing I still hadn't come into contact with: the treasures the Divine Dragon must have stored for when her incarnation entered the trial. And I was here, and I was about to finish it. There must be some kind of reward here.

What were the chances that there might be more than a few of these Ascension Treasures in there? For some reason, I didn't doubt this assumption. After all, there must be a reason the Divine Dragon had set the trial's entry limit to red core. So whichever one of her incarnations finished it would have a chance to claim a good Ascension Treasure— and thus a greater foundation for the evolutions to come.

A magnificent theory, I mused darkly. Now tell me reality won't find a way to spit on it.

Ahem. So perhaps not all was lost. Too bad that if such a treasure existed, I probably wouldn't have time to evolve after claiming it, since the world around me would be undone— the trial dissolving into the Spirit Plane, its purpose fulfilled. I'd only be able to evolve afterward, if I survived the Spirit Plane.

Assuming I didn't dissolve into spiritual mist during the commute.

Hah. The terms never improved, did they?

But at least I was closer now. More than ever before. In these past few months, we had gathered everyone we could. It took a while to convince them of their own situation—like with everything else, change tended to breed resistance. My patience had been fraying at the edges lately, so I'd left most of it to Curious. She handled it perfectly. Even now, while I was asleep and in my dreamscape, all my clones were still working. Except Lazy. She was sleeping somewhere by the river— even in the dreamscape, she didn't want to stay awake. I sometimes wondered if I could do the same, and dream an actual dream for once. But eh— maybe later, once it was all over. Like with many other things.

And well, Lazy was going to be the key piece of the gambit I intended to play.

I shook my head. Nope. Not going to think about it until the time came—and I wouldn't spiral.

Soon enough, Lysska opened her eyes, and I shifted my attention back to her.

"How was it?"

Lysska looked a bit tired but nodded. "I think… I'm getting a feel for it. The pressure is no longer grinding against the bone."

"Hold onto that rhythm then. With any luck, by the time you locate a proper Ascension treasure in the waking world, I’ll have clawed my way out of the Spirit Plane in one piece." I forced a self- deprecating smirk but Lysska’s face stayed pale and devoid of mirth.  

"Is there truly no alternative?", she asked—probably for the fifth time in last 48 hours.

I wasn't annoyed, but I felt a deep pang of sadness every time she asked that question.

"I wish there was," I answered, the same as before, for that was the only truth I could offer.

Lysska rubbed her eyes and looked into the distant setting sun with an expressionless face. "It feels like cowardice," she whispered. "Fleeing into the shadows and abandoning the bedrock of an entire world to the furnace."

I shrugged indifferently, "Better a living coward than an honorable corpse. There is no glory in throwing your body against an avalanche. You survive the collapse so you have hands left to slit the throats of the ones who triggered it."

Lysska didn't answer.

I didn't expect anything anyway. The woman had spent so much time making this city her home. Now, she was slated to be one of the fortunate few who would slip beneath the destruction before the butcher's knife fell— unable to do anything, helpless. I was the same, after all. But I'd had more time to process it. She did not. I could only hope she’d find her footing quickly, and I would once again see the version of her I'd been seeing all this time— that unflinching, clever, scheming fox that she was.

"I shall take my leave, then," she murmured, rising smoothly to her feet. "My gratitude remains yours, Jade. For this sanctuary, for my vessel, and for extending a hand to Varkaigrad itself. It may yield little in the end, if I underatand the elves' temper correctly, our disruption will merely compel them to advance the ritual's timetable. Yet as you said, a handful dragged from the pyre is infinitely better than an empty dawn."

Heh. As if my own past self wasn't responsible for all this misery in the first place. I was just trying to take the fall for all the bullshit decisions she had taken— decisions that had spectacularly backfired.

I didn't say it out loud, though. Lysska already knew about it— at least a version of it— so it made sense why they were willing to sacrifice an entire city just to kill me. I just felt like I could tell her about it, and she never blamed me for it. Part of me almost wished she would lay the blame squarely on my own shoulders. It would have been simpler to carry. But she possessed far too much emotional maturity to conflate the sins of an ancient tyrant with the hatchling standing in front of her.

"Where would you go, leaving Varkaigrad? I have a suspicion our paths won't cross again until the dust has well and truly settled."

"I would probably travel around the continent. There are a few places where I could seek my own Ascension Treasure, and... if fortune favors the discreet, I intend to find a manner to disseminate this uncensored path to others who walk the dark."

I frowned. "The Lawkeepers have sharp ears. Just… don't let your philanthropy slit your own throat."

"I consider myself an artisan of shadows. I do not run into the light." Her lips softened into a faint smile as her amber eyes lingering on mine for a fraction of a heartbeat. "Until we meet on the other side."

She vanished from my dreamscape.

I took a deep breath. Guess it was time for me to get out as well. If the timing was correct, it should be when Alice and Sybil's collective efforts in seeding the Nightmare Nuke would bear fruit. It should be detonating across the subconscious architecture of the waking city right about now.

And… "Wait a damn second."

I narrowed my eyes at the Heavenly Leviathan— she had finally settled upon the name Ceil— currently lounging across the turf with a smug expression. She looked like a courtesan who had just watched an emperor slip face-first into a puddle of pig swill.

"Is that why you've been sitting there grinning like an idiot for the past two hours?" I demanded.

Ceil’s smile widened.

"Would you care for an unvarnished recount of the fireworks currently blooming across the physical plane, Master? Believe me when I say the reality vastly outstrips the modest chaos you anticipated."

The bait was laid bare, and you bet I took it!

"Don't keep it to yourself. SPILL IT ALREADY!"

Sitting there on my haunches, breathlessly waiting for the latest gossip of slaughter and panic from the waking world, it finally clicked:

Thalador above. I was turning into Lotte.