Ascenders Rift

Following the words of Elumar, a few individuals had suddenly appeared from a corner. Looking at them from left to right, one would count a total of five individuals with masks that covered the upper portions of their faces. There was a young man would a stylish mohawk dressed in fashionable clothing with chains all over his body, and an unusually slender man with sinister-looking eyes a needle in his palms that wore an uncanny skull mask.

Nearby them was a young woman with her features shrouded by her mask, as only her wild blackish-green hair was prominent being almost elusive as if she could very much vanish from plain sight.

At the lead of this group were two persons, a man with a somewhat fleeting presence with his face obscured behind a dark mask as he wore a simple butler suit. Next to him was another person that wore a white suit with a white masquerade mask and had white hair.

As this group made their appearance, the man in the butler's uniform spoke a formal greeting after taking a bow, 'Greetings to you all, you can address me as Mister One, I 'm here to act as a representative of RADA."

The leaders from the various powers looked at him in silence; when Mister One saw this, he smiled, looking at Elumar, who nodded before he spoke again, "To my side is a man called Zero, and he is the leader of our Rift Conquering taskforce known as the Heaven Eyes. Behind him are the very members of that task force, Thorkel, Ruth, and Baldwin. We all here to help humanity to overcome this newfound ordeal."

A commotion soon started as most of the large influences leaders and chiefs had begun to converse upon hearing those words, some didn't buy the cheeky statement.

As if he couldn't hold it any longer, Alexandrov spoke with a mocking gaze, "Such big words you have there, I've heard the rumors about your group, do you really think that I'm going to trust the likes of your words."

As if they similarly shared his views, Oji, as well as those with no affiliation to RADA, looked at their group with cold gazes. As Mister One heard this, he glanced around and notice that Section Chief Sigor was observing in silence, he smiled and replied, "You may be a bit misguided as to why we've been recruiting talents, all of this is for the sake of Rifts I can assure not one of them has been harmed…"

Alexandrov hearing this snorted as he spoke, "Hmph! If you say so, back on topic, I would like to know how you plan to do what we cannot? I'd like to hear your views."

Elumar smiled in silence as he saw this scene; he didn't even say a word to interfere, neither did the others such as the girl from the Cold Moon Empire, Barakat from the Arabian Empire, and the woman from the Southern Arctic Society.

Mister One smirked as he saw this before he spoke, "As you wish, I shall explain, I am sure that you've already noticed, but each one of us here is a human. We are humans that have been gifted with a chance to acquire the necessary abilities to save our world. The thing approaching our planet is far from what you've previously imagined; it is no cosmic object, nor is it some Planet Devouring Star."

When Mister One spoke here, the leading scientist showed an embarrassed expression, not daring to say anything. The others, however, merely looked at him deeply as they waited for his following words. Mister One then continued, "That light is no different from a Divine Decree, a tool used to summon a portal connecting to a myriad of unknown worlds, allowing for each world to connect. It is a Holy Treasure used for ascension known as the Ascenders Rift..."

The MSS Chief Sigor looked at the scene while thinking, 'How troubling, it seems that Alan was right, there's a lot more to these people than it seems..."

The crowd hearing this was alarmed, as even the previously silent Empress Chi spoke in shock, "Are you saying that this thing is no different from those portals?"

"Correct, to be more precise, you could say that the object approaching is the source of all those which are prominent in our world," Mister One said in reply.

Empress Chi's face turned pale as she muttered, "This... how terrible..."

A few others noted her appearance and couldn't help but feel the moods sink; some of them had heard rumors about the Lesser Spaces scattered across their worlds. However, they had yet to truly understand much as only the major powers and associations knew the threat behind them all.

Now that Mister One has implied the connection between the Ascenders Rift and the other portals, the faces of the major leaders became dark.

Elumar glanced at Mister One who stared at him signaling with his eyes, as this happened, Elumar then spoke, "Everyone, there's no need to panic, while the future may be a bleak one, as I've said before, with RADA at our side we will still have hope."

The leaders looked at him again with a different expression, their looks showing that they were willing to take any route out if necessary.

Elumar seeing this smiled and continued to speak, "RADA is a group that is comprised of beings that identify themselves as Rift Administrators, they are solely tasked with seeing that the rifts in our world function under 'stable' standards. This role was given to them by an entity I've once believed to be fiction, but let me tell you right now, he is real, the very same entity we call God."

"What? First, you go on about rifts, and now you go on about God, do you take us all for fools?" One person from an association said in anger.

"That's right! What's all this back and forth, get to the point, we only need to know how to protect ourselves from the oncoming threat!" Someone else said.

As more and more persons spoke out, the room was beginning to grow disorderly. However, the voice of Alexandrov soon sounded bringing silence to them all, "Be quiet!"

Following his words, everyone became silent; they cast their sights over to the central table members and noticed that though they were a bit surprised, they didn't exclaim, or show looks of disbelief as they only stared at Elumar.

Alexandrov then shifted his eyes from them onto Elumar before he looked at Mister One and spoke, "Is what the prince said true about your group?"

Mister One smiled as he heard this, he nodded and replied, "Correct, unlike the others, I'm sure that most of you here have already experienced the wonders as well as the dangers that come from these rifts. There is no other being in this universe that could create something of this standard, no matter how much technology has advanced or intelligent their species. I am sure that each of you has your concerns about us, but I can assure you that we have the necessary means to guide our human race on the path of survival."

Alexandrov, Empress Chi, and Oji looked at each other before sending looks at the calm Elumar, Barakat, and others who had already accepted RADA's aid.

At this moment, they had taken this chance to speak amongst themselves, along with the other association leaders. After a while, they had finally come to a decision as they looked at RADA and spoke.

"We will need some time to make a decision, but if you want things to proceed, you will need to give us a clear understanding of this rift and your plan to counter it," Alexandrov said, acting as the spokesperson for all groups.

Mister One hearing this smirked before spoke, "Of course, but first, I want you all to take a look at this scene."

After saying this, everyone watched as Mister One clapped his hands, the moment this happened, the display changed as everyone, including the camera was dragged into a different world.

When everyone looked at the scene around them, they became filled with shock. Mister One then took this chance to speak, "What you see before you is an ability, the imaginary space, it is a mere low-level skill of mine that can easily perform such simple acts. Now then, allow me to show you what this rift will do..."

Following this, the world around them changed as the sky darkened, and a massive portal appeared in the heavens, the instant it appeared, countless other rifts appeared glowing in the sky before they released an endless horde of monsters.

When the crowd saw this, their faces turned pale; even Section Chief Sigor couldn't help but grit his teeth as he thought, 'Such a horrifying thing if this were to really happen then even with our military we would be hard press to survive. It may even be a futile battle...'

Other than those gathered here, the people watching from various places in the world were trembling fear as a few of them felt like losing hope.

Joe and the others also watched in silence, as Evan looked at the scene quietly, in his eyes, this was nothing uncommon, and the very scene that occurred much later onwards.

'So it's just like that time, it seems that they're planning on startling everyone with a fake impression of the failure rather than showing how it begins...' Evan thought while looking at the scene.

Rick's eyes weren't focused on this scene, but rather the sight of his brother Elumar that was looking around with calmness.

Not long after, the scene vanished, and the world returned to normal. Mister One looked at everyone's pale expression and spoke again, "The scene just now is what will happen when we all fail to protect our planet from the world's behind the Ascenders Rift. There are seven worlds in total, each stronger than the last, once we've become connected with them, we will be given a duty from the Rift System. A duty by which only those of us with awakened strength can strive to accomplish. To awaken as a human being, you must venture into these portals called Lesser Spaces..."

When Mister One spoke here, he waved his hand, showing a glowing red portal in a forest. He then continued to speak, "Each of these Lesser Spaces is located deep within wildlands, some of them being at the peak of mountains or even more dangerous places. They are each much like the Ascenders Rift connected to different worlds, but the only exception is that these words are called Banished Worlds. They are realms punished by God for their acts of treason, so long as you enter their realm and complete its duty, you will be able to awaken as an Ascender."

As Mister One spoke, the scenes of a normal human conquering a rift appeared exiting it with powerful armor and equipment like a hero from tales.

Mister One then continued to speak, "Only Ascenders have the right to survive the chaos behind the Ascenders Rift. If we fail to do so, then the result will be what I've shown prior, this is an age filled with countless chances, but also dangers, each and every one of us must put aside our differences and strive for the better hood of humanity."

When the people of the world heard those words, their faces change as they recalled the images shown. Some recalled the scenes of the hero who beat the rift as their eyes flashed with excitement.

However, there were still those who felt fear, and they didn't want their peaceful life to turn into one of constant conflict and turmoil.

At this time, the red-haired man from the Val Corps rose from his seat and walked over to Mister One. Everyone looked at this in silence as many already knew of his fame.

Layla who watched this from behind the TV clenched her fists tightly, as she bit her lips, Evan seeing this grabbed her slender palms while rubbing it.

His eyes flashed when he thought, 'So some things never change...'

At this moment, Mister One smiled and spoke, "So, it is chief of the Val Corps, I take it that you've made your decision..."

The red-haired man smiled and nodded as he spoke, "Correct, I Frederick Valentine, would like to officially announce that my Val Corps shall be integrating with the RADA group. May our partnership be in the best interests of our kind."

"Excellent, you've made a wise choice," Mister One said as he shook Frederick's hand.

Following this scene, the leaders of some major powers who witness the scenes each began to shout their compliance to accept RADA's aid. However, only a few groups remained silent, much like the MSS itself.

Suddenly, one person worked up some courage and asked, "You still haven't answered our question, how is RADA going to help us overcome this challenge? What if we just aren't strong enough, who then will aid us in conquering the missions and worlds of these rifts?"

When a few others heard this, silence came once again, but it was at this time, Mister One smiled as he pointed towards Zero's party and spoke, "I've already introduced them, but let me do so again. I present to you all the Heaven Eyes. They will be your strongest force against all adversaries in these worlds, acting at the very forefront as vanguards of humanity. You can put your fate and hopes on them, but remember, this isn't a battle we can fight alone, everyone must equally work hard for the better hood of humanity."

The place remained silent for a moment until Alexandrov asked with a puzzled expression, "I'm confused, just why are you helping us? What could RADA possibly gain by offering help to our planet?"

Everyone else remained silent as they heard those words, Mister One smiled before he replied, "It's simple. For starters, we are humans just like you all, but the only humans who've just so happened to have been selected by their core members. We don't want to see our planet fall, and neither do they. The next thing is that you could say that this is no more than the selection process."

"A selection?" Empress Chi and Oji asked in confusion.

Mister One seeing this smiled and pointed his finger towards the sky and replied, "Correct, a selection of the mightiest warriors to take part in a war that might just destroy the balance of our universe."

When everyone heard this, their faces changed, as they knew this was far more than they could have very possibly imaged.