Damon's Ascension

The soul.

Abilities.

It was an established theory in the universe that the quality of abilities were deeply intertwined and connected with the soul of a species. The higher the soul quality of a species, the higher the level of their commonly awakened ability.

The strengthen of a soul was not always related to the strength of a species, be it biological, mental or technological. Speaking roughly, the behemoths were stronger than Dragons pre-IUAS when the universe was in its chaotic, war crazy stage.

It was only when the Universe Will awakened, stopped the fighting by force and recruited spelunkers that the awakening of abilities were discovered by fluke and popularized. Then seeing the gap in power brought by abilities after the Essence AR system was created to empower the spelunkers, abilities took the fore.

There are races out there who would have dominated the dragons before the IUAS, but are nor ranked 50th and below, having to lower their heads to this new number 1.

All because of abilities, which were sourced from the soul!

Precisely because abilities were sourced from the soul, it gave everyone security because it made abilities impossible to plunder while also giving weaker races with lower stats a chance to rise up as long as their soul quality was good enough.

Humans were recently the most famous example of this.

Physically weak below the standards of even the top 300 species, yet their minds, luck and souls were top notch.

Many species with great physical stats had been relegated to the side due to abilities, which had caused much unhappiness and uproar over the years, some even now given the human race's situation.

At the same level and with the same numerical stats, one alien of a physically capable race could crush a human at the same level with one finger, so why were they above him and enjoying such riches as well as benefits?!

The soul, huh?

What even is the soul? What quantifies a soul?

This is not a philosophical topic or even a psychological or religious one. Damon was considering this purely from the scientific perspective, as to what exactly represents the soul of a crater, Post-Chaos or otherwise, and how dies it grow?

How does it become strong? Are there was the cultivate the soul's quality to awaken better abilities?

Most importantly, if the soul quality affects the ability, then why did humans have diverse abilities and other species mostly had a common ability with a few notable exceptions?

Looking at Levi, Henry, Protizen and Bane who had gone up, their core experience from either their youth or their life in general that shaped them as people also shaped their abilities.

Levi was worshiped as a reincarnation of the behemoth of the deeps and awoke a power related to controlling water.

Bane was trapped in a savannah when his parents died during a hunt or a poaching outing, leaving him to fend against beasts with not assistance and awoke a power that let him seize the power of beasts to empower himself.

Henry was continually disappointed in life and sidelined due to his lackluster background, feeling helpless at being mediocre and unable to help those he loved, so he awoke an ability to replicate the abilities of others so that he could always have what he needed in different situations.

Protizen - formerly named Cyrus - was born in a high pressure household and disowned eventually for not performing up to standard, so he awoke an ability that grant him armor to withstand the scrutiny of others and protect himself from judging eyes.

There was a running theme that Damon was beginning to notice and glancing at Felecia whose expression was solemn, it seemed he wasn't the only one who noticed this.

Even Nyros' brows twitched at this point, feeling that something was amiss.

However, the ever callous wheel continued to spin.

Its motion was slower now, like it was aware of the gathering momentum and the increasing emotional weight of each test. It spun past Honor, wavered on Sacrifice, then clicked into place on a dark violet segment.

"Clarity." Nyros declared, his tone one of amusement.

The name that lit up next was Kyle Greer.

There was a pause, then the spotlight hit him.

Kyle blinked under the sudden light, muttering. "Whoa, sensory overload man…"

Once his eyes adapted, he ended up squinting toward the others with a confused frown.

His pale skin seemed to glow even whiter under the spotlight, and with his disheveled white hair, sweatpants, and slippers, he looked like a haunted anime protagonist yanked from a sleep-deprived binging session.

Still, he stepped forward, his expression somewhat morbid.

The floor shifted, but unlike the others, it didn't manifest a solid location or memory at first. Instead, the world rippled weirdly as waves of static and visual distortion emerged from all around, like a corrupted video file trying to play.

The Pre-Chaos audience chattered, feeling unsettled. Then, the sound began, which was faint at first, then became much louder, much faster.

It was a staccato-ish noise that rubbed against the senses in he worst possible way, starting as a hum, then to a buzz and then to a swarm.

The floor finally took form beneath Kyle, becoming a cluttered bedroom with dim lighting and anime posters peeling at the edges of the walls as well as crumpled instant noodle packets that littered the corners. There was also a worn-out futon, a cheap desk with a flickering monitor playing One Piece in the background, and silence so thick it felt like a physical weight.

In the center of the room sat a much younger Kyle with a frail frame and pale skin, his fingers twitching on a mousepad. The young boy's face was hollow and gaunt, his eyes wide yet empty.

The walls around him vibrated nonstop, that annoying noise becoming slightly clearer each second, revealing its true form as a cacophony of voices that encompassed a range of emotions.

There was muffled screaming, dull thuds and a crash. Someone started sobbing while someone started shouting again.

Over and over.

The younger Kyle didn't move, he simply adjusted his headphones to block out the sound and clicked 'Next Episode'.

The scene didn't shift like before… this time, it did something new.

It looped.

Again and again… and again.

Every few loops, the audio got louder until it was almost impossible to ignore, sounding like thunder in the ears of everyone witnessing this.

Until finally… the door to the room cracked open behind him, even the crowd shuddered while the projection of Young Kyle flinched.

The real Kyle clenched his jaw as his hands trembled greatly.

Then the scenario froze as above him, a question appeared in jagged, unstable text:

"Is this your reality, or your refuge?"

The arena was dead silent as Kyle stared at the question deeply, then he looked down at the younger version of himself.

The projection wasn't crying nor was it screaming despite the door having been opened, showing a shadowy figure that haunted Kyle's memories. Rather, the young him seemed to see through the entire illusion, watching the current him emotionlessly.

"...Both." Kyle said softly after some thought.

The text above flickered strangely as Kyle stepped closer.

"I know what this is. I know what it was. That bedroom? That screen? That story? It wasn't some pathetic fantasy I escaped into." His voice began to rise, slightly.

He turned toward the crowd, toward Nyros, toward the universe with his chest slightly puffed out.

"It was my training arc!"

Static surged briefly around the room, as despite his words, they seemed to resonate with something more.

"I watched those worlds because mine didn't make sense, since in anime… in fiction… everything followed rules. Pain meant something and had value, leading to growth as a payoff. People changed, becoming better than they were before as the experienced new things." His hands spread slightly, vibrating faintly.

"But the real world doesn't work that way. It was noise, constant noise day-in-day-out. Senseless violence, emotions that didn't make sense and rules that didn't hold."

He looked back at the boy on the bed.

"And I stayed in that room because I was learning, not just escaping. I was learning what justice felt like through Ichigo. What kindness looked like through Naruto. What power really meant when you were born with little to none like Goku."

The lights dimmed as Kyle's body hummed now in term of sonic frequency, pushing against the Macro Rules of this Sector.

Interestingly, everyone could feel it this time, a subtle pressure in their bones and their teeth.

"My ability isn't just vibration, it's tension! The tension between what is and what should be! Between stillness and change! Between cowardice and courage!!"

He turned fully toward the crowd, his eyes burning with understanding and clarity.

"And I'm done pretending that fiction is fake and reality is real! The stories I loved didn't lie, they showed me what I could be, not what I was!"

The projection of the room melted away behind him.

The boy in the chair flickered, then vanished with a smile on his face.

The arena stood still for a second before the wave of green light came showing that kyle had somehow passed.

Even among the pre-chaos crowd, there were murmurs of genuine confusion… and maybe a little respect.

For them, fiction on the level of what kyle spoke about did not exist as they were creatures of instinct, chaos, and survival.

However, this Post-Chaos human boy had extracted meaning from dreams… and turned it into power.

Felicia stared at Kyle like she'd never really seen him before and Nicholas looked somewhat impressed.

Even the stoic Bane gave a small nod while Damon himself raised an eyebrow slightly.

As Kyle returned to his spot, he looked at the team and muttered. "Don't mind my attire."