Symbiotic Ascension : A Progression Fantasy Adventure

Glenn drew in a long, deep breath. He looked at the vibrant jungle, listened to the pouring rain, and finally settled on Liara's face. Her skin was tanned, but had nothing left of the dark hints of her past as a Black Heir. Unlike Sahro, she didn't appear to be a dark elf, instead being the standard forest-loving kind often seen in isekai stories. Her golden eyes looked back at him with warmth and worry, the white cross on her forehead glimmering with a silver tone.

Finally, Glenn made his decision. He grabbed Lucian's shoulder, looked him in the eyes, and cleared his throat.

"Lucian, I don't think I can fight another war yet," he finally said.

The Prince gave him a confused look. "Oh, but I didn't want you to."

Glenn and Lucian stared at each other silently.

"...Weren't you telling us about the Continent of the Dead because Munirp is going to intervene there or something?" Glenn asked, lost.

Lucian shook his head, laughing. "By Onnea, no! I already told you, Munirp needs to rest, and unless you forgot that, we are Munirp."

Sahro sighed sadly. "That means we're not fighting another war, then?"

"Not yet, at least," Lucian admitted. "For now, the threat is contained to the other side of the ocean, but that probably won't last indefinitely. Until then, I have orders to rest, digest my new powers, and investigate the Occult Wanderers a little more... aggressively."

"Then what about us?" Glenn crossed his arms. "What about you, even? You're a Newborn Ruler now! You have to share your secret now!"

Lucian laughed nervously. "I'd love that, but... I'm not sure my method will work for you."

He looked at his hands for a moment. "Back when we were separated, we fought a Newborn Ruler, a bird beast of some sort. He was incredibly strong and moved so fast I couldn't even follow his movements. He ripped my heart out."

Liara nodded tensely, recalling the moment. "I thought you were dead."

"Well, I think I was," Lucian grimly replied. "But I felt something stir in my chest, in my Mana. A desperate need to live, to survive, to do all the things I hadn't done yet. That's when I got a first hold on time magic." He pulled an apple out of his dimensional pouch, bit into it, and watched as the apple was restored to its initial state. "Fascinating, isn't it?"

The Prince sat at the edge of the pyramid, an invisible barrier pushing the rain away. "And when I was fighting that Owl-Mask, I felt that same urgency, that same hunger to live. And so I followed that feeling and used my powers to manipulate time. To return."

He opened his arms and chuckled. "And that's how I broke through."

"The most confusing explanation ever," Diamanes grumbled. "I think we would have been better off not listening to you."

Glenn sneered. "Shut up. It's not like you're the one trying to break through."

Diamanes groaned an insult, returning to hide within his host's mind. Glenn shook his head with a disbelieving smile before turning to Liara.

"I think we've earned some vacation, don't you think?"

Liara looked at the map, hesitating. "I need to set things up here, I can't go back to King's Rise just now. I want to start the process of rebuilding Thalorieth, and I need to be here for that."

Glenn blinked. "Who said anything about returning to King's Rise?"

"Heh?" Liara looked at him confusedly. "But I thought you wanted to go back home?"

Glenn shrugged. "That can wait. I mostly want to spend time with my friends and family, that isn't slaughtering monsters and Corrupted Newborn Rulers."

Liara smiled, her cheeks tinged with a slight red. "T- Then, you're more than welcome to give me a hand."

Glenn held her hand with a bright grin. "But of course."

Lucian whistled, elbowing Sahro in the side. "Well, I think I'm getting out of here before I start seeing things I shouldn't be seeing, right? Javier, come with us too."

"Wait, what? I thought we needed to discuss plans and..."

"Shush, Sahro. I'll go train with you, how's that?"

"...Fine, you ahmaq."

"..."

Javier followed Sahro and Lucian as they jumped off the pyramid, leaving Glenn and Liara alone at the top. The rain was still pouring down as hard as ever, the sound calming to Glenn's ears. It felt comfortable, safe, even.

"I think my favorite times are when I can just relax like this," Glenn admitted. "I don't have to worry about some ancient secrets, about some dead god's descent, or whatever else plagues us these days."

Liara grabbed his arm and rested her head against his shoulder. "I think I also like these moments," she whispered. "They are precious, like roses in the desert."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Glenn pulled a sofa out of his dimensional pouch, making her laugh, and installed it to have a good view of Thalorieth. They sat together, their hands woven together. A bird's shriek pierced the air, rain splattering out as Whitey landed in front of them. The griffin pushed his beak into Liara's hand, rustling his feathers in contentment. He threw a suspicious look at Glenn and suddenly pecked at his purple hand.

"Huh? Hey, wait, since when can he do this? Hey, Glenn, no, I don't want to miss this! Damn it...!" Diamanes' voice faded away as Whitey flew away, a portion of his feathers turning purple from Diamanes' presence.

Pebble shot through the rain cloud, roaring happily as he played with Whitey, chasing each others.

"How do you feel?" Glenn finally asked, suddenly feeling a little shy.

Liara played with her long, white hair. "I... I don't know. It's so much to handle, but... I feel like I was waiting for it my whole life in a way."

The elf touched the tip of her ears, smiling at its sharpness. "Back when I first met you, I would have never thought I'd turn into an elf and be the one to rebuild Thalorieth. I thought it was a foolish dream that I was foolish for not forsaking."

"Was that really foolish of you, though?" Glenn grinned. "Look where we are now. I think it worked out pretty well, didn't it?"

Liara laughed. "It certainly did."

They stared at each other for a moment, purple eyes diving into golden eyes. The rain pouring down was like a thick curtain, the night slowly falling. Shadows crept up, pushing against the magical lights scattered around the pyramid and all the temporary facilities.

The Mana swirled and flowed as dragon and griffin danced across the sky, playing through the rain. The twin moons tried to shine past the thick rain clouds, but even then couldn't uncover the mystery lying at the top of the pyramid.

As the song goes, all that is known is that, for the first time, a kiss was exchanged.

***

"I must say, Alaric, I didn't take you for the kind to hide that sort of stuff from your boy."

"Shut it, Sandor. There are things I must keep secret for the good of the kingdom."

Two men were sitting at the edge of a crater, peering down at what was left of the Still Peak. The mountain that had always loomed in King's Rise's horizon had been flattened entirely, its contents obliterated from the face of the Limbo. One was draped in elegant, royal garments, a red cloak fluttering behind him and a golden crown hovering over his head. He had blond hair and vibrant blue eyes, even if that vibrance was tainted by exhaustion. Alaric dismissed the illusion he maintained in the Royal Tower, sighing in relief at the renewal of Thalorieth. A new ally in these times of chaos was always welcome.

"The good of the kingdom," the other man repeated, scoffing. "Look at the good it did me, to worry about secrets like those."

He was entirely different, barbaric, beastly, almost. Twice as tall as Alaric, Sandor was a monster of a man, bulging with muscles and tattooed on every inch of visible skin. His chest was bare with a powerful tattoo of a roaring dragon, an ugly, bleeding wound running down from his shoulder to his waist. Bones were visible under the blood, cracked.

"How are you doing?" Sandor asked, glancing at Alaric. "Why do you keep bothering with this useless stuff? You should show how strong you are, just like me!"

Alaric looked down at his magically conjured clothes, smiling dejectedly. "A King has a responsibility to his people. He must behave like a King, appear like a King, and lead like a King. At least, that's what my father always taught me."

"A good man," Sandor nodded. "My old man always spoke of him like a dauntless foe, manipulating time like nothing." Sandor looked down at his own bare body and laughed broadly. "See, in the Southern Continent, showing your strength was the way to rule. Like for you in Munirp, there were things expected of me, and I fulfilled these expectations quite well." His smile faded away. "Until I didn't. Salaphos died, as did the rest. There are only ashes and bones left roaming the land."

Alaric wordlessly patted Sandor's back. "We'll find a way to beat the plague, Sandor. Your people will be welcome in Munirp until then. And you heard it, Thalorieth is looking for new citizens."

Sandor scoffed. "I'll consider it. New opportunities are better than this stale place you call home."

"Hey, don't be hurtful now." Alaric chuckled. He winced, holding his side. With a sigh, he dismissed the conjured clothing, revealing an apple-sized hole in his stomach. A time-rewinding spell was taking care of it, slowly but surely.

"That man was strong," Sandor eventually said. "Very strong."

Alaric grunted. "Yes. But you know as well as I do that isn't earned strength." He looked at Sandor, his expression hardening. "Things are changing, Sandor. The Gods are moving, and so is Corruption."

Sandor nodded and looked at the sky. "Perhaps it is time for the chains to be shattered. Perhaps it is time for mortals to rise."

Alaric conjured his clothes back.

"Perhaps."

***

Lina sighed heavily and sat back in her chair, watching over the work she and the helpful Pale Sons had accomplished. The product of their efforts was a circle of runic stones covered in elaborate symbols meant to indicate coordinates. Mana seeped out of the runes with a soft blue light, waiting to be used. It had taken a long time and a lot of effort, because she had needed to do it twice. One gate in New Hope, and a second one close to the pyramid.

Warp gates were useful, most certainly, since they allowed permanent travel between distant places to happen in an instant, but they came with their share of restrictions. Two anchor points needed to be installed, both requiring a few Magis to fuel the Mana storage and constant maintenance to make sure the runes were kept in good condition. After all, would the runes be disturbed, the teleporation could be disturbed, and before you know it, you end up on someone's wall.

'A certainly disturbing idea, Milady,' Tiamanes said, following her train of thought. 'Even after watching your memories, I am hardly pressed to understand where you get these ideas.'

'Read a lot of books, watch a lot of movies and shows, play a lot of games, and eventually you'll get plenty of weird ideas too,' she deadpanned.

Lina dusted off her hands and stood up, looking at her small team of Pale Sons workers. They looked up at her with curiosity and a bit of expectation, too.

"Okay, it's time to test this thing out!" She said with a bright smile. The Pale Sons cheered at that and stood on the side as she pressed her hand on a specific part of the warp gate. The runes lit up powerfully, the magic flowing without a hitch. Lina held her breath and prepared to go into the warp gate to test it out herself, but before she knew it, someone activated the warp gate.

Someone on the other side.

Reality trembled and warped, and a group suddenly appeared.

"You ahmaq, urgh, the next time you force me to... phew, to teleport, I am killing you!"

"Please, Lady Giselle. You know as well as I do that you needed to be here for the advent of your queen's kingdom, right?" Monsieur Maron cleared his throat, looking at himself in astonishment. "I half-expected it not to work, but it seems like teleportation works differently from the other kinds of magic. Otherwise, my Blumar should have blocked it. Interesting."

"Wow, so this is the Ink Dunes?! Where's the sand?"

"Janica, can't you see this is a jungle? The warp gate must have malfunctioned!"

"Don't say that, Liam! No way did Lina mess up the runic circle, she's too good for that!"

Lina sighed in relief and smiled as the small group recovered from the transport.

It seemed like the pyramid was going to get even noisier for a while.