Ascendants

Raiden Alaric

The adrenaline still buzzed in my veins as I recounted the exhilarating fight against Tony, Bill, and Mateo. Chronos nodded along, his eyes sparkling with approval. I was startled when he joined me in a low growl of disdain at the mention of Mateo. I guess he's had similar run-ins with Mateos of his own.

He seemed intrigued when I talked about the actual fighting, how I explained my movements and adapted Bill and Tony's techniques to my advantage. I mimicked them perfectly, even adding my own flair, like that spinning back kick against Bill that broke his leg.

My mastery of their attacks fascinated him. With Tony, I could predict every move from his posture and body language, allowing me to adapt, find flaws, and counterattack seamlessly.

My cheeks burned as I realized how long I'd been talking. Still, it felt good to talk about it with someone. I could still feel it, the excitement.

He cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "What you just described, kid, is battle euphoria. The thrill of a fight makes you feel more alive than ever. As for when you were fighting, it was most likely a warrior's trance—something similar to flow state but controllable. A warrior's trance is when you get hyper-focused in the fight, all your senses become one, you move more fluidly. It's a trance-like state entered in combat where instincts and training take over."

"What separates a warrior's trance from a flow state?" I pressed.

"The difference is that you were completely conscious and made your own decisions. You stopped and spoke to everyone and could recall the entire experience. In flow state, you wouldn't have spoken, you'd fight with 100% efficiency, not wasting a single second.

I've seen instances where they aren't even breathing for long periods. Flow state means letting instincts and training take over completely. Once your instincts know the goal, Jesus takes the wheel."

I pondered that. Could you trigger it yourself, or did you need a dire situation like mine? I asked him, since it piqued my curiosity.

"A warrior's trance can be triggered with proper training—lots of mental training regarding your instincts. Flow state, however, can't be self-triggered at earlier ranks. People have tried, none succeeded.

But I can assure you, if someone gets into flow state, they're the most dangerous person in the room. If a dog would chew off its own leg for survival, imagine what a human would do in flow state."

"Battle euphoria—is that triggered?"

He tilted his head. "Not necessarily. Battle euphoria is natural within you. It's triggered when you're in a fight or have the chance of one. But not just any fight, it seems, with you."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You need a real fight. There has to be risk. If not risk, then you need to experience something you've never seen before. This is a shot in the dark, but I'm sure you'd feel it in a prolonged match as well.

From what you described, you adapt as you fight, so I could see it growing."

"I also felt it when I realized I was outclassed and outnumbered."

He nodded, pointing directly at me. "That's included with the risk. Because you were outclassed, you felt the excitement. You, my boy, are a battle junkie."

"You make it sound like a drug."

He chuckled. "Because for you, it is. And to be completely honest, I'm a battle junkie too."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? You like fighting?"

"Of course. The thrill of a good fight is unmatched. Trust me when I say I understand you on a personal level."

This made me feel better. There was a part of me that felt embarrassed that fighting was like a high for me. But since he said he was in a similar position, I suppose it wasn't as bad as I thought.

Considering he wasn't wreaking havoc everywhere to get his fight fix.

"Speaking of you, you never gave me your name."

Right, I never introduced myself. I'd only asked for his name when I regained consciousness.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Raiden, Raiden Alaric."

"Raiden, huh? Anyone call you Rai?"

"Just those close to me." It's really just my family.

He nodded. "Well then, Rai, how old are you?"

"13."

"13? So you should be awakening soon."

I rubbed the back of my head. "I'm... not so sure about that."

"What do you mean?"

I averted my gaze. "I haven't had... a revelation yet."

We both sat in silence, only the sound of Chronos scratching his beard.

"Okay? And?"

I stared at him. "I-I haven't had a revelation yet?"

"So, what is that supposed to mean?"

I was beginning to question his knowledge. "Because I haven't had a revelation yet, I can't begin the awakening process to develop an aura-forging technique. Because of that, I am unable—"

He raised a hand, cutting me off. "So you're telling me you haven't had a revelation, therefore you can't begin forging your aura?"

"Yes?"

"So then you at least have access to your Aether Realm, right?"

"What? No, of course not. I don't gain access until—"

Interrupting me, Chronos spoke in a mocking tone. "'Developed your own technique,' blah blah blah. I've heard enough."

"I don't understand. Am I saying something wrong?"

"Yes, yes you are. What you're describing is the basic standard that's been widely adopted by the masses and pushed by certain groups to 'gatekeep' advancement post-awakening. Tell me, how many Ascendants talk about their revelation after reaching Violet rank?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but stopped seeing Chronos smirking. He was right, a revelation was for one's drive for advancement. I didn't recall anyone after leaving Blue Rank talking about their revelation.

Instead—

"They talk about their path. Not to say a revelation becomes irrelevant—it can change and is essential to advancement after reaching Violet. Primarily because the threshold for each advancement becomes more difficult to overcome. Which is why you see many Ascendants hit a wall within Violet and Red.

They don't teach this in most unaffiliated schools since it's not knowledge you casually come across at such an early stage. It's taught at Ascendant academies all over the world. Only there will you get genuine and unabridged information about advancement."

I pondered that before speaking again. "Do the academies really have all the information?"

"Yes and no. They have all information regarding advancement, aura manipulation, forging techniques, esoteric arts—yes, but only until Red rank. Violet is a gray area depending on if your path is mainstream or in a certain field, but Red is 100% on you to figure out.

That's primarily because the A.A. signed an agreement with the U.N. to limit knowledge shared, since even at Red it becomes nearly impossible to give accurate information that could assist advancement."

I raised an eyebrow. "How does that work?"

"Well, you see—" He began elaborating on advancement in higher ranks while withholding information to my dismay. He explained how upon reaching Blue, everything starts to change. Your body begins going through physical changes and [redacted].

Yes, he said 'redacted', I'm not kidding.

Everyone knows that upon awakening, the user begins to lose body fat, allergies, mental disorders, illnesses, some physical impairments—everything that could negatively impact the user is purged. Thus, awakening is highly sought after by those with these conditions.

For Blue, you undergo more drastic physical changes. Your body becomes more toned, your features fairer, and all imperfections fade away or mold into better shape. You can regrow a limb that was lost or was a birth defect. It becomes more difficult to gain scars or any skin blemishes.

However, you also do a hard purge of impurities within your body. The initial awakening gets your body into peak condition at a faster rate, while Blue rank makes you. He wouldn't elaborate further.

I knew this somewhat because conjoined twins separated into two after reaching Blue. The most important thing you undergo is gaining esoteric affinities, which he said he could explain later because that would take just as long, it's an entirely different area of power.

Continuing to Violet, you get all this and more that's difficult to explain. Primarily because comprehension of these aspects makes more sense once experienced firsthand. I asked for elaboration, but he turned me down.

Instead, he said you gain glimpses of this power after reaching Blue, becoming more prevalent upon reaching Violet.

The physical changes also apply to Violet and beyond, but the changes won't just suit you, they'll suit the path you're on. Because of these changes, it's difficult to find advancement information since it's not a straight line, but a constantly shifting maze that becomes more elaborate as you move toward the center.

As you progress, your aura becomes more unique to you, so much that outside influence can't assist without drawbacks. Even elixirs meant to boost progress begin lagging behind. If this wasn't the case, the wealthiest family sects would have all White ranks within years of their kin awakening.

I drank in all this information. I wanted to know more.

I had so many questions, but each time he cut me off with the same answer: "Let's save the exposition for another day." Even without further elaboration, he'd dumped this information on me.

I still had a question I needed answered. "Alright, since you don't agree with what I've been told about awakening and advancement, what do you suggest is the true path?"

He grinned wide enough to show his perfect white teeth. "I thought you'd never ask."