2025-03-27 18:48:02
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 131
The Core AwakensThe ground beneath me trembles like a heartbeat—erratic, violent, alive. This isn’t just a system anymore. The Core is something else, something sentient. The air is thick with static, every breath sharp and electric.Before me, the Overseers hover—formless beings of shifting light and darkness. Their presence warps the space around them, flickering between dimensions, their voices layered in echoes that stretch through time itself."You have broken the balance," one of them intones, its voice rippling like a thousand whispers converging into one. "You are an anomaly that must be erased."I barely hear them over the chaos around me. The Core isn’t just rejecting me—it’s rejecting everything. The system fractures, reality splitting at the seams.A strangled scream rips through the collapsing space. Darren.I whip my head toward him. His body flickers, caught between existence and oblivion, his form shifting like a distorted signal. His eyes lock onto mine, panic floodi
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 132
Power Beyond LimitsThe Overseers descend upon me, their forms constantly shifting, rewriting themselves mid-motion. They are a storm of energy and intent, their presence distorting reality itself. I feel their influence pressing down on me, like the weight of a collapsing universe.I react instinctively, bending the digital code that makes up this realm, warping the space between us. A ripple pulses outward as I reach into the very fabric of this place, trying to disrupt them—but they adapt instantly. Their bodies glitch, twist, and reform as if my attacks never happened."You cannot win," they chant in unison, their voices layered over each other like echoes folding in on themselves. "Because you cannot exist."A blast of pure white energy surges toward me faster than I thought. Before I can react, Darren throws himself in front of it. The impact distorts him, his body flickering like corrupted data. He drops to his knees, his form struggling to stabilize."Not today," he growls thr
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 133
The Cost of PowerThe realization slams into me like a crashing wave—I’m merging with the system. It’s not just a sensation anymore. It’s a fact. My thoughts stretch beyond my body, reaching into the very foundation of this world. I can feel the threads of existence, the raw code running through everything. And worse... I can hear it calling to me.It whispers in a language I don’t fully understand yet somehow know. Each pulse of energy threading through my veins pulls me further from what I was—further from what I should be. My body hums, every cell in me vibrating like I’m no longer made of flesh and bone but something else entirely.Something beyond human.Darren grabs my arm, his grip tight, grounding me in a way I barely understand anymore. His expression is grim, his face streaked with sweat and something dangerously close to fear."Tony," he says, his voice rough. "If you don’t stop this now, you won’t be you anymore."I clench my jaw. "We don’t have a choice."Kane’s voice cra
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 134
The Overseers’ WeaknessFor the first time, the Overseers are vulnerable.I can see it in the way their forms flicker, the once-fluid movement of their shifting bodies becoming erratic. The Core pulses wildly behind them, struggling to maintain its form. The cracks along its surface spread like fractures in glass, barely holding together under the pressure.This is it.This is the moment we’ve been fighting for. The moment we win.Darren stumbles forward, his breaths ragged, his body shaking from the sheer force of the last attack. His face is pale, his hands unsteady, but there’s something dangerously close to a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth."We might actually have a shot at this," he mutters, half in disbelief, half in exhilaration.Kane grips her weapon tighter, her breathing heavy, sweat dripping down her brow. "Don’t jinx it," she warns, eyes darting around, searching for the next move.Elias exhales sharply, still shaking from the last energy wave that nearly ripped
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 135
The Last CommandDarren is gone.His form unraveled like loose code, breaking apart into nothing before I could even process it. One second, he was there—grinning, defiant even in the face of annihilation—and then he was gone. Just a void where he used to be.A gaping hole in reality.My breath is ragged, my heartbeat a fractured, uneven thing. Every instinct in my body screams for me to fall to my knees, to rage, to claw at the air and try to pull him back. But there’s no time. No moment of silence.The Overseers hover before me, shifting like phantoms, their forms flickering with raw, unstable power. They don’t feel grief. They don’t feel anything. They are constructs of logic, boundless and cruel in their indifference.But for the first time, they hesitated.They fear.I see it in the way they hold back, their movements less fluid, more rigid. Their voices, once an endless, seamless chorus of omnipotence, now crack with uncertainty.The Core pulses violently, sending out shockwaves
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 136
Rewriting RealityThe Overseers scream.It’s not a sound made of words or voices—it’s deeper, rawer, something woven into the very fabric of existence. A rupture in the foundation of everything."You do not understand what you are doing!" Their voices merge into one, echoing across time and space, distorted with something I never expected.Fear.I tighten my grip around the Core, feeling the pulsing energy writhing beneath my fingers. It’s alive—not in the way a person is, but in the way an idea is. Shifting, evolving, infinite.I let out a slow breath, and my voice carries with it the weight of everything I’ve become. "No." The word reverberates, pressing against the world itself. "But neither do you."I pull.The system bucks against me, resisting, fighting back. Timelines snap and unravel, entire realities flickering in and out of existence like dying stars. I see them all—every version of history, every possibility the Overseers have tried to control.The war-torn wastelands.The
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 137
The VoidI woke up.Or at least, I think I do.There’s no sensation, no weight, no breath—just a sudden awareness, like my mind was switched on without a body to house it. I don’t feel the warmth of skin, the pull of gravity, or even the rhythmic beat of a heart.There’s no floor beneath me. No sky above. No air to fill my lungs.There is only nothing.Not darkness. Not light. Not even an in-between. Just pure, endless absence.My thoughts drift, untethered. Where am I? How did I get here? Wasn’t I just—The Core.The fight.The Overseers.Darren—A sharp pang cuts through the void, more emotion than pain. Darren was—he was dying. I saw it.And then…I changed everything.I should be afraid. But fear feels distant. Like it belonged to another version of me. Another life.A ripple disturbs the nothingness. A presence shifts, subtle yet undeniable.Not a voice, not a sound—just a pressure.And then—"Tony…?"The whisper is faint, barely more than a ripple against my thoughts. But it’s e
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 138
Echoes of ExistenceI drift.Weightless. Formless. A whisper in the void.The world I knew flickers like static, pieces of reality breaking apart and reforming around me. Nothing stays solid for long. It’s like watching an old film reel catching fire, each frame dissolving into something new, something rewritten. But I’m no longer part of the story.Kane’s voice is distant and fractured. "Tony!"I try to turn toward her, but there’s no turning. Nobody to turn with."We’re losing him!"Her voice wavers, sharp with desperation. She’s reaching for me, but she might as well be a million miles away."Tony, don’t leave us!" Elias adds, but I can’t even tell if he’s speaking to me or the void that surrounds us.His voice, like Kane’s, fades into nothing, absorbed by the vast emptiness.Elias stands beside her, gripping the Core—what’s left of it—like it’s the last fragile thread holding reality together. His knuckles are white, his jaw locked tight. But even he knows.This is it.I glance at
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 220
Old Meets NewA cold feeling went down my back. It wasn't just cold; it was because everything around us felt wrong. Outside Kane's strong room, the city looked twisted, like a snake moving in a weird way. Buildings leaned at crazy angles, the sky was a purple bruise, and the air buzzed with a power that felt old and very wrong. My head hurt, a slow beat against the loud strangeness of this new world.The world went crazy, and we had to try and fix it.Kane looked hard at the glowing pictures above the table. Lines of code, a language I used to know well but now felt like a lost one, moved on the clear screen. She bit her lip, something she did when thinking hard. Her usual strong energy was still there, like a small fire that wouldn't go out in the dark. But I could see worry lines around her eyes.“Anything, Darren?” Her voice was rough and tired.I ran my hand over my thin hair. I could almost feel the old wires that used to connect to my brain. “Bits and pieces, Kane. L
CHAPTER 219
Seeing Things DifferentlyShaky light on worried faces around the bright map. Red lights flashed, showing trouble spreading. Kane looked hard, telling people what to do, a bit worried.My clear memories showed a scary pattern Kane didn't get. She saw now; I remembered long ago.Kane stopped talking. "Another dark spot, Tony. No why, no answer... gone." Her upset voice made me feel bad. I knew that lost feeling."Kane," I said, my quiet voice was clear. Everyone looked. I usually just helped, but the memories needed saying.She turned, tired but a bit sharp. "What, Tony? No time.""Not just happening, Kane," I said carefully. "It's happened before."People didn't believe me. Petrov laughed. "Before? Nothing like this in the books.""Books not complete," I said back, looking at Kane. She looked unsure. "Some truths hidden. Some things are forgotten.""Forgotten things?" Sarah looked surprised. "What are you talking about?"I went to the map, pointing at a dark spot. "Look ho
CHAPTER 218
Echoes in the GlitchThe cold voice in the small well-house felt like icy fingers touching my skin. Next to me, Kane held my arm so tight her knuckles were white. The strange key in her other hand glowed, making her scared face look even more so."Elias... Darren... they need to see this," she whispered, her voice shaky.My mind was racing. Elias, so quiet but always noticing things, and Darren, who first saw that things weren't right – they had to know about this. We weren't the only ones in this messed-up world, even if it felt like it."We go together," I said, trying to sound brave even though my heart was pounding. Whatever was behind that disappearing wall, we'd face it together.Kane nodded, her eyes looking strong. She was still scared, but she was also determined. We walked towards the shimmering opening. The buzzing sound got louder, and the air felt strange, making the hairs on my arms stand up.When we stepped through the wall, it was like being swallowed by darkne
CHAPTER 217
Pieces of a Lost WorldThe blue mark on Gareth’s arm disappeared, but we were all still scared, Kane. It felt like a cold weight in our stomachs. The strange things happening weren't just whispers anymore; they were shouting at us.I watched Darren. He’d been quiet since the motel, always looking worried, like he was fighting something inside his head. His broken memories seemed to bother him a lot. Now, when Gareth told us what happened, Darren looked far away, like he could see something we couldn’t.“Did it… feel like anything you’ve felt before, Darren?” I asked. Maybe his weird remembering could help us understand this.He blinked and looked back at us slowly. He shook his head, looking confused. “No… not really. But… there’s something… a feeling…” He stopped, rubbing his head.“Like what?” you asked softly, but your eyes were looking right at him.Darren waited, looking around. “Like… a lost rule. Something… broken.”A lost rule? Something broken? That sounded strange an
CHAPTER 216
Echoes of the Past, Seeds of OblivionMy head hurt bad, like something was trying to get inside. Pictures flashed in my mind – faces I didn't know well, cold white rooms, and a scary feeling of losing something important. This remembering… it felt wrong, like they were forcing it. I sat on the bed, my hands shaking. Each memory that came back was like a punch, not a friendly hello. A cold voice giving orders… a big empty feeling inside… the taste of fear. Who was I supposed to be? The me that wanted to keep you safe, Kane, felt weak, like a dream that could disappear.My stomach turned as a strong memory hit me: a bright room, straps holding me down, and a light shining in my eyes. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out in the memory. Had they done this to me before? I felt sure – this wasn't helping me remember; it was taking me back."Darren," Sarah said, her voice not kind like before. She looked worried. "This is hard. Try to stay calm."Calm? How could I be calm when
CHAPTER 215
Putting the Pieces TogetherSeeing Ben’s empty, blue eyes were stuck in my head. Martha, Elias’s kind Martha, moved like a puppet with those strange figures… it was a real nightmare. The ground still shook, and the twisted trees looked like monster hands reaching for the sky. We had to get away, but seeing our lost friends made us freeze, a scary warning of what could happen to us.“We can’t fight them here!” I shouted over the weird noises of the changing world. “We need to go back, get ourselves together!”Tony, looking pale but determined, nodded. “He’s right. They’re too strong for us here.” He pulled Elias, who was just standing there, looking at Martha. “Elias, come on!”We ran back to the part of the woods that still looked normal. The blue light went away behind us, like a bad eye closing. The air here was still, the trees looked like they always did, but we all felt really scared.Back in the mess hall, it was very quiet and sad. Elias sat with his head down, crying.
CHAPTER 214
Seeing What's Not RealThe memory of the starry ceiling stayed with me, making me feel cold and scared. Our world, the ground, the sky – was it all a lie? It made my head spin.Elias looked at me looking at the metal thing. “You didn’t sleep, Kane.” He knew.I shook my head. How could I explain seeing something that wasn’t possible?Darren looked serious. “Did anything… happen with that thing last night?” He looked at the metal thing carefully.I waited a moment, then nodded slowly. “The ceiling… it changed. For a second. I saw… stars. Not our stars.”The room got quiet. Everyone looked worried. The strange things before were bad, but this was unbelievable.Tony looked confused. “Stars? Kane, are you sure you’re okay? Maybe it was a dream.”“It felt real, Tony,” I said, my voice shaking a little. “Too real. The metal thing… it did something when I was near it.”It was scary to think about. If what we thought was real could change so easily, what else wasn’t true? Our memories
CHAPTER 213
The Enemy's MarkSleep was just seeing glowing eyes and hearing a voice in my head: You are the key. Morning showed tired faces.I walked around, giving tea and saying quiet things. My mind was trying to put the strange things together. The doll, tools, tree… there was a line connecting them. The Old Man looked at the cold fireplace. “The birds, girl,” he said quietly. “They don’t sing right. Like the song is wrong. And some songs… I never heard them before.”It was a small thing, but Hemlock knew the woods well, so it felt important. Another piece.The woman was giving out food and told me something else. “The water, Kane. When I went to get water, it looked shiny. Like oil, but with rainbow colors. Then it was gone.”Rainbow shine. Glowing tree. Light from the ground. Colors that weren’t normal.A pattern was starting: small changes to what was real, weird things mixed in with what we knew. Not just things disappearing; things were changing.Michael, still quiet, pointed at
CHAPTER 212
Strange WhispersThe old woman's face was wet with tears in the flickering light. Her hands shook as she held a mug. "The doll, Kane," she whispered, her voice weak. "Porcelain eyes... they looked right at you. Then... gone. Michael said it blinked."I leaned closer, the table hard under my arms. Outside, the wind howled. The woman, usually strong, was scared. Her fear made me feel cold."And then?" I asked.She swallowed hard. "It just disappeared. Like it was never there. Michael..." I looked at the big mechanic, his eyes empty. He saw a tree with blue leaves that turned to dust fast."Anyone else?" The Old Man nodded slowly, his face full of lines. "My wrench. Right here. I looked away to fix the fire... poof. Gone. Found it in the waters later, dry."A shiver went down my back. Quick pictures, seeing things together, stuff vanishing... it felt like what was real was breaking. We thought it was just stress, but it happened too much, and it was too weird.Yesterday, I saw
