The Core began to glimmer as the golden light began to bubble forth. Almost physical it surrounded the Core before shifting, creating new gem-like facets on top of what was already there. The instincts that it had relied on were compressed deeper into its Spark Matrix as its Spark began to expand from a Proto-Spark into full Ignition.
As it ignited the golden light flared with brilliance, searing its new reality upon the Core’s inner being. Everything that it had accomplished before Igniting only added fuel to the new fire burning in its soul, blazing new pathways in its Matrix. It had been born again, transforming from a being of instinct to a being capable of thought.
The sigils inscribed within it flickered and dimmed several times during the process but they stabilized as the process concluded. Artificial it remained but that same artificiality was what kept it alive as the sigils provided the shell by which the Spark remained within the gemstone. Without the sigils, the Spark would have no Matrix upon which to inscribe a full mind.
The sigils, for all that they were the workings of a genius, could not provide true existence. The Core remained Artificial, missing a certain quality necessary for the plans of those who watched over it. One of their number in particular watched with interest, intent on seeing that the little Core would receive what it needed for what came next.
The two suns rose and set seven times before the process was complete and the world was not still during the Core’s slumber.
POV Constricting Green Snake (Day 1 of Ascension)
Coiled upon himself the snake flicked his tongue out tasting the world through the pits on the front of his face. The recent rain had thundered its way across the wooden paneling above him, wiping clean any scent trails and saturating the area underneath it with water. The snake was undeterred.
His master had given him a directive, to protect the Dungeon. The snake wasn’t Sapient, he was much too far down on his Path of Ascension for that, but he was smarter than a normal green snake. With one complete Ascension under his scales, as revealed by the tiny Aether Core powering his Aether Conduits, his admittedly small brain was enhanced allowing for greater intelligence.
Intelligence wasn’t the only thing enhanced either. The snake's whole body thrummed with Aether, allowing him to move faster, strike quicker, and heal faster, at least until the Aether ran out. This would have made him voracious in any other place as the Aether necessary to keep moving would have forced him to hunt constantly to survive, but the master now supplied the Aether it needed to live.
Keeping still, he felt the ground through his body, trying to sense the vibrations of any intruders before they entered the dungeon's domain. For the most part, his vigil was a quiet one, not many creatures daring to venture further than the very edge of the borders of the floor on which the snake presided. Eventually, though, something did breach the borders. As it did so it seemed to move unerringly towards the hole that led further into the dungeon.
The snake shuffled his coils, preparing to strike and as the intruder passed by, struck like a bolt of lightning. In a flash, the carpenter ant was swallowed whole, the snake letting a pleased hiss as a small burst of Aether was released upon the creature’s death. He did not wonder why the ant was here nor did he know that it was the second such ant to have come by, he was simply pleased at having fulfilled his directive. The snake coiled in upon himself once more, remaining vigilant as his creator slept.
POV Danian Queen (Day 3 of Ascension)
It was dark, like being submerged in a deep lake. Yet through the depths, golden light shone through from up above. The queen, uncurling from the fetal position she was in, began to swim upward reaching for the light. It took time but eventually, she breached the surface and her body was bathed in searing light for mere moments before she woke.
She did not gasp as a creature with lungs would but the spiracles in her abdomen flared, absorbing oxygen from the air. Not only oxygen but Aether as well, flowing from a place within her. She stood, reveling in her new strength as she stood tall on her four back legs. She was larger now and her new Aether Core was already at work enhancing her mind beyond its base form.
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Thoughts she had never experienced before raced through her head but she turned at the sound of shuffling and made her way over to find that her eggs had hatched into larvae with three of them being larger than the others. She cooed through her pheromones to them as she tended to her brood. She was grateful to the master for such a boon, her new intelligence showing her new ways of caring for her brood.
Her colony would grow and serve, becoming greater and greater as she laid more eggs and their numbers grew. Her mandibles clicked together as she looked her larvae over. They would need to grow big and strong if they were to help defend the master.
POV Mouse Guard (Day 4 of Ascension)
The mouse stirred in his slumber, dreams of battle flickering like a sputtering candle through his nascent mind, a mind constantly being strengthened through Ascension. An image gradually coalesced from the flames of war. A mouse standing tall on its back legs with metal in its paw and covering its body. It stood defiant, facing enemies many times its size, eyes blazing with Spark-light.
It was this blaze that kindled in the mouse as he slept, an ember of the furnace his Spark would one day become. An ember realized in the form of an Aether Core that blazed new pathways through his body.
Over many days he slumbered while his awake and lesser brethren watched in instinctual awe as he changed. He grew larger and more muscled, his back paws lengthening for stability and his front arms beginning to ripple with strength under his fur. His closed eyes grew sharper and his brain grew larger, supplemented by an enlarged and Ascended Aether Core.
When he finally stirred on the fifth day, he awoke transformed into something never before seen in a creature so small. The first thing he did upon waking was seek out his treasure and from it, he pulled out the enchanted sewing needle. It was a far cry from his vision when Ascending but his soul cried out to be armed and this would do. Placing the point before him and kneeling, the Mouse Guard vowed to protect the lord that had brought him this far.
He would not fail.
POV Carpenter Ant Queen (Day 6 of Ascension)
Deep within her nest, the Carpenter Ant Queen rested after laying more eggs. She was an insect of instincts, mundane and without the gift of Aether apart from what was contained within the Maker’s gift of life. There was no Aether Core to enhance intelligence, just the instinctual needs provided by her DNA.
However, the System of the gods had recently cataloged that DNA within a Framework, and that carried a weight of its own. It was a weight that spoke of growth beyond what would normally be expected for such a small species of ant. It was this aspect of growth that caused the queen to lay more eggs than usual, though it taxed her.
And it was this aspect of growth that began to cause a need to grow within her. A need for more Aether and a need for nutrients. So when scouts returned with pheromones blaring of a new place that contained a riot of Aether and nutrients in abundance, the queen’s instincts had her acting in only one way.
The colony’s soldiers would march and claim that land for their queen.
End of Chapter System Notifications:
Aetheric Transfer Complete!
“Carpenter Ant” has Ascended to the Framework “Danian Ant”. Existing creatures have Ascended into their respective roles. Carpenter Ant Queen has Ascended to Danian Queen. Carpenter Ant Worker has Ascended to Danian Worker and Danian Noble. Carpenter Ant Drone has Ascended to Danian Noble.
New Framework Acquired!
Danian Ant (Unique, Rank F - Copper)
Ascended from the mundane carpenter ant, Danians are the unique creation of the tiniest dungeon core in existence. These creatures eschew their mundane heritage standing upright on four legs and using their upper two to grapple and manipulate the wooden surroundings they call home. They are now firmly dungeon creatures embodying the aspects of loyalty to Colony and Core that have been imparted to them.
Ascension Complete!
“House Mouse” has Ascended to the Framework “Mouse Guard”.
New Framework Acquired!
Mouse Guard (Unique, Rank F - Copper)
A house mouse on its first steps towards greatness and the first of its kind to dare to do so. This mouse has embraced its calling as guardian and warrior drawing the attention of the Spirit of Conflict, Ile’Fen. Since Path of Direction is active, Ile’Fen has crafted this Path of Ascension in its entirety paving a way forward if the creature wishes to take it.