The shadow stood several meters away from me, its blade extended from the completed strike, its posture calm and perfectly balanced. There was no tension in its form, no preparation for movement, and yet I knew with absolute certainty that it did not need to prepare. It did not move in any conventional sense. It did not cross distance. It simply existed at the next point in sequence, bypassing every intermediate state.
Which meant reacting to its motion was meaningless.
I needed to stop its ability to exist elsewhere.
The shadow vanished.
My danger sense erupted immediately, screaming from behind and slightly above. Its blade was already descending toward the base of my neck, the strike positioned perfectly to sever my head before my nervous system could relay the signal.
I did not turn.
Violet Essence surged outward from my body as I partially activated my Domain.
It did not fully manifest. The tablet did not appear. But a ripple spread silently into the surrounding space, overlaying the hall with my will.
I spoke a single command.
"Anchor."
My gaze locked onto its existence.
[Right to Anchor] activated.
The shadow froze.
Its sword remained inches from my neck, its edge suspended in perfect stillness. The Essence within its structure attempted to shift, attempting to abandon its current coordinate and resolve elsewhere, but it could not.
Its state had been fixed. For the first time since it had appeared, it was trapped within a single point of existence. I turned slowly, my eyes meeting the empty darkness of its form.
Its internal Essence surged violently, pushing against the imposed condition, but the anchor held. Its existence belonged to me now.
I raised my hand and placed two fingers gently against its chest.
Space obeyed instantly.
It folded inward at the point of contact, collapsing the structural integrity of its form. Fractures spread outward in controlled lines.
The shadow did not explode.
It separated.
Its body split cleanly into two halves before dissolving into drifting darkness.
And once again—
Something remained.
A soul emerged from within the fading shadow.
This time it was a woman.
Old.
Her form was frail, her hair long and pale, her face marked by countless years of suffering and endurance. Her eyes opened slowly, adjusting to awareness as she looked around the hall, trying to understand where she was.
Then she saw me.
And relief passed through her expression.
Her lips trembled slightly, and though no sound emerged, the gratitude in her gaze was unmistakable.
She bowed.
Her form began to dissolve, breaking apart into radiant particles of blue light that drifted toward me. The moment they reached my body, I felt the difference. This soul carried far greater density than the others. The energy did not merely reinforce my soul.
It compressed it further and strengthened it. My soul did not grow in size, but its presence became heavier, more stable, more real.
The last particle faded.
Silence returned.
I stood there for several seconds then turned my attention to the stairwell.
Darkness waited below.
Without hesitation, I stepped forward and began descending.
The stairs spiraled downward for a short distance before opening into another hall. This chamber was smaller than the one above. Massive pillars still supported the ceiling, but they stood closer together, their surfaces smooth and uniform.
Everything was grey. At the center of the hall, a perfect white circle was embedded into the floor.
It emitted no light.
No Essence.
And yet its presence dominated the entire chamber.
The hall remained silent as I approached the white circle.
Its surface was perfectly smooth, its pale color standing in absolute contrast against the grey stone surrounding it. There were no runes carved into it, no visible mechanisms or inscriptions, and yet its presence carried unmistakable intent.
I stepped onto it.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
My perception expanded instinctively, sweeping through the hall, searching for activation or hidden constructs. The pillars remained still. The air remained unchanged. Even the circle beneath my feet felt inert, as though it were no different from ordinary stone.
Then the air shifted.
A faint, translucent mist began to form at the far edges of the chamber.
It emerged slowly, seeping into existence without disturbance, its white form barely visible against the pale surroundings. At first it was sparse, drifting gently through the air like fog, but as it spread, its nature became clear.
Soul energy.
Pure.
Uncontained.
It filled the hall gradually, thickening with each passing second until the entire chamber was submerged within it. The moment it reached me, it did not remain outside. It moved toward me, drawn by something intrinsic, and began to merge with my soul.
The sensation was immediate.
It fused directly into the structure of my soul, reinforcing its existence, increasing its density. The pressure followed soon after, building steadily as more soul energy accumulated within the chamber.
I closed my eyes and lowered myself into a seated position at the center of the circle.
There was no reason to resist. This was not an attack. It was a trial.
The pressure continued to rise.
For most beings, it would have been unbearable. Their soul would have fractured under the strain, unable to withstand such concentrated reinforcement. But my soul had already been tempered. It was already strong and after that it had been strengthened by the souls I had freed above.
I observed it calmly.
My Psynapse turned inward, watching as the soul energy merged into my soul. It did not expand my soul outward. It compressed it inward, increasing its density, refining its existence.
The pressure climbed higher. The mist thickened further. Every fragment of white energy within the chamber flowed into me, merging without resistance, reinforcing what I had already become.
Then—
A crack sounded.
From within me.
My soul shifted.
Its structure expanded vertically, rising upward as though released from an unseen constraint. Its height increased, stretching further than before, its form stabilizing at a new threshold.
Three feet taller.
Three feet stronger.
The transformation completed instantly.
The remaining white mist surged toward me, accelerating as it was drawn into my soul. Within seconds, the chamber was empty.
The pressure vanished.
Silence returned.
I opened my eyes.
The white circle beneath me reacted immediately.
A low mechanical sound echoed through the chamber as its surface began to move. The platform detached from the surrounding floor and began descending smoothly, carrying me downward.
The grey hall above disappeared as the platform lowered into darkness.
After several seconds, a new chamber emerged.
The platform slowed and came to a stop.
I stepped forward.
The floor beneath me was different.
Black and white tiles stretched across the entire hall in a perfect checkered pattern. The pillars here were darker.
This place felt different. And right then a new vision hit my senses.
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Ashen Ascension: The Divided Flame
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