C_Mantis
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Chapter 276
🕑 Added 2023-10-06 18:54:32 +0000 UTCA 8.5k Chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 276
Power flooded Matt’s body, a wave of essence washing over his mana channels and restructuring them in a way he couldn’t quite describe. Like they were boiling and freezing at the exact same time, having a bright shadow rush through them so that he could hear them cycling like a spiritual heartbeat. The end result was unmistakable, and he became acutely aware of his mana in a way he wasn’t quite used to, and alongside that awareness came with it a sense that he could push at it just so and do… something.
He didn’t have the chance to test it, because just as he was accustoming himself to the changes, Liz’s body melted. Randomly placed blotches of red spread across her body, then caved away into themselves. Before he could do anything, there was nothing but a puddle of blood and a pile of clothes where his wife had been.
Worry spiked in his spirit, but Emmanuel simply held up a hand for him to wait. Given that there was no rush of essence to indicate she had died, and her spirit looked to be in good shape, he wasn’t too worried. Her AI was reporting full health, albeit with a lot of uncertainty thanks to its struggle to identify the changes to her body.
A moment later, a message came through from her. “I’m fine. Just a blob of blood, which feels weird, but I’m figuring it out.”
Emmanuel peered over his desk to look at the puddle of blood on the floor and nodded sagely. “And this is why we do this privately. The Clans once had someone turn into a wind storm as they Tiered up and it took over an hour for them to reconstitute themselves, which made all of them look like fools. All the other Great Powers learned from their mistake.”
Matt bent down and looked at the puddle of blood that was his wife. Smirking, he asked, “Can I help in some way?”
Aster, who had mirrored his movement, wasn't so kind. She poked the Liz blob with an icicle and asked, “Do you need something to form around? I can freeze you.”
“Fuck both of you. Just back up and give me a moment. I think it's kinda like using [Blood Body]. Just harder to figure out as there isn’t a skill to give me a starting point. Go figure out what your own Talents are and let me work without an audience.”
Getting Matt and Aster’s attention with a wave of his hand, Emmanuel produced a device and set it upon his desk. It took a moment for Matt to recognize it, simply because unlike the Talent scanners of Lilly, it was no room-sized monstrosity with a full-sized personnel bay. Rather, it was a hand-sized hemisphere with an illusion projector on the flat side. “Normally at this point, the three of you would already be off to your next stop, but given how Elizabeth is indisposed, there’s no point making you wait to test out your new abilities. I suspect you’ll be pleased with what you find.”
Aster was the first one to step forward, and she scooped up the scanner in both hands. A wave of light engulfed her, and she began peering at a set of incomprehensible squiggles he couldn’t read through sight or any other means. Tier 25 Talents were often significantly more complex than Tier 1 or 3 Talents were, and while Lilly’s scanners still required a minute or two of work even for those, the Emperor’s personal scanner was evidently leagues better as it finished in mere seconds.
As his bond was still hogging the apparatus, Matt tried to recapture the sensation he’d felt during his Tier-up. That feeling of his mana shifting into something new, something more. The sight of Liz dissolving into a pile of blood had broken his concentration and he was now struggling to find his Talent again now that the moment of change had passed.
Looking up at the amused Tier 50 in the room with them he asked, “I don’t suppose you know what I’m supposed to do?”
Emmanuel nodded. “My Talent gives me a sense of what I copy, and I have a lot of practice feeling out new Talents—possibly more than anyone else in history. So yes, I know. But I encourage you to figure it out for yourself. For one, it’s more fun that way, and privacy is important. And sometimes, there’s some nuance I’m missing, such as a reciprocal interaction with a bloodline or Domain. Just trust your instincts. You can’t feel it, but I’m keeping us under some time dilation, so don’t worry too much about how long you take.”
Matt was torn between wanting to roll his eyes and being impressed that the Emperor was able to play with time so trivially. Both reactions were a welcome distraction from the arm reaching out of a floating globe of blood, looking far too much like a drowning woman trying to grab something to save herself.
Cycling through some of the mana control training exercises Luna had beaten into him it didn’t take too long for him to find one that worked. With its help he was able to feel out the mana pulsing through his channels, as it was only feeding his [AI]. While keeping a metaphorical finger on that feeling, he had [Cracked Phantom Armor] manifest around him like a second skin, a separate stream of mana going to empower his oldest skill.
With the additional spell active, it wasn’t hard for Matt to grasp the flow of power traveling from his mana pool to his skills. From there, it didn’t take long to identify the new feeling his Talent granted him. It was almost like getting an extra arm, except not like that at all, and Matt clenched his not-fingers into a not-fist.
Instantly, the normally featureless blue energy of [Cracked Phantom Armor] transformed into smooth light-blue mana crystal, just as flexible as the old armor but glittering with thousands of facets. Following his instincts, he dropped the skill, but instead of his armor vanishing immediately it lingered for a few moments, the spell fueling itself from the mana he had solidified in its structure.
Waiting to test his hunch, Matt carefully pulsed a tiny [Cracked Mana Spear] against the back of his armored hand and felt the armor consuming itself to maintain rigidity. A couple of taps later and the armor shattered into mana stone dust, its latent energy spent. A few more quick tests and calculations told him that the defensive power of [Cracked Phantom Armor] had been bolstered thanks to the crystalline mana comprising it.
He’d refrain from trying to crystallize the mana of internal skills until later. Forming mana crystals in his brain didn’t sound healthy.
Now that he was starting to get the hang of his new Talent, Matt pushed a bit of mana out of his body and activated his Talent again, this time without a skill to shape it. While his mana control still resulted in a lot of mana vented into the air, Matt’s eyes widened as a small mana crystal manifested in his hand, glittering in his palm like a tiny star. At first, it looked like a pea-sized rift mana stone, but as he pulled on his mana pool, the crystal grew into something of a rough cube that fit nicely in his hand.
Matt started.
He had done that. It wasn’t a skill, it wasn’t his Domain, that was purely him. He knew he couldn’t be ungrateful about his Talent as a whole, though it had taken decades to work through some lingering resentment towards his Tier 1, but it had always been somewhat in the background. He simply produced mana, no matter what he did. He made a lot of mana, yes, but that didn’t feel quite the same as reaching out and willing an object to suddenly exist.
He supposed his Intent did something similar, but manifesting his Anchor felt different and didn’t really count anyway. That was just flipping a switch, but this was genuine creation. A moment ago, the cube hadn’t existed and neither had the mana currently within it. But now there existed a thing thanks entirely to him. He’d made the mana, and turned that mana into a cube.
The cube wasn’t stabilizing active magic, and he couldn’t see any mana venting from it which made it no different from any other mana stones, but Matt felt there was something more to it. It felt like his own, Endless mana, rather than ambient mana or mana in rift crystals. Following that hunch, he pulled at the crystal and the mana making it up. With just that small tug it dissolved into motes of mana, refilling his pool slightly. Elated, he quickly repeated the process, this time pushing substantially more mana into the crystal, only for it to rapidly balloon past what could easily fit in his hand. Once again, he reabsorbed the crystal and checked his mana pool. It had pushed his mana past the 10% point without the need for an outside source.
Matt’s eyes widened, and he looked to the Emperor. Emmanuel responded by tossing a glittering crystal towards him.
Matt snatched it out of the air, seeing… himself. Specifically, a small duplicate of his Ascender statue outside. He felt a brief spike of shame seeing what the Emperor managed to do with his Talent compared to his own sloppy efforts, but he also shouldn’t expect his own efforts to match up to someone twice his Tier and a million times his age. There was a good chance that the man had spent a few subjective hours practicing in the time Matt had done his own experiments, anyways.
“Quite the useful Talent there, Matthew.”
“Thank you. But don’t you already have something like it? You know, with my statue outside, if that was you…”
“There are similar Talents to your new one, but they each have their own quirks to best suit the Talent set as a whole. I know you’ll be quite happy with it as you explore its depths. It's a Talent with a lot of room to grow if you push yourself and the applications you use it in. I also suspect that far less of your theoretical mana generation will be going to waste in the future.”
That was certainly true. “I suppose it’ll make it easier to hide the fact my mana is coming from me, at least.”
Emmanuel let out a bark of laughter. “That it certainly will. We’ll talk business later though. I believe you have another Talent to attend to? Let's not risk a sudden Inspiration preventing a doubling.”
Matt nodded. With the ability to create his own mana stones, it would be far simpler for him to double his mana pool. Through a little testing, he quickly found that a mana stone equivalent to his current maximum - and thus his per-second production - was about as big as he was. It took a lot more than two seconds to make both of the required crystals to double his mana, as he wasn’t perfectly efficient in his production, but by the time Aster was done with the Talent scanner his maximum mana was officially at 41 million, 943 thousand, and 40 mana.
A message from Aster popped up on his AI the moment he was unoccupied.
Tier 25: Gain a Personal Winter Spirit Space.
He shot a glance at his bond, who smirked and sent the longer readout.
Tier 1: Innate [Ice Manipulation]
Tier 3: Better ice magic.
Primary effect: Ice-aspected skills you cast are more powerful than normal.
Secondary effect: Ice-aspected skills you cast cost less mana than normal.
Tier 25: Gain a Personal Winter Spirit Space.
Primary effect: Gain a Spirit Space of coldest Winter, linked to and composed of your Domain. Maximum size is determined by your current mana. Your Domain may utilize the contents of this Spirit Space. Mana within this Spirit Space slowly converts to match your own.
Secondary effect: The larger your Spirit Space is, the more influence it has on the surrounding world. You may use this influence to pull mana, heat, life, and similar forms of energy into the Spirit Space.
Tertiary effect: When sufficiently large, Spirit Space may contain physical objects and creatures.
“May I see?” Emmanuel asked, then nodded in thanks to Aster as he was included. “A good Talent. Expansive and powerful, and while Talents which directly interact with the Domain are rare, Tier 25 is when they most often appear. Talents which reference some other portion of your being are often considered the most versatile, and Domains are particularly potent in that regard. As you grow your Intent, so too will your Talent become functionally stronger. It’s skewed towards debuffing, so perhaps you can grow it into a proper drain in time.”
As Liz walked over Matt grinned, and pulled her into a hug. She’d managed to reconstitute and dress herself, and looked no different than before. Curious to what her Talent actually was, he gestured for her to use the Talent scanner first.
“Oh, now this is just unfair!” she complained a few moments later. “Here. Share Talent with these three,” she instructed the scanner. As she did so, the incomprehensible illusionary scribbles she’d been looking at suddenly resolved themselves into perfectly readable script. Upon reading it Matt couldn’t help but agree with her assessment.
Tier 1: Skills brought into or through the Inner spirit become blood aspected.
Tier 3: One with Blood.
Primary effect: Blood in your body converts to match your own.
Secondary effect: Enhanced regeneration of blood.
Tertiary effect: Reduced cost and strain with blood skills.
Tier 25: You are Blood.
Primary effect: You are your blood.
Secondary effect: Your blood is you.
Tertiary effect: Change between you and your blood at will. Sufficient trauma may automatically initiate a change to whichever form would be best suited to endure it, unless prevented.
“Because that’s such a useful description,” Liz groaned.
“Actually, it is.” Emmanuel’s attention sharpened to a razor’s edge, noticeable by the way the very world seemed to come into focus, upon seeing the actual text for Liz’s Talents. “I thought this was a fairly typical elemental form at first, but the primary and secondary? Elizabeth, try manipulating a few drops of your blood. Outside of yourself, specifically.”
Liz looked confused, but pulled a few drops of blood from her Anchor, and her expression morphed into a solid ‘o’ of surprise. “I can… still feel it. I could cast through this, even though it’s not connected to me? This has… potential.”
“It does.” Emmanuel stroked his chin. “You’re making me consider revisiting some of my Talents that I previously dismissed as either redundant or identical. I get a good sense of what a Talent can do, but the Talent scanner can still give further insight.”
“So why didn’t it tell me what it meant more plainly, if it knew what it meant?”
Emmanuel winced. “The Talent AI is something of a mess, to put it lightly. In theory, it should be utterly impossible for anyone but you and those you give it to, to get information about your Talent. To oversimplify, at some point, someone messed with the AI to give us the publicly-accessible Talent ratings, and in so doing broke a lot of the more detailed output. It’s not as bad as in the Federation, who only get a caste, category, and rating both publicly and privately. But it also isn’t as good as a few models in the Republic and Corporations with better readouts, thanks to more intact privacy procedures. I’ve looked into fixing or replacing the AI a few times, but it hasn’t proven feasible yet, for many reasons I won’t go into now.”
“Oh now this just feels weird,” Liz interjected in chorus which made Matt turn to her.
As he turned away from Emmanuel’s explanation of the Talent scanner’s oddities he saw two identical Liz’s poking the other’s shoulder. What really disoriented him was that neither was a [Lesser Blood Clone], made out of blood in the shape of Liz. They each looked just like… Liz—flesh, bone, and clothes included. The only difference he could discern between them was that one was still holding the Talent scanner.
Aster did a double take as she looked over at Liz. “Which one is the real you?”
“I am.” They spoke in unison, shared a glance, and continued still in unison, “Not sure. I tried cloning myself, I had a weird perspective blur, and both of me were in a blood clone-looking form. Then I tried turning back to human, and well…” they motioned at themselves.
The two of them shared a long look, then one burst into ash and sparks, taking flight as a phoenix to land on the other’s shoulder. The still-human Liz broke out into a delighted grin, reaching up to pet the phoenix Liz, then hummed with content as she scratched the bird’s neck.
“There will be plenty of time to experiment with your new capabilities later.” The Emperor guided them back on track. “Slowed time or not, this is a very busy day for the three of you, and we shouldn’t linger too much longer. Matthew, I suppose after my comments you’ll wish to see your Talent now rather than later. But afterwards we really must be off.”
The still-human Liz sighed, then passed Matt the Talent scanner before both she and her phoenix clone turned back into blood, melded together, and became a single human once again. Matt felt the device scanning his spirit, and watched as it output his Talents to see exactly what his new ability was.
Tier 1: Diminishing returns on mana regeneration.
Primary effect: Mana Regeneration inversely proportional to current mana, directly proportional to Maximum Mana.
Secondary effect: Essence cannot be applied to mana cultivation. Mana Regeneration is decoupled from mana cultivation.
Tertiary effect: Maximum mana set to 1.
Tier 3: Maximum mana set to 41,943,040.
Primary effect: Any mana in the mana pool in excess of Maximum Mana will permanently increase Maximum Mana.
Secondary effect: Maximum increase from this Talent in a given Tier is equal to double previous Maximum Mana.
Tertiary effect: Maximum Mana initially adjusted to 10.
Tier 25: Crystallize mana.
Primary effect: Crystallize mana within skills that match your mana aspect to improve their longevity, durability, or similar aspects.
Secondary effect: Crystallize mana in a form of your choice. Efficiency and detail depends on mana control. Density depends on mana control and concentration.
He shared the readout with the room, then looked up to the Emperor wanting to ask the question that came over him having read the readout of his Tier 1 and 3 Talents. “Have you started using my Talent yet?”
“I have, for a few Tiers now actually. I’ll sometimes bring in one of a few different Tier 25 Talents to further augment it, but when I’m looking to simply regenerate as much mana as possible, I’ve been utilizing yours for a few decades. Your new Talent will be useful as well, but like I said, I do have some similar ones with their own niches. I’ll be paying attention to what interesting ways you think to use the Talent in with anticipation.” Turning his head, he looked to Liz and asked, “Do you have your form under control?”
“Yes. I’m pretty sure unless someone punches me really hard, I’ll be able to stay solid as long as I want.”
“Good.” Standing up, the Emperor nodded to them. “Then it is time that we present you to the Realm. Are you prepared?”
Matt nodded with the others.
With that, the three of them found themselves standing in a fitting room and were immediately set upon by a small army of workers.
They treated him with such reverence and seriousness it almost felt wrong. If they were young, he would get it. Empire propaganda channels had been working overtime ensuring their masks were presented in the best possible light, but these were Tier 40s. Nobody at their Tier was anything close to normal. They’d have centuries, millennia of storied careers. As crafters, they’d have made wonders Matt could barely imagine, have Domains that let them do impossible things. They certainly wouldn’t be taken in by a few excitable faces half their Tier, and to see so many people a hundred times his age defer to him with such utter stoicism…
It made his skin crawl.
Getting them presentable, setting up their privacy screens, and dressing them properly didn’t take all that long, compared to Matt’s last experience with Capital high society, but it still felt like weeks and he was ready for the ceremony to end before it began.
What helped him was the messages from his friends he had been ignoring.
Kyle: Where are you three?
Tara: Hurry up or you're going to miss it.
Fen: Poke.
Emily: Seriously, where are you guys? No one will tell us where you are.
Kyle: Do we need to come get you guys?
Cameron: IcePop are you lost in a freezer?
Tara: ???????????? Hellooooooo? I will never let you live this down if you miss it.
Vinnie: Tara is now yelling at me because you guys aren’t here. Please show up and save me.
Fen: Poke.
Mathew: You guys ok?
Melinda: Everyone is wondering where you are.
Matt smiled as he got confirmation that Melinda and Mathew had arrived on time as well. He couldn’t wait to see their reactions.
Once they were fully clothed, they were swept off to sign so, so many papers and do a thousand and one other last-minute things.
Then it was their final stop.
Doors loomed before them, not quite the size of a mountain, but carrying the gravitas of one. Matt couldn’t identify what they were made of, but he could have gotten lost in the patterns and designs within it for years without ever seeing a repeat feature. A massive tree made of artistic spirals and flourishes took up the center of the doors, its branches stretching out to entire worlds. Upon those worlds, Matt could see faint signs of life as their depictions rotated. Tiny lights illuminated cities, whorls of white representing clouds raced across the continents, monsters large enough to be seen on a planetary scale sometimes appeared, only to be beaten back moments later.
Along the edges, figures worked and fought in an endless mural. Most of the figures were faceless despite wearing unique and intricate clothing, but there were three faces repeated time and time again. Emmanuel, Georgios, and Agatha Sophron.
They cared for the sick, shielded the weak, restored worlds and uprooted spies. Monsters fell at their hands, and the people rejoiced.
A heavy weight settled upon Matt’s heart, and it began to echo within his head.
Thu-thump.
Thu-thump.
Thu-thump.
His breath grew shallow, so he intentionally stopped breathing to get ahold of it. He discreetly extended the length of his robes to [Water Manipulation] away the sweat beading on his palms without being seen. He was Tier 25, damn it. He shouldn’t be losing this much control over his body.
Luna would be-
Luna wasn’t their manager anymore. Matt doubted that she’d be able to truly leave them alone, but she was… she was done. She had no authority over them, her job was done. Because they were Ascenders.
They were Ascenders.
They had genuinely, truly made it.
“All right. I'll do it. I'll rise all the way to Tier 25 eventually and get you those rewards.”
The memory rose, unbidden. The moment his life had changed, the moment Eric and Dena had offered him, a nobody on a nothing planet, who had Awakened a Talent that looked to completely cut off half of all cultivation from him.
“That’s the spirit!” Dena laughed.
He’d earned that hit, striking up two full Tiers as a novice Tier 1. He’d fought many more monsters in the decades since, but none had truly been nearly so impactful. None changed the direction of his life so far from what it could have been.
“Well done, Matt! I knew you had it in you.”
Memories blurred past, warnings and dangers… and wonders.
A skill-clad orc charged him, its inhuman face twisted into a snarl as it sought to tear him in half. [Berserker’s Rage] made it even more irrational than rift monsters usually were, and Matt made a snap decision. He braced a broken spear against the ground and baited the rift boss into killing itself on its own weapon.
A blueish light gave way to a fist-sized egg made of what was ostensibly ice.
A crack appeared with a crisp, satisfying, ringing sound along the surface of the icy egg. It shook, as the crack spread and caused the entire thing to fall apart, unveiling a tiny ball of fluff with two oversized blue eyes and a freezing black nose. The little fox advanced all of three steps before falling over, and Matt quickly scooped her up and cradled her to his chest.
She liked it. Aster liked her name.
Beside him, his sister was every bit as tense as he was. He couldn’t see her ears under the Scoop mask she wore, but that didn’t hide the nervousness, the anxiousness, the tension that came through their bond. Who wouldn't be nervous from truly every eye in the Empire seeing them. He’d seen a recording of Duke Water’s ceremony as a kid, he’d watched Light and Shadow as close to live as he could muster, and now the three of them would be joining every kid’s elementary school curriculum.
He could imagine it now. What planet did Ascender Matthew Moore grow up on?
Lilly would become a household name. Everyone would know that a no-name orphan from a no-name city on a no-name planet completed the Path of Ascension.
“There has been one person, one single fucking person, to do it in the last thousand years. One thousand fucking years. Can you imagine how many people have been born in the Empire in the last millennium?” Griff’s voice had been angry and that scared the younger Matt. Made him feel guilty.
“Matt, you are not better than the seven hundred and fourteen trillion people before you.”
Despite himself, he couldn’t help but let a smile twitch across his face.
Take that, Griff. I proved you wrong after all.
He didn’t hold ill will towards Griff, not really. It wasn’t bad advice, but that didn’t stop Matt from feeling smug about proving him wrong.
The silence in the entry hall was deafening. There were more people on the other side of the door than there were people living on Lilly when he left for the first time, and a grand orchestra a thousand strong played a song made for this event, and he could hear none of it.
The two guards stationed at the base of the door were silent, unmoving sentinels. Matt wondered what they must be thinking. Were they nervous as well, being in the presence of Ascenders? Were they the same guards who had stood at attention for Light and Shadow, and Duke Waters before them? Or was this a rotating position, a place of honor for them? Something to be fought over? Something they bragged to comrades about?
Matt shifted, finding a more comfortable position to sit beneath the tree, and pushed mana into a rechargeable mana stone. The display on his wrist displayed it had one mana, then two. With shaking hands, he absorbed the mana and felt as his maximum mana climbed, from one to two. He laughed, laughed until tears streamed down his face and passer-by looked at him with disdain, pity, curiosity. He didn’t care, his mana had grown, and now he could really show the world what he was made of.
A bell rang in the throne room, its great clang carrying even to where they were. Matt’s heart raced. It wasn’t their cue yet, but that was getting close. His mouth felt dry, but a small [Create Water] fixed that. Beside him, Liz fidgeted, rubbing the silver ring on her hand with her thumb.
Matt fidgeted with the interlocked rings on his palm. He could sell these and buy a channeled attack skill, or… He held the rings out to Liz, much to her shock. “This is too much, I can’t take this,” she protested. But he watched as the girl read his offer, and her expression morphed from shock to gratitude, disbelief giving way to trust. She reached out and took the ring. “Welp, I guess that means we’re in it for the long haul.”
Emmanuel’s voice began to spill out, ever so slightly. It didn’t sound loud, but the voice carried on whorls of essence, letting Matt hear the muffled impressions of the man’s speech. He couldn’t distinguish words, but he could feel the concepts behind them. The Emperor himself was speaking of impossibilities, of bravery and the ability to face certain death with a laugh and a smile.
The serpent screamed, freezing the world around it as massive wings spread, blotting out the rift’s false sky. The power in its roar immobilized him, misty red chains manifesting and holding him helpless as the boss dove, mouth wide and ready to strike. But he would not be held down, he would not be stopped. He was Endless. His sword cleaved into the snake’s scales, buying the time needed for Liz and Aster to break free of their own restraints.
The light of the Ascension illuminated the entire world, colors which Matt had no name for spilling over his consciousness, unveiling truth and dispelling lies. The ever-flowing spring, the burning star, those all gave way to the white hole at the core of who he was, an Endless font of mana in defiance of all logic.
The Emperor’s speech hit a bit of a lull, a moment for the audience to breathe and process what he had been saying. Matt ached to know what exactly was going on, and while he could always watch recordings, it would be nowhere close to the same. Some things were simply so grand that they had to be seen to be believed.
The ground rumbled and the mountain shook, patently obvious even from this distance. Ambient mana rushed in like a tide, and the golem’s mountain looked to be growing larger with every passing second.
“The damn ruin is flying,” Liz gasped, as their mistake rose to blot out the sky.
Now the speech had changed to their stalwart devotion, their ability to hold up the sky from the time they were children, and entirely on their own merits shape the world around them. Aster twitched in a way Matt recognized as her sweeping her tail back and forth, but it looked a bit unusual when said tail was invisible.
An enormous pressure descended from the sky, like the entire world was collapsing upon him. He was stuck, and no amount of flailing with his Concept could do anything. He was like a bug, caught between the fingers of a giant. He focused primarily on his head, just barely craning his neck enough to see the silhouette of a man, floating in the air, judging them. “We don’t cheat,” Liz gasped, but the pressure rendered the rest of her words unintelligible.
No matter the hurdle, he would surmount it. No matter how great the enemy, he would defeat it. He had been tried and tested again and again, in every way imaginable, and he had gotten through it alongside his friends, his family. He’d proven he was resolute, that he could shape the realm around him with his own hands.
Emmanuel’s potent words reverberated across his entire being, charging him to be exceptional, to go beyond anything and everything that he had been and could be. One man versus the entire Realm, his prowess shaping the course of a war, the course of a society. That the noble few could guide all those who saw them, inspiring them to be better.
Arrows and spells rained down on [Cracked Phantom Armor], and Matt, raised above his cohorts, took them all. [Fireball]s washed over him like a curtain of fire, and a solitary arrow pierced his armor and stuck in his side. But he kept his aim steady, and kept charging his mana cannon. Groups vanished, pulled out as blue light blasted their formations.
Wherever he aimed, death landed, and the army broke.
Kyle: NO SERIOUSLY WHERE ARE YOU GUYS YOU’RE MISSING EVERYTHING
Emily: Were you kidnapped? Answer us, what’s going on! If we don’t hear from you in the next five minutes we’re going to assume something awful happened and… do something, I don’t know! At least tell us you’re alive, you assholes!
Melinda: You’re missing all the fun, Matt. You guys really need to be here.
Fen: Insistent poke.
Matt smirked and muted his messages, dismissing them before he could read through the entire backlog. The Emperor had moved on to their efforts, how they had mastered disciplines in decades which others took a lifetime to learn. How they had bent mana and reality itself to their will, forging common tools into the weapons of a master.
An undulating spell pattern laced its way into the air, traced out in purple mana. Luna casually expanded the geometric design, swinging it around for their studies, “And this is where most of the waste [Mana Shield] produces comes from. See how the flow right here loops around almost entirely, before flowing into the feeder? That sudden change of angle will, in an unmodified spell, cause almost a full quarter of the mana passing through here to vent off. You can’t change the angle of this loop, but you can develop a collection point there, feeding that lost mana back into the secondary intake. With a properly-created connection, you’re only losing five percent instead of twenty-five, but if it’s incorrect you could increase the mana loss to a full half. Now, this manifests as a weakness in…”
The speech turned triumphant, their victories and utter wins. How they crushed their opposition beneath their feet, how they were the champions of the Empire and their accomplishments would echo across it for generations to come. How their names would be enshrined forever, their exploits told in legends and bedtime stories.
Liz shifted slightly, and took a deep breath. Matt saw her close her eyes to steady herself, and stop a microscopic tremor in her arms. That sight alone nearly made him start breathing again, because while he couldn’t literally feel the tension radiating off her like he could Aster, he practically could.
Quill stepped between two falling swords as Queen cut a vicious streak through the area attack. Then he was close enough, and swept up one of the metal blades as the swordswoman turned just a hair too slow to meet the new threat. He drove the blade through her chest, and the fight from there was academic.
Tur’stal motioned for Torch and Quill to stand beside her, and a roar swept over the entire tournament. Despite the clamor, the royal’s voice echoed clearly across them all, “Today, we have two people who went undefeated in both the solo and team tournament.”
Emmanuel’s voice sharpened into bravery, how with each and every day they faced the unknown with only the knowledge that the task would be hard or impossible. That they fearlessly charged into insurmountable odds without so much as questioning whether the fight could be won, but knowing that they would emerge victorious nonetheless.
He charged in, locking his grip on the General’s scythe. His armor rotted around him, mana decaying into nothing, but he had mana to spare, which he fed into his gauntlets. He locked into place, an utterly immovable force which even the General and its nascent Intent couldn’t budge. The battle raged on outside of them, but Matt’s world had narrowed down to his singular foe.
They’d done the impossible, seen the impossible, and were utterly impossible themselves, and the Emperor’s speech made Matt’s heart beat all the faster, inspired by the legend of… himself. The simple idea that he lived in the same Great Power as Quill, Torch, and Scoop filled him with pride, no matter how little sense that made. But it felt almost like a connection being formed from him to the Emperor, but also to every other person hearing his words, binding them into a collective which none could break. All because of their Ascenders.
He desperately wished he could hear the words being spoken.
The crystal swung open, the central pillar falling away with a rush of Genesis Energy and unveiling the heart of Minkalla, the power source for the hidden realm of miracles and monsters. A true, genuine white hole. It was real. Matt’s spirit hummed with power and comfort, of half-remembered ideas surfacing and multiplying.
Emotions resonated through the entire chamber, a slowly-building crescendo saying that it was never too late for anyone to try, that Ascenders were a model above all but not one which should lead to despair. For there was always a Path to those who sought to improve themselves, and the future was always bright.
Matt spun Liz around as they danced in the moonlight.
They were finally married.
Years of dedication and work had culminated in something more special than he had words to describe.
“I love you.”
“And I love you.”
Okay, maybe he had some words.
Matt’s heart clenched up. He’d come so far, and he couldn’t have done it without his family. He was just barely close enough to reach out and squeeze Liz’s hand, on impulse. She jumped slightly, but smiled with such unrestrained joy it was visible past even her mask. They’d come so far together, but their journey was only just beginning, and the realm had best make way for their passage.
Matt watched as Justinian wept in the rain as he wondered how long it had been since he had seen the sky or rain. The fact that he knew the answer only made it worse.
No matter the odds, they’d overcome it together. Aster reached out and grabbed his other hand, and they basked for a few scant moments in the sense of family they provided to one another. Then the moment passed, and they returned to their stoic, presentable selves. The moment was coming all too soon, but it stretched on to infinity as his instincts always did, in times of combat. Instinctively he wanted to draw his sword and charge, the same as in a fight, but this was no fight and doing so would accomplish nothing.
A massive centipede drew back to spit a deathly green, glowing liquid at a father and his daughter in a crumbling skyscraper, and Quill called upon the winds and earth, his sword cleaving through the monster in a single blow.
Matt wrestled his emotions back in place, a balance of terror and thrill coursing through his body as the Emperor finally reached a crescendo, emotions so thick in the air that Matt could practically taste it. The first words Matt could properly distinguish the entire speech washed over him as the mountain-sized doors swung open. “I summon Quill, Torch, and Scoop to the throne room!”
Air rushed forth in the wake of the titanic portal opening, enough to send a mortal staggering, but completely insufficient to even ruffle their hair. Light spilled forth from the throne room, unveiling the massive hall it was in.
Matt strode forward, flanked by Liz on his right and Aster on his left. Their every footfall was in unison, each step muffled by the grand purple carpet that stretched out to the throne far before them. Countless spectators turned to see them as they entered, and Matt fought back another wave of nervousness from the incredible weight of attention that millions of people pressed down upon him.
Even more than that, he knew this ceremony was being broadcast through the entire Empire and beyond. It was a monumental moment.
If not for the privacy enchantments on his robe now in full swing, he would have had no hope to hide his nerves. But with them active, he was able to sneak a glance at his [AI], wanting to catch a glimpse into the livestream set up inside Mara’s booth, monitoring his friends.
Chaos reigned in the booth. Half of them were embroiled in an argument, and the other half was desperately trying to pay attention to the ceremony in front of them, but fraught with either worry or distraction from the fight surrounding them. Emily seemed to be trying to rally their attention to figure out who was the highest-profile person they had in their contacts to message them about Matt, Liz, and Aster being missing. Cameron was muttering to herself about stupid foxes being perpetually late for anything but dessert, while Katherine was looking around with wide eyes at the chaos of it all.
But at the very front, in the middle of the first row, Melinda sat perfectly calmly, a faint smile playing over her face as she kept her eyes locked on the three figures walking down the carpet. Matt wasn’t surprised she’d figured it out. Of all of their friends, it was the Unbroken who had the fullest picture of their abilities, outright having access to his Tier 1 and 3 Talents, though his full profile was sixteen Tiers out of date. And given how many times she’d healed them during the tournament, Melinda had almost certainly noticed some oddities with their bodies and the wounds they’d taken.
Beside her, Mathew fidgeted nervously, gripping his wife’s hand tightly. His attention darted between looking at Melinda, studying Torch, Quill, and Scoop, and glancing at the near-brawl happening in the back of the booth.
The arguments died down somewhat as the triumphal music accompanying their approach swelled, and their friends realized they were missing the main event. For most of them, the utter need to see the new Ascenders for what was likely the only time in their lives won out, despite Emily’s protestations otherwise.
The Unbroken were the first to properly settle down, uneasily taking up positions all around Melinda. They, like Mathew, shot worried glances towards the door, but the rock-solid expression of their former team leader steadied them well enough. Katherine meekly followed Kyle, then stared at the Ascenders like she was worried a blink would cause them to vanish. Emily was calmed down by Tara, as the archer physically dragged her girlfriend to the front of the booth and shushed her until she stopped protesting. That pulled Annie and Conor over, who held hands tightly enough that their fingers went white.
Behind them, plenty of their remaining friends were still locked in an argument, but the energy died down quickly as their attentions were inexorably drawn towards the three masked figures, slowly striding down the aisle.
For the first time, silence fell over Mara’s private box. The gravitas of the situation overwhelmed their concerns but didn’t eliminate them, and Matt could feel the anticipation building even through his AI’s video feed.
Mathew’s eyes widened, as he looked between Melinda and the three hooded figures, “Nooo…” he whispered.
Matt, Liz, and Aster stepped foot at the exact midpoint of their march, perfectly in line with a triumphant note from the orchestra. Like shadows fleeing the morning sun, their Quill, Torch, and Scoop masks melted away, leaving only the three of them. Matt had to adjust his stride as his body shifted and grew, returning him to his proper height and size.
Mara’s private box broke into utter pandemonium, dozens of voices crying out in unison. If he had more attention to spare for the video, perhaps he could have teased them apart, but as it was he just hid his smile at the chaos that they had unleashed.
Annie had collapsed onto the couch, a slightly open mouth as the only sign of surprise on an otherwise blank face. Roody’s eyes had gone very wide, and was sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. Katherine had Kyle’s hand in a death grip, who was in turn sitting slack-jawed, eyes fixed on Matt. Melinda had a beaming smile and was applauding enthusiastically, and Mathew let out a massive, cheering whistle.
People were yelling, people were crying, people were shouting into their [AI]s, no doubt sending him messages that were simply piling up in his muted [AI]. The speed at which the number of unread messages were increasing was certainly indicative of that, at least.
In many ways, the news anchors covering the broadcast were just as amusing. Most were utterly speechless in stark contrast to those who went over the top with their reactions, a couple of whom had outright fallen out of their chairs. Most of the remainder were stammering with surprise. Two newscasters managed to keep a completely straight face, delivering their impressions with the same temperament and cadence that they had beforehand, and Matt made a note to himself to look up more about their respective shows later.
Nobody actually expected him and Liz, young noble scions who publicly had sat around at parties and resorts for the last century, to secretly be the next Ascenders. He was sure there were plenty of bets placed on them simply because they were born in the right century and were public figures, but those were typically playful bets made in jest, not something that people actually thought was accurate. He’d always rewarded the people who bet on him, from beginning to end.
While he loved the responses he was getting from the official crowd, Matt allowed his already-split attention to wander slightly over to Leon’s box, where Liz’s family was at.
The group took up almost all of Leon’s box themselves, most of which was thanks to Erin’s harem. While he hadn’t met most of the third-youngest Moore’s lovers personally, they’d all come out to watch the reveal, and to support them. Travis and Keith cheered with Alice and Leah each trying to outdo the others while Daniel tried to climb on the railing but kept slipping off. The only members of the family not present were Sam and his wife. As active duty military officers, they were unable to step away from their duties for even this event with the war going on, but Matt still got their messages of congratulation thanks to someone opening a small micro portal all the way to their duty station so they could livestream the event.
Most of the news stations hadn’t regained their senses by the time the three of them reached the end of the throne room, but they had their own job to do, and Matt so dismissed all the distractions from his mind.
With a flourish, three scrolls materialized, floating by the Emperor the moment they reached their mark, and he started walking down the dais and met them at the bottom of the stairs. Through careful choreographing, they reached their places together.
Matt, Liz, and Aster went to one knee with their right arms crossing their left knees even as the Emperor started speaking. “With my authority as the leader of the Empire, I validate that these three members of my Great Power completed The Empire’s Path of Ascension with no undue interference or assistance, following all rules as set by the Articles of the Shattering and the Empire’s sub-clauses.”
While the initial legal status of Aster was in debate for a while, it was ultimately decided that she was worthy of the title. It was something of an open question, as no Empire Ascender had ever gotten a Bond while on the Path before. But as Aster had been alongside Matt since he himself had been Tier 1, she had been deemed fully worthy of the title.
Matt smiled as his [AI] blipped with its corresponding check with The Emperor’s [AI] and the seven other Great Power envoys’ [AI]. The Sects’ envoy looked like he had taken a bite out of an apple to find half a wiggling worm, but even his expression was mundane when compared to the Federation envoy, who looked ready to spit fire. The Conglomerate of Guilds’ envoy smiled and enthusiastically clapped while the other representatives were more subdued in their reactions, looking at the three of them like they were more curiously examining a new item than anything more important like three new Ascenders.
Lila Worldwalker, Duke Waters, Light, and Shadow stood behind the Emperor to his right. Lila was in human form, a draconic grin unveiling inhumanly sharp teeth. Aiden bore an expression of pride and congratulations, Shadow looked incredibly smug, and Light’s gaze bore straight into Matt’s eyes—but he could still see a flicker of respect buried within the stoic man’s bearing, despite it being eerily similar to his statue’s expression.
The Emperor split into three, each clone holding a sword over their right shoulders, even as they spoke in perfect unison. “I, Emmanuel Sophron, third of my line, announce to the Empire and the Realm that the Ascenders Quill, Torch, and Scoop have been found worthy. To reward their accomplishment and my trust in them, I decree that the three of you shall be raised as Dukes of the land to receive titles as befit your new status.” The blade’s transferred from their right shoulders to the left before he withdrew it. “Rise.”
Matt stood with Liz and Aster to take the writs of nobility the Emperor presented to the three of them. Matt felt like he held the power of a Tier 50 in his hand. It was heavy, solid, real in a way few things were. It represented power and Authority: that they spoke not only with their own considerable combat prowess but with the full backing of the Empire as a whole.
“Ascenders, to attention.” The Emperor's words rocked them and the entire room full of nobles like a physical blow thanks to the might he had put behind those words. “Please welcome the Empire's three newest Ascenders and Dukes.”
Matt turned with the others as they met the cheering of the crowd, Eric and Dena first among them and clapping harder than anyone.
They had done it.
They had completed the Path of Ascension.
*******
Author's Note: This is the final Matt chapter left in this book but I hope you enjoyed the journey to this point. I couldn't have done it without you guys.
I'll see you all after the break that happens this 13th and 16th. Final chapter of the book will be a Manny chapter like always followed by a Prologue chapter but then we are onto the war.
Discord information if you want to yell at me.
https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/212052266-Get-my-Discord-role
Discord link: https://discord.gg/6ukhCjayC5
Comments
Clay Smith
So I just re-read this as a friend started reading the book and he was talking about this chapter. Why was the Sects person upset? I know they were/are the enemy but a lot of impression of the sect show they love strength, even if it is the enemies’
Alex
Matt smiled as his [AI] blipped with its corresponding check with The Emperor’s [AI] and the seven other Great Power envoys’ [AI]. What checks? Did the envoys confirm that they acknowledge them as Ascenders? Did they actually test sth? Needing an AI backed guarantee or sth that there wasn't any cheating?
Nicholas Grey
Related question - is there a limit on how big he can make a crystal? By sheer coincidence, his mana pool makes a crystal the same size as him - could he have made one twice the volume, rather than making two?
Nicholas Grey
Relevant question: how does Matt’s *current* crystal density compare to the Empire Industrial standard? He can currently store… 21 million mana and change, in a crystal the size of himself - how big would a regular (non-rift) mana crystal need to be to contain that much?
William S Fletcher
Yeah. Joined the Patreon because I couldn’t wait through the weekend to read this chapter. Chills. Really feeling his journey from Lilly to Ascender.
Alex
Yup, melinda knew since the tournament. She didn't just see the wounds, her concept also told her whenever Kurt and Luna switched placed with them
Zelder
Im not crying, you're crying lol
Tommy Mullane
Loved this
Charlie Staner
We don’t know exactly what they are but they govern the path/path equivalents and the no tier 36s and above in the war rule I think
Evernap
You forget that they have been out of contact for a few years now. Since Unbroken stepped off the path plus Liz and Matt allegedly stepping of at T15. Also they spent years "vacationing" quite publicly as well.
Evernap
I genuinely expected the Emperor to go "and one more thing" before finishing the ceremony and whipping the Greatsword out.
Evernap
Wow didn't even think about this.
Weston Gregg
“following all rules as set by the Articles of the Shattering and the Empire’s sub-clauses.” Does anybody have these handy?
Maakolo
He probably could, but it would also probably not be as powerful as normal runes as they have Essence in them, making their sacrifice more potent than just mana crystals. Its a good backup for when he lacks materials, but otherwise not worth it.
Ryan Berends
From my understanding it’s more than just carved into its surface. It’s also carved into its spirit? He also needs to add a bit of mana to complete the circuit and activate it. Don’t know if he could do that if it was all mana stone.
adam1
Talismans are incomplete runes, to activate them you complete the rune and that triggers the effect. This would all depend on how well he could manipulate the mana and the shape after the initial creation, I think.
Alex
I am rereading now cause I am impatient and it's difficult to wait for the next chapter. Still gotta kill two hours
Alex
And with Liz being a royals kid, there will be people who call conspiracy. And Frederick's fears will eventually happen too. Matt came from a place that experienced tragedy (I wonder what happened in ventryllia (forgot the spelling) I wonder if there were any suspiciously good talents afterwards.) Matt coming from that place will lead to people trying to recreate it eventually. Especially if Melinda also becomes known.
Alex
I love this chapter. It's just so very satisfying. I hope the next one (hopefully all the reactions) will be just as good. Reactions are the most satisfying part about this.
Alex
I like that Matt took Lizs last name :) even if it's kinda sad that he and aster have different last names now
Alex
That also means they will be recognized everywhere they go. Bad for privacy. Though they can still go wear masks if they want some time alone
Alex
Only slightly though. I bet she can find some ways they could've walked better for the ceremony or some stuff that could've gotten them a fraction more power. (she will probably be happy with the power up they will receive now that they are no longer bound by path rules. The empire can tier up their growth items, give them expensive skills, as well as a bunch of natural treasures.
Alex
Yup. They finished the path, so now they can get all the valuable stuff that they want. The empire will drown them in wealth and equipment. They will provide the stuff to tier up their growth items, new skills, and whatever else they need. They are in for a serious power up.
Alex
I am waiting for the next chapter. I know I'll have to wait till 21:00 but I am too exited. I'm reading the comments and then I'll reread this and perhaps the last chapter. They were very satifying
Alex
I wonder how old Lila was. She started the path at birth too instead of at 14/15 like most people. I don't remember how old Duke waters was at the end, only that he delayed.
Alex
The empire is suuuuper big. I bet they have plenty of dukedoms. Just have a couple less people become Dukes the regular way. Or, the war will give more territory. I doubt they'll run out of dukedoms for ascenders, while there are a couple now, ascenders are still rare. Even if theres a dozen ascender dukes, I doubt that'll make a big dent into the empires territory
Alex
Yeah, that does sound like her. Still kinda cheating :) not that she would care or see it that way.
CringeWorthyStudios
Oh for sure. She probably wasn’t even subtle about it either.
Sean Jennings
So here's a question about Matts talent. Since he can now make mana solid couldn't he create runes directly out of solid mana without requiring mediums? Like essentially create talismans out of thin air? Then on top of that, if practiced, he could create and control weaponry made out of his solid mana in the world around him. Just kind of imagining a Senbon Sakura Kageyoshi kind of thing happening with millions, billions, or trillions of little blades of solid mana forming around him.
Ryan Berends
I wonder if Liz puts inventory in her outer spirit how far apart can the clones be and still utilize it?
Yshua
This was a good chapter. Can’t wait to learn about Queen. How far has she stretched her calligraphy now?
John Anastacio
Tier 5 doubles the lifespan but only if you actually get that far. Benny was an older man to begin with and that was over 160 years ago.
Evernap
Lila 100% bet anyways
Chris Payette
Totally agree with AA. The utter lack of interaction with all the wonderful characters we met on the journey ruined it for me. What could have been a powerful end to a journey was a flat flashback sequence and a power up. We did not even get any indepth interactions between the 3 of them. For a series built on character interactions it was sadness sauce.
Regan
You say that, but he managed it in under 200 years right? Even a little cultivation extends the lifespan. And people like the governor and playpen manager would still be around
Phillip Hunsicker
I assume the empire has rules that allow the bet but then invalidate it if there is possible foreknowledge. If they refuse the bet, it pretty much confirms the information and if they allow them to win it is cheating so I would expect something where the bets are allowed but afterwards the system checks to see if the bet is valid or has a chance to be due to foreknowledge.
Alex
I bet shadow won some money betting on them. Aiden and Lila don't count, that would've been insider-trading/betting since they actually knew and didn't just suspect.
Michael Younger
Great chapter would love more in depth descriptions of Matt's friends finding out. Also where is Geradin sp? the guy with the tree bond?
Sanders Benkwith
This was an absolutely amazing chapter. The way you weaved Matt’s whole life throughout the chapter was phenomenal!
John Anastacio
Paul: Swag wagon?
Ryan Berends
True but I’m guessing it would just last a bit longer not forever.
Michael Storms
Thank you for the clarification i forgot his mana was set to 10 at tier 3
Paul Bade
Can't forget the swag wagon
Paul Bade
So, tier 25 Matt is carrying around a mana crystal forged by the tier 50 emperor? Also, with his flexible skill and talent use, I am curious what sub aspect the emperor has. And, can Matt feed the emperors mana crystal into his mana storing ring?
Paul Bade
That duration was also before his mana was fully aspected
Abriel Blauer
I was just thinking about the possible side story and POV for this chapter. One that would be interesting would be a POV from the Juniper, the noble house who let planet Lily suffer several rift outbreak and are responsible for the death of Matt's parent. I wonder how they would react knowing one of their "victim" is now an ascender. There was also the son of the Juniper's chancellor (or something like that) who wanted to make a scarf for his mother with Aster's fur.
Ryan Berends
About your first question. From my understanding the endless aspect makes the mana linger longer but not actually be endless. Like in book four when they tested it a light rune lasted a few seconds longer then normal with a given amount of mana.
John Anastacio
I think sadly most of the people he knew back on Lilly are no longer alive. The teachers at the orphanage, Benny, most of them would have died of old age. Miles should still be alive, especially if he was carried to T10 or higher. I too want to see how Margaret Thresh reacts; she might even be at the ceremony since she's Lilly's Baroness. I'm not sure if Manny arranged for her to attend or not.
Roro
Oooh, so like the mana crystals become his new talismans? That’ll be really cool
Domy
Question, if Matt as a endless aspect and can effectively create mana crystals, does that me he could create a endless mana crystal that continually pumps out mana. If it’s a case that he would have the create a skill for it could he create a perpetual skill or enchantment? Also where’s Queen? She was a few years older than Matt I think so say 185-90 years old. She still has time as I would expect she, like waters, is a intent fiend.
Esch
Thx for the reply!
Ryan Berends
If Mattery ever talks to Griff he should play it up. Be like Griff you were right Light and Shadow beat me to 25 what can ya do?!?
Mario Morales
Exactly. The fact that freedom and fostering talent and not manipulation and control was the source of so many ascenders is so outside some of the other leader's world views. So much so that they can't even acknowledge it as a real possibility.
Mario Morales
I wonder if there's some way to combine the matteries and the talismans to generate even more ridiculousness.
Uutef
Started at 10 mana at Tier 3
Alfcam
His Tier 3 Talent set his maximum mana to 10 initially, doubling every tier afterwards for 22 Tiers mean 10*2^22 maximum mana, which is 41.943.040 maximum mana at tier 25
Regan
Brilliant! Can’t wait till the next chapter. I really want to see the reactions by everyone, including people back on Lilly- his old boss, people from the orphanage and playpen, the governor.
Michael Storms
Not sure if i missed an update or edit somewhere but if he is just multiplying his mana by 2 every teir since T3 shouldn't Mats total mana at T25 be 4,194,304 not 41,943,040. P.s. Tyftc excellent word smithing as always, the atmosphere that you cultivated with LAM having to rely on their training and skills just to hold composure and the flashbacks/ reflection on their Path really shows how they have grown as characters and give a nice sense of finality to it while they step onto their new path as Asenders.
Aegir
This has been a great journey and i havent unsubbed since way back on the Tier5 training planet. I'm crying rn ;_;
MinE
Melinda had know way of knowing, so the AI should accept her bid.
John Anastacio
Yes, me.
Erriballon
"Hail" 😂🖐️
MikeL
Hope he kept that first one, it a collectors item.
Itsigu
Yes and also keep in mind the high possibility of queen completing the path soon too
Jonathan Campbell
Aw I'm a tiny bit sad that there isn't going to be a chapter of them meeting and talking with Light and Shadow and most importantly meeting back up with their friends and Liz's family before this book gets capped off with the Manny chapter!
Connor Butler
Is Susanne gonna get her own ceremony? Man if having 6 active Ascenders makes the Feddies want to eat their own hearts I can't wait to see how they'll react to Queen.
Havokk
Any one else think that the reason Shadow had a smug look was she had placed a bet on who the trio were
Andrew K
Would be amusing, but seems likely there would be AI-enforced rules against betting on something like this with such strong insider knowledge, and probably some exotic talent-based protections as well (otherwise, too many seeker talents would get away with wins that would destroy the industry).
Andrew K
Given Matt's talent scaling, if they wanted that kind coverage, the empire would be better off basically bribing Light and Shadow not to tier up so Matt could go first and offer even more mana out of combat. Depending on the details of the long-term strategic situation, a plan focused on keeping them all from tiering up and spending a while constantly wiping out as many tier 25 to tier ~28 "regular" elites as possible might make a lot of sense - Ascenders can only be in so many places at once (even with awesome cloning like Liz), and trying to heavily skew the numbers for the lesser elites in a tier bracket could potentially be more effective in the long run than spreading out a similar number of kills over more tiers. (And there would be a " trickle up" effect from fewer such enemies being alive to tier up into the coverage gap.)
Drakken17
I wonder if the empire us gonna have to adjust the duke reward for completing the path if they keep getting so many ppl finishing it
Kain
The AI’s aren’t omnipotent they’ll make up some BS in their heads like Manny managed to get a talent that lets him spoof data or any number of other explanations because the truth goes against their preconceived notions and world views
Kain
I mean they were already pegged as plants by one great powers leader and it’s gonna happen again 100% in the reaction to their ascension eventually those people will be proven wrong but the side chapters we are getting soon are just about this initial reveal.
Authorii
This chapter was fantastic. I'm really excited to see what's going on with Queen. I hope she's doing good
Rhys Rathbun
Anyone else think it would be really funny if Melinda made a fortune betting on them to be Quill and Torch?
Havokk
I must have missed it where di he say Matt had learned a tier 40 rune ?
Havokk
we now know what C. Matis' tier 25 Talent is "create onion cutting little ninjas by all the readers"
Havokk
okay after re reading this chapter for the 5th or 9th time I realized a few things. First I should probably see an addiction specialist. Second with Aster being declared an ascender, and rightfully so, she is one of the youngest if not the youngest Empire ascenders. It was stated that Matt at 179 wasn't the youngest but wasn't that far off from it and since he found Aster when he was 15 that puts her at 165, give or take, and yes I know Duke waters was on track to do it in 100 years but he gave that up for the good of the empire. And Third with Asters tier 25 Talent she is going to be a Godzilla sized monster in and out of combat and when Mara decides to end her rule the beast kingdom will go from a reign of fire to a reign of Ice... All hail Queen Aster
Jonathan Ardelean
Amazing. Filled with so much emotion. Thanks for the chapter.
C_Mantis
his Talent set was made out to t25 from day one tho the t25 has shifted slightly as we got closer. But yes I knew the t25 from day one.
C_Mantis
Less short form and more all of them. Once we come back from the break side story 'Echos'.
Frardowin
Imagine the pucker factor if the RSF get it in their head that quill learned about tier 40 enchanting runes.
sambee
In a way I can understand the fear that the other great powers are feeling right now. We know that an Ascender has to be able to comfortably fight at least 3 Tiers up. Meaning that MLA at Tier 25 can cover Tier 25-28 individually and 29 as a group. If Light and Shadow are around Tier 27 or 28, they can cover anywhere from Tier 27-31. Duke Water covers Tier 31 or 32 -35. In every power bracket, the Empire has an Ascender ready to dominate it. And with the production rate of Ascenders, it’s only going to get worse because none of the other great powers can implement a similar policy and expect it to bear fruit in a reasonable amount of time.
Ryan McCarthy
Excellent chapter. It built beautifully towards its triumphant reveal. That chapter would have taken some serious work to achieve. Well done and thank you!
Frardowin
That is how beasts work. Their talents are tied to their mana type, the talents will shift when she ascends. It was mentioned when she changed her mana type to winter.
Frardowin
I think with enough practice he may be able to grow the crystal matrix into the rune configurations needed for the talisman?
Frardowin
Next is new growth item powers
Mashiara
Very nice chapter. The gang finally made it. Seems like the end of an era. Looking forward to the next
Maakolo
That shouldnt be possible, right? With the AI confirmation and all that.
1FantasyFanatic
TFTC!
Cody Luco
Yas!
Baconater
Thing is she’s kept neck and neck with them the entire time and slowed down now? I feel like it should be at least mentioned in this or a previous chapter how she started to slow or they politically won’t let her finish
abowden
Eh, the proof will be in the pudding. You can't fake that level of combat power, if you could everyone would be pumping out 'ascenders' at a rate of knots.
abowden
If she ascends their enemies are going to be hopping, roiling, boiling mad.
abowden
I'm almost disappointed you didn't pretend to wrap up the story here. It would have been hilarious!
abowden
yeah, it's crazy to think but they are totally peers now.
Preston
You should do short form side story chapters in the next arc with all the minor character reactions to MLAs Ascension. Jasmine, Griff, Simon, Juni, Albert, that crystal lady, the couple from Mikalla, Liz's "peers".
abowden
FUCK YES, I actually wanted a side story like that I had no idea we'd get one, I figured this was it.
Tanner Gaskin
I agree. I thought Luna was the give away. It is public knowledge that she only trains one team at a time and that she was the trainer for TQS. Since the unbroken trained with TQS under Luna for awhile early on they should have known all along who they were.
James Townsend
Hell yeah. Good shit. However, maybe next time don't write such a good book, my poor nose was running the whole chapter.
NJ Reed
Thanks for the chapter
Jason Hardman
Roll credits 😎
Caelum
This chapter was so awesome. It feels like the end of an Era.
Austin
They know them as Howard and something else.
Esch
Hey Mantis I haver a question: For how long did you have Mat's Tier 25 talent nailed down? Did you thought Mat's whole talent set back when you started or did you take a while to think It over? Great chapter as always
lockx
For some people they were italicised, but patreon update is breaking that for some
lockx
Honestly, considering I'd forgotten some of that, it was appreciated as it shows how far they've come
mathieu brassard
Love it. Can't wait to see how Mantis will top that in the next arc. Pandemonium universe wide will ensue. I'm still wondering how policing punching down will happen if over tier 35 start fighting
Kain
Found the Feddy propagandist lol
Kain
I can’t wait for the comments to get salty when the side characters down pay MLA and dismiss them as plants from the royal faction lol
Jason Hatter
Ooooioh.
MikeL
Just hold your horses! multiple side pov chapter are coming soon. Already announced.
MikeL
Much less MLA had 21 left and Queen is 5-10 years older.
C_Mantis
Fixed ty
C_Mantis
Fixed ty
Lu
Matt watched as Justinian wept in the rain as he wondered how long it had been sense he had seen the sky or rain. The fact that he knew the answer only made it worse. Sense -> since
Fozzy
"Matt watched as Justinian wept in the rain as he wondered how long it had been sense he had seen the sky or rain." Since... @c_mantis
Andrew K
Unless Light has tiered up (seems unlikely from what we know), "going to try and utterly fail to throw" seems more likely.
Patrick Schuldt
I loved the chapter and the memories of all the cool stuff 😂 I still remember when the story came out on RR, it was a good ride. And I hope it will continue at this Niveau as well ;)
Cruz Bahena
The path of ascension
C_Mantis
fixed
EmmieCurls
Do the kids they sponsored know their true identities as Matt and Liz? They know them as something else right?
SunStar
it is called Echos. Coming to a Wednesday near you. Currently scheduled after break.
Portal Lord
Can he crystalize his mana after he changes its aspect through his ring?
Greg Lambert
Great chapter. You really did this justice. All the feels. And reliving his journey was great.
Eric M
She probably has another 20 years to finish, she didn't have the same advantages so probably wasn't going to finish as early.
Scion
And the kids they sponsored
Kain
So Matt’s gonna break both halves of the mana economy after all lol. Before he was just hitting the total supply of mana and was gonna make mana banks with huge empty mana stones very happy now he can make his own gigantic high tier mana stones
Kain
War were declared
Matt
I feel like I have achieved something with them completing the path. Very satisfying! Thanks for the first part of their adventure. Great writing for 20 something books.
Baconater
Worse, she was there the whole time, but nobody noticed or spoke to her .
Evernap
Imagine Lights surprise when Matt's AI did most of the heavy lifting. While Matt was asleep.
Colm Ryan
Love this chap, Love this book, Love this series P.S. I thought that all Tier 3 Talents had the Grows with Tier?
Josh
Thanks for the chapter! Ps. I think you mean "in stark contrast" instead of "in strict contrast"
Evernap
Bro I was waiting on the Emperor going "oh and one more thing" and pulling out Queen as another ascendor.
Evernap
Well I guess that's it then. Pack it up boys! Lol
Thomas Brusilovsky
Beautiful
William Mileham
Oh, I know it will, I'm just teasing about series names. Thanks for the reply though!
Baconater
My only question is what about Queen? Did she go off the path or finish?
C_Mantis
The story continues worry not.
Eduard Marciuc
Absolutely AMAZING end to the path, this chapter is so well written and I'm pretty sure I had goosebumps through reading the memories. I love this story so much please keep it up Mantis, and damn was this a good ride so far
Itsigu
I'm just terrified in a book or two that mantis is gonna reveal that Emmanuel did experiment on Matt as a child. Then replaces his memories with fake ones and shoved him in the orphanage.
Lorevi Q
Oh and the pair who recruited matt ofc
SnowFreak
I guess the next path of ascension is gonna be the path to ascending to the higher realm or however it was called
Eric M
Great way to finish this arc with a trip down memory lane!
Lorevi Q
Can we have a pov chapter of all the people who knew matt reacting to the news? It was kinda alluded to in this one but it'd be fun to read Griff watching the live stream or that dickhead noble who was saying how liz bought her way to tier 15 finding out
David Bean
That would be a pretty awesome way to bring his two identities together. Great idea.
Aaron Hathaway
No, they finished the Empires path of ascension and are now ascenders. But the real path of ascension goes through ascending to the next realm. So the story continues until they go the next realm.
Namorat
Interesting choices! A very satisfying chapter :)
Silver Beard
Got the friend's reactions, now for the rest? Thanks for sharing
William Mileham
So... the series is done now right? That's the end of the path of ascension. What's the rest of their story going to be called?
Ryan Berends
I agree with Abriel.
AA
Aaaggghhh the second half of the chapter, repeating the story is damned annoying...we remember the story damn it....I would rather have seen the reactions from every one then basically re hash all the books....damn it, we don't get to see the individual reactions...what the hell dude....so disappointed....
RedeyeA
I want one of the echoes segments to be Light getting the explanation of how the scribbling was done. Complete with the casual dropping of Matt being the one to create the bandage rift, and a reference to his mana regen at the time. Light asking for more details will be great.
John Smith
Can’t remember the last time a story made my heart pound as I read. Fantastic and thank you
Evernap
I want to see the fallout from Mother's Bone rune experiments when this tactic is tried.
Abriel Blauer
It has been said that there would be side story for this part, including different POV. This chapter really was for Matt, Liz and Aster, but especially Matt. All the flashback are showing his journey, starting from Eric & Denna putting him on the Path. Different POV will be amusing, but here and now, I believe it was meant to be Matt moment. Adding anything else to this chapter would have diluted all the emotions. Just my 2 cents
adam1
There will be more chapters for that. I liked Matt's emotional journey.
Jason
I love the new talents! very unique and special
adam1
No new Talent until 50. Next big thing is an Aspect.
adam1
The patreon website stripped the formatting. It has italics in the emailed version.
PoeticSaint
Same!
Polaris
Rusty called it at tier 10😂
Ryan Berends
Nope, next is 50.
Evernap
Yo Lights barely holding himself back now that he's able to get Quills runes. He like a crack addict
Evernap
Yeah we want the HYPE!
PoeticSaint
I'm not even done with the chapter and I'm tearing up for them!! Edit: this chapter was everything I wanted and more! Soooo amazed at the skill with which this story has been written that I could truly feel a sense of personal pride for characters I've seen grow up from nothing to impossible! Amazing chapter! Amazing story! Sincerely, thank you!
Erik Halberg
Oh you just know Light is going to throw Matt into a moon when he gets his full talent readout
Dureke Sanchez II
Once an inspiration passes a certain threshold, it can't be stopped. Matt never noticed his until it was too late.
Nick
I am gonna be honest. I found the chapter a bit disappointing. I was really looking forward to seeing some reactions to them being Ascenders instead half the chapter is flashbacks.
SodaBoBomb
Fantastic! The Talents are interesting for sure. I can't remember, is there another Talent between 25 and 50? This was awesome, thank you for all your hard work. Looking forward to where we go from here!
Barkeep
Gosh fang onion ninjas. I'm trying to read here!
Constantin
genius
Michael Halloran
Very satisfying conclusion to the long arc. Great stuff. Like others, hoping for POVs of the event from his friends and enemies perspectives. Really enjoying the journey!
Nathan Sto
Wait a second. Did Matt just gain the ability to make batteries? Mattery FTW.
Ryan Berends
The material would also have to be able to be written on so to speak. It’s not just written on it’s surface it’s written on what it’s sprit? Sounds like it could blow up if fucked with. I like the idea tho.
Violet
If Luna is proud of them, she will never tell them as much. She's a cat.
Abriel Blauer
That's an interesting concept.
CottonMod
Really enjoyed the chapter, especially the callback to the Serpent fight.
Muppetchef
Soo, does that mean Matt can conjure talismans out of thin air, formed out of his mana crystals? I mean main issue is having materials holding mana when creating talismans, now with a free shape material exactly made for holding his mana…. Yeah :)
Sean McClain
Now we have their friends and family's reaction as well as all the cool stuff they get and Luna being slighlty proud.... maybe.
Blake Noyes
Were they not bolded for you?
MikeL
That was someone else’s? That cloth crafter that Matt was giving mana too, was holding back 2 inspirations.
Abriel Blauer
Also, Aster is the proof that Tier 25 Talent is really influenced by the effort and grow of the person. Her Tier 1 and Tier 3 Talent are ice related. Her Tier 25 Talent is Winter related. You can say that now, she truly is a Winter Fox
Anton Selling
Yes yes yes yes yes :(:)"))"))")"
Luciaron
Mmm, some great flashbacks. You really do the best with making solid arcs, emotional buildup, connecting past and present. Great stuff
MikeL
It’s been announced that there will be a series of POV chapters coming soon on Wednesdays. There is a thread on Discord to see what characters readers want to see the most.
Sezra_
Thanks a bunch! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔゞ゛
David Bean
Can’t believe they finally did it. Fantastic chapter, I loved the flashbacks. It really brought everything together. Now I can’t wait to see life as Ascenders. It will be nice they don’t have to hide their identity’s anymore. Though also challenging I’m sure.
Marcus Jean-Louis
Really great chapter 👍 and for Matt's new talent I was just thinking maybe he can use his mana crystals as talismans?
Abriel Blauer
Wow, just WOW This chapter was heavy with emotions. I must say its probably one of the best of the entire series. The flashback were well chosen and weaved into the present artfully. Mantis has really, truly outdone himself for this one. This chapter can be said to be closing the story thus far and leading to anew one. Thank you Mantis P.S.: I remember a few chapters ago we had the Leader of the Republic thinking that the recent Ascenders were caused by immoral experiment on people. I really want to see her saying to Mara and Leon that their youngest success is the result of inhuman experimentation.
alex bozdog
technically he can crystalize his spells too, so he can make a Cracked Mana Spear and put about 10 seconds worth of his full mana generation and potentially give it to someone else to use or save it in his ring to use later, if he figures out a way to let other people use skills he crystalized (which I think this talent has a good chance to once he's used to it, it gets crazy even if it's just some combat skills).
Ryan Berends
That was light and shadow.
Mownmbasa
Wonderful conclusion! The interwoven flashbacks of memorable moments with the present made me feel like i was actually watching a movie or a T.V. Show reaching it's climax at the end of a beautiful season! I feel satisfied like i rarely been on most books i've read. Even though the story is not even remotely over, i feel content to a degree that the break will make me wait for the next arc with patience and hopefulness. Also: Insistent Poke!
M van Dongen
I REALLY want the perspective of those foreign intel agents....they have to be fuming now....
the oldest dream
we have yet to see spells that can handle the absurd quantity of matt's mana. i have faith in Mantis' creativity, maybe this talent has some strange applications.
brennon Petersen
Tftc! That was an amazing chapter! Looking forward to the point of view chapter.
Jaklelope
Tyftc
Psyren1596
Thanks for the chapter!
MissingP_rt
I'm crying right now and not ashamed to admit it. Thank you for sharing the worlds of your imagination with us! This chapter is the highlight of this year for me.
Andrew Goudie
Luna couldn't hold it back for long as a t40 something.
A B
sense he had seen --> since he had seen also, YAY!
the oldest dream
that would be really awesome
RedeyeA
If you press a key and then the left mouse button, the text will briefly flash to a format with a smaller/different font that actually has italics every time you alternate. It works on windows and firefox at least. It seems that they literally covered up portions of the old format.
alex bozdog
Iirc they said they would likely need to hollow out a moon to hold Matt's mana to let him double it after T30, the reason is that aside from Mana stones from rifts holding mana requires a massive amount of space, and so far, other than personal talents there is no other known solution. Which means that now Matt can endlessly concentrate his mana and send a moons worth of mana in about the size of a tiny box, since in War anything above T35 is banned that becomes fucking insane considering the mana doesn't disappear and has his aspect, it would allow for some insane mana cannons/ Death star like space ships with insane weaponry that normally would be impossible to fuel that now Literally run on Matterys. Also pretty sure the Paladins (can't remember which Great Power they were I think it was Corporation or the guilds )would probably end up making an alliance with the Empire just to get access to Matts' aspect and insanely concentrated Matterys.
Karl
Well done, couldn't stop smiling while I read this one! 👏😁
Jamie Trevino
BRAVO!
Nathan Sto
Okay guys, time for Mantis' favorite thing... GIVE US THE LOOT!
Jason Hatter
Where was that confirmed? To the best of my recollection, the POV chapters of L&S at war only used their Ascender names.
Rehoboth Okorie
Eric and Dena masks were Stick and Stone
Nathan Sto
Personally, I'm imagining solar systems constructed out of mana crystal. To some extent, this is like any other innate manipulation skill, except it allows him to leave behind power sources throughout the empire. Plus, the manifestation aspect was actually the secondary aspect of his talent.
Douglas Sokolowski
Saying this chapter was great is an understatement. I do with the flash backs had a visual que, such as with italics or break lines so that they were better delineated from what was going on in the present.
adam1
Thanks!
Jeremiah Paltridge
Amazing chapter.
Derze
Gotta say. I cried a little. So wholesome. Thanks for sharing this incredible story with us. More to come! It’s time for war! Let’s gooooooo
Dark Light
I was literally waiting for this moment since the first chapter. Freaking awesome!!!!!
Anime Problem
This was awesome I just can't wait till we get to see what goodies the Empire has stocked up for them I am in full loot goblin mode because It's been quite a while for core skill upgrades and power jumps
alex bozdog
prob next chapter is the Emperor and other empire POVs and in the first chapter of next book after the break we get the other Great power POVs.
Jessica
So, so, so goooooood!!!!!!
Anrae
Same! PPl are looking at me weird XD
Jason Hatter
It was assumed, yes, but a) immortals are capable of changing their appearance, b) we've never had confirmation they were Stick and Stone (though it's likely), and c) we've never seen them "on stage" together Given the likely age difference between Light and Shadow and M/L/A, it was unlikely that they were Eric and Dena, but not impossible. Even now, one could argue clones, but I think we can consider the matter settled.
Anrae
Ooohhh we totally need a chapter from Mara's (and Leon's, but mainly Mara's) box's POV. Just a quick glance through what amounts to a sound-less security camera is soooo not enough. Also... this totally made me cry, it was so exciting and it made me emotional. Everything I wanted this chapter to be and more. Kudos to you and your team!
Daniel Allen (Brynath)
Damned onion cutting ninjas...
Dan
I mean storing the mana or crystallizing spells seems mad useful
Violet
Interesting Talents. I seem to continue to tangentially get Liz's stuff right (I predicted something clone-related and that was partially correct), and to mostly miss on Matt's stuff. I suppose it did have something to do with his channels, indirectly, and it might have interesting effects on his internally channeled abilities, but I'm not gonna claim a bingo square on that one. Glad I didn't even seriously try to predict Aster's because I'd have never gotten close. It does raise some interesting questions about what, exactly, their archetypes will be moving forward. Liz seems to have just become an anti-army weapon that only becomes stronger the more people she has available to turn into more Liz. Matt seems to be basically better at the role he already held (off-tank bruiser with unreasonably high DPS). Aster... Honestly seems like the most nightmarish of them to fight against, at this point. She's definitely moving towards a sort of entropy theme where she sucks the very life out of her enemies as they freeze to death. A sort of frostbite variation on Waters' capacity, in some ways, except more as a control mage than a water-kineticist on the side. Didn't the Emperor's speech for L&S include their names? Is the assumption here that since MLA are public figures (Or at least ML are and Aster is attached to them closely enough that the distinction is minimal) and thus need no introduction? The Guilds' representative is just sitting there going: Yeah, that's right. Our bet 1000% paid off. They were fighting at Ascender level with all of their normal abilities hidden. It is going to be so fun rubbing the faces of the other Powers in this.
Chioke Nelson
Holy fuck that was a good read. I can't wait for it in audio lol imma cry
Thibault Sabini
I’ve been following your story for years, and what a journey it has been! Can’t wait to see what is next.. the wars, his guild, news skills, equipements.. its exciting really.
MTargetProduction
Ah. I'm going to have to go back and reread that, but. Idk. It just felt like Belinda and at least Mathew, if not the rest of the unbroken, had at least a little bit more of an idea but. Idk, hopefully a reread straightens this out for me
Dan
Enjoyed the journey is an understatement
the oldest dream
great chapter. but i dont quite understand the use of his talent. what can matt do with it?
sedael
melinda figured it out then but it was specifically noted from her POV that she chose to say nothing because it seemed important
Meyster
Light and shadow were revealed to be entirely different people a while ago. They are the spies from the teams T10 tournament
Neil
This was so satisfying. The intermittent flashbacks really helped give this the gravitas it deserved.
T
Nice it was everything I wanted do we get an pov from Melinda etc ?
Craig Morris
You had my heart racing this entire chapter! Thank you so much for writing this story and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here!
MikeL
Shouldn’t a T25 be able to hold back an inspiration?
s476
tell me more about that :D must have missed all that, sorry ^^
Jason Hatter
Confirmation (?) that E&D aren't Light and Shadow. Hesitant to say, a little too flashback (though remembering key moments makes sense). Hope we get more of a view of the Unbroken & Team Bucket Reforged reactions (Tara, Conor etc). TFTC!
MTargetProduction
Matt not being surprised that Melina figured it out here, but didn't they have a conversation about their masks during the tier ten tournament?
MikeL
Great chapter!
C_Mantis
And that is why we will have the side story lol
DeusCap
Great chapter!
Pararably
I’m at work on lunch break trying to hide my sniffles. Almost feels as if I’m in the stands with all the other friends of the trio screaming in cheers.
it's me
this chapter was amazing!! started sniffling and crying when the flashbacks started. thank you for this incredible story
C_Mantis
So they are. Its just the new patreon that killed the formatting. If you read in email or on the app it shows up properly. I cant do anything here sadly.
s476
I really want an interlude with the reaction povs from their friends, but also people they have fought against beforeeee
Ryan Berends
Great chapter! Thank you! Ya pulled a tear out of me Mantis
Observer Whimsy
I was tearing up throughout, crying during the friends reactions, and let out a final “ooh hoo hoo” choked cry when Eric and Dena showed at the end,
adam1
I enjoyed the flashbacks a lot, but I think if the flashbacks were in italic or offset with the "current" text in some way it would help a bit with the back and forth of that section.
James Faulkner
Let’s fucking gooooooooo!
Justin Pawar
Well very rarely will I shed a tear for a book but damn Mantis, you got me with this chapter. Bravo man Bravo
Polaris
Insistent poke
William Johnson
I have to assume that most of the great powers will still be suspicious that this is all some kind of ruse, now it's up to LAM to show them otherwise. Thanks for all the great chapters, and here's to at least a couple more.
Calista
i can't wait to see the other great powers reaction.
Jackson Sietsema
What a chapter. Great job mantis!!!
Dominic Pernicone
Phenomenal chapter, love the highlight reel of flashbacks putting the most poignant memories on display. You can feel the pride and accomplishment they're feeling, and I couldn't help but grin like an idiot by the end. Bravo 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Tim Elliott
Fantastic! Love the clarification on Aster's status. Definitely didn't see Matt's talent coming -- and very interested to see how it interacts with Aster's.
Justin Pawar
I love how Fen keeps sending Poke to the trio 😂
Liveyourlifeinpeace
Oooooooo. This was awesome. I waited for this moment since chapter 1
Ryan Berends
The refresh button worked early!!! Thank you!
Angus Hamilton
Woooo
Miguel Canarte
thanks
Fucking Shracc
first
