The Sonkharan Ascension Tournament is a system generated event that takes place every ten thousand years. It deviates from conventional trials, by offering a prize that transcends mortal imagination: guaranteed ascension to C-grade. Victory not only promised monarchy, but also entailed the refinement of the winner's Cultivator Core and fortification of any foundational shortcomings—an exceptional opportunity to shatter one of the most arduous bottlenecks of cultivation.

This iteration surpassed its predecessors, escalating to unprecedented levels. Entire planets were thrust into war, their coffers drained to procure war-regalia and equipment. The tournament was organized as a last-man-standing spectacle, where the leader of a participating group aimed to eliminate every rival leader and survive.

The sky burned with green fire, the ground quaked, and warriors under Baron Skorr Kollan's banner huddled beneath the protective dome of their defensive array. Near the force field's border, warriors unleashed weapons and spells upon remaining competitors with impunity. Morale soared as protections held, fueled by the [C-grade Supreme Planetary Core Draining Array]. This array, capable of draining Cosmic Energy directly from a planet's core, promised victory—or devastation. Killing the core would destroy the planet and incur the wrath of the system, yet merely damaging it would only render the planet uninhabitable for centuries. The baron hoped this would be within the realm of orthodoxy, since the planet was uninhabited between tournaments.

Lorcan Skyre, a seasoned array operator, meticulously checked the placement of the mobile array flags for the defensive array. The black metal rods, densely covered with silver fractals, were adjusted minutely until certain fractals lit up to indicate correct orientation. Lorcan struck each flag with his hammer to fix it in place, the dead grass crunching beneath his feet. The odor of poisonous gases lingered, remnants of the enemy's attacks, but gas levels remained below critical concentration.

Though Lorcan placed trust in the shields enveloping them, he could not suppress a flinch as the enemy's green lightning arced dangerously close, striking the shield a mere few meters away. The protective array responded with luminous blue fractal lines, holding against the malevolent assault. However, insidious green sparks found their mark, reaching some warriors at the shield's edge who crumpled to the ground, frothing from their mouths.

"Medic!" Lorcan's urgent call pierced the clamor of combat.

Combat medics raced past him, their movements a blur of urgency. As fast as they were, they arrived too late. Amidst the chaos, a member of Lorcan's team approached him, concern etched on her face: "Everything alright? That hit right next to you!" she inquired.

Lorcan nodded, his gaze flickering towards the fallen warriors: "I noticed."

His team member furrowed her brow, puzzlement evident in her eyes: "How could the attack break our shield? We're channeling more power than anything I've ever seen in any previous campaign."

Lorcan's expression darkened with contemplation. "That's the thing, it didn’t.”

“But…”

“The shield didn’t break. I saw it. I stood right here. The sparks just dissipated through the shield.” He paused, then started issuing orders to operators. Despite lacking formal authority, his teammates rushed to comply: “They probably use array breakers to harmonize their lightning with our shield frequency. Torrd, go change the randomizer crystal on the main array flag. Gercas, get me a crystal reading for the last few minutes.”

Gercas, a capable female array operator, hurried to comply. Lightning struck again, and more warriors were hit. Lorcan checked the array flag for errors but found none. When Gercas returned, he infused Cosmic Energy into the crystal she brought and checked the stored information. He frowned; the readings made no sense. Among other inconsistencies, there were two mostly parallel lines in the power flow chart—lines that should be completely separate. That couldn’t happen unless… He cursed and ran, leaving his team standing confused. He reached his commanding officer, a giant of a man, looking at a battle map.

"Commander, we have a problem!" he exclaimed.

The peak E-grade commander, no stranger to crises, looked up from his map: "What is it, Private Skyre?"

"I'm detecting twin resonance harmonics."

Unfamiliar with the technicalities, the commander pressed for an explanation: "What does that mean? Are the array flags misplaced? Is the planet's core failing prematurely? We were told it would take months to irreversibly damage it!"

"No, Commander. Twin harmonics can only be caused by connecting two arrays to the same power source, without first harmonizing their frequencies."

Understanding dawned on the commander. "You don't mean…"

Lorcan nodded grimly. "Our enemies have set up their own Core-Draining Array. Once it reached full power, any connected array would automatically synchronize with our shield frequency. Their lightning array would fire right through our shield.”

Communication was severed since day one, requiring all information to be delivered in person. The commander raced to warn his superior, Baron Skorr Kollan. As warriors held off the army of his opponent, he personally faced his last adversary, Baron Braagh of the Sect of Tormenting Fog. Braagh's attacks showed no concern for collateral damage. He summoned clouds of poison and crystal darts filled with the Dao of Suffering. Months ago, the whole army of one of the other contenders died in a valley without ever firing a shot.

As the commander made his way, a palpable tension permeated the air, cosmic energies crackling with ominous foreboding. Across the battlefield, the enemy's malevolent intentions materialized in a tempest of raw power, their core-draining array surging with stolen energies. Above, energy coalesced into a giant sparkling ball, growing brighter with each passing moment.

Lorcan observed with furrowed brow as the enemy lines shifted, descending into chaos. It was not the usual pattern of preparation for attack or strategic maneuvering. Instead, small groups scattered in uncoordinated patterns, lacking clear direction. The brilliance of the lightning ball illuminated the desolate landscape, its incandescence bordering on blinding.

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With the enemy army fragmenting and fleeing aimlessly in all directions, Lorcan knew action was imperative. Without a commander to turn to, he took charge, disregarding the potential consequences: "Brace for impact! The main shield will collapse! Activate all defensive War-Arrays at full power."

Warriors around him turned, their gazes reflecting a mix of disbelief and uncertainty. Torrd, his teammate, voiced their concerns first: "Are you mad? You can't issue strategic orders without authority!"

In a moment of desperation tinged with frustration, Lorcan clenched his fists, resisting the urge to shake some sense into his slow-witted comrade. "There's no one else here. We must switch to individual shield array defense," he insisted, raising his voice to be heard over the chaos. He repeated his command with even greater urgency before turning and employing [Doublestep], a low-tier movement skill that temporarily accelerated his speed and perception.

With newfound swiftness, Lorcan darted towards the main array flag, determined to implement his orders himself. It seemed necessary, as even his own teammates hesitated to defy standing tactical directives on the word of a mere private. He never reached his goal.

In a brazen display of aggression, a bolt of sizzling green lightning, infused with the twisted essence of the Dao of Suffering, streaked across the battlefield like a vengeful serpent. It lashed out with unrelenting fury, as it bore down upon the formidable protective shield erected by Lorcan's allies. The shield's main array flag started to glow with green grim malevolence. Energy arced to nearby operators and guarding warriors alike. They fell screaming and twisting. Lorcan stopped. What could he do? Without the main array flag, he couldn’t deactivate or change their shield. Lightning arced between the glowing energy ball above their enemies and the ever brighter glowing shield. Too late, he understood what would happen. He could only helplessly watch as the now-synchronized energy streams met. Two supreme-tier arrays drained energy directly from the C-grade planet's planetary core. Unfathomable amounts of power streamed into the shielding dome. Once a beacon of hope and protection, it now transformed into a monumental energy storage. The glowing ball of their enemies' weapon also reached blinding incandescence.

Individual War-Arrays erected their own shielding, but he realized that would not be enough. When both array weapons went critical, they’d do so simultaneously. Their meager shields would not even slow the warriors' demise. Some ran, some started to burrow down into the earth. It wouldn’t help. He infused energy into the crystal containing the reading from before. He paused. The readings changed. Their enemy’s communication-blocking array had probably shut down from the stray energies. Now that he had real-time data again, what could he do with it? He used his class skill [Array Operation Mastery] to project a map of the surrounding area on the ground before him. Illusionary blue lines showed levels of elevation, streams of colorful dots visualized all streams of Cosmic Energy he knew of. Additional lines appeared when he tried to gauge the effect of two powerful energy streams converging. Both arrays would explode. The amount of energy was unfathomable. The blast itself would sweep the continent empty. The Dao-filled energy field would kill anyone left. The calculated effect range was much larger than he had initially suspected. No one would escape unless he used some flying treasure. But those had been banned by tournament rules, enforced by the almighty Judgmental Heavens.

The air itself started to smell with ozone. He was out of time. His mind went to overdrive. He couldn’t run, he couldn’t change anything on the impending explosion. What could he do? He took a mental step back. What exactly would happen? Both weapon and shield array would discharge their energy. He plotted it on his map. There was a chance the shockwaves would cancel each other out in the middle. He looked outside the shield and estimated the position of his baron. The eye of the energy storm would be exactly between the two energy sources. Somewhat more over to the enemy side, since the shield dome contained more power. The enemy leader was right where he estimated the safe zone. Coincidence? Certainly not.

He circulated Cosmic Energy into his legs and ran. He’d shouted for his teammates to follow him, but no one listened in the chaos. He was tempted to stop and collect some of his friends, but he couldn’t see any of them. Lightning started to arc down from the inside of the shield, discharging energy in random surges. Warriors and array operators alike were engulfed in a maelstrom of destruction. Amidst the chaos, screams of agony mingled with the crackle of arcane energies, a haunting symphony of despair. Lorcan, his senses reeling from the overwhelming onslaught, could only watch in horror as his comrades fell one by one.

He reached his supposed safe point. But there was a problem. That was exactly where his master was battling the enemy baron in a no-holds-barred epic duel.

Baron Skorr Kollan, a giant in silver armor, wielded his spirit tool spear to paint giant arcs of power into the air, then flew at his enemy. Baron Braagh was only clad in dark grey combat robes. His hands glowed with evil intend while he summoned clouds of poison and crystal darts filled with the Dao of Suffering.

The earth cracked under heavy missing blows. The air burned from energy blasts reflected from shielding abilities and defensive treasures. There was no permanent safe zone. There was only a minuscule chance it would work, but he had one chance. He used his single Dao seed to intuit the correct point he had to be to—just maybe—survive.

Dao seed of Marga Bodha (Early), the seed of Pathfinding Insight helped him to be at the right spot at the right time. He got the seed while training with some travelling monks that offered instruction in Dao meditation for free food and board. He’d originally aimed for the Dao of Dik Samhita, the Dao of Directional Alignment which emphasized aligning oneself with cardinal directions, laying the groundwork for precise spatial orientation. But the one he got was near enough for his needs. He just never managed to improve it.

He started to run, dance, and jump around the wild bursts of energy. Always on the brink between destruction by the ever more brutal duel and the wild and chaotic energy discharge of the arrays. Then the arrays finally reached their maximum capacity. The discharging flares ceased. For an eternal moment, there was utter silence. Even the two fighters stopped and looked around warily. Then all seven hells broke loose. Two concentric bursts of destructive energy exploded from the two arrays' central positions, canceling each other in a tiny area around the final battle.

In a heartbeat, the battlefield transformed into a charnel house, the once-mighty army reduced to naught but ash and dust. Their bodies consumed by the relentless storm of destruction. The echoes of their valiant struggle faded into the void, their sacrifice a grim testament to the merciless nature of cosmic conflict.

Baron Skorr resumed his attack with flashing steps driving him forward. His spear pierced his enemy’s armor and heart, where it immediately discharged. Bright cleansing energy burst as brilliant fire from every orifice of Baron Braagh. Skorr stepped back and pulled his spear from the lifeless body. He held it high in a gesture of triumph. But when he looked up, he saw not the uplifting sunrise of his success, but a giant black fractal floating behind his defeated enemy. His ultimate attack had already been activated, hidden by illusionary skills and talismans. The fractal disintegrated after his summoner’s death, but a storm of poisoned and cursed crystal darts was already underway. They hit before he could react. Dozens of arm-long darts pierced his armor, rend his flesh and discharged their vile energy into his body. He looked down at his ravaged flesh with dismay. Slowly he looked around. Devastation and death all around. Warriors lay around like dolls, forgotten and discarded. Broken array flags garnished the dead and burned grassland. He dropped to his knees; his spear falling from unfeeling hands.