Dark Matter Ascension

"I knew it. You are using some type of undetectable, invisible energy! Well, I guessed correctly, and turned it off with my Arbiter's Anathema." Star Father flew forward and tried to slam his fist into Jace's chest – but Jace twisted his body thanks to his new cartilaginous skeleton, bending around the blow. He summoned his sword to his hand and stabbed forward into Star Father's face. The man let out a scream of pain and brought both of his hands together in front of him.

Jace was blasted with a colossal burst of heat, flame, and radiation. He felt his skin burning as he was being cooked inside his armor. Dark Matter Mending (Rank 4) [Vampiric]. His body instantly healed, and he ripped his blade out of Star Father's face – cutting his head partially in half. In a flash of light, the man's head was repaired, and he tried to grab Jace's head.

Void Step (Rank 1), Jace thought – vanishing from Star Father's grip and appearing behind him. Grabbing him around the midsection with his left arm, he stabbed up and in with his sword in his right. Over and over and over. As Star Father tried to turn and grab him, Jace would reactivate Void Step at (Rank 1) to get to a different side of the man. Over and over he would grapple, stab, and then vanish.

"Enough!" Star Father shouted as his skin lost its golden luster and he was sucking in deep, shaking breaths – again, somehow breathing in space and Jace wasn't quite sure how he was doing that. "You win. I give up!"

Jace brought his sword around to chop him in half at the midsection – but as his blade began to cut in, and skin ripped away to expose what was underneath, Star Father reached out and grabbed the invisible sword. Star Father's skin flared back to life, and he held the blade firmly – despite the [Rending] nebula coating his hand and festering on and around him, along with the glowing, grey-white energy of Void. How is he still standing? Jace thought.

Star Father cocked back his fist and slammed it into Jace's head – or he tried to. Jace used Void Step to get behind him, summoned his sword back to his hand, and tried again – cutting deep through the midsection. Star Father screamed out and swung a wild backhanded fist as he turned. Jace ducked the blow.

"Why won't you just die!" Star Father shouted as his body shimmered with golden light that threatened to sear Jace's eyes. He was sure he would have been blinded if not for the prosthetic replacements. "I want my universe! I want to be a father to all! Why stand in the way of that?"

Void Beam (Rank 3) [Limited Range], Jace thought. The beam of grey-white shot out, hit Star Father, and he vanished once more, turning into nothingness. And just like that…we're done.

There was another explosion where Star Father once was. But this one was much, much smaller, and rather than a man, Jace saw a sphere. A single sphere of light that glowed with an angry, orange and gold vibrance. It…spoke, somehow. "You cannot kill me! My species is made of pure energy! Energy cannot be destroyed – only changed from one form to another."

Xera planned for this, Ollie said in Jace's mind. Third time's the charm.

Jace held up his hand, reactivating the beam once more – his energy almost fully tapped as he felt himself shaking all over. The white-grey blast flashed forward, consuming the star utterly as it vanished. He counted the seconds, waiting for another weird death-cheating Skill or species trait…but nothing happened.

He was suffocating – he knew that much, as his lungs yearned for air. The world became the white square around him once more, and he sucked in a breath. "I'm…we did it," he said with disbelief. "Did I just…kill…a star?" he asked. Ollie detached from him, and Jace felt the wicked headache kick in. He deactivated all his Skills, and muttered, "Dark Matter Mending (Rank 1)," as the pain vanished.

Ollie swam in circles around Jace, splashing and making little nebula clouds happily. "Yup! His species was formed from an energy-absorbing moss that eventually gained sentience, then sucked up more of the ambient energy of the nearby star clusters, before eventually gaining sapience and slowly evolving to what we saw. His species has a life cycle – first death results in a star, their 'base form', and the second death is their permanent death. But he had an extra reset, due to a Skill."

"A handy Skill," Jace said as he got up. The NICIF finished repairing his armor, and Jace was ravenous. "Xera? I'm ready to get pulled out of this place."

Jace was warped into Xera's apartment. She was standing at her command station, and glanced sideways at him with a tight-lipped smile, "Good you are alive. We can't do that again. I almost lost you." There was a tremble behind her words, and Jace knew the truth of her words not just because of their contract, but the tone.

"What do you mean you almost lost me?" Jace asked as he willed the armor's helmet to recede.

"You were in two places at once. I had to constantly manipulate quantum particles to prevent you from being drawn to one or the other. It…it took a lot of my resources. The Cosmic System cannot bear the burden of another feat like that. Even the TPS is going to be something I can only use occasionally."

"You mean I can't-"

"Not your personal TPSB, no, that is separate from the main TPS. I mean the System-wide one that can be used anywhere in the universe. No wildlife rescue anytime soon," she said with a rueful smile. Her tone became less concerned, and was warm and sincere. "But you eliminated Star Father, one of the most powerful Ascendants…I'm so proud of you."

Jace felt himself swell up with pride from the praise and he grinned broadly, "I really have come a long way in a short time, haven't I?"

"You have. Now, use my apartment's fabricator, eat up, and then get ready – you're going to break this Mizarion guy out of his confines. An easy mission, relatively speaking."

Jace began to turn but paused, "Does anyone else know about the Astral Verge? Anyone else who is going to pull something that Star Father tried? Making a deal with Troxanir?"

"I don't know," Xera replied. "I am tracking his logs, but he could have said something in person to someone and it wouldn't be tracked." She sighed, "I don't want you eliminating the whole faction. Hopefully, this Mizarion guy will be willing to take over, and the rest of the Star Council goes along with it."

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"Why can't you just warp him?"

"Building interiors that I don't own can't be warped to and from. Only the exteriors." She looked over at Jace, "I'm a tech support – not an administrator."

He nodded and headed over to the living room area he had been in a few times now. Using the fabricator, he got a bunch of protein-heavy food with high calorie counts, and began devouring plates upon plates.

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[Oh, delicious, boss!]

[Yeah, keep those calories coming!]

[There's a lot of stuff we have to fix.]

[So much cancer.]

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"Wait, I have cancer?"

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[You were exposed to so much radiation.]

[Not to worry, we got it!]

[Just keep eating. We prefer prime rib.]

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Jace went to the fabricator and got plates upon plates of the food they asked. He enjoyed it greatly, savoring each bite – but ultimately he was shoving down what felt like an entire cow's worth of meat. When he started to feel full, he knew the NICIF didn't need any more calories, and he stopped eating.

Xera walked in and looked around at the stacks of plates at her small countertop with chairs that Jace was sitting at. "Wow, you ate a lot."

"Cancer," Jace replied with a laugh. "I had cancer, and the NICIF fixed me up."

Xera sat next to him, grabbed one of the plates, and held it under the fabricator, getting herself plain-looking cube of green. She picked it up and began eating the weird, spongy substance, then looked it him from the corner of her eyes. "Feeling ready to free a Star Council Signer?"

Jace nodded, "Let's get to it."

"Warping you in front of the Star Council's headquarters on your mark."

Jace activated Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 3), Void Shield (Rank 6), and Void Blade (Rank 5) [Rending], just in case. But he did not plan on fighting anyone. Just a quick rescue mission. "Ready whenever." His helmet re-emerged to cover his visage.

Xera tapped some buttons on her wrist pad, and Jace found himself standing in front of what looked like a giant hotel. Going up to the doors, he was able to enter just fine, and he saw a weird woman at the front counter. She had the upper body of a humanoid, but the lower half of a spider. I might as well rely on my eyes' (Augmentation), he thought as he ensured that the (Terrifying) portion of the prosthetic eyes were active. Dropping the Cloak, he stared at the woman.

The woman let out a shriek of terror, but ultimately stayed still, staring at Jace as she quivered in fear.

Jace kept his gaze locked on her as he walked up. He held up his Cosmic Power and Ascended Power symbols in front of her. "What do you see?"

"Black Hole and Supermassive," she stated.

Jace nodded, "And that means I most likely work for who?"

"T-T-Troxanir," she stuttered out.

"I killed your faction leader. Star Father is dead. And soon, my master will consume all." Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 3), Jace thought as he vanished.

"What are you doing?" Ollie asked as he was nestled around Jace's neck within the armor.

"External speakers are off?" Jace asked. Ollied nodded, and Jace continued, "I'm making her think that Troxanir's servants are far more powerful than they could hope to stand up against. Especially on their own. Symbol Shift (Rank 1)." His symbols shifted to Star and Gigastar. The woman behind the counter began shouting commands and orders into a series of cosmopanels, but Jace just left, following Xera's map to where they were holding Mizarion. Cutting through the door, he pushed it forward.

The man with slightly pale skin, white hair, and green, piercing eyes, looked at the – to him – empty doorway. "Hello?"

Jace dropped the Cloak. "My name is Wraith. I'm here to break you out." Jace raised his hand, Void Beam (Rank 1) [Limited Range], he thought. The beam instantly obliterated the wall opposite him, leaving an opening.

"Wait, why?"

"I'll explain later." Jace sheathed his sword, grabbed the man, and pulled him closer. "Get on my back."

"Wha-"

"Now."

Mizarion did as he was told, and Jace activated Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 3) [Group] as he jumped out of the hole in the building, shooting out his grapple line as he swooped down towards the street. The Sliver Arc integrated into his armor activated, and he was able to float over the ground, as if he was running but at a much faster speed. Instinctively – he assumed the NICIF's doing as it learned from what he was trying to do – he was making small circles with his feet as he pushed himself forward.

They picked up speed and when they were a good distance away, Xera warped them. Mizarion was standing with Jace in a random apartment building lobby – and no one else was around. Jace didn't recognize the place, so he assumed it must just be either chosen completely at random, or maybe Xera had additional apartments on hand. He deactivated the Cloak, and took a few steps away from Mizarion.

"I…thanks for breaking me out…but why?"

Jace shook his head, "Just wait a minute."

Xera appeared – but she was just a shrouded entity of blackness with glowing, purple eyes. "I am X," she stated. "Thank you, Wraith, that concludes our business."

Smart, Jace thought. She doesn't want Mizarion to know that Wraith works for her. Just that I'm an unknown entity. A Mercenary. He reactivated his Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 3) on just himself and listened to their conversation from his stealth state.

"Troxanir has a new, powerful servant who slew Star Father," Xera stated. "I want you to take his place."

"Me? Why?"

"You were imprisoned, yes? For going against his wishes?"

"Sort of…" Mizarion replied as he trailed off.

"I have entered conversations with Tyul, the new leader of the Nebula Alliance. He has learned of Star Father's defeat at the hands of Troxanir's new Signer – this mysterious Aspirant or maybe even Ascendant. Tyul is terrified that someone could take out an entity as powerful as Star Father. He proposes an alliance, brokered by yours truly, between his faction and yours." Xera pulled out a data pad and handed it to Mizarion, "The terms are all there. I would suggest you speak with your faction, following that guide I put together to the letter. It also has blackmail information on those who may seek to stop your ascent to leading the faction."

Mizarion looked confused, but more scared than confused. "I…just follow the instructions?"

"Correct."

He looked around, "Where'd that Wraith guy go to?"

"He's just an asset." Xera vanished, and Jace was warped away as second later back to her apartment. "Well," she said softly, "That was easy." She turned to Jace, "Good job thinking on your feet with the Troxanir fake-out ploy. Setting up an existential threat to unite everyone else is going to make my life a lot easier, and let us focus on getting you strong enough to beat him."

"Right, Tier 10," Jace replied. "What's the plan?"

"The same world that your Anathema Arm and Star Father's Anathema Eye came from – Harkon Secundus." The name was filled with some amount of venom and distaste.

"What's wrong with that place?" Jace asked. "You sound like you hate it."

"The species that lived there was one that brought about their own destruction – similar to what happened on Velenar Prime. But they figured out one of the System's greatest flaws. A way to manifest a universal 'shut down' for a limited amount of time. It's why you can use Arbiter's Anathema." She crossed her arms, "And it's all because of the man who called himself The Arbiter. Their civilization's leader. He was powerful, and the moment that Cosmogenic Merging hit, he began working on ways to break the System."

"You…you didn't cause the world's destruction, did you?"

"No. And the world is still intact. In fact, it is a great place for you to visit next. The creatures there are straight out of a…have you heard of the genre called 'fantasy' back on Earth?"

"Nope."

Xera snapped her fingers, "Right! That reminds me. Time to get you all that knowledge you've been sorely lacking."