Zero to Peak: Ascension Online

Behind the super-powered human clad in white, a miniature golden ball of burning gas arose. The radiated luminosity was intense, bathing everything it touched in a golden light. Ivan, who was positioned to avoid the direct glare, was also affected by the blinding luminescence.

With an authoritative, deafening roar, the man in white declared, "In the days after creation, the sun arose every day, cementing the decree: 'Let there be light!'"

The deafening bellow seemed to intensify the radiant glow. Even the super-powered aliens stood no chance against this power. They tried to launch sonar attacks at the man in white, but the light devoured them. The phenomenon was incomprehensible and jaw-dropping.

"Light can be literal, and it can take different forms. Evil and wicked oppression is not a form of light; it is an enemy of light. Those who perpetrate evil must be punished." With a deeper-pitched roar, the man in white screamed, "Those who perpetrate evil should die!"

The once-indiscriminate radiance suddenly converged on a single point high above. Two of the super-powered alien adversaries noticed the attack and quickly escaped its range of influence.

"Hell, that's terrifying," Ivan muttered, admiring the power that had just been unleashed. However, he wasn't carried away by the show of force. He stole a cautious glance at the four aliens on the other side of the building. They were preoccupied, watching as the radiant beam of light converged on their super-powered comrade, ensnaring them in its grasp.

Ivan wasted no time. With a thunderous crack, he launched himself at the closest alien. The ground where he stepped imploded into small craters, and a gust of wind blasted towards the aliens in his wake.

The aliens were thrown into confusion by the sudden explosive sounds. Before they could understand what was happening, one of their comrades was down, lying in a pool of their own blood.

Another series of cracks was heard, this time from another direction. The aliens were terrified. All they could do was watch, lacking the required agility to react. In ten seconds, Ivan had taken down the four aliens standing outside his target building.

He rolled away from his last adversary, taking cover behind a huge chunk of concrete. He used the cover to perform reconnaissance.

A searing blast of high-intensity sonar waves prompted Ivan to vacate the spot and head into the building. He didn't sense any other presence apart from the humans hiding inside.

The sharp sonar blasts were from the two super-powered aliens that had escaped the man in white's attack. They had launched their own assault, wanting to free their comrade from the full-body light snare.

The man clad in white looked at them contemptuously from a distance. His billowing hair, which had transformed to fiery gold, and his overly radiant, fiery-gold eyes, combined with the elegance of his white apparel, gave him the holy aura of a revered sun deity.

The deified sun-man made a crushing gesture with his left hand, and the snare holding the unfortunate alien pierced into them, crushing them into a pulp the size of a flattened soda can. It was absolutely terrifying.

No one had to tell the other two aliens to flee for their lives. The man in white gave chase.

Meanwhile, Ivan noticed that the human presence he had sensed was not localised to one point in the building. People were hiding in different places on the first four floors.

He first made sure that the group of people hiding on the third floor were alright before he went to search for the others. It took him thirty tense minutes to get everyone to the same place. He brought them all, even those on the lower floors, to the third floor. As he was gathering everyone, he worried about how he would get them to safety.

Ivan carried the last person, a voluptuous woman into the hiding room, the door gently shutting behind him. The people were hunched in different corners, anxious, but there was a glint of happiness in their eyes upon seeing him. Space was made for Ivan to set the lady down. He was glad to do so; although he possessed formidable strength, the woman's weight still strained his arms.

He was a step away from gently placing the lady on the floor when the atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted to one of absolute dread and extreme apprehension. People screamed in fright at the inexplicable presence of a figure behind Ivan.

The woman in Ivan's arms became frightened, squeezing her eyes tight as she sank her face into his chest, tightening her grip on his left hand.

Ivan deftly spun around. He couldn't toss the woman away to draw his sword. All he could do was turn and inspect the foreign presence. He sighed in relief on seeing it was a familiar figure: Saint Afram Angouleme.

The saint nodded in acknowledgement of Ivan's effort.

"Everyone calm down. I know this man, he is my ally," Ivan said to the panicking crowd.

They calmed down, but their gazes were obviously wary, and they still inched away from the visitor.

"You have truly lived up to your worth," Saint Angouleme said to Ivan.

"Stop squeezing my arm, you are not in danger," Ivan said to the woman in his arms.

He let the woman down, and she tucked herself away into the crowd.

Ivan expected the saint to do something about evacuating the people, but nothing happened.

"Mr Saint…" Ivan said, making gestures hinting that the saint should do something about the evacuation.

He didn't dare mention the evacuation aloud, lest the civilians in the room realise he had lied when he'd promised he would get them out.

"I know. You are standing in my way. Or, do you want to go with them?" Saint Angouleme asked, speaking in a whisper.

Ivan stepped aside, allowing the angel to step forward. Saint Angouleme snapped his fingers. He and the civilians vanished from the room.

Ivan shook his head, astonished by the feat the angel had just pulled off.