"And you're sure that you can't activate your aura skill?" Celenae asked for the hundredth time.

I backed away and slid behind Arturous, using his fur as cover.

"Cyrus,” she growled.

"Listen here, devil woman. Enough with your testing. You'll get to grill me after I do the thing. Be gone!"

I peeked and the elf had her arms crossed. Luckily, Arturous came to my rescue and slowly nudged her back with his massive snout.

"Fine. But just know that you'll be glad I was thorough!"

A shudder wracked my body at the reminder of just how many injuries I had suffered under her battery of 'tests.'

As Celenae backed off, I tossed a sack of honey candy into Arturous' awaiting paw. He rocked on his haunches and nearly battered Igas who had to summon a pillar to escape being squished.

"Watch out, you oaf!"

"Guys," Teddy said. "Calm down. Cyrus, how do you want to do this? There's an exit on this floor but the fastest way out of the dungeon is to go down one and grab an exit portal there."

"We assume that the shadow mana obfuscates what I'm about to do," I countered.

"It doesn't hurt to think that. Knowing your peculiarities, there's a good chance it doesn't matter what we do. But, and this is important, Cal recommended we come into the dungeon, it has to help somewhat."

"Fair enough. Alright. We're doing this. Just prepare for a mad dash."

Sereza held up her hand. "Hi, Sereza here. Still no idea what is happening but, will this disrupt the dungeon at all? And if it does, would the guildmaster want to ask questions?"

"Ahh... Maybe? Let's hope not."

I plopped onto the beanbag and shut the others out.

(T:0 R:9) Summon Familiar: Felblood Sanguinarch (Zagreus)

It was so close, the mana begged for permission and I relented. As it pushed at the channels and forced the last expansion there was a chime inside my chest.

STATUS

Name: Cyrus

Race: Reborn (Felkin)

Age: ??

Tier: 1 (Pending)

Active Skills: (Pending)

(T:1 R:0) Summon Familiar: Verdant Healer: (Áine)

(T:1 R:0) Summon Familiar: Resplendent Inferno: (Zharia)

(T:1 R:0) Racial Skill: Dimensional Storage: (Chomperz)

(T:1 R:0) Spirit Lord's Invocation

(T:1 R:0) Summon Familiar: The Dead Will Provide (Erebus)

(T:1 R:0) Summon Familiar: Reflective Coat of the Mirror Beast (Magnus)

(T:1 R:0) Summon Familiar: Storm King's Tempest (Sturmrorex)

(T:1 R:0) Summon Familiar: Shroud of the Astral Archon (Galarion)

(T:1 R:0) Roar of the Spirit Lord

(T:1 R:0) Absolute Authority

(T:1 R:0) Summon Familiar: Felblood Sanguinarch (Zagreus)

Passive Skills: (Pending)

(T:1 R:0) Etherious Blood

(T:1 R:0) Sovereign-Threaded Soul

(T:1 R:0) Chaotic Resonance

(T:1 R:0) Spirit's Lord's Echo

(T:1 R:0) Split-Mind Cultivation

Perks:

Legacy of the Obsidian Crown

Scion of Calstrax

Demonic Blood

Child of Mana

Dread Guardian's Apology

Crystal Synthesis

Devourer of the Deep

Whisper of the Tempest

False Dungeon Core

Unleashed Soul

Astral Lotion

Blood Pact (Stage One)

Huh. Wonder why it says pend-

The world contracted and an explosion of color assaulted my vision. My stomach burned and the feeling morphed into spikes that clawed at my insides until it reached my chest.

Wha-

The world contracted a second time, this time filling my mouth with each color and sound as the others started to gather around me.

Teddy was the first to reach out but a wall of flames rose from the beanbag and pushed him back. He said something but it tasted like cherry pie and sparkling soda.

A third contraction brought the pain into a crescendo of agony that infiltrated my gut and pushed into my soulspace.

My familiars screamed in alarm and I shut the pain out to delve inside.

As I appeared in the center of the island, my familiars rose in their full forms, and not floating balls of light. They each stood atop their pedestals and roared at the floating amalgamation of golden tentacles hovering above the island.

"You dare consume a god! Devour! Destroy! Decay! I will not be undone by a whelpling! Drown beneath the waves!"

The voice pushed me back, hitting me like a brick wall.

Instead of desserts and sharp soda, a putrid, acrid stench wormed its way into my nose, covering my soul with its slime.

It reminded me of when Chomperz devoured the divine fragment, but it was less. In fact... it was a pathetic copy burning the last of its will to enact vengeance and supremacy.

I rose above the island and my familiars joined me, each spirit a soldier by my side.

"Hey, you dead bitch. This is my soul."

"Sink! Die! Suffer the rot as it consumes your lif-"

From the runes along the island, golden threads emerged. They were razor thin but spouted a power far beyond what my tier suggested.

They cut into the amalgam, bleeding it dry of the stolen mana it pilfered before wrapping it whole. I flexed my will and the threads dragged the fragment closer, stripping away the remnant willpower and exposing the core.

Despite my expectations, I was ready for a crystal, or a sphere, but instead I was greeted with a single rune. One that existed in three dimensions and beyond.

It pulsated, like a throbbing heart. It was revolting and tantalizing at the same time. Part of me sought to devour it, claim it as my own. The other wanted to rip it to shreds, annihilate from existence and erase the disgust that welled within me.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Chomperz landed on my shoulder. I turned to look into his eyes and he chomped the air.

"What do we do with it?"

He reached for one of the threads and it shifted closer, just beyond his reach.

There was... a knocking sensation at the edge of my consciousness. I welcomed it, and knowledge inserted itself.

Oh. That could work.

While I wasn't about to throw away divinity, I wasn't going to make part of the god's truth of the world part of mine.

The decay, the death and the corruption hidden beneath the waves, it agitated another part of my soul, one that wanted to devour it and burn it as fuel.

Then I'll just strip away the unwanted parts and mince them down into scraps of power.

My fingers danced and the threads constricted tighter, carving the rune apart. At its core, it remained: the Tide of Decay.

But the influence it possessed was cut away and left bare, pieces that sank into the island below and served to further empower the threads that bound the rune.

"Only one last thing to do." I waited for Chomperz to turn and motioned to the rune. "Take it. We're connected and what empowers you empowers me, right? If we hide it inside you, it'll be easier to escape unwanted attention."

Chomperz cocked his head and glided closer till his nose touched mine.

Chomp.

It tickled and I brushed him off but not before he grabbed the golden threads. Unlike the tentacles, he remained unharmed and untouched. They wound around his claws and brought the rune closer. Slowly, he reached forward and devoured it whole.

Chomp!

The threads retracted and I sank onto the floor, a great pressure squeezing down. Before Chomperz crashed into the lake, I dived and dragged him onto land. His body shuddered with veins of gold pulsating across his scales. More knowledge flowed into my mind and I acted on its command.

My palm pushed into his stomach and I forced a cut with my nails drawing the divine power away from his tiny body and into mine. It stung like lightning bolts assaulting my limb, but I gritted my teeth and drew enough away that Chomperz stopped convulsing.

As I pushed down his paw pushed my hand away with surprising strength and he sat up. The golden lines were gone but the ring inside his eyes blazed with crimson light. He rushed into the air and moved to the center of the island as he swiped his claw down, the island rumbled and the lake grew waves that rocked the realm.

Slowly, the obsidian bulged and grew, becoming a pillar nearly twice my height. I whistled as it morphed into a rough throne.

Chomperz landed on the back, the central support splitting into two wings that extended just beyond the island itself.

"Buddy. If that's your pedestal then I have to object. It's a little unfair to the others.

Chomp!

I chuckled. "I'm kidding. I know who it's for. Are you sure it's really necessary?"

"Master! It is only right for you to have one!" Sturmrorex roared.

"He's right!" Zharia chirped.

I took in my familiars each on their own respective pedestals. Áine nodded, as did Magnus. Erebus waved, and I wasn't entirely sure he understood the situation. Galarion was changing forms faster than I could blink and Zagreus wagged his tail without saying a word.

"Fine. Fine. Can't deny inner-edgy me finds this fucking awesome."

My fingers brushed the rough glass and the divine power inside my hand spilled out, stamping the throne with a golden rune. I didn't recognize it, and it looked half-formed at best. But it felt weirdly mine.

As I reached for it, the throne rippled, the glass becoming shards that smoothed over into something more refined and clear.

Well... no use delaying.

I sucked in air I didn't need and plopped onto the seat. At once, the throne morphed under me and the two wings in the back spread wide and encircled the island. I watched the pink glow of the mana pool disappear behind the black glass and braced as the world breathed.

***

I blinked and stared at the void. It was wrong and I sought to correct it.

One by one my familiars appeared, each a beacon of mana that blazed with the fury of a sun around their bodies.

Next was a plethora of skillwisps. They floated into view and rotated around me.

Only one last skill was missing. And as I recognized that thought, Chomperz appeared on my right. He pushed his paw into mine and a single thread of woven mana spooled into my palm. Chomperz shuddered and his form broke apart into a swirling rainbow of colors. His shape reformed, but longer, his horns taller and his head far less childlike. His wings were now the length of my arms, and covered in crystal scales that shifted between purple and black.

His eyes were the last to settle, and when they did, the crimson circles were gone and in their place was a band of chaotic colors that spun lazily in his eyes.

Chomp!

"How does it feel?"

He raised his thumb.

As he looked up he rocketed into the air as a beam of light.

"Okay... Next?"

My familiars formed a line and took their place. As their mana joined mine they shed their old forms and took on new ones.

I almost shed a tear at them losing their cute chibi bodies, but I remained strong and waved goodbye to Zagreus, the now way-too-large puppy hydra.

My skills continued to rotate around me. Barely more than strings of light, I watched them for a time till I extended my hand and commanded them to halt. Golden threads erupted out like a spiderweb and connected to each one. Slowly they rocketed out of the void, leaving me alone.

Cal's such a dirty liar. This is the exact opposite of easy.

I sighed and held out my wrist. The Legacy mark appeared, and it thumped in time to my heartbeat.

"I Cyrus, declare to the Grand Weave my acceptance. I am ready to ascend and claim my right."

The mark detached from my skin and hovered before me. It stretched and stretched until I stared at a giant, a different will--immutable and unending. It extended its own thread, chains of red string that swallowed the void.

From a dangling strand, crimson text appeared along with the chime of bells in the distance.

[Begin Ascension?]

I closed my eyes.

"Yes."