Ascension of Chaos

Ashley

After he begins casting, I go ahead and use Assimilate before throwing my own attacks out behind us. Just to delay as much as possible. And to possibly get some new Skill Trees while I'm at it. Meanwhile my follower count in the corner of my interface continues to skyrocket the longer we flee. As if the viewers are enjoying watching us.

I feel my brows furrowing at that in more than a little irritation.

Seriously. They really should remove this whole livestreamed aspect of the System.

Or at least take it away from the domains and leave it in just the Official System Events.

I throw one spell after another attack after another down at the monsters below us and even the ones above us. But it takes a little while for them to really start killing any of the monsters.

When I do start killing them though, it's back to back. Numerous monsters all in a row, making me glance back behind me just to see that my attacks had ended up leading a bunch of the monsters to be unable to dodge or block attacks from some of the mini bosses chasing us. Which seems to have given me a lot of the credit for those kills.

At least enough to get their Skill Trees.

And as for the skills themselves? I open several of the new ones right away while still sending attacks down at them and carrying Blake in my arms as he casts.

Starting with the skill I got from the ashen drakes. Then the ashen elementals, the wyrms, and a higher rank of the ashen elementals.

{Molten Ash Shot – Allows the user to shoot out a powerful beam of ash with a molten and destructive property to it that disintegrates whatever it comes into contact with.}

{Volcanic Surge – Allows the user to send out a wave of ash and lava all around them in a powerful surge that disintegrates everything it touches.}

{Ashen Scales of Destruction – Grants the user powerful and retractable scales of ash over their skin.}

{Ashen Blizzard – Allows the user to create a blizzard of ash all around them with the properties of destruction.}

All the skeletons end up giving me are a bunch of mana manipulation skills that are just repeats of the Destruction Mana Manipulation I already have, and I don't manage to kill any of the higher ranking drakes or wyrms. Probably because they have much stronger natural defenses.

As for the other monsters? They all have Destruction Mana Manipulation later on in their Skill Trees. Just not as the root skill.

And speaking of natural defenses, the Ashen Scales of Destruction skill immediately activates on its own, covering me in what is more like an armor of hardened yet cracked with glowing crimson cracks ash. Albeit in the shape of scales.

I let out a quick sigh of relief as I find it not literally giving me scales as a body part. Because I know that would've hurt.

Looking down at Blake again makes me find him still probably about halfway through his chant judging by how far the spell has spread across my body. With it almost covering all of me yet not covering any of him yet. Then I focus on using the new skills I just got to attack the monsters down below.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Starting with Molten Ash Shot, which ends up launching a powerful beam of ash and lava straight down at anything my head is facing. Immediately killing half a dozen monsters that weren't expecting it in the process.

Which, coincidentally, gives me another skill. One from a higher ranking drake.

{Ashen Bite – Allows the user to coat their fangs in potent destruction-touched ash.}

Not helpful.

Although at this rate I should just start biting people. Considering just how many different biting skills I have.

"Lee," Chaos says, surprising me for a moment by his use of that nickname Blake called me once. "Look at Blake and yourself."

I frown at that before looking down at the man in my arms, only to finally realize something.

"Blake!" I shout at him, but he just smiles up at me and finishes his chant. Making the little cocoon that had wrapped around myself and only myself flash with a purple light.

Then I find myself teleporting far away from the death march. So far away that I can't even see where we were anymore.

Shit, shit, shit, shiiiiiit…

I try to look around for him, but find nothing. So I try to sense around for him with Destructive Sensory Pulse. But I still find nothing.

It's like the damned idiot sent me to the other side of the volcano from him.

But why? Why didn't he come with me?

"He seemed to be running low on mana," Chaos states, making my anxiety rise even further. "Knowing Etheria, he most likely has at least one way to get out of his situation. So don't worry about him for now and just worry about yourself."

Wait… worry?

I blink at that.

"Yes, you seem worried about him," Chaos says rather flatly. "At least, that's the impression I got."

Worry…

Huh.

I shake my head before beginning to fly through the air in a large arc around the volcano, heading in the direction of the other side of the volcano. But no matter how long I fly, I can't even get within sight of that death march.

Although I do hear a rather loud explosion ringing out from somewhere.

Where exactly it came from, I have absolutely no idea. But somewhere.

"Stop panicking and think," Chaos says, which is rather ironic coming from the Primordial of Chaos. "You can see his livestream, remember?"

That gives me pause before I immediately open the livestream to see what he is doing. Then I quickly let out a sigh of relief at what I find.

Blake seems to have gotten out of there himself, albeit with quite a few injuries.

I go to check the replays on the Forums, ignoring the comments about how chivalrous he was for 'sacrificing himself to save his twin' and all as I watch them.

On the replays, right after Blake sends me away, he starts up another loud chant. But instead of using up his mana, his own blood begins to leak from every pore on his body before wrapping him in a large bubble.

Several monsters take advantage of the fact that he's stopped moving to do this and attack him, including the mini boss chasing him, but their attacks end up being rather weird. Specifically in how small spouts of blood repeatedly start to shoot out of his arms and legs with every attack. As if their attacks are just forcing his blood out of him instead of damaging him directly.

And it's not just that, because the blood spouting out of him is joining the orb and making it grow larger.

Then the orb just shoots off straight into the distance while literally burning, losing the blood in the orb at a rapid pace to keep up the speed.

All the way till he finally loses sight of the monsters himself.

"That skill is a self-sacrificing skill that only works on a single person," Chaos explains for me why he had to send me away for us to survive.

But one thing is bothering me throughout all of this despite what he did.

He never asked me about any of it. Never discussed it with me.

Not once.

Just sent me away and used that skill to escape.

Almost immediately after having that thought, flashes of memories flood through my mind.

Blake always shielding me from our parents whenever we met. Him trying to shield me during the parties when he could. Shielding me at school, whenever we left the house, all the time.

I feel a sad look spreading across my face as I fall down to the ground from the sky, landing on my feet.

"Judging by your memories, he's probably used to doing things like this to save you," Chaos says in a quiet tone of voice. "And he probably isn't used to you having power of your own now either."

Yeah…

I feel a bit of wetness moving down my face, but I just wipe it away, take a deep breath, and fly back up into the air again.

Right. I can set him straight when I see him again, but for now, I ought to just survive on my own.

Wherever I am.