The air was different.
Thick with magic, sharp like the taste of ozone before a storm. Cas could feel it, deep in his bones, the moment the coordinates activated in their system.
Evren had kept his distance, barely speaking since the dream. But Cas noticed the way his eyes flickered to him sometimes, like he wanted to say something—but didn't.
It wasn't the first time they'd been close to something like this—the energy, the tension, the pull.
But this? This felt like a point of no return.
"Coordinates are locked in," Cas said, tapping his wrist display.
Evren glanced at him. "Ready?"
Cas could feel his nerves, his own fear tightening around him. But it wasn't just his own anymore. It was theirs.
He nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be."
Evren didn't speak again. Instead, his hand brushed against Cas's in a brief moment of contact, sending a jolt up his arm. The bond sparked alive, surging to life as the coordinates led them toward the unknown.
🔮 The Path Ahead
They journeyed for hours, deeper into the wilds. The trees grew thicker, their roots twisting like veins beneath the earth. The sky darkened as if the stars themselves had withdrawn, leaving them in an oppressive silence.
Their bond crackled. Flashes of imagery—a shattered throne room, blood, a voice calling from the darkness, saying, "He is coming. And you will have to choose."
Cas couldn't place it, but it was familiar. A warning, maybe. From the dream? From Evren's past?
"What did you see?" Evren asked quietly, almost like he was afraid to know the answer.
"I… I don't know." Cas's voice shook. "But I think we're on the right path. Whatever's waiting for us, it's connected to us. To the bond."
Evren didn't reply. Instead, his pace quickened, and Cas followed him deeper, the feeling of being watched growing stronger.
The path they were on wasn't just a physical journey. It felt like they were walking toward something ancient—something that had been waiting for them.
🌌 The Entrance
By nightfall, they arrived at a clearing—a wide, circular space surrounded by towering stone pillars covered in glowing symbols. The ground here was cracked, broken, as though the land itself had been torn open.
In the center, there was a swirling rift—a rip in space, filled with a deep, violet light that pulsed with energy.
"This is it," Evren said. His voice was tight, uncertain. "We cross that, and we… ascend, right?"
Cas felt the pull of it—strong, magnetic, like the rift itself was alive and beckoning them.
He looked at Evren. "If we do this, we don't turn back."
Evren's expression softened, just for a moment. "You think I'd let you face it alone?"
Cas's heart skipped a beat. The bond shuddered, like it could feel their emotions wrapping together, drawing them closer.
"I'm not letting you face it alone either," Cas said quietly.
Evren hesitated, then nodded. He stepped forward, his hand reaching for the rift, fingers hovering just above the violet light.
🔔 SYSTEM ALERTBonded Sync Required: 75%
A forced synchronization must occur to safely proceed through the Ascendant Arc. Risk of memory loss, permanent class disintegration.
The system's warning flashed in the air, but neither of them hesitated.
Cas's heart pounded, and in the distance, he heard the faintest whisper—"You've already made the choice."
Evren glanced at him again, a mixture of fear and resolve in his eyes. He stepped forward.
And they both touched the rift together.
🌠 Through the Arc
The world went dark.
It was the kind of darkness that pressed in on every side, cold and suffocating. Cas felt his breath hitch, his pulse racing, the bond between him and Evren pulsing with strange, raw energy.
Then—light.
Bright, blinding, and endless.
Images flashed before them—worlds of fire and ice, of beings and gods, of destruction and creation. The pulse of the rift sent them tumbling through time and space itself, their bodies twisting and shifting as though they were becoming something more.
And then, with a final violent jolt, they landed.
🌌 The Other Side
Cas's knees buckled as they hit the ground.
Evren was already on his feet, sword drawn, his magic thrumming in the air around him.
"Where the hell are we?" Cas gasped, looking around.
They stood in a vast, cavernous space. The floor beneath them was made of black stone, the walls glowing with the same strange, violet energy that had surrounded the rift. Above, swirling constellations moved across the sky—too many to count, too far away to touch.
"It's… old," Evren said, eyes wide.
"This place…" Cas murmured, his eyes catching the glowing runes that decorated the walls. "It's connected to the bond. To us."
The air around them seemed to pulse with energy, as if the very space itself was alive.
Evren's gaze snapped to a shadow in the distance—a dark figure standing at the edge of the cavern, watching them.
"Who's there?" Evren called.
The figure stepped forward, and a voice echoed through the space:
"You have arrived," the figure said, its voice soft but clear. "You are the next. The Ascendant."
Evren's hand tightened on his sword. "Who are you?"
The figure's form began to shimmer, revealing the faint outline of a tall, cloaked individual with glowing eyes—someone who had been here long before them.
"I am the one who waits," the figure said, "for the bond that will rewrite history."