The Fall:Ascension

Kael was blasted back by the shockwave. He rose back to his feet quickly, staring at the centre of the explosion.

The sheer magnitude of the explosion, Kael was not expecting, the visual effect, though, was beautiful.

Dream-energy strands, white white in color, Kael guesses, fouled by strands of black drifted through the terrain, bursting in silent blossoms of violet light, each bloom sucked into the expanding ring of his energy.

The wind howled in as another shockwave burst forth from the centre, driven into spirals. The air grew raw, tasting of ozonic sharpness.

He paused.

"Daaaamn... that was, something, but what did I expect, releasing a sphere a compressed energy like that? That was stupid of me; that could have ended badly."

The moment stretched, taut and lucid. Strands of energy still threaded through the gale.

When the spiral was reabsorbed into the point of impact, everything stopped.

Silence once again, piercing.

Rain began to fall again outside the circle, but inside, all was still, like a sacred space, consecrated. Kael's chest heaved.

The lightning had carved a rune-shaped fissure across the basin floor, as if marking him. On it, the rune made out the sigil of a phoenix.

And then the pulse stilled.

Kael exhaled, muscles slackening, his energy receding like retreating tide. Within him, the core hummed gently, calmer, clarified.

He looked down at the mark. He touched its edges, smoothing the fissure with a tentative finger.

...

"It's raining, that is rare," Draven said. 

He was still standing inside the lab, beside Elara. She nodded to him in response. "And it began so suddenly as well. Do you mind my asking, what are your plans for Kael going forward?"

"...I'm not sure, maybe we can start off by giving him access to the ascended training rooms, see how far he can go and what he can do, train him to harness his ability better, something like that."

"So, generally testing the extent of this ability of his. Will you train him personally?"

He thought about it for a moment and responded, "I think I will."

"I don't mind helping out. Do you need help?" She offered.

"Hmm, is there a specific reason why you want to train him?" he asked.

"No reason in particular, I'm just intrigued and curious, but, more than anything, I want to see him grow. I have a feeling that he will turn into an extraordinary ascender, if we can call him that."

"I agree, I don't know why, but he gives off this feeling, he is calm, controlled, I mean, from what he told us, even I would be hard pressed to be fully able to think clearly, his state of mind is just generally impressive. A great mind is a warrior's greatest asset. And he has an exceptional mind. And all that, at his age, that's just exceptional."

"Ungh, I'm sure he will be a valuable asset in battle. Maybe we can have him join us for missions when he is ready, as part of his training?"

"Let's see what he can do first, no need to rush things, we have all the time in the world. I'm going to see the master now, see you back at base."

"Okay...Tell her I said hi..." They parted ways soon afterwards.

...

Draven climbed the marble steps of the upper sanctuary, his footsteps echoing under the vaulted ceiling.

The grand doors swung closed behind him with a soft, decisive thud.

Flickering sconces lined the hallway, casting long shadows that danced as he advanced toward the Master's chamber.

Tok Tok...

He knocked gently on the door.

"Enter..." A soft, feminine voice echoed from the other side of the door.

Inside, the Master, Solenne Fletcher, sat behind a carved obsidian desk, her robes immaculate, posture regal.

Solenne's beauty was nothing short of ethereal, an otherworldly grace that seemed to belong to legend.

Her hair, a waterfall of silvery clouds, tumbled in soft waves around her shoulders, catching every flicker of torchlight with a pale, mineral sheen.

Silver‑white brows arched delicately over eyes like polished pewter, sharp, reflective, and inscrutable, as if carved by moonlight itself.

Her countenance was sculpted with devastating precision: high cheekbones, a straight nose, and lips touched by a hint of rose, all framed by skin so luminous it glowed in the dim chamber.

When she moved, the drift of her silken robes was silent, like a breath of wind in stone halls. And even in stillness, she exuded an aura of power and serenity.

Her gaze was expectant, keen. She looked up as Draven entered.

"Master Solenne," he began with a respectful bow. "Thank you for seeing me."

"Rise, Draven. You look... agitated. What news do you bring?"

He composed himself, meeting her steady eyes. "I recently found a young boy out in the ash fields while I was out scouting with my cohort. Of course, we brought him in. Primarily, I had checked his body constitution and found that he was a regular."

Draven stopped for a moment to let it sink in before dropping the bombshell on her. 

Solenne's expression sharpened. "Go on." She could guess that there was more to this story since he had seen it fit to come see her and tell her about it.

"Of course, as with every newcomer, he eventually had to go see the techs to check for anything unusual, you know, with the walkers giving us trouble, infiltrating our settlements by wearing human faces and all. But then, they actually found something."

Solenne's eyes were cold by now, "Don't tell me..."

"No, not that, it's something else, something you could have never imagined. "Draven paused for a second, for effect.

"Well? Out with it, don't keep me on my toes!" She was agitated by now.

"Instead of a dream core, Kael has what you can call an anti-dream core; it repels, no, they said nullifies dream energy completely. That is why I could not feel any dream energy in his body when I checked him before."

A thoughtful look appeared on Solenne's features. 

"Hmmm... That is indeed interesting. I have never heard of anything like that."

The Master's fingers drummed upon the desk; each tap was quiet but deliberate. When he finished, she leaned forward, intense curiosity softened only by the need to do her duty.

"Anti-dream energy," she said quietly, a thoughtful expression on her face. "This is indeed a unique case. Yet your description suggests something deeper, something… unnatural."