Chapter 5: Ascension
850 Words
Lucien Vance's gaze frosted over. Still recovering from the Shockwave Palm, he couldn't shake off the ice encasing his hand. As frost crept toward his elbow, he had no choice. Legs coiling, he activated Phantom Step, dragging the woman with him in a blur.
The world lurched violently. Disoriented, the woman retched. Lucien tore her sleeve—several Bloodvine leaves tumbled out, instantly glazing the ground with ice.
"That's your 'Combat Art'?" Lucien sneered. "Parlor tricks with props."
She wiped her mouth, glaring. "What was that technique?"
Lucien ignored her, weighing the need for silence.
WHOOSH!
A pressure wave tore across the sky. The Judicator, Zane Shaw, descended.
Too late, Lucien grimaced.
The woman paled at Shaw's approach.
Lucien noted her reaction. An Earthshaker not under Shaw's command? Unlikely.
Shaw landed, his imposing stare sweeping Lucien and the woman before locking onto the white drop pod. Shock flickered in his eyes.
"Report," he commanded.
Lucien spoke first. "The pod landed. Its occupant attacked me. Crash injuries must've weakened him. I countered."
Shaw's eyes drilled into Lucien, then shifted to the woman. He didn't approach the pod, instead offering a thin smile. "Years, Zhao Yu. Are you the only Frost Witch deployed?"
She bowed stiffly. "Frost Witch Zoya Rain greets the Judicator."
Lucien's eyes narrowed. A Frost Witch? From the Azure Enclave? What's she doing in Crimson Fortress?
"Since the Collapse..." Shaw mused. "Much has... changed."
Zoya inclined her head. "The Lumen Paragon congratulates you. The Judicator Citadel dominates this territory."
Shaw's smile turned wry. "Dominate? I scarcely rival the Lumen Paragon. The Triarchs' might..." He trailed off. "You outmatch all my Legion Commanders."
"You flatter me," Zoya countered. "Your Legion Commander here bested me. He's formidable."
Shaw blinked, gesturing at Lucien. "He serves no banner."
Zoya stiffened. "Not your soldier?"
Understanding dawned on Shaw. She lost to this stranger. He studied Lucien anew.
Lucien kept his head low, mind racing. Shaw knew her before the Collapse. He'd witnessed the Triarchs' power then. Confirmed—the Seven Paragons were augmented pre-Collapse. Rumors resurfaced: the Neptune expedition hadn't returned empty-handed. A blade. A corpse. The discovery nearly ignited global war, quelled only when the host nation shared spoils.
There it is. Lucien clenched his fist. My theory was right.
The Seven wouldn't know Flesh Forging Essence. But if that corpse was a true Cosmic Paragon... remnants of its power might linger. That was his prize.
Judicator Citadel soldiers arrived, led by a bespectacled woman. Shaw secured the perimeter. As researchers swarmed the pod, he turned to Lucien. "What of the alien?"
Zoya's gaze pinned him.
Lucien feigned recollection. "He muttered... 'Academy trials,' 'Primitive Planet Evolution,' 'mission.'"
Shaw's eyes sharpened. "Nothing else?"
"Demanded I become his Battle Thrall." Lucien met his stare. "Called us... savages."
"Savages?" Shaw snorted, scanning the sky. "Earth won't stay quiet. Dozens of pods landed. Contact came... early."
He expected this, Lucien noted.
"Judicator," the aide reported. "Pod en route to Crimson Fortress. Alien's heart was pulverized. Scans indicate missing weapons—site yielded nothing."
Lucien's earlier scouring had paid off.
Shaw faced him. "Alien artifacts aid research. Surrender them. They'll be returned."
Lucien hesitated, then drew the shortsword. "His blade. Nothing else." He ripped open his shirt.
His spoils lay safe within the Void Ring—tech beyond their grasp.
Shaw took the weapon, slashing air. A crescent of force split the earth. "Superior alloy." He tossed it to his aide, his piercing stare finding nothing on Lucien. He clapped Lucien's shoulder. "Killing an alien. Toppling a Frost Witch. Impressive. Your name? Join the Citadel. Become a Legion Commander."
Lucien agreed instantly. Refusal meant suspicion. Cooperation avoided conflict.
He couldn't fight a Skyforger yet—not surrounded by Augurs and Zoya.
Nearby, Zoya frowned. "Comms are dead. I can't reach the Lumen Paragon."
Shaw nodded grimly. "Their descent crippled networks. Repairs underway. Fear not. Even if aliens reach the Azure Enclave... the Lumen Paragon stands."
Zoya nodded silently.
The convoy departed with the pod. Lucien was quartered on Mount Bellcrest as the fourteenth Legion Commander—a title without troops. He didn't care. His path was clear: undergo Flesh Forging.
Mount Bellcrest Summit
Shaw gazed south. His aide approached. "Crater perimeter clear. He withheld nothing."
Shaw dismissed her.
"The battleground was scrubbed," she pressed. "This Lucien Vance... he's more."
Shaw smiled faintly. "Injured. Still toppled a Frost Witch. His true power eclipses Earthshakers. Fascinating."
"Surveillance?"
"Unnecessary." Shaw's voice hardened. "A mere Earthshaker cannot shake the sky."
Legion Commander's Tent
Lucien sat cross-legged. After ten minutes of measured breaths, his eyes snapped open. From the Void Ring, he withdrew the Flesh Forging Essence.
Now.
He bit his finger. Blood welled. Pressing the crystal to the wound, he watched it dissolve.
Agony erupted—fingertip to spine. Cells screamed. Veins writhed beneath his skin like live wires. He burned. Crushed. Forged. The remnant will of a Cosmic Paragon tore through him.
HACK!
Blood sprayed from Lucien's lips. His eyes blazed cobalt. Filth oozed from his pores, vaporized by surging Stellar Energy, warping the air around him.
- Writer
