Crimson Ascension

The blue glow of the scripture was private, restricted only to his eyes unless he willed it so. Still, staring into thin air was a clear sign of what Draven was up to.

"Your Providence, I take it?" Corvanis gave a curt nod.

Draven Von Astrais
Providence: Dyad Vessel - Refinement [Greater]

For the first time in the months after acquiring the mysterious black ring, Draven had evolved his Providence not by surpassing a threshold of pain absorption, but by understanding how to better utilize it. The new avenue of progress was a breath of fresh air, an escape from self-inflicted torment.

"Yes," he answered. "Everything changed when I reached Eminence. I wish Helvan would—"

"Tell you how to increase your attributes?" Helvan strode into the arena, his black hair trailing behind. "Simple. Kill enough Empyreans to absorb the fabric of their astra, or invest your hexion into each of them."

"I hate it when you do that." Draven suppressed the shock.

"You get used to it, trust me." Corvanis nodded. "Assume he is behind you every moment of your day, and there will not be an instance where his presence startles you."

"I'll pass on that," he shook his head. "Killing Empyreans… that sounds like it could raise some suspicion."

"Very astute." Helvan mocked. "For the most part, wanton killing will only get a bounty on your head, or the Silver Flame Inquisition sent to apprehend you. Does that sound familiar?"

Draven winced.

Both consequences of murdering other Empyreans were already something he had incurred on himself, anyway. The bounty on his head was high enough to reward anyone to unmask him, and the inquisition had been after him ever since he left the Catalyst District. Still, he refused to go around killing others for the sake of developing his power.

It was not who he was—who his family raised him to be.

"The reason I did not tell you about the Az'Tenri evolution was due to my advice that you wait a few more weeks to open a meridian." Helvan's frown of dissatisfaction became clearer than usual. "Nevertheless, it happens every time you progress; another one will happen when you reach Ascendance."

Not if, when. The Sovran's confidence in him was reassuring. He's been more open ever since she… died.

Draven nodded. "What will happen on the next evolution—"

"You will find out once you reach it," Helvan cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Mend Corvanis, for tomorrow we join the Incursion into the Fallen's Tomb."

"So we are finally making the move?" Corvanis threw Helvan a glance.

"Indeed. There is not much time. Word goes around the Maker is sending a Perfected to Varn'Kess." Helvan spat the words. "We are not to wait for their arrival."

Great, more things to worry about. He began refining hexion on instinct, letting the process cycle itself with but a part of his attention.

Helvan glanced at the veotherium manacles, noticing their conspicuous absence from Draven's wrists, and frowned. He opened his mouth to protest, alarm written clearly on his face,

"Corvanis—"

"The matter is handled." The Overseer nodded at Draven. "I trust Draven not to lose to a mere beast."

"Abyss fucking take me!" Helvan cursed. "You better be right."

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***

Draven followed Helvan, Corvanis, and Finn as they made way through the bustling city of Varn'Kess. It surprised him to no end how one outbreak of nightmarish creatures could be so easily forgotten in less than a week, but he supposed that was not out of the ordinary for its citizens.

The outbreak might be over, but Empyreans and soldiers alike patrolled the city with watchful gazes. Some glanced his way for an uncomfortably long time, trying to guess the reason behind his red mask, but their attention never led to anything dangerous.

No wonder. Draven glimpsed a masked figure, dressed in armour from head to toe, walking toward the streaming line of gathering adventurers—a queue he too was a part of. Masks and helmets are the same. Nobody's gonna order every Empyrean to remove them.

In a world where offending the wrong person might lead to untimely death, people kept their suspicions and opinions to themselves.

As the line of people moved forward, Draven soon entered the crater in the middle of the city. The barricade, spikes, and trenches were still there, but no hexbeast body was present. Those who handled the cleanup had been hard at work, yet the stains of dried blood were not so easy to remove—no matter where he looked, brown smudges filled the surrounding shattered ground.

A thrum, like the beating of a heart, vibrated in the air, sending shivers down his spine. Each pulse sent waves of the natural hexion in disarray, creating chaos amidst order. Draven felt it as if it were inside his chest. As he drew closer, the sensation only became stronger.

"Is anyone feeling this?" he asked, concern in the muffled voice escaping the mask.

"What? The ominous waves or the crazy hexion?" Finn scoffed, mustering a smile despite the sweat on his forehead. "Good to know I'm not crazy."

"Sorry to break it to you, but you can still be crazy and right at the same time…" Draven's words lay forgotten as he laid eyes on the black fracture in front of him. "It's… what in the Haven…"

The rim drained all surrounding light, making the colors around feel muted. Lesser. As if someone had forced a dull knife to cut through paper, the air itself parted way to reveal the nothingness hidden underneath.

The darkness swirled and pulsed with a power that had long since surpassed the domain of Empyreans and ventured into the realm of a natural disaster, a constant in the world that could not be defied.

Draven swallowed, holding his gaze. We have to enter that? His throat felt dry, but that could not be right; he had plenty of water in the morning. Sweat drenched his black robes, but the weather was quite pleasant—cool, even.

"Soul tablets on hand, everyone." A man sporting a dazzling blue robe, accompanied by four armoured guards, shouted next to the fissure. "If you don't have one, fuck off. No one enters without due credentials."

Wait, do we even have that? Helvan seemed unconcerned at the request.

Corvanis produced four silver medallions to the man, hands crossed behind his back as he waited for the inspection. The blue-robed Sovran passed his hand over it, eyes shining green for a split second, before handing the tablets back to Corvanis.

"Median Reverence? Are you sure that's wise, friend?" The Sovran glanced at Finn. "I wouldn't recommend any Reverences entering the tomb, but you do you. Want to die? Be my guest."

Finn growled, his face simmering with rage. To his credit, no brash words left his lips. He only stared at the man, then looked away.

"Well, go on!" The Sorvran urged with an impatient wave. "I don't have all day."

Corvanis gave Draven one medallion, distributing the others amongst the other members of the group. The metal was heavy for its size, cold to the touch. Alive. In a hunch, he extended his Presence to touch it, and the object sent a wave of impressions back to him.

Zero. Draven frowned. It had not spoken, but he still understood its meaning as clear as day. Zero hexbeasts killed. It was a way of tracking how many creatures each Empyrean slayed.

As the group approached the fissure, he hid the device under his robes. One by one, Helvan and Corvanis disappeared inside the gaping mouth hanging in thin air. Finn stopped, glancing back with a mild blush on his face.

"Mind if we do this together? I don't want to end up lost… by myself, surrounded by bloodthirsty hexbeasts." His lips pursed into a thin line of concern. "I might be a once-in-a-lifetime genius, but I don't have a lot of hexion to… You know."

Finn's hesitation had been the perfect excuse for him to set his own rising concern aside. Draven did not blame his friend. Instead, he questioned how Helvan and Corvanis could just blindly walk into the unknown like that.

Unless they know what is going to happen. The Overseer held a lot of secrets, restricted by oaths, but he mentioned the revelations shown by Korvax.

Dad, did you also see this far? Why didn't you tell me anything? Just a hint would've been enough.

Deep down, Draven knew the road paved by doubts led to nowhere, so he grabbed Finn by the shoulder and walked inside. "Just shut up, man. We'll be alright. Probably."

The Fallen's Tomb devoured him whole.