Ascension: Online

Core Foundation Realm.

Essence Arts.

This is just the first step. I'll continue to get stronger, stronger, and stronger still… until no one, not even the Creator, can stand in my path.

My soul has been shattered. My mind has been broken. All that's left of me now is an empty shell that will eventually lose all my emotions. Happiness, anger, love… they will all eventually go away.

And all that will be remaining will be a boy of nothingness, alone through and through.

*****

"… You… did you break through?" Furuwa asked, blinking at me in surprise.

I nodded, then glanced at the still-unconscious Nadeshiko.

"… How is she?"

"Alive," Hina-nee replied. Then, in a softer tone, "Just barely, though…"

Wordlessly, I bent down by Nadeshiko's side and lifted her body so that she had her back turned to me, before placing my hands against her back. Closing my eyes, I began to channel all my Essence into her.

"Kaze-kun…" Hina-nee murmured in worry. I furrowed my brows in concentration.

I used a lot of Essence from The Dragon's Shadow just now, but since my MAG stat was so high, I still had quite a bit leftover. Whether that would be enough to revitalize Nadeshiko, though, was a different matter…

According to Aisa, Essence was akin to a different kind of energy. If that's the case, then it could also be described as 'lifeforce'. Therefore, I'm essentially giving Nadeshiko lifeforce right now to wake her up. We couldn't proceed with her unconscious like this.

Soon, my remaining Essence ran out. Channeling it to her via the back like this was the only method I could think of, but in doing so, a lot of the Essence would evaporate into the air and thereby wasted.

"Fuck…"

I opened my System and used all the 100 SP I had saved up from Level 40 to 50, putting it all into MAG. My stats now looked like this:

[STR: 500]

[AGI: 500]

[INT: 300]

[DEX: 300]

[MAG: 350]

[LUC: 15]

Taking a deep breath, I started up the process again.

'Come on… please, Nadeshiko…'

My Essence was about to deplete once more, even after the refreshment. But just before it did…

I sensed movement in front of me and opened my eyes to see what it was, but I was silenced by the soft, gentle touch of Nadeshiko's lips on mine.

"Mmn~"

She pushed me down on the floor of the tower, invading the inside of my mouth with her wet, sloppy tongue. I would've normally pushed her away, but right now, I was too depleted of energy to do anything about it.

"A-Ah…" Hina-nee and Furuwa could only watch as this happened, since they thought I wasn't resisting because I liked it.

I mean… I won't deny, Nadeshiko was great at kissing. I wonder…

"… Have you done this before?" I asked once she pulled away at last with her tongue still stuck out, letting the mixed saliva drip between us.

"Fufu~ what, jealous?"

"No, just curious," I replied calmly, too exhausted to argue.

"Well…" She leaned in close once more. "I haven't. You're my first and will be my only, Kaze~"

'Then how the hell are you this good?!'

I could feel the tip of her tongue exploring every corner of the cave that was my mouth, and before I knew it, I was kissing her back, roughly entangling my own tongue with hers and coating each other's with saliva. My little brother down there was yearning to join in on the action too, and Nadeshiko's hole had gotten so wet I could feel it through both our pants.

"A-Ahem…"

At last, the other two girls who were watching couldn't take it anymore, clearing their throats to make their presence known. Nadeshiko, after a brief delay, shot them a sideways glance of triumph and slowly rose up from my body, carefully savoring the taste of my saliva in her mouth.

"Mmn~ you taste good, Kaze~" She giggled seductively, closing one eye like a wink. "Though… I think something else on your body would taste even better~"

"… We're underage still," I reminded carefully, even though my pants were still bulging.

"Mhm. Sure we are." Nadeshiko playfully licked her lips. "But did you know? As long as both parties are under 18 and give consent… it's not illegal to do it~"

"Okay, that's enough," Hina-nee finally interefered, stepping between Nadeshiko and I. "Nadeshiko-san, please stop teasing my sibling. And Kaze-kun…''

She glanced down at me, jealousy in her eyes. "… We're going to need a talk when we get out of this place."

"Fufufu~" Nadeshiko giggled, as if amused.

*****

"Oh yeah… I forgot to ask," I suddenly said as we traversed the Vault of Torture once more after harvesting the greatsword the Witch was using. "Nadeshiko, how did you find that last one so easily?"

"Hm~? Oh, look up, Kaze~"

I did as told, turning my head up to look at the ceiling.

"Oh… my… god."

"I… can't believe we missed this when we entered," Furuwa muttered in shock.

"Me neither…" Hina-nee added faintly.

Above us, on the ceiling, were a series of the same chevron-shaped symbol inscribed on the altars at each scarlet tower. The only difference was, here, the chevrons were all pointing in set path — like arrows telling us where to go. There was quite a long distance between each one, but they highlighted the way nonetheless.

"Fufu~ look at their clueless faces, Kaze~" Nadeshiko laughed playfully, covering her mouth. "I'm much better than them, aren't I~?"

"Uh… can you cook?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hm? Well, I know how to make instant noodles." She tilted her head cutely. "Does that count, fufu~?"

"Not in the slightest. You should try Hina-nee's cooking sometime. It's amazing."

"Mou~ Kaze-kun, you're making me blush. Oh, but don't think this is going to get you out of the 'talk' we're going to have later," she replied with a fully innocent face.

"G-Geh…" I groaned, having been caught and exposed so easily like that. Siblings were truly dangerous things to have.

"By the way." Nadeshiko stopped walking in front of me and spun around.

"…?"

"Don't you think it's time you start calling me by my first name, Kaze~?"

"Nakano? Er… I don't know. That sounds a bit weird."

"Hm… wait, I have an idea," she snickered evilly. "I'm navigating us through this Vault. I think I deserve a reward, no~?"

I folded my arms. "Uh, sure?"

"Fufu, good. Then… I want my reward to be you calling me darling, from now on."

At this, Hina-nee, Furuwa, and I all froze.

"… You're kidding, right?"

"Oh, but don't worry~ I'll be calling you darling too, darling~"

I cringed and averted my gaze, unsure of how to respond.

"Come on, darling~ you agreed to giving me a reward. No turning back now~"

"K-Kaze-kun," Hina-nee patted my shoulder. "You did promise her a reward, as much as I hate to admit it…"

"Y-Yeah. You dug your own grave, Kaze."

Realizing the odds were against me, I sighed and waved off their words.

"… F-Fine, whatever. I don't care anymore."

"Fufu, I love you, darling~" Nadeshiko giggled and blew me a kiss with a wink, which didn't exactly appear convincing with that massive and deadly scythe she held in her hands.

Hmph, you think you've won? I'll just not address you by anything from now on. I'll just be like, 'you', or tap your shoulder or something. Get absolutely played.

Soon, we arrived at the final scarlet tower, following the chevrons on the ceiling. Within it was the third and final witch, according to what was written on the altars.

This tower held a dead corpse hanging from the ceiling in it, just like the previous two.

"Alright… what will it be this time…?"

[͘T͘ri͏al̢ of M͠el͡ee —͞ ̴C̶ompl̡éte.́ Yo̴u f̧a͝c͠e̢ ̧th̡e̵ fi͠n͘a͝l͟ ͢rou͡nd͠. ̵A m̕i̕g̸h̡ty ̵w̴i͏tc̢h ̸cha̧ll̕en͡ge͘s you!́]̷

As the distorted AI's voice blared out of nowhere, the four of us fell silent in awkwardness.

"… Well. That was quite the delayed announcement," I noted.

"Eh, this IS the Vault of Torture. Wouldn't be surprised if the AI was some sick psychopath who isn't right in the head," Furuwa spat.

"… In any case, we already have both Range and Melee done. What's this last one going to be?" Hina-nee wondered aloud.

I glanced at the hanging corpse and sighed.

"Well. Guess we're going to find out, huh?"

I leaped across the ledge to the tower, sticking the landing with ease. Slowly, I got up and stared at the corpse. Nadeshiko followed while the other two stayed behind as usual.

Suddenly, the body began to shake. It didn't shriek or roar like the previous two, but merely began to tremble. Eventually, the shaking got so violent that the rope holding the corpse fell, and the body collapsed onto the ground in a heap of bones — not for long, however.

Slowly, the body rose up from the ground like an ascended angel, and to all of our surprise, two massive wings suddenly sprouted from the figure's back as the white, bloodstained robe it was wearing fell off.

Unlike the previous two, this Witch had a proper body rather than just a skeleton. It wore an old robe that had moss grown all over it, and two burning green eyes that seemed to burn judgment upon all.

It stared down at Nadeshiko and I as if we were nothing more than a pile of trash, and immediately, the two of us were forced to kneel.

"Ngh…! What is this…?!"

"Mmnph…!"

"SILENCE, MORTALS."

The Witch — the undead Monster — spoke. Nadeshiko and I both froze, unable to budge an inch from this pressure.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING… IN MY COURT?"