Chapter 554: Ascendance….

A place swallowed by endless shadow.

Every stone, every breath of air, every whisper of silence—everything reeked of darkness.

Lucas’s eyes snapped open, clearer than they had ever been.

His vision no longer felt like his own, but as though someone had peeled away every obstruction and revealed the world in its truest form.

His mind, sharp and lucid, pulsed with clarity.

Yet his chest hammered wildly, his heart beating like a war drum.

Why?

Why was he trembling?

Why did the divine fire coursing through his body feel so violent, so absolute?

He remembered.

The one before him.

His grip around the hilt of his holy sword tightened until his knuckles turned white.

Rage seeped into his veins like molten iron, divine energy spiking in tandem with his fury.

Yes. Him.

The masked man.

No… not a man.

A demon.

A monster.

The unforgivable sin standing arrogantly before him.

Lucas’s four wings spread wide, each feather blazing with radiant white light.

His golden eyes shimmered like molten suns, piercing the gloom.

Slowly, his black hair shimmered into a divine platinum sheen, strands glowing as if woven from starlight itself.

Above his head, a halo unfurled—pure, brilliant, angelic.

[Ultimate Skil: justice] [Activated]

The divinity within him no longer raged like chaos—it settled, crystallized, and sharpened into a single purpose.

Justice.

Confusion still gnawed at the edge of his mind—questions, doubts, the weight of countless mysteries—but none of it mattered anymore.

There was only the promise he had made, and the enemy standing before him.

He would deliver justice. Absolute, uncompromising justice.

Lucas stepped forward.

One step.

The air quivered.

Two steps.

The altar groaned.

Three steps.

Silence fell-

And then he was gone.

KWANNNGGG!!!

Holy light detonated as Lucas appeared mid-swing, his radiating sword cleaving through the air.

[Golden Shower]

The arc of his blade unleashed a wave of pure energy, a crescent slash of blinding brilliance that ripped through the altar like heaven’s judgment.

The oppressive darkness was torn apart, seared away as light flooded the chamber.

The masked man moved. Unfazed.

With nothing but a tilt of his blade, he redirected the force of Lucas’s strike, twisting its trajectory heavenward.

The holy slash carved a rift into the ceiling, splitting the void above like fragile glass.

But Lucas was not finished.

Two more slashes followed instantly, overlapping as though space itself bent to his will. His form blurred—three strikes in one breath.

The masked man met the second head-on.

Sparks of divine and abyssal energy clashed, the impact rattling the chamber as shadows screamed against the brilliance of light.

But the third came too fast. Too precise.

SHRRRKKKK!!

The holy edge cut through his side, piercing flesh—or whatever essence this demon masquerading as a man possessed.

VOOOOOOOSHHHHHH!!!

An eruption followed, white plasma bursting out in a radiant explosion that painted the dark altar in searing brilliance.

The ground cracked, statues shattered, and for a moment, it seemed as though the abyss itself recoiled from the light of Lucas’s wrath.

The masked man was thrown back by the force of Lucas’s strike, skidding across the stone floor as fragments of shattered altar scattered into the air.

But Lucas did not stop.

He couldn’t stop. His body surged forward as if divinity itself compelled him to move.

The hit had landed—of that he was certain—but something was wrong.

His blade, holy and absolute, had struck true, yet the sensation lingered in his hand: resistance.

It hadn’t been like flesh tearing or bone breaking.

No… it had been like cutting steel.

Pure, unyielding steel.

Lucas’s jaw tightened.

His aura flared brighter, wings snapping wide with divine force.

Even now… even after unleashing my divinity, I can’t cut him cleanly?

No. He would not allow it.

SWIISSHHHHH!

[Phantasmal Steps]

His body dissolved into a blur of pure radiance.

Light folded around him, scattering his form into afterimages that the eye could not follow.

His divine resonance with light and space twisted reality itself, allowing him to move faster than any living being should.

Step….

The world stilled.

In less than a breath, he was already behind the masked man, who was still standing, adjusting his posture from the last blow.

To any normal opponent, it would’ve been an instant of vulnerability.

Lucas refused to waste it.

Raising his sword high, divinity spiraled into its core—refined, focused, sharpened to a deadly point.

His aura burned white-hot as his intent hardened.

He would not give this monster the chance to act.

Not a second.

Not a thought.

[Luminous Pierce]

KRRRRRREEEEEENNNGGGG!!!

Lucas became a streak of piercing brilliance, his sword driving forward like a spear of judgment.

The altar screamed as the concentrated beam tore through the darkness, consuming everything in its path.

And before the strike had even faded, his stance shifted.

[Verdant Slash]

His sword ignited with the raw breath of the world itself.

Emerald energy laced with life’s primordial essence wrapped around his blade.

Lucas slashed downward, a cut that ignored the masked man’s unnatural resilience, slicing through resistance as if the laws of nature bent in his favor.

VIIIIIIISSSSHHHHHH!!!

BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!

The masked man’s body was flung like a ragdoll, hurled across the chamber in jagged, zigzagging arcs as explosions followed each impact.

Lucas didn’t relent.

He couldn’t.

He soared upward, wings blazing, twisting his body in a radiant spin.

[Solar Wheel]

His entire form became a burning star, radiating searing heat and divine pressure.

The sun itself seemed to descend into the abyssal altar, and with a deafening detonation, a blinding eruption followed.

The ground ruptured, a crater swallowing the black stone as white fire consumed everything around.

And yet, even in that explosion, Lucas’s assault did not end.

[Twin Lights]

Two radiant blades split from his form, the embodiment of his fury and resolve.

In the heart of the crater, amidst molten stone and howling fire, his blades sang again.

SWIIISSSHHHH!!!

SLAAAAAASSSHHHHHH!!!

Attack after attack.

Strike after strike.

His movements blurred into a storm of relentless light.

He didn’t allow the masked man a moment to breathe, let alone escape.

…..

Fuck—

BOOOOMMM!!!

It hurts.

VIIISSSHHHH!!!

Every swing, every slash—each one tore through the air with enough force to rip the altar apart.

I dodged, blocked, twisted—doing everything my body could possibly manage—yet even then I was only barely keeping up with Lucas. If you could even call this keeping up.

He was relentless. His swordplay didn’t stop.

No hesitation, no wasted movement. Just a constant flood of strikes that gave me no time to breathe, no room to adjust, no chance to counter.

VOOOOOMMMM!!!

I caught his blade on mine, sparks screaming as steel met steel.

The impact pushed me back a step, boots grinding deep cracks into the stone.

My jaw tightened, teeth gnashing behind the mask.

Shit.

At this rate, I’m nothing but a ragdoll for this battle freak to test his goddamn arsenal on.

Every attack was harder, sharper, heavier than the last.

I wanted him to grow stronger, I planned for it, but maybe I’d done my job too well.

Tch.

Still, don’t get it twisted.

He’s strong—but I’m stronger.

[Ultimate Skill: Divine Will] [Activated]

[Temporary Level: ????]

[Temporary Status Boost:]

[Strength: EX]

[Agility: EX]

[Endurance: EX]

[Luck: EX]

[Power: EX]

The status board burned across my vision, every value maxed, every passive skill screaming in overdrive.

With the exception of ultimate-ranked skills, I had everything.

Strength-enhancements, defense multipliers, speed boosters, regeneration accelerants—stacked on top of each other in perfect synergy.

And yet…

Even with all that, I couldn’t overwhelm him.

None of it mattered when Lucas’s blade came down.

No defensive skill, no evasion technique, no counter-art could guarantee safety.

Every swing carried the weight of inevitability.

The only reason I wasn’t already reduced to shreds on the altar floor… was because of my unnatural body.

My regeneration worked like a furnace, knitting flesh together the moment it tore apart.

My bones were dense enough to absorb punishment that should’ve caved me in a hundred times over.

But even with that, each exchange left cracks.

Small ones.

Hairline fractures that wouldn’t heal if I let this drag on.

And Lucas wasn’t slowing down.

Not even a little.

But being thrashed around wasn’t the part that pissed me off the most.

CLAAAANGGG!!!

VOOOOSHHHH!!!

SWIIISSSHHHH!!!

No… it was what came after every single one of his strikes.

[Congratulations! You have gained +10,000 Divinity!]

[Congratulations! You have gained +10,000 Divinity!]

[Congratulations! You have gained +10,000 Divinity!]

Again.

And again.

And again.

Each clash shoved more and more divine energy into me, flooding my body like poison.

Under normal circumstances, I should’ve been celebrating.

Divinity was a resource most mortals would butcher nations for.

Entire churches could fight wars just to get a sliver of what I was absorbing right now.

But—

TINNNGGGGG!!!

“Gh—!”

My knees nearly buckled.

Fuck.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

With every surge of light pouring into me, it felt like cracks spread deeper into my soul.

Like the essence holding me together was being stretched past its breaking point.

[Warning: User’s soul essence is approaching critical threshold.]

[Temporal measurements applied.]

[Warning: Limit until user’s mortal body collapses… 2 minutes.]

Two minutes.

That’s all I had before this body ruptured like a bursting container.

I tightened my grip on Valeria, raising the void-forged blade to retaliate—

But then the system cut me off, shackling me with words that burned hotter than chains.

[User is under the effects of Ultimate Skill: Justice]

[All rights to victory have been stripped.]

“Tch—” My teeth ground together.

As long as Lucas’s ultimate skill was active, the idea of “winning” didn’t even exist for me.

The system itself redefined the word, tying it to whatever moral justice Lucas clung to.

And in his eyes, that justice meant only one thing: my death.

“HAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”

BOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!

Lucas’s roar split the dungeon apart.

His holy sword ignited, molten radiance bursting outward in a wave that melted through the floor itself.

The entire altar cracked, groaned, then shattered under the divine weight.

I braced, forcing every ounce of strength I had into my arms, meeting the strike head-on.

The impact rattled through me, shattering bone and rebuilding it in the same instant as regeneration struggled to keep pace.

My blade—Valeria, the weapon that should have been indestructible—screeched as it locked against the holy sword’s burning edge.

Even Valeria was straining under it.

And for the first time, I had to admit it.

Against that blade… her indestructibility wasn’t absolute.

I need to do something…

[Warning! Failure to pick divine title for ascension will lead to personal soul damage!]

[Failure to pick will be offset by random selection!]

The system’s voice carved itself into my skull again.

I staggered for half a heartbeat, my blade catching Lucas’s holy strike just in time.

Sparks burst.

My arms shook.

I didn’t even have the time to properly read the damn text burning across my vision.

[Which divine title will the user pursue for divine ascendance?]

[Blessing of Change]

[Blessing of Death]

[Blessing of the Fraud]

Titles?

Ascendance?

Ah.

That’s right…

That’s why my soul felt like it was being split apart with every surge of divinity forced into me.

The system wasn’t just pouring power into my body—it was demanding the next step.

It was telling me to ascend.

Right here. Right now.

’Are you kidding me…?’

Was I supposed to ascend in the middle of battle?

Even Lucas hadn’t gone through it like this. In the game’s, he’d secluded himself with the Saintess, purified, prepared, then slowly awakened into a [Seraphim.]

A sacred ritual. A controlled transformation.

But me?

This was chaos.

Ascension wasn’t some small upgrade.

It was deification itself—the tearing away of mortality, the act of stepping into the higher planes.

To ascend meant becoming a creature not unlike the gods themselves, bound to a domain, an authority, a truth that rewrote your very being.

And the system wanted me to do that now? In the middle of Lucas’s blade screaming for my head?

[Note: User soul essence resonance activating!]

[Warning! Failure to pick divine title for ascension will lead to personal soul damage!]

[Failure to pick will be offset by random selection!]

[Limit: 5 minutes.]

Five minutes.?

Two of those blessings… [Change] and [Death]… they were direct paths toward the goddesses.

Recognized authorities, proven domains that I already know of…

And the third—

[Fraud.]

A title I had never seen before. No records.

Nothing in the archives of the game or the histories I remembered.

My grip on Valeria tightened, sweat burning down my back beneath the mask.

“You’re asking me to pick between becoming their lapdog… or gambling my soul on a path no one’s ever even heard of?”

My vision flickered, Lucas’s blazing wings pressing in closer, his blade screaming down.

TINNNGGG!!!!

The pain tore through my soul again, sharper than any blade Lucas could swing.

It wasn’t my body breaking this time—it was the very core of what I was.

Tsk… fuck it.

If you’re asking me to choose… then I—

“DIE, BASTARD!!!”

Lucas’s roar shook the chamber, his wings flaring like a miniature sun. His sword lifted high, burning with every color of the spectrum, collapsing into a singular radiance of white.

[Sunstrike!]

“I choose them all.”

The moment I gave my answer, the world… stopped.

And then—

BOOOOOOMMMM!!!!

The explosion wasn’t outside. It was inside me.

My entire being convulsed, like reality itself had tried to reject me and failed. Lucas’s holy light—gone.

His sword’s descent—vanished. He was shoved back as if some unseen hand had ripped him away.

And then—

[!@#!$#@#$$@#%@!!#$!@#%^$!#!!@@@!!!~~~~!!!!!!]

[KAWAKAWAKAWAKAWKAWKAKWAK!]

[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

The system itself began to scream.

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[User soul threshold broken… !!!!!]

[Blessing of Fraud has lied to the world!]

[User soul threshold… fixed.]

I spat blood, my chest heaving. “What… the hell…”

The messages twisted again, symbols warping into half-readable fragments:

[Chosen ascension confirmed. User soul resonance hijacked for sequence advancement!]

[Temporary user debuff immunity applied!]

[Chosen Ascension paths… SYNTHESIZING!]

[Warning! Walking three paths to ascendance guarantees THE END.]

[Do you wish to proceed?]

“Huh?”

[Will confirmed!]

[Proceeding to ascension…!]

[Ascension progress: 10%]

Suddenly nausea crashed into me.

My knees buckled, slamming against the broken floor.

My head swam with static, voices layered on top of one another, screaming, whispering, laughing.

I wasn’t Riley. I wasn’t myself. I was everyone and no one.

A flickering face appeared in the haze—someone I knew, and didn’t.

Familiar yet alien.

A paradox. Their mouth moved, saying words I couldn’t hear.

Their features shifted too fast to catch—mother, stranger, goddess, friend—each identity phasing in and out like broken glass reflecting too many truths at once.

And then—

The pain surged deeper.

My body convulsed again as I felt myself changing.

[Note: It is advised to proceed to transcendence without any interruption…]

[All status has been reset!]

[Level: 1]

[Strength: E]

[Agility: E]

[Endurance: E]

[Luck: E]

[Power: E]

My vision fractured, like broken glass in my skull.

My knees wobbled, my lungs refused to pull in air. I felt my consciousness… slipping.

And then—

[Note: [Divine Title and Authority] [Acquired]]

[Divine Title: ’Heaven’s Anomaly’]

[Authorities Acquired!]

[Conceptual Oblivion]

[Effect: You become a walking paradox—a sovereign whose presence unravels the very scaffolding of reality.]

[Previous Blessing effects upgraded!]

[Blessing of Change: Rewrite the fundamental nature of any concept—turn “immortality” into “fragility,” “hope” into “decay.”]

[Blessing of Death: Your aura brings true death—not just physical cessation, but the erasure of existence from memory, history, and meaning.]

[Blessing of the Fraud: You can lie to the universe itself, convincing it that “fire is cold,” “time has stopped,” or “you were never born.”]

[Unique Combined Authority Effect: Oblivion Rewrite]

[Effects:]

[Lie to the Concept: Convince it that it is something else entirely.]

[Kill the Concept: Your presence erases its original form from existence.]

[Rewrite the Void: Implant a new truth, one that the world now accepts as absolute.]

[Passive Authority: Unreality Field]

[Effect: Within a certain radius, reality becomes unstable. People forget their names, gravity flickers, and even gods hesitate to speak, fearing their words might be rewritten into lies.]

The edges of my vision dissolved, fragments of light bending into impossible angles.

Even my own shadow twisted, splitting into dozens, none of them aligned with me.

[Name: Riley Hell]

[Race: ????]

[Level: ?]

[Strength: ?]

[Agility: ?]

[Endurance: ?]

[Luck: ?]

And then the final message seared itself into my brain before I lost consciousness.

[Congratulations: [Heaven’s Anomaly] You have unlocked a Truth of the World…]

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