TS5: Chapter 25 (Patreon)

"Guardian Petra, I hardly think that's fair."

About to step down from the stage, Petra paused, a curious look filling his eyes as he glanced at Imoset. The Magister stood at the table, his hands clenched into fists to hide the tremble. His face was white as a sheet.

"You disapprove of my actions?" Petra asked in that same steady voice.

"I wouldn't dare," Imoset replied, quickly dropping his head.

"And yet you do."

"Don't bully your juniors," Guardian Artaith said. "He does have a point."

"What do you mean?"

"Asking Ascendant Thorn to copy your attack is much different than asking him to copy one of the Guardian family's secret arts."

Pausing for a moment, Petra turned back to Magister Imoset. "Is this your concern?" he asked.

Nodding quickly, Imoset bowed towards the Guardian. "Yes, Guardian, your attacks are constructed entirely from your insight and enlightenment. They are different in nature than the elemental arts passed down through generations of the Vakatora and Suatrius families. While I believe that Ascendant Thorn is telling the truth, there is no one who can copy your personal arts."

"That isn't unreasonable," Cassius said, causing Petra to nod. "Fine, then I will not demand perfection. Simply do your best."

Before Thorn could reply, or anyone could stop him, Petra took a single step forward, his index finger pointing towards Thorn's head. Instantly, the world began to peel away. Vaguely, Thorn could hear shouting, and even a voice that sounded like Eve, but all of it faded into nothingness. The finger coming towards him grew until it encompassed all of his vision. Instinctively, he knew that he needed to escape, needed to retreat, but instead he found himself simply watching as the finger came closer and closer.

Pressure began to build up around him, shaking the air and causing it to compress as if it was being smashed in on itself. Next was the space. Thorn knew that the attack was dozens of feet away, yet as he watched, space folded, wrinkling together like a tablecloth being bunched up as it slid across the table. His mind was working at lightning speed, yet it still felt like a crawl as time appeared to fracture, making it impossible for Thorn to know what second followed another.

Thorn had faced many overwhelming attacks in his life, had faced down beings of tremendous power, but never in his existence had he felt quite so powerless to respond. His body was screaming at him that death would arrive at any moment, and Thorn could feel his instincts beginning to kick in. As everything was compressing around him, there was a faint crack, as if something had snapped, and in that moment Thorn's mind sprang back to life, shrugging off the pressure of the attack as he began to analyze everything that was happening.

His instincts were urging escape, while the stubborn, fierce will at the core of his heart yelled for him to counterattack. But above it all, his mind ruthlessly suppressed both, a million cold calculations compiling even as the finger appeared before his eyes. Thorn only had a single moment, a single action before the attack would land, and rather than escape or fight back, he did something else entirely, igniting his divinity.

His focus was already at its peak, taking in every detail of the collapsing world around him, and time slowed to a crawl as all points merged into a singular moment. In that moment, Thorn was alive and well, the finger a hair's breadth from his forehead. He knew that if that moment ended, so too would his life. Yet, rather than run from it, he pressed in. To the others in the room, it looked as if Petra had stepped off the platform and pointed his finger at Thorn, who froze stock still. A moment later, brilliant light burst from Thorn, surrounding him in an intense explosion of energy. Shouts of surprise rang out as the Magisters quickly retreated, and shock flashed across Petra's face, though it was quickly hidden.

"What is going on?" Magister Imoset asked, frantically. "What's happening to him?"

"How dare he?" Magister Vakatora said at the same time. "It's best if he pays for his foolishness with his life."

"Silence," Petra's word brought stillness to the room, as the manna around Thorn began to fade.

His skin glowed with an unearthly gold, and his eyes, which stared straight ahead, had taken on a hazy look.

"You can't be serious," Guardian Adini said. "Is he, really…?"

"I said to be quiet."

Petra's voice left no room for argument, and Guardian Adini quickly held up his hands and sat back in his chair.

The silence stretched as minutes ticked by, and though a few of the Magisters stirred, not understanding what was going on, Petra's glare was enough to keep them quiet. Lost in the singular, collapsed moment, Thorn found himself in an unusual state. Powered by his aspect, his mind was reconstructing everything that had happened in reverse. Ever so slowly, space that had been folded, that had been crumpled like a used napkin, was being spread out, restored to its pristine nature. Time was being reassembled, each second, each moment clicking back into place, like a jigsaw puzzle. The further back he went, the faster everything fell into place.

And with a jolt, Thorn's senses snapped back to the present, new information flooding into his mind. He found himself staring across the room at Petra, whose expression startled him. There was intense curiosity hidden behind the Guardian's stoic gaze, and after taking a deep breath, Thorn clasped his hands and bowed toward the Guardian.

"What did you see?" Petra asked.

Instead of explaining, Thorn closed his eyes and extended his finger, tapping the air in front of him. The mana in his body drained almost instantly, surging out through his finger in an invisible wave that ripped through the table in front of him, shattering the floor beneath. Startled, Petra took a step to the side rather than block, and the blow continued, tearing through the platform behind him and ripping his chair to pieces.

"You! How dare you attack the Guardians! Guards!" Magister Vakatora yelled out amidst the shocked gasps.

But before the Guards could spring into action, Petra waved his hand.

"Stand down. I was the one who asked him to do it."

"Well, isn't that curious," Cassius said, looking with wonder at the torn stage beside him and the empty space where Guardian Petra's throne used to stand. "That looks a lot like a young Petra."

"It does," Petra said, giving Thorn an appraising look before turning towards the Guardians. "I can confirm what Ascendant Thorn is claiming. There is no way he would have ever seen that attack before. And what he just displayed was almost exactly what my first attempts looked like. While he clearly has not mastered the attack. To be able to replicate to this level, simply after seeing it once, makes me believe that he could have easily learned the elemental arts of the Vakatora and Suatrius families simply by observing."

"Ascendant Thorn's claims appear to be true," Cassius said, directing a small smile at Thorn. "Now that we have settled that matter, let us return to the more pressing issue."

"Guardian Cassius, what is our family to do now that our secret art has been stolen?" Magister Vakatora asked.

"I fail to see how that is the Council's problem," Guardian Artaith said, shaking her head.

"She's right, you know," Zahar chimed in. "If your art is so poor that it can be stolen by a random Ascendant, then I'm afraid you deserve it."

Growing desperate, the Magister looked at Guardian Adini, but to his dismay, the Guardian simply shrugged. "What are you looking at me for? I agree with Zahar. It sounds to me like you need a better elemental art."

Chuckling, Cassius shook his head. "Don't take it too personally. Even our esteemed Petra has been a victim of Ascendant Thorn's genius." As soon as the word left his mouth, the eyes of every single person in the room turned toward Thorn. No one had ever heard Cassius refer to another as a genius, no matter how skilled they were. Immediately, calculations began turning in the Magister's heads.

Smiling ruefully, Thorn knew that he had just been tossed to the wolves. Wanting to take control of the situation, he stepped forward and bowed.

"Esteemed Magisters, I recognize that I may have caused undue commotion. It was not my intent to steal the elemental arts of your families. Unfortunately, I was born with this condition, and as it's related to my divinity, it's impossible for me not to learn. I am more than willing to swear not to practice your family arts."

Murmurs of surprise ran through the table as Thorn straightened and continued.

"I have partnered with the Quilla family in order to explore Urmag’Tal's Puzzle, and any additional positions I have for retainers are currently in their hands. So if you are interested, please speak to Magister Quilla."

"Thank you, Ascendant Thorn. But there is no need for an oath," Guardian Cassius said, ignoring the bitter looks on Magister Vakatora and Magister Suatrius's faces. "Since we have reached a clear understanding of what happened, it is this council's honor to award you the position of Prime Ascendant. As for rankings, those will be announced later. You will be leaving for Urmag’Tal's Puzzle puzzle within the day, so please gather your retainers and present yourself at the temple within 12 hours. Additionally, on your way out, if you would be so kind as to inform the priest at the door that we are ready to speak with Joresh."

Bowing to the Guardians and then to the Magisters, Thorn excused himself and left the room. At the door, he found the priest who had escorted him here, informing him of what Cassius had asked him to do. Another priest appeared and escorted him out of the temple, leading him down through winding passages and long staircases, until they arrived in the central hall of the temple, where the great golden ball of light hung. Here, the priest presented Thorn with a new badge, this one entirely gold and marked with a special symbol, identifying him as a Prime Ascendant.

"This token can be used for your holy blessing," the priest said. "Additionally, the staff in your accommodation has already been informed of your change in status and all relevant resources have been directed to your estate. Congratulations, sir."

"Thank you," Thorn said, weighing the badge in his hand. "Is there any issue if I use the holy blessing now?"

Taken aback, the priest thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No, I don't see why you couldn't, sir, though it's customary for new Prime Ascendants to wait until they have unrestricted time, just in case the session goes long."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that," Thorn said, shaking his head.

"Very well then, sir, I will lead you down."

As the priest led Thorn through a back passage and down a long flight of stairs to the basement where the meditation rooms were, Thorn coordinated with Eve, sending a message to the rest of the team, alerting them as to what he was doing and informing them that they should be at the temple, ready to go in the next few hours.

"Thorn, why are you even bothering with this?" Eve asked, as Thorn presented his token to the attendant priest. "You don't need another holy blessing. In fact, you should be able to reach max affinity on your own within the next couple of weeks."

"Sure, but this will be faster," Thorn said. "Plus, I think there's something else to be gained here."

"Really? Like what?"

"Knowledge," Thorn said, tapping his head as the door shut behind him. Walking over to the altar, he snapped his fingers, reinforcing it before he sat down. "That false deity up there, it's really just a giant god hunter, right? Well, what are god hunters? They're a massive amalgamation of dozens, maybe even hundreds of god beasts. Every god beast is full of experiences and memories lasting hundreds and thousands of years. Plus, the last time I tried this, I didn't do it correctly."

"Thorn, you can't," Eve paused, letting out a defeated sigh as ancient runes began to appear around Thorn. "Ugh, we're gonna get in so much trouble for this."

"Don't worry, Eve, even if things go wrong, I've still got my charming smile and winning personality."

"Only if you can avoid your brain blowing up and bleeding out your ears."

"Oh, come on, even if my mind can't hold all of the memories, I've got you, don't I?"

"I hate that you're right about this," Eve muttered under her breath. "All right, if we're gonna do this, let's do it properly."

Flying up into the air, Eve began to trace her finger rapidly through the air, projecting a complex pattern of nanites. They were almost invisible in the air, but thanks to his domain, Thorn could see them perfectly. Though Eve couldn’t use mana directly, she was better at building spell constructs than Thorn was, so she handled this step in the process. After she finished, it would be up to Thorn to inject mana into the spell construct, powering it properly.

He had already set up the ancient runes they would use, including runes to increase the devouring speed, runes for stability, and runes to prevent anyone from discovering what they were doing, but Eve was still busy with the spell construct they would use to capture and organize the knowledge hidden in the false deity, so Thorn turned to something else. With a thought, he pulled up the windows that had popped up in the council room after he had used the attack he saw Guardian Petra demonstrate.

[You have touched on a fundamental law of the world, awaking the latent martial arts hidden in your bloodline.]

[You have unlocked a new ability: Titan’s Fist]

[Titan’s Fist: There is nothing that can stop the fist of a Titan.]

*ding*

[Your bloodline advances a step. Two of three conditions met for bloodline advancement.]

Curious, Thorn concentrated on the last window, and to his delight it expanded.

[Conditions Required for Bloodline Advancement]

[Divinity: Improvement]

[Martial Arts: Titan’s Fist, Titan’s Step]

[Affinities: Earth, Fire, Darkness, Arcane]

It looks like I only need to complete my affinities and not only will I be able to freely advance to the Tenth Tier, but I’ll be able to step into the next level of my bloodline as well.

“Alright, all done,” Eve said, flying over to Thorn. “I just want to go on the record saying that this is actually one of the better ideas that you’ve had, and if we can pull it off, The benefits are going to be tremendous.”

“And here I thought you’d be against it,” Thorn said, sitting down on the altar. “Normally you yell at me when I do stuff like this.”

“Normally you don’t give me time to prepare,” Eve said with a grin. “But just wait till you see this spell construct work. It’s a masterpiece.”