Symbiotic Ascension : A Progression Fantasy Adventure

Gong.

The powerful ringing shook the Beyond with powerful tremors. Dust rose from the ground, and pebbles rolled. Glenn looked up from the empty spot of dirt where the Guardian previously stood, quickly wiping the tears off his face.

'Why did I feel so... Damn it.'

He shook the thoughts out and instead focused his mind on finding the source of the gong. It echoed all around them, through the air and the floor.

Gong.

The world trembled once more, but more violently.

"We need to get out of here..." Duke Noir muttered, his fists lowered. He looked at his Black Knights, who were looking around warily, yet mostly confused. His eyes widened, and he drew a deep breath.

"EVACUATE! NOW!"

The demons who had stopped going through the Horizon Gates to stare at their insane ancestors suddenly woke up from their trance and rushed through the Gates. Javier clenched his teeth and jumped back into the W.O.R.M., activating the ancient machine and guiding it through the Gates as well.

The Black Knights could have questioned their Duke's order: they didn't. They all ran into the Gates in an orderly fashion, leaving the half-destroyed camp behind. Duke Noir turned to Glenn and the rest, his face twisted in disbelief.

"You too! Go, go, damn it!"

Glenn shook himself awake and bottled down his emotions. He couldn't even understand why it felt so terrible to watch the Guardian disappear. Why did it affect him so much?

Above them, the black sky, now empty of eyes or anything recognizable, splintered.

Gong.

The impenetrable Darkness cracked open, a distinct fissure in the sky, revealing the starry sky it previously hid. Countless stars, more than on Limbo's canopy. But what drew their gazes was a hand. So large it filled most of the fissure, Glenn struggled to see it in its entirety even as he craned his head to the sky.

A wave of twilight surged from a minuscule point in the sky, glowing with the might of a dozen suns. The spell blew the hand back, pushing it through the fissure.

"How... Is the King fighting that thing?" Glenn muttered in disbelief.

"I must watch this." Sahro hissed through his clenched teeth. His goal in life was right before his eyes; no way was he going to miss it. Milena stared with wide eyes, all four hands clenched. Liara watched, understanding what strength a monarch should hold. What strength she should achieve for her people, for her kingdom, for herself.

The last demons and Black Knights went through the Horizon Gates as Duke Noir watched his lord fend off an entity from outside. The massive hand attempted no spells, no mystical attacks, no strange powers. It simply reached down, trying to press down on the Beyond's land, and each time, Alaric Magnus, King of Munirp, lashed out with a spell and pushed it back.

"This thing." Glenn's face turned white as a dark-green wave of energy surged out of the fissure. A breath. He could recognize this energy anywhere. It had taken friends from him, pushed many off the edge, and was the source of worship for the Occult Wanderers.

The Dead God's Corruption.

"That's...!" Diamanes gasped. "Outer Space?"

Glenn froze, and he glanced at the mouth in his purple hand. It was tense with hatred and fear.

Gong!

The sound echoed more powerfully than ever, throwing them off balance and shaking them to their cores. The ground ruptured below their feet, revealing more of that starry sky under them. The world was fracturing, unable to keep itself together.

Duke Noir swore loudly and rushed for Glenn and the rest, pulling them out of the way just in time for a figure to suddenly crash into the ground.

"Your Highness!" The Duke shouted, taking a step forward to help his liege but hesitating. That second of hesitation saved his life as a massive finger suddenly surged from the ground, taking over the entire horizon and thrusting Alaric into the sky.

More twilight exploded outward, blowing pieces of the fingers off but struggling to cause actual damage. Glenn instinctively took a step back. 'I can't fight that. What the fuck am I supposed to do?'

"Get the hell out! You're dead weight, you damned..." Duke Noir's eyes widened, and he punched out violently. His fist collided with a wave of dark-green energy, barely fending it off. Glenn cursed and grabbed his friends with Gravity Manipulation.

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"Fuck this!" He used his spell to get through the Horizon Gates, fleeing from the divine disaster. The Horizon Gates twisted them up and down, chewing down on their perception before spitting them out on Limbo. The world was also rumbling on this side of the Gates as reality itself tried to seal them. 'No,' Glenn realized. 'Not reality. The Gods!'

Divine energy poured out from every side of the Gates as priests, merchants, and even mages tried to contain the disaster. Duke Noir soon jumped out of the Gates, his fist a mangled, Corrupted mess, and his breath ragged. Golden divine light covered him from head to toe as priests hastily tried to purify him.

The Duke slapped it all away with the back of his hand, grunting. He clenched his fist and punched at the sky, expelling the Corruption away.

"Get away from the Gates," he barked, his steel-colored eyes darting all over the perimeter.

Glenn and the rest retreated at a respectable distance, finding Javier's W.O.R.M., his Pale Sons, and the demon survivors. Glenn could only recognize one of them, an old-looking demon with long gray hair and a single gray horn sprouting out of his head. In Glenn's memories, he was a proud, powerful demon who managed to fend off the Occult Wanderers' assault for the longest time, until they brought out their True Ruler, Dragon-Mask.

Now, he was a shaken mess. A man who was watching his entire home crumble into dust, his entire world. The Horizon Gates trembled, and Munirp's King stumbled out of them. His clothes were in perfect condition, and his hair was styled in a truly majestic style. The King straightened himself and dusted off his shoulders, his expression a mask of serenity.

"Brace yourselves," he said simply. He didn't shout, yet everyone heard and obeyed him.

A second later, the Horizon Gates simply disappeared. A giant rip in the fabric of reality, stretching over kilometers with only its center point stabilized for safe travel. Gone.

Thousands of men and women stared at the space with their lips sealed, their King at the forefront of the silence. They all waited expectantly, thinking that it simply couldn't be it. There had to be more.

"A world doesn't just... disappear like that," muttered Glenn.

"And yet," Diamanes chuckled darkly. "And yet. It's gone, like a mirage in the desert."

Gong.

Glenn's heart froze still as the sound rang over the empty land. The mages, priests, and Black Knights all looked up, their breaths held and their eyes wide.

It had been night, but the Moons were gone, as were the stars.

Gong!

A crack, a fissure in space, through which a giant dark-green eye dropping with evil peered through. A Dead, empty eye, yet still lively with hatred and desire for destruction.

Clang. Clang. Clang, clang...

The sound of weapons and armored knees dropping to the floor echoed all over them. Glenn couldn't blame them. His entire being, his body, his soul had given up, for there was no stopping this. The End. The Death of the world. He just knew.

In King's Rise, Lina looked up from her homework and interrupted Tiamanes' serious explanation about spatial transports to unknown coordinates. She glanced at her arm, shivering as she watched every hair stand on end. In New Thalorieth, at the foot of the pyramid, Emily dropped her scalpel and stepped out of the medical tent, closely followed by Decimius, who couldn't stop his jaw from dropping.

Mary, who had lain in her bed since she had been rescued from the Occult Wanderers' claws, suddenly opened her eyes. They were filled with the same color as the massive horror filling the sky above.

Sitting at the edge of a massive crater, remnants of what once was Still Peak, Nelg forced the corner of his lips to curl upward. The gigantic, dark-green eye of horror above him stretched out like a massive sun, gleaming with a disgusting, fear-inducing dark green light.

Glenn knew it intimately. This was the End. The true End.

"No," muttered Diamanes. "Not yet."

The fracture cracked open a little wider, letting thick, liquid Corruption drip out on the world. 'If it's visible so far away, then...' Glenn took an instinctive step back. 'Is it going to... Rain Corruption?'

The drops of evil fell for Munirp, hungry for the life of everything that dwelled in the country, but a bright barrier of twilight appeared in the way. A crimson cloak fluttered in the wind as a— no, as the King rose before the adversity. The blazon of Munirp was embroidered on his cloak, shining with gold filigrane. The sun crowned his head, changing from dawn to dusk.

Glenn felt the warmth wash over him, a wave of hope surging out of his chest, like the sun rising after a stormy night. Slowly, one by one, his teammates also straightened up, for they simply couldn't cower before The King. They couldn't dare harm his honor by falling for the paltry trick of a dead thing. Every mage, priest, and Black Knight craned their heads at the sky, staring defiantly at the being beyond their world.

For why should they fear when the King was here?

The crown of Alaric Magnus, First of his Name, Monarch of Munirp and Blood of the First King, unsheathed his sword.

"MY PEOPLE!" He called, his voice ringing all over Munirp. Every man, woman, and child stared at the sky, watching as the Sun rose to meet the Dead eye.

"FEAR NOT, FOR THIS IS NOT THE END!"

Even though he was just a spot in the sky, Glenn saw him clearly point the tip of his blade at the Dead God's eye. Everyone in Munirp saw it, despite how impossible it was. But they couldn't miss it. It was just so bright, not seeing it was impossible.

"THIS! IS JUST ANOTHER STEP FOR MUNIRP TO CLIMB!" Dawn, dusk, and twilight mixed into the King, into the Sun himself. "FOR OUR GLORY!"

"IS ETERNAL!"

Glenn couldn't tell what he felt at this time. He couldn't explain it. Perhaps it was a sort of spell, or a powerful compulsion from the King. Perhaps it was just him who believed in The King's words. For they were undeniable.

He raised his fist to the sky, and like every man, woman, and child in Munirp, he roared. A roar of victory for the glory of the greatest King alive, and possibly the greatest King to ever live. The roar shook the earth and heavens, empowering the Sun above.

And finally, the King struck.

A simple stab, a perfect stab. A movement all swordsmen trained, yet none truly mastered. For none could equal The King's mastery.

For he was no swordsman.

He was The King.

And the King did not lose.

The stab pierced through the Dead God's eye, erupting into a flare of filthy Corrupted energy that fell upon the land. None of it could touch ground, though, as Alaric's presence was enough to burn it all away. The King of Munirp threw his sword to the side and soared into the sky.

He grabbed left and right in empty spots and pulled. He pulled, and the fissure through which the Dead God was intruding creaked closed. The Dead God's cry of pain rang over the world, but it was weaker than their roar, the Roar of Munirp.

And with them, the King roared.

The fissure closed shut, and the Dead God's cry of pain went silent.

Silence.

No gong, no cry, no breaths.

Silence.

And victory.