Chapter 126: Awake

Words : 1321 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Charon gasped loudly as he sat up, a splintering headache rocketing through his brain. It left everything looking fuzzy and distorted, like TV static. His hands felt lush blades of grass as he pushed on the ground, dirt falling through his fingers as he lifted his arm to look around. He was on a vibrant plain of green, a gentle breeze rolling like a wave across the pleasant meadow. Small flowers sprouted here and there, adding dots of red and yellow. The sun beamed down on him from above, graceful and warm, rather than the oppressive violet ball of fury he had just endured. No clouds marred the blue sky, something Charon had never known he would miss so much. ’Does that mean..?’ He looked around his immediate area, noticing a smoldering fire pit that created a small plume of smoke. Small piles of dirt had been dug up to create makeshift seats, a backpack leaning against one of them. Metal cooking instruments were stacked near the fire, including an industrial cooker. Small chargepacks were scattered beside it, each giving off a small red glow. They couldn’t have been larger than a finger, yet Charon still shuddered at their sight, remembering what he had been able to do with a room of them. ’It leveled the entire building.’ It had only been a bit over a week since he and Emerius had fought for the town, but it felt like a lifetime. His entire journey in the River Acheron felt that way. He pulled his knees to his chest as he began to shake, his eyes squeezing shut as he tried to forget the events of the past few days, or was it more? Charon still didn’t know. Surprisingly, it was easy to let them drift off, as if he wasn’t meant to carry the burden for long in the first place. In mere moments, it was hard for him to recollect the details. All he knew was that he experienced a lot of pain for an indeterminate amount of time in a place he didn’t know. The only thing that stayed with him was his purpose there. ’I was rebuilding myself, piece by piece, memory by memory.’ He still felt the draw to glance around and find another glowing shard. If he tried hard enough, he could almost imagine it now, hovering in the air. Charon blinked slowly, his eyes adjusting to the gentle light that seemed almost too kind to be real. The meadow once more swayed in rhythm with the breeze, every blade of grass bowing in a way that felt perfectly normal, a decidedly abnormal experience after so many terrifying moments. ’The machines...’ The thought of them was enough to make him exhale sharply, out of both fear and anger. For a moment, he sat motionless, half expecting the ground to twist into muck, or for the sky to fracture and reveal the violet sun again. But nothing changed. The warmth stayed, the colors remained, and life was moving on as if nothing had happened. His fingers dug deeper into the soil. Damp earth buried itself beneath his nails, mushy and cool, and grounded him. He needed it after everything. It reminded him of fields outside his hometown. He had explored them so many times, they were the closest thing he had known to a world outside the orphanage. That very action is what led him to all of this. He had snuck off to explore them when the Elves attacked, separating him from the only friends he had known. If he had waited for Roger to come with him, or perhaps never left in the first place, everything would have been different. He wouldn’t have had to deal with all of this. ’Would I want that? I am finally earning the power to change things. Isn’t that what I wanted?’ It most decidedly was, but the cost that came with it was steeper than he had anticipated. Whether it was too much wasn’t something he knew yet. The sudden clatter of wood falling to the ground brought his eyes to his left, where he saw Emerius standing with his mouth open. A small pile of sticks and logs was now scattered by his feet, abandoned, as a wide smile split his face. With quick steps, he ran up to him and looked down, studying his face and features. "You are finally awake! I was aware you would be asleep for many days, but your ascension took longer than I could have ever guessed." Charon returned his friend’s smile with one in kind. "I’m glad to be... back? I don’t really know what happened, but I seem to be alive, so all must be good!" Emerius crouched down to look at him face to face, his features shifting as he frowned slightly. "You ascended to Acolyte, far sooner than you had any right to. It should have taken you another few months, allowing me, Darius, and even Liam to pass that threshold first. What happened during the battle?" The flurry of words meant little to Charon, with his head pounding. He reached up and grabbed his scalp, pressing down on it as if to relieve the tension. "What do you mean? I tried to flank the mage while you two were distracting the machines. I was hoping to kill him and end the fighting." The blonde swordsman nodded knowingly, his forehead creasing. "That is what I had thought. Neither of us saw you make a move that way, leaving us uncertain. Did you kill him?" His tone sharpened near the end, as if he were connecting the final links together to reach an understanding. "I don’t know. I stabbed him with my knife, but I hit something in his chest. It slowed me down, allowing him to push away and activate some kind of teleportation ritual. He vanished before I was able to confirm if he died or not." Emerius clicked his tongue and looked away, as if he did not like the conclusion he was coming to. He stood and crossed his arms. "It makes no sense, then. You had not taken his life, nor his essence, by the time you had begun the ascension process. The collapse of the machines should not have fueled you enough to jump multiple tiers at once, let alone the final threshold." Confused by everything his friend was talking about, Charon did his best to stand up, but stumbled to the ground, his tailbone hitting the dirt hard. It began to ache, much like his head, as he grumbled and settled for staying on his knees. "What do you mean?" He shook his head in response. "You rose from Novice to Acolyte three days ago, your body finalizing the transformation today. It is a long and arduous journey that requires most to undergo weeks of preparation. There are rituals, medicines, and spells that make it less... traumatic. You, however, seemed to skip these procedures by gaining enough essence to rank up without many of the usual requirements." Charon froze as he considered the pain and suffering he had undergone. Although the memories were fading, the concept was more of a theory than a reality now, he still couldn’t understand the thought that it wasn’t something he would normally have had to deal with. "You’re saying all of that was because I gained too much power, too fast?" Emerius’ frown deepened. "In a manner of speaking. You circumvented most modern practices through means unknown. It is challenging to comprehend the impossibility of what you did." Charon’s eyebrows knit together as he scratched his chin. "Why? Isn’t it normal to earn tiers after a fight?" Emerius nodded. "Yes, however, you gained far more than normal. You should have gained one level, possibly two, but three, including a threshold? That is far too many for this situation."

Chapter 126: Awake

Comments (0)