Symbiotic Ascension : A Progression Fantasy Adventure

Black sand swirled in the air, dispersed by the wind of change blowing through the Ink Dunes. Water from the River of Life flowed freely, oases turning into lakes. Buried aquifers surged to the surface, creating marshes that were swiftly populated by magically enhanced vegetation.

In a matter of hours, the desolate, silent landscape of the dark desert had turned into a luxurious mix of ecosystems.

And at its center stood the pyramid unearthed by Javier and his fellow Pale Sons, the foundation for a titanic tree of silver looming over the Ink Dunes — no, looming over Thalorieth. Glenn stood outside that pyramid, sitting on a fallen tree's trunk, his chin resting in his hand. The rain was pouring down on him, warm and heavy. It wasn't a storm- there was no thunder nor wind- just the land trying to adapt itself to all of this extra water.

"Hard to believe there was a desert here just a few hours ago," commented Glenn, unbothered by the rain. "You know, back on Earth, I wanted to live in a place like that."

"A jungle?" Diamanes scoffed. "You would have died in a matter of days to the mosquitoes, snakes, or whatever else lurk in those sorts of places."

"Maybe," shrugged Glenn. "I can't help it. I like this sort of environment. Makes me feel as far from home as possible."

Diamanes stayed silent at that. Before them, protected by a magical ceiling that blocked the rain but not the light, a few Pale Sons were busy obeying an excited girl.

"Yeah, yeah, put the runic stone here! The silver will help conduct the Mana better and stabilize the connection. Yep, yep, good." Lina had stars shining in her eyes as she directed the 'small' project of establishing a warp gate between Thalorieth and King's Rise- more precisely, to New Hope, the town set up by Giselle and Monsieur Maron. She had been more than happy to finally help Glenn as the sole teleportation expert he knew. The few reports he read about her success in school spoke of 'a rarely seen talent who could revolutionize teleportation'.

'It's been a while since I last heard of him,' Glenn thought. 'I wonder if he's doing okay.'

"Do you think he shit stones? Wait, maybe he can produce Blumar?"

Glenn ignored his companion's ramblings and turned away from Lina, heading to a temporary tent nearby. A red cross painted on its side indicated its purpose. The young man pushed the door flap aside, using a quick Aqua Imperium to dry himself. The scent of medical herbs muffled the stench of blood.

Emily Miller, recently renamed Emily Starborn, was leaning over a bruised woman covered in scabs and scars. Glenn's mother barely noticed him as she used her magical powers alongside her medical expertise to treat Mary. Decimius was waiting for his turn, but he didn't seem to be in as much of a critical condition as Mary. The Orc was even snoring, sleeping in a less-than-comfortable military bunk.

Sahro was sitting in a corner of the tent, his katana lying sheathed on his knees. Raijin was sleeping at his feet, rolled up into a crimson ball of fur.

"What did they do to her...?" Glenn muttered as he sat next to his friend. "Last I heard from her, she was going after the Occult Wanderers to avenge Redan."

"She found them." Sahro clenched his hand, a red electrical crackle sizzling out of his stump. "She found the Occult Wanderers. And she paid the price for it."

A soft, magical glow washed out of Emily's hands and cleaned up the pus from one of the countless suppurating wounds. Ever since Sahro had rescued her from the Occult Wanderers' base, Mary's consciousness had been hanging in limbo. She'd wake up feverish, trying to use Aura to attack Emily or cut at non-existent cuffs. Each time it happened, Sahro would restrict her and protect Emily.

"Whoever messed with this woman deserves a fate worse than death," declared Emily with cold eyes. "I have never seen anything like this. Had you brought me to her later, things could have taken a turn for the worse. I'll need to bother you again to tell me what you saw in that 'breeding room', Sahro."

Sahro nodded with a dark expression. "Of course, Ms. Emily."

Emily blinked and lightly slapped Sahro's shoulder, startling him. "Don't go calling me Miss! I'm twice your age!"

"M- M'am, then?"

"Do you want me to kill you? Do I look that old?"

Sahro glanced at Glenn for help, the latter simply shrugging helplessly. Emily chuckled lightly.

"Just call me Emily, Sahro. You're my son's friend, and from what I hear, you saved his life more than once."

The Black Heirs proudly puffed their chest out. "That is correct. This fool wouldn't survive a day without me."

Glenn rolled his eyes. "When do you think she'll be up on her feet?" He asked.

Emily looked back at Mary with a worried expression. "I am not sure. Her jailers seemed to have force-fed her some sort of mixture that boosted her reproductive functions." She pointed at Mary's skin, slick with sweat. "I've stopped the process, but her body is still burning hot to feed the cellular change."

"How did you figure that out?" Glenn inquired, trying to hide his anger under a layer of curiosity. "I don't see any research or hospital equipment in your tent. "

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Emily tapped the side of her head, a green glow at the tip of her finger. "Magic can do a lot of things. Combined with what I know and the help of Mr. Exan and Mr. Manalok, it's quite easy to analyse what's going on in a human-" she glanced at Decimius sleeping a few meters away. "Or other living beings' bodies."

She looked back at Mary and sighed heavily. "I think her Aura must have resisted whatever modification her jailers tried to force on her."

"Glenn, it feels familiar," Diamanes suddenly said. "Remember when you were in the Thorns Church's prison?"

Glenn's heart missed a beat. "Do you think they fed her Beast Blood?"

Diamanes clicked his tongue. "Probably something similar, specifically designed to turn a human woman into a breeding machine. By the Original, I want to rip the guts out of whoever imagined this."

"So we're certain, then." Sahro grabbed his katana and tied it to his belt, his gaze hard like steel. "The Thorns Church, even after we wiped them out on Retni's Plains, are still plaguing the world with their black sihr."

Glenn clenched his teeth. "Not black magic, Sahro. They're playing with Corruption and Epinos' Divinity. We can't let them continue like this, or who knows what else they'll unleash on this world?"

Emily cleared her throat and politely but firmly shoved the two of them outside the tent. "It was pleasing to have you, but I need to focus on my patients."

Sahro raised an eyebrow. "Will you be able to handle Mary if she wakes up violently again?"

Emily nodded confidently. "I've figured out something. It took a bit of time, but I finally adapted my sedative spells to knock even someone as strong as her down."

Glenn shivered. "Mom, can you remind me at what Circle you are already?"

"Circle?" Emily tapped her chin, pondering. "I have five of those spinning around my Mana Heart, why?"

Glenn and Sahro choked on their saliva, awestruck. "N- Nothing, Mom. Keep up the good work."

The two left the tent under Emily's confused gaze and headed for the top of the pyramid, where the Queen and the Prophet were discussing their next steps. The W.O.R.M. was lying nearby, half-buried under thick vegetation, dim-red veins running down its black stone structure.

"How did your Mother reach the Fifth Circle?" muttered Sahro in disbelief. Raijin yelped from within his shadow, mimicking his master's awe.

Glenn shook his head slowly, dumbfounded. "I don't know. I thought you needed to fight and survive life-threatening battles to progress quickly, but perhaps that's not the only way, then?"

"Maybe each patient she treats is like a battle to her," remarked Diamanes. "Healing someone is sometimes even more impressive than defeating the mightiest of foes."

"Hard to imagine when I can literally grow back bits of meat with Regeneration," Glenn mumbled, still not over his shock.

The ascent of the pyramid was easy, even with the heavy, pouring rain. Trees sprouted all around the structure, covering the land with a vibrant, beautiful green blanket. At the top, protected under a small stone structure, Javier and Liara were studying a map earnestly.

"Homes won't be a problem at first. We need to focus on producing food, and that means bringing in workers." Liara shook her head. "The Black Heirs are warriors, not specialists. We'll have to find someone to supply us with manpower."

Javier wrote on his small notepad, quickly replying. "Many in King's Rise would probably be willing to expand their operations outside of the city. The King himself would probably push for something like that."

Liara nodded thoughtfully. "It will be a good way to conclude the war. Like a conquest of some sort. Unofficially expanding borders while allying with the rightful leader of the land." She frowned. "Aren't we at risk of being conquered by Munirp, then?"

"I doubt that would happen," Glenn clamored as he joined them at the table. Liara smiled warmly at his arrival. Sahro watched the rain fall while rubbing his shoulder stump, silent.

"And you're correct to think this way," Lucian declared as he appeared out of nowhere, standing on the table and the map. He raised his hand with a placating smile, defusing the spells and Aura aimed at him.

"Sorry, sorry, I don't entirely have a hold over this whole... Newborn Ruler thingy," he admitted, brushing the dirt off his clothes.

Glenn pulled him down the table and patted his back. "I take it that means your father listened favorably to you?"

Lucian nodded. "There's a lot of political reasoning at hand, but the King knows he has more to lose than to win from trying to conquer the reborn Thalorieth." He walked up to Sahro and looked at the developing jungle below. "This place is going to take a lot of work to be profitable for anyone, and Munirp needs to rest after the war with the Celestial Gods." The Prince grimaced. "I should call them Occult Wanderers, but that feels weird to accept."

"The front lines have completely collapsed the moment we destroyed their facilities and killed all these Newborn Rulers. Previously stable and rigorous Orc armies suddenly shattered from within. The lack of powerful entities to manage them meant they went back to being mostly mindless brutes, fighting to determine who's the strongest. By the time the Orcs finished establishing the new pecking orders, our forces were upon them."

Glenn sighed. "I can imagine how that ended. It feels good to know that the war is over."

"About that..." Lucian rubbed the back of his neck with a strained smile. "I need to, huh, tell you something."

Glenn crossed his arms curiously. "What, do we have another army to fight?"

Lucian's strained smile strained even further. "Well, that's not that far from the truth, in reality."

Glenn's curious smile froze. Sahro snapped back in Lucian's direction, and Liara's eyes steeled up sharply.

"I know where we'll find all the workers for your kingdom, Liara," Lucian said. "We've recently welcomed more war refugees. Many, many of them."

"Where from?" Sahro frowned, his thumb rapping against the hilt of his katana. "The only war I know about was the one going on in the Ink Dunes."

Lucian grimaced. "That's because it is the only war Munirp was fighting for, until recently."

"There have been new developments in another part of the world. I think I already mentioned the Southern Continent to you guys before?"

Glenn nodded slowly, while Javier looked up from the map with a strange gaze. He had been focused on drawing up plans, but that had managed to break his concentration.

"The Kingdom of Salaphos is a long-time ally of Munirp," Lucian explained, "And the reason they haven't been able to help us with our was because, in their land, a new plague scoured their homes."

"A plague so violent even the King of Salaphos himself had to flee the land with whatever was left of his people," he said in a grave tone. "And the King of Salaphos is almost as powerful as my father."

Javier clenched the edge of the table so strongly that it shattered in his hands. He opened his mouth and spoke.

"What. Happened?"

His voice was raspy, broken, as if it were being rubbed against broken glass. They all froze at the sound of his voice, turning in his direction in disbelief. Lucian shook off the shock and cleared his throat.

"An undead plague like we've rarely seen before."

"The Southern Continent died, and came back to life. We've given it a new name, unofficially."

"The Continent of the Dead."