The Ascender's Legacy [A CHAOTIC STORM LITRPG]

"I need to find him. If I don't, there… there'll be disastrous consequences." Destra pleaded.

Aodhán regarded the ice witch with a raised brow. He wasn't buying it—not yet. Her talk of fate sounded like another scheme wrapped in desperation. Still, the fact that she hadn't tried to kill him earned her a sliver of credit. A sliver, but not enough to let her tag along until he found Daruk.

The sudden shift in her demeanor when she'd seen him was what he found most suspicious. And though she seemed genuine enough, Aodhán wasn't inclined to trust her. Nevertheless, he couldn't afford to ignore anything that had to do with fate. For all he knew, this girl could be their salvation out of here.

A grimace touched his lips.

"What do you see in your dreams?" He asked and then rephrased. "I mean, in your scrying attempts."

Destra hesitated, her body going tense. "I can't tell you that."

"You'll have to tell me something if you want me to trust you."

"You saw me scrying," Destra said, shaking her head. "The things I see are sacred—meant for the ears of those they belong to alone."

"Is that so?" Aodhán's eyebrow arched, suspicion sharpening once again. "Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. You cannot come with me."

"Why?" Destra's voice cracked with desperation. "Why can't you just trust me?"

"Because you haven't given me any reason to." Aodhán replied coldly, eying Destra with even more suspicion. Aodhán knew he was being paranoid, but he had more than enough reasons to be. With resurrecteds and sleepers now roaming the realm, he couldn't afford to be gullible.

Destra bit her lips in annoyance, visibly struggling before she finally sighed. "Fine. I lied about the whole disaster thing. There's no overarching catastrophe looming over us, at least not as far as I can tell. But that doesn't change the fact that I and Daruk are Fated."

Aodhán leaned back against a tree, curiosity slipping through his wariness. "And what are you both fated to do?"

Destra shook her head, her expression becoming guarded. "I don't know how much you know about your friend—"

"He's my brother, not my friend." Aodhán corrected firmly. "And I know everything about him."

Destra blinked in surprise, stuttering. "I… I didn't know that."

"Well, now you do." Aodhán smiled faintly. "And like I said, I know everything about my brother."

Destra frowned, shaking her head. "I doubt you'd know something like this. It's not a small secret."

Aodhán's gaze narrowed as he studied her, wondering what this supposed revelation was. Most likely, she was hinting at Daruk being a double inheritor—which was hardly a revelation at all. Aside from that, he doubted there was any secret about Daruk that he didn't already know.

The problem was that he couldn't say so outright, unsure whether that was the secret she meant or something else entirely. Whether he told her or not didn't matter, though. Everyone of importance already knew about it. However, it wasn't his secret to tell.

He was curious, though. Now that she'd admitted there was no looming catastrophe, the only reason he was still here was to satisfy his curiosity.

He pursed his lips in thought and after a moment said, "Well, we are at an impasse. I won't lead you to Daruk until you tell me what this is all about, and you don't trust my relationship with my brother enough to believe that I truly know everything about him."

Destra frowned, unconvinced. "What if I give you a hint, and you tell me if you know it?"

Aodhán shrugged, gesturing for her to continue.

Destra fidgeted, fingers twisting together before she finally asked, "What do you know about his vast reserves of willpower?"

Aodhán paused for a heartbeat before giving a short nod. "Everything. I'm aware of my brother's status."

"I mean his actual—"

"I'm aware," Aodhán cut in, his tone sharp. "What concerns me is how you know. You're a total stranger."

Destra sighed. "I know because I'm an inheritor too. I just didn't inherit a legacy seed."

The words struck oddly in his mind, and Aodhán frowned. "I'm not following."

Destra nodded slowly. "Tell me… What's your name again?"

"My name is Aodhán," he replied, frown deepening. "Now, can we go back to my question?"

"Right." Destra nodded. "Tell me, Aodhán… Have you ever wondered what happens to an inheritor's trial after the legacy seed is taken?"

Aodhán opened his mouth, then closed it again. The thought had never once crossed his mind. He'd always assumed the trial room simply vanished, taking the monsters and runes with it.

It turned out he was wrong, because Destra shook her head.

"It doesn't vanish. The runes dim, the monsters fade—but the ground itself remains. And sometimes, if you're fortunate, there's something worth finding within it." Her lips curled into a small smile. "I know who Daruk is and who his patron is because I inherited something from the cave of his patron's apprentice, Zimara Hexweaver."

Aodhán frowned, eyes widening as suspicion began to subside, replaced by curiosity and intrigue. He leaned forward without realizing. "What did you inherit?"

"Zimara's grimoire." Destra's smile widened. "She was an unorthodox awakened, with a mystical approach to her affinity. I learned all my Theban spellcasting techniques from her writings."

"Spellcasting?" Aodhán echoed, faintly amused.

Destra's smile softened. "Forgive my lingo. But I've learned so much from that grimoire that, though I'm not her true legacy, I've followed her footsteps to the letter." The smile faltered into a frown. "Now that I've begun her path, however, I cannot fathom how she managed to reach its end. It's a strange, narrowing road, and I can already feel it closing in around me. Without your brother's help, I'll eventually reach a limit. Daruk holds the answers I need. I know he can help me."

Aodhán nodded slowly, though his frown lingered. "I don't hear anything about fate in what you've just said. All I hear is that you need my brother's help."

"And he needs mine." Destra spoke quickly, raising herself up to her full height. "I know things about his patron that no one else alive knows. Zimara wrote it all down in her grimoire. With it, we can help each other. That's why our fates are entwined."

Aodhán grimaced. To call what Destra was describing fate was a stretch. It was a karmic connection at best, but it was still important. Daruk would be grateful to have any information he could get on his patron, and perhaps, he could gain one or two things from Destra's unorthodox techniques—though that was very unlikely.

He hummed low in his throat, regarding the ice witch in silence. In the span of minutes, she had already lied twice—first about the looming catastrophe, then about fate. She was clearly desperate. Yet if there was any truth to this connection with Daruk, it wasn't his place to sever it.

Even so, he still had a few questions to ask before he could trust her enough to let her tag along. Exhaling deeply, he folded his arms across his chest and fixed Destra with a sharp gaze. "Have you bound yourself to the cultists in any way?"

Destra recoiled with a look of disgust. "You mean the oath-debt pact they proposed? No. I didn't need to. I was fortunate to arrive in the first level not too far from where the exit portal spawned."

"Hmm." Aodhán responded, unsatisfied. Her response wasn't enough to make him trust her, but at this point he would just have to risk it. Besides, he was far stronger than she was. If she tried anything, he should be able to nullify it.

"Fine," he said at last. "I'll lead you to my brother. But the truth is, I don't know where he is. We'll have to find him together."

Destra nodded quickly, almost eagerly. "I don't mind the wait, as long as we reach him eventually. Besides, it's better to walk in twos than alone these days."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Tell me about it," Aodhán muttered, gesturing to the abyssal spikes she had dropped on the frozen ground. "Pick those up, and let's move. I need to find something to eat before my stomach starts grumbling."

Destra gathered her spikes, and moments later, they left the clearing—the conjured mirror still standing behind them, its swirling images too hazy and muddled to reveal anything.

The first few minutes of their walk were spent in relative silence, until Aodhán finally found a blueberry bush thrumming with life and cold essence, its robust branches coated in a thin layer of frost that spiraled around it like frozen veins. The leaves were a vibrant green, edged with delicate ice crystals, while the berries themselves were swollen to twice their normal size, their color a blend of deep blue and pale ice-blue.

Aodhán's mouth watered at the sight, and his stomach grumbled as he stared at the pseudo-awakened plant. It was a beautiful contradiction of essence that had somehow managed to find the perfect balance.

"Are these even edible?" he asked as he leaned closer to stare at the luscious-looking berries.

"I'm not sure," Destra murmured as she moved a glowing palm closer to the bush. "But I bet I can find out."

Aodhán stepped back to watch as she closed her eyes, breath forming crystalline clouds in the frigid air. She whispered a quiet incantation, her fingers hovering slightly over a bunch of berries, and an instant later, delicate ice crystals began to bloom on the fruit's surface.

The crystals grew slowly until they covered the entire bunch, and then it pulsed with a soft blue glow.

Destra smiled. "Well, it's perfectly suitable for consumption."

She plucked the cluster, tossed one into her mouth, and hummed in pleasure as the berry exploded with an icy flavor in her mouth. "Woah, that's good. Try some, Aodhán."

Aodhán plucked two berries and threw them into his mouth. His teeth crunched on the first, and an explosion of icy sensation hit him. The berries burst against his tongue with a flavor that was intensely sweet yet refreshingly cold at the same time, like concentrated summer sunshine mixed with the crisp bite of winter morning air.

It was delicious, and without hesitation, Aodhán plucked another bunch of berries from the bush. Before he threw it into his mouth, though, he held it out to Destra.

"Freeze these for me?"

She chuckled, flicking her finger to coat the berries in a thin layer of frost. Aodhán downed half the bunch at once, and immediately gasped; it hit him like a freight train. Each crunch of his teeth provided more flavor, and when the juice cascaded down his throat, it had an almost effervescent quality, tingling and sparkling like ice-cold wine.

The fruit had no noticeable magical qualities, but the taste alone was enough magic. For the next few minutes, Aodhán and Destra ate their fill of the berries. Aodhán didn't forget to keep some for Daruk for when they finally met.

After they were done eating, Aodhán felt as if his senses were sharper, but it was so negligible it was impossible to tell. They settled on the ground beside the bush to rest, and Aodhán sighed, "After the horror of the last three hours, I certainly deserved that."

Destra smiled and placed her abyssal spikes on the ground beside her, muttering an incantation to encase them in a box of ice. Aodhán watched her closely, and when their gazes met, he asked. "Do you always have to say an incantation to use a skill?"

"No," Destra replied easily. "My innate skills don't require any incantations, nor do some of my other skills. Only the ones I learned from the grimoire."

"Are they more powerful?"

Destra frowned at that, hesitating as if she wasn't quite sure of the answer. "They certainly seem that way, yes—but it's not just about raw power. The skills feel… more complete with an incantation. Also, speaking one helps me with my focus and control." She smiled and tapped the frozen case gently. "Zimara had control problems. That's one of the reasons she apprenticed herself to Nzinga Al 'Arish."

Aodhán nodded slowly, wondering what mystery lay behind Daruk's Patron. Twice now, they had run across people tied to Daruk's patron—first Sebastian, and now Destra.

Something was brewing; he could feel it.

Sighing, Aodhán turned his attention to his status screen but eventually decided to check out the leaderboards instead.

ABYSSAL PINS LEADERBOARD

Baxterion Valenhall—90 points

Mirith Vaelys—80 points

Serenya Serenity—80 points

Orin Draviksson—70 points

Cyrus Valerion—70 points

Arkhan Veldr—60 points

Monica Weber—60 points

Daruk Brystion—50 points

Micah Vhaldris—50 points

Karvath Seperum—40 points

Aodhán blinked in surprise as he scanned the leaderboard, relief washing through him at the sight of familiar names—friends who were still alive. But the feeling quickly soured into shock when he saw the number of pins others had managed to gather in so little time.

Barely an hour into the realm, and people were already nearing a hundred points. Just how many pins did the cultists expect them to collect?

He glanced at Destra and asked, "Have you seen the leaderboard?"

Destra grimaced. "If it's not going to fucking pop in front of me, then it's not important enough for me to check."

Aodhán shook his head. ""Every time you swear, it's like you swap personalities."

Destra chuckled, "I get that a lot. So? What's on it?"

"Nothing, that's what's going on," Aodhán spat as he pushed himself back to his feet, urgency brimming within him. "While everyone is out there gathering pins, we are here eating berries like idiots." He glared at Destra as if this was her fault somehow. "This is not how I planned to deal with this mission."

He didn't yet know why the pins were so important, but it was obvious they were. The number they gathered before the forty-eight-hour mark could very well decide who lived and who didn't.

Exhaling sharply, Aodhán spread core sense out and set off, eyes scanning the area for the easiest path. Despite the static interference, Core Sense still made their search far easier. Even before his evolution to the advanced class, Aodhán had always been able to pick out runes and filter specific affinities from the noise.

And that was exactly what he did.

The moment he began walking, he focused on the feedback he was getting from Core Sense and whispered, "Null."

Almost instantly, the world dimmed. The static receded to a low hiss as tiny flares of null essence bloomed across his mind's eye—like distant stars against a dark sky. They weren't as bright as cores, but each cluster of runes glowed enough to serve as a beacon to his senses.

With a grin, Aodhán moved toward the nearest null cluster, Destra following behind him as he tore through dense amounts of shrubbery to arrive at a small clearing. Perhaps, the word "clearing" was too generous; it was little more than a barren patch of dirt, and buried at its center, half hidden in the soil, was an abysmal pin.

Aodhán pulled it free, and a cloud of null essence billowed into the air before dissipating into smoke.

Destra's eyes widened as she stepped beside him. "How… how did you even know that was there?"

"Instincts," Aodhán lied smoothly, a wide smile on his face as he threw the pin into his spatial storage and began heading toward the next cluster.

For the next few minutes, Aodhán went on to prove just how honed those so-called instincts were. Of course, after the third spike, Destra already knew something was up, but she didn't ask any other questions. She simply followed in silence, accepting whatever spikes he handed her, content to ride the current of his momentum.

Three hours and forty-eight minutes later, Aodhán had made his way to the top five positions on the leaderboard, lagging only two spikes behind Baxter, who still held the first position with a total of 220 points.

In all that time, the leaderboard had changed drastically, a few new names having also risen into the ranks.

ABYSSAL PINS LEADERBOARD

Baxterion Valenhall—220 points

Aodhán Brystion—200 points

Mirith Vaelys—190 points

Zareen Tahrizaar—180 points

Serenya Serenity—180 points

Sebastian Rune—170 points

Monica Weber—160 points

Cyrus Valerion—150 points

Daruk Brystion—130 points

Orin Draviksson—110 points

"We're making good progress," Aodhán said with a grin as his eyes swept the list. "A few more spikes and we'll be on top."

"You're so competitive," Destra chuckled, slipping the last spike into her icebox. "This isn't a game, you know."

"I do," Aodhán admitted with a nod, his grin fading a little. "But it's been fun so far. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts."

Destra gave him a knowing smile. "Right. Though I doubt it'd be half as fun for you if you weren't cheating with those 'instincts' of yours."

"I don't hear you complaining," Aodhán muttered as he started forward again, heading toward the nearest pinprick of null essence in his mind's eye.

Destra murmured something under her breath, but Aodhán barely caught it as he carved a quick path through the undergrowth with a crackling lightning blade, its crimson brilliance forcing Destra to hesitate a heartbeat before following. She watched the blade warily, wondering just how strong this man really was.

They burst into a grove of towering blue trees a few minutes later, and Aodhán shivered as a sudden chill crawled across his skin. He glanced back at Destra. "Was that you?"

"Was what—" Destra began, only for her words to be cut short as she also stepped into the grove herself. The cold hit her too, and she frowned. "No. This isn't me. This is something else."

Aodhán had suspected as much, and his frown deepened as his gaze swept the grove in suspicion. An abyssal pin lay half buried at the center, null runes gleaming faintly, but Aodhán barely spared it a glance as his core sense shrunk to tighten focus.

Slowly, he walked deeper into the grove, snow crunching underfoot as he began shifting the filter of core sense from null essence to ice.

The change was immediate.

Essence blazed to life all around him, and even with his core sense narrowed, the density of essence in the area was nearly overwhelming. Yet beneath the static, a single clump of ice essence blazed in his mind's eye—buried under mounds of snow, hidden even from Destra's senses.

"Have you found what it is?" Destra asked as he shifted snow from a patch of frozen ground, revealing a thick layer of ice that seemed to have formed naturally.

Aodhán didn't respond. Instead, the lightning blade in his hand shifted into a hammer, and he brought it down with all his strength.

The ice cracked but held.

He struck again. And a third time.

The frozen ground shattered, jagged glasses of ice scattering in every direction to reveal a smooth, teardrop-shaped crystal nestled in a cradle of frost, its surface shimmering with ribbons of green, violet, and blue like the northern lights back on earth, weaving through the translucent ice in slow, mesmerizing patterns.

Destra gasped in shock behind him, utterly frozen in awe as she stared at the mesmerizing gem, but before Aodhán could ask if she recognized the treasure, a notification chimed in his mind.

Congratulations! You have found an Aurorafrost gem, a naturally occurring, consumable, rare-ranked treasure formed in a spot where winter auroras touch ground.

Treasure: Aurorafrost Gem (Epic)

Power: Infused with the frigid essence of winter, the Aurorafrost gem refines elemental control to near-perfect precision, attuning the awakened's will to the natural rhythm of frost. Upon absorption, the gem harmonizes the awakened's core with condensed auroral ice essence, allowing ice to form exactly as envisioned while minimizing energy loss.

Aodhán read the description of the treasure in shock, blown away by a single sentence. Near-perfect precision.

This was exactly the kind of treasure that could raise a person from elite to champion in an instant. It was incredibly powerful, and Aodhán was completely miffed that he couldn't use it. He would have to save it for Daruk, making his brother even more powerful.

Oh, well, at least it was still in the family. Giving it to Daruk would be so much better than giving it to—

"—Me"

The word cut through his thought like a blade, and he turned to look at Destra in confusion.

She swallowed hard and repeated herself, her voice trembling. "Please… give it to me."

She was practically shaking.