The first thing Rowan did, contrary to his behavior when he first arrived, was calmly read and carefully consider the Terms and Conditions. Vorn could have shed a tear, his impulsive Soulmate finally found a smidge of responsibility.
*Due to Awakening, You are now subject to the Terms and Conditions of the 381,126th Ascension Shard. By agreeing to these Terms, You hereby allow the Shard full right to revoke your System permissions and benefits should you violate the following rules:
1. Discussing the true nature of the Ascension Shard with Unawakened
2. Using advantages given to you as an Awakened to take advantage of the Unawakened
3. Intentionally stunting the growth of those below your Threshold (See Exception Later)
4. Spreading information from the Ascension Shard Guide to those Unawakened or those who are not users of the Shard.
5. Attempting to subvert the purpose of this Ascension Shard
The only exception is self-defense. If something attempts to force this information out of you with torture, or you are being harassed by an army of Unawakened, you are allowed to bend the rules. Please attempt to resolve disputes with Unawakened peacefully. Unneeded violence towards Unawakened violates Rule 3 and potentially Rule 2.
Common Questions:
* Does killing them count as stunting their growth? Answer: YES
* Does an Unawakened bothering me count as harassment, and if so, can I retaliate? Answer: NO
* What if they’re, like, really bothering me? Answer: NO
Reincarnator Detected! Special Questions:
* Does it really count when I do it? Answer: YES
* Do I get special privileges as a Reincarnator? Answer: NO
* Really? Answer: YES
The Shard has full say on whether or not you are guilty, and attempting to subvert these rules is an automatic revocation. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to reject the Terms offered.
Alert: You are subject to special rights! You have Awoken before the First Major Threshold, so you are not subject to Rules 2 and 3 until you evolve!
Note: These privileges only last until you reach level 100!
To better understand the Terms that you are agreeing to, you are allowed to read the Ascension Shard Guide!
Ascension Shard Guide:
Should you agree to the terms presented by this Ascension Shard, you will no longer be an unwilling participant, but a willing partner. Therefore you are allowed a deeper glean into this Ascension Shard’s true purpose.
To put it simply, this Shard’s purpose is to create strong warriors. Deep in the core of the vast and multitudinous planes of the Outer resides a powerful Force. Your world was given its Shard to produce someone strong enough to kill it.
Make no mistake, in the infinite multitudes of the ever-expanding Outer, there are hundreds of thousands of Shards. There is no expectation that you will succeed where billions have failed, and you are not obligated to try, even if you do reach apotheosis. The Architect of the System has determined that willing participants are more likely to succeed, and has discarded the idea of an unwilling army.
So grow as you wish. However, if you ever feel that you are the biggest fish in the pond and that there are no new horizons to explore, then please attempt to fulfill the Shard’s purpose.
With all that in mind, the Shard is not infallible to outside influence, and even if it were, relying on it completely would stunt your growth and make you predictable. Awakening has given you access to information that makes your growth faster and less reliant on the Shard. Below are all known powers that are a viable path to Apotheosis. This guide will not tell you how to unlock each power, but it will give you all the knowledge you need to unlock it yourself should you meet the prerequisites.
Seed of Authority: You have already unlocked Authority.
Psionic Arts: Unlock and Manipulate Mental Energy to Unlock Knowledge of Psionics. Congratulations, you meet the specifications to learn about Psionics! Warning: Psionic Arts are incompatible with Mana!
Mana Gateway: You have already unlocked Mana.
Necromantic Heart: Kill 50 Sentient Beings to Unlock Knowledge of Necromancy! Reincarnator detected! Kills in your previous life do not count!*
Rowan skipped forward, much to Vorn’s curiosity’s dismay, and finally reached the end.
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*You have been given access to these records for either reaching past the First Major Threshold or for Awakening early. You have proven your worth either way. The Unawakened have not. Should you share this information with them, you will immediately be blacklisted from this Ascension Shard. Sharing this information with those outside of the Shard is also not allowed, as they could share information with the Unawakened. Do not attempt to subvert the Shard.
Good luck, and may your growth allow you to prove a challenge, Awakened!*
“Huh.” Was all Rowan could say. The System, or Ascension Shard, was created to accelerate the growth of warriors to kill something. He couldn’t really say he was shocked.
Vorn, on the other hand, was freaking out. Everyone above the First Threshold knew about this? Even if the Shard did threaten to retract its powers, how was this not widely known information? Did no one decide to spread this on their deathbed? Were there none that were defiant? That didn’t make any sense!
“I can see you’ve finished reading.” Falnier said, “So?”
“I need to discuss this with Vorn, but I’m leaning towards accepting. Despite the fact I have a feeling that even if I rejected the Shard, I would still keep my attributes because of how saturated in Authority they feel now. Still, that is a hefty risk, and Perks, Titles and numerically displayed progress are tempting advantages.” Rowan said, deep in thought.
“Take as much time as you need, the Shard won’t rush you.” Falnier reassured.
“Um, I have a question!” Vorn said, “How is it that this knowledge isn’t widely known?”
“There are a few reasons. One, most people aren’t willing to separate from their hard earned progress and venture into the unknown, and the people that are willing to take such risks are usually those that have nothing to lose. If you were, say, an old man trying to pass on this knowledge, attempting to do so would instantly kill you as your Authority that keeps your frail ancient body alive flees you. Even if you were to do such a thing and succeed, as some have, that process just Awakens the person you tell it to, leaving them unable to spread the knowledge further.”
“Huh, I didn’t think of that. It’s a self containing problem that only propagates at risk to the vector.” Vorn said contemplatively.
“Indeed. Though, there is a village in the north of Elenia’s Grove that has an entire population of Awakened. Rumor is some old user of Authority shouted the Shard’s secrets in the town square. Stuff like that is very rare, though, and that specific incident was over three hundred years ago.” Falnier explained.
“You’ve already heard my opinion, what about yours?” Rowan asked.
“I don’t see any disadvantages. Sure, we’ll not be allowed to massacre Unawakened people after we reach level one hundred, but you’ll have to forgive the fact I don’t really care. I sure as fuck hope we aren’t going to want to kill someone that much weaker than us considering that we have full permission to kill anyone that we need to.” Vorn pointed out.
It was a fair point. If someone really was being an issue to the point where they decided murder was necessary, then they’d likely have permission from the Shard. If they didn’t, then they’d just have to tough it out and endure being annoyed by someone much weaker than them.
That was probably for the best anyway, since Vorn found it distressingly likely that someone in their party would kill someone for pestering them. Everyone was lethal enough right now that he couldn’t imagine how easy it would be for them once they evolved. Ark and Rexen would be able to massacre a town of Unawakened with a sneeze once they evolved if Vorn was estimating their rate of growth correctly.
“That is a fair point. It does seem that there are no real disadvantages besides perhaps having to deal with a few annoying weaklings without killing them or otherwise stunting their growth. Having the Shard outweighs that minor annoyance tenfold.” Rowan admitted.
“Are there any traps we’re missing? Because if the only major downside is ‘Don’t fucking murder people way weaker than you’ then I think I know our decision.” Vorn asked, trying to cover their bases in case they missed something.
The terms seemed simple enough, but you could never be too careful with binding contracts, as Rowan had proven not too long ago with the whole illusion mage fiasco.
“No, for you that’s about all the disadvantages. Where it really becomes annoying is for rulers. Have you ever wondered why the black market exists when there are people strong enough to wipe that entire portion of the city off the map? It’s because Awakened rulers have to delegate dealing with Unawakened criminals to other Unawakened. It’s a source of endless frustration, but most people under the sun acknowledge that having access to the Shard is worth it.” Falnier explained.
“Interesting.” Rowan said, “So, are you in trouble with the Shard? You helped me unlock Authority after all.”
“There are a lot of subtleties to the rules we were given that are annoyingly not written in the rules. I, personally, am like you. I discovered Authority and learned to manipulate it before I even learned the true name of the energy I was manipulating. Because it was not an ability given to me by the Shard, I am allowed to teach others about it. If you’ll recall, rule four was ‘spreading information from the Guide to Unawakened’, but I didn’t learn Authority from the Guide, and neither did you. Congratulations, you and I are now part of a rare, extremely valuable, group.” Falnier grinned and patted him on the back.
“I don’t understand. If you can teach anyone about Authority with no consequence, why don’t you?” Vorn asked this time.
“I never said there was no consequence. If I taught too many people about it specifically to awaken them, that would count as subverting the Shard. Since I’m just teaching people that would otherwise be killed for being too dangerous, I am given leeway for encouraging growth instead of stunting it. It’s complicated, and we have an entire branch of study just for working around the Shard. People have been doing this for thousands of years at this point, so we know a few tricks.”
“I don’t know, it all just seems so… Arbitrary.” Vorn complained.
At that, Falnier just barked out a laugh, “Don’t I know it. What I’ve found works is just asking myself, ‘Is this in the spirit of the rules, or the letter?’. The Shard is surprisingly lenient as long as you're helping it with its primary directive. It want’s strong independent warriors, so guiding an extremely valuable Unique Being so they aren’t killed is probably fine.” Falnier said.
“‘Probably’?” Vorn asked incredulously.
“Probably. I have taught quite a few people at this point, and I don’t know when what I’m doing will count as subversion, if it ever does. I don’t think it should count, but I’m not the Shard.” Falnier said with a slightly strained chuckle.
At that, all Vorn could do was gape. Would Vorn risk his access to the Shard for the sake of saving random strangers? As much as he thought of himself as the moral center of his group of dangerous biological weapons, he wasn’t sure he would. To risk losing lifespan, perks, skills, titles, almost everything. That kind of dedication to helping others was incredible.
“So, are you going to accept the conditions, or not?” Falnier asked.
“O-oh yeah. I think so.”
*Congratulations on Awakening! Due to your advancement, you are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Awakened Beings! [Read Here] Do you accept? Y/N*
“Yes.” They answered together.
*Congratulations Awakened! Welcome, well and truly, to the Ascension Shard! You have gained the Title: Ascender!
Ascender: An Awakened and willing user of the Ascension Shard. You are given the ability to recognize other Ascenders and have been given partial control of your personal interface, allowing for greater customization.*
Suddenly, Falnier lit up to their senses like a beacon.
“I’m assuming you can turn this off if you need to?” Rowan asked, already worried about being so easily detectable.
“Yeah, if you don’t want to be found, it’s as easy as just willing your Shard Signature to quiet down. Don’t worry, I had the same thought.” The Elf laughed.
Rowan couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Despite his worry, this new sense was interesting. Falnier’s ‘Shard Signature’ felt like a bright and verdant green and the fact that he could ‘feel’ what color it was… Well, he had never had synesthesia before, but he assumed this must be what it was like.
Deep down, he could even feel his own signature. A deep royal purple that felt misty and ethereal with streaks of blue floating through it. Deep down, there was a hardened core of orange steel within the misty expanse. A bright and energetic nebula with endless depth orbiting a burning supermassive star.