You have defeated [Intermediate-Grade Clay Golem]. Intermediate-grade Spirit will be integrated into the First Spirit [One].

You have defeated [Intermediate-Grade Clay Golem]. Intermediate-grade Spirit will be integrated into the First Spirit [One].

You have defeated [Intermediate-Grade Clay Golem]. Intermediate-grade Spirit will be integrated into the First Spirit [One].

Congratulations! Your existence has reached a new level. You are now a Level 25 Spirit.

You have received one Stat Point to assign to your stats.

Willpower: 12 →13

Mana: 24,000 → 25,000

Partial Bodymorph (D) → Partial Bodymorph (C)

You have acquired the Skill [Blink (E)]

You have reached an existential threshold. Ascension will begin in 3…2…1…

As One read through her notifications, her blades turned back into hands and the last strings of lighting sizzled out around her. Then, suddenly, her vision blurred.

Heat rushed through her body, accumulating in her chest while her head was throbbing and pounding as if someone had put ten blacksmiths to work inside of it. Her balance wavered, but she caught herself with a step, grabbing her head as she groaned through gritted teeth.

It was beneath her to sink to her knees and give in to the pain, and this much was not enough to break her. Mana crawled under her skin and flesh, outside of her own control, as it gathered in her left eye. It seeped inside, permeated and transformed it in an agonizing process as if a thousand needles were stabbed into it every passing second. In her chest, she felt her mana squeeze and condense, pulling at her as she took deep, strained breaths to keep the screams in her gut.

After several moments of enduring this torture, this change, her mana ceased its autonomous movements and her eye and chest were left alone. The pain faded, a persistent ring remaining as One tried to get her bearings.

She had known what had happened, she had experienced it before, but, of course, the system did its job as well.

Congratulations! You have ascended. You are now an Elder Spirit.

Surprised that she was actually feeling a little annoyed, she dismissed the notification immediately. As pain and ringing subsided, however, so did her anger. Throwing a fit was not going to benefit her, after all.

She lifted a hand to her left eye, which she had subconsciously pressed shut during the ascension. Under the cold touch of her hand, the last remnants of pain disappeared. Struggling her eyelid open, the way she viewed the dimly lit chamber changed, the dark corners growing brighter, shadows no longer black, but gray. Her eyes now perceived the world differently from each other, but without a mortal’s inefficient brain, she had no complications in processing both images.

So the changes remain the same, One thought. Even without a mirror to confirm it, she knew that her left eye had changed not only in its perception, but appearance, too. It would no longer have the circular iris of a human, but the vertical slit of a cat, her brown pupil changed to a striking yellow that resembled the heart of a fire.

She was an Elder Spirit now, which was, to her standards, not a good thing, but at the very least it was better than being a regular spirit. One raised a hand to her chest, her fingers searching inside until she found what she was looking for. Pulling back out, she retrieved a small, white crystal that was about as long as her thumb and no wider than two inches.

Inside of this crystal pulsated some of her mana and even as it was outside her body, a string of mana connected it through her fingers to her body. It looked like an insignificant thing, but it was, in a way, her heart and the only physical part of her body. Although calling it a heart might not be entirely correct. After all, she would not die if this crystal was crushed, but thanks to it, neither would she if she were to run out of mana. It was another layer of protection from death.

With this, no other spirit will be able to beat me for a while, One thought, then considered the crystal for a moment before placing it back inside of her chest, right behind her right breast. Humans tend to aim for the left side, so this should be enough for now.

One had completed her ascension and there was nothing stopping her from continuing to grow, but she did not feel like it right now. There was something that just… made her feel like she wanted to rest. Maybe I am just getting sentimental? It was the first step to reclaim my name, after all. One turned around and started to walk back into the center of the room. Speaking of, I should continue to decrypt the sigil… the sigil, she repeated in her mind, looking at the very thing on the ground before her. It’s my sigil, but why does it feel… like it's not? One’s lips twisted and her brows creased. She tried to trace back what precisely she was feeling, and when she realized what had happened, she was shocked, bewildered and angered, but none of those emotions mattered then.

Her connection to her true name had been weakened. That sense of missing she felt whenever she thought of it, that desire to reclaim it, it all was… different.

One was not someone who rushed things if they could be done slowly. She had every intention to play along with her master and see his plans unfurl. Despite the bizarre circumstances she found herself in, she had been convinced that there was no threat to her. I am a fool. Two was right, our master, that wretched mortal, is a madman. For the first time since her summoning, One’s well crafted facade of composure and obedience was on the verge of being shattered by emotions she never lost control over. With every last bit of her will, she attempted to break through the mental wall that kept her knowledge and memories away from her, but it had never felt thicker, taller or more resilient than it was now. She was certain of it.

Panic seeped through the cracks this revelation created and One’s eyes started to scan the floor, taking in every line, every cross and curve that made up her sigil in a desperate attempt to decrypt it. She no longer had time, she no longer could sit by idly and watch how things played out. She had to reclaim her name before it was overwritten.

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Her focus was broken by the loud creak of her chamber’s door. She startled, head snapping up and seeing that it was opening, she quickly readjusted herself, straightened her back and wiped off any hint of emotion from her face.

Her master strolled inside, a small smile on his wrinkly lips. He did not wear his usual attire, his dark robes replaced by a white cassock with golden buttons and edges. From his neck hung a golden, winged sun, but despite its coating, One could immediately sense copper, silver, tin and mercury from inside.

Behind her master followed two acolytes, also wearing similar cassocks, but less decorated and more loose fitting, clearly implying a less important station in Shamut’s little religion.

One knew very little about her master, but she did not expect him to be a divinity-worshipping man. If that man angered his god, it would certainly make sense for him to seek the aid of One and the others.

While One normally ignored the acolytes outside of overseeing the ritual preparations, today she took note of a pile of clothes one of the two was carrying in his arms. Judging by the pleased smile on her master’s lips, One suspected the summoning of Seventytwo to have succeeded. He could not have chosen a worse time for his visit, however. She could not allow him to see her distressed.

“Your Majesty,” he greeted, pointing his hazel walking staff at the pile of golem scraps, “it seems you have been quite active. Please update me on your status,” he requested, although to one, it was an order she could not refuse. She was glad for the way he formulated it, however.

With her mouth loosened by the ancient contract, she recited the most recent changes of her status, leaving out the partially revealed name of her signature skill. It had been quite a while since it had become like that, and she did not want him to know that she was uncovering her true name.

After she had finished with the summary of her ascension, her master was caressing his chin, and said, “You have ascended, then, good. Just in time. What happened to your eye?” he asked, an eyebrow raised and the staff rudely pointed at her face. His smile widened into a smirk that made One’s blood boil with the rage of a hundred demons. It gave her the confirmation she needed. That man was fully aware of what the ascension had done to her.

“A change that came with my ascension, master,” One replied with a calm voice.

“You will have to cover it up,” he said, appearing annoyed. He turned his head and signaled the clothes-carrying acolyte closer, then looked at the other one and gave him an order to, “go and fetch an eyepatch.”

As the acolyte took off, the other approached One and bowed, offering her the set of clothes. From a simple glance, she could tell that it was a nun’s outfit. She did not take the outfit on her own accord, watching the acolyte squirm under her gaze.

“Put these on as soon as possible. Once you are done, come outside, I will be waiting,” her master said, turning around. One followed the order and took the clothes from the acolyte, who quickly retreated once he had done his job.

The two of them then walked out of the chamber again, leaving One to herself. She separated the pile of clothes and set each piece down on the floor.

There were not many logical reasons for her to dress like a nun, and judging by the wimple and veil, and her master’s request for an eyepatch, it was to hide her true appearance. And that would be unnecessary unless she was going to encounter people who must not see what she really looks like.

Tugging at the collar of the one-piece dress she had been wearing since her summoning, she ripped it off herself without caring for its preservation. Now that she finally had received a decent outfit, she would not go back to that filthy rag. It might as well have been a simple blanket with holes cut into it for her arms and neck.

Once her old dress had been discarded, she turned to her new one. It was much longer and had a high neckline and long sleeves. Without further ado, she put on the pair of white tights that she had been given. Then slipped into the dress, dragging the sleeves down her arms, the wool caressing her skin. The dress clung to her skin, hugging her form tightly. She had expected the dress to be long, but its hem actually touched the floor as she stood. It also had slits from the hip downward at the front on each side.

Next, she draped a golden wimple over her head, her hair only being a small bother as it still only reached her chin. The fabric squeezed her pointed ears close, obscuring them. She tucked the ends into the high collar of her dress and adjusted the white veil so that it fell neatly down her back and over her shoulders.

She then pulled on a pair of white, fingerless gloves, which had a winged sun on the back. The shoes were simple in design, but high-heeled. Standing and walking was a little difficult at first, but One quickly adjusted her bone structure to accommodate them. It was a little like having digitigrade legs, which she was not all too unfamiliar with, so she got used to it quite quickly. I pity any human woman who has to wear these things for more than a few minutes. They do have a pleasant aesthetic though.

Overall, most of her body was covered. The only spots where her skin was exposed were her fingers and face. Otherwise, she suspected, she looked like the average nun, if a little pale. As she had been ordered, and having finished dressing, she left the chamber.

Outside, her master was waiting silently, the two acolytes at his sides, not speaking a word as their vows demanded. When she stepped outside, one of them walked up to her and handed her a white eyepatch with a sun where her eye would be.

It made her want to sigh, but she quietly put it on, covering her cat eye. The moment it could no longer see, the dark corners of the hallway once again turned black.

Her master gave an approving nod. “Presentable,” he said as he turned and jerked his head toward to signal One to follow him. She did.

To the left of her chamber, the hallway only continued for a few dozen steps before ending at a giant gate built into the wall. She had examined it from afar, but never actually approached it, nor had she ever seen what was on the other side. Now that she had seen the outfits she and her master were wearing though, she had suspicions.

Her master ordered the two acolytes to open the gates. This could apparently be done through two handwheels built into the walls, one on the left and another on the right. The acolytes, with strained expressions, started to turn the wheels and slowly opened the gate.

While One and her master waited, he turned to her.

“Outside of these gates, your name will be Ophelia. You are a nun from a village called Monterosa on the outskirts of Levantia. You are on a pilgrimage and will be staying in Vinia’s temple for a few weeks. If anyone asks you, you are an orphan, who lost her family in an accident, the same accident that robbed you of your eye. Generally, do not speak unless spoken to, and never mention what happened in these halls. Understood?” he said with a grunt.

One nodded.

“Good,” he grunted.

Her master continued to brief her on her false identity, into which he seemed to have put quite a lot of effort. Considering, however, how much he seemed to fear being discovered, One could not understand why he was even willing to take such a risk by taking her outside.

The last time she had heard of Shamut’s followers, they hated her kind, and while she would love for her master to fail in his plans, she also did not want to be found out.

She was not someone to ask questions, even if she had them, but she knew her master well, and was not surprised when he offered an explanation of his own accord.

“While we are on the outside, your primary task will be to protect me,” he said. It was not a lot, but enough to satisfy One for now.

By the time her master had elaborated on her false identity and his plans for her, the gate was opened wide enough to allow them through.

Her master led her out of the hallway and into a circular, tower-like room with a spiraling staircase leading more than five hundred feet up. It pretty much confirmed what One had already long since suspected. They were underground. The staircase was lit by torches and sun banners decorated the walls every fifty steps. From the outside, even the gate was decorated with suns made from iron that served as both fortification and decoration.

As her master started to ascend the first few steps, One followed closely behind him, a stray thought appearing in her mind.

Making anyone wear these shoes to climb these stairs is almost as cruel as overwriting their existence. And I have just the luck to be subjected to both.