Dark Matter Ascension

Jace was warped through subspace and arrived on the newly-constructed and finished ringworld construct that Xera had created around Oblivion, the black hole at the center of their universe. The enormous, titanic structure he stood on the edge of was holding a vast grey and purple net in place over the mouth of the singularity. A means to keep Jace's Skill, The Architect's Gate, active permanently.

The ringworld itself was a colossal, fortified construction. A heavily militarized defensive platform that encircled the black hole and was in the process of being turned into a fully functioning Penrose Sphere that would encapsulate the singularity. Not that Xera needed the power, Jace knew well enough, but rather further reinforcing the only entry point into the universe.

She was standing on the edge of the expanse, several dozen screens floating around her as she tended to some unknowable task. She glanced back at Jace and Ollie, "Ah, you are ready." She had an assured tone to her voice, and just a slight hint of excitement laced throughout.

Jace nodded and walked up alongside her as he stared into the infinite blackness. His power of Void and Dark Matter had stopped the incredible gravitic pull of the singularity, but he knew he would need to keep his Dark Energy Mine on himself when he dove into the singularity proper and traveled through it. "Ready to send me?" he asked solemnly.

"First off, your sitrep." She tapped one of the screens and threw up an enormous, flat depiction of the Astral Verge. "It is split into ten layers. I finally got my last few probes back. Each layer is akin to an infinite world that extends in all directions, and each of those layers is more dangerous the deeper you'll go. I would say a Potency for each layer."

Right, Jace thought, so as I reach Potency 2, I can go down a layer, and onward. He was rated at Potency 1, having only integrated the Astral System recently and not having slain Astral Demons for Essence – a level up currency. He cleared his throat and glanced at Ollie, "You'll be able to navigate us around?"

He nodded and tapped Jace's helmet as his HUD filled with a series of maps that rapidly compressed into a small dot. "Yup! There are landmarks. It is like the surface of a planet." He pulled up a small, Stardust based construct in front of Jace. "Think of our singularity as the funnel. It goes down and drops you into the "sky" of the Astral Verge's first layer-"

"Layer One," Xera stated. "Just to keep it simple."

Ollie flew in tight circles around Jace, starlight sparkling in a nebula-filled wake behind him. "Yup! Each "funnel" meets with a mountaintop for that layer. Well, close to the top."

Xera pointed at a display that showed a three-dimensional view of the singularity. A giant hole that went down, and then ended a few thousand-feet above a mountain, which then rapidly descended down to a flat landscape filled with alien flora. "There will be people flying about on starships – perhaps even other species from different universes who have also achieved the technological requisite to enter the Astral Verge."

"Do I get a space ship?" Jace asked.

Xera smiled, "I could give you one…but you need to kill Astral Demons to get Essence. Flying around above them won't help you do that, will it? Granted, they have their own means of flight – wings and the like. But the interesting thing about Astral Demons is they seem to interfere with technology and its functions." She gestured to Oblivion, "Other travelers from universes like our own will doubtless have technology, magic, or magitech. However your primary foe will not have technology at their disposal."

"Hold on," Jace replied as he held up his hands palm-out for her to stop. "Those ones that fought me on Poltor Six could use my gear. The duplicates, remember?"

"They were in our universe," Xera said as she shrugged slightly. "Different rules. Down there-" she gestured to Oblivion, "They cannot use technology."

Jace pointed to his upheld left arm, "My Anathema Arm will put in work then."

Ollie stopped his flight around Jace and floated in front of him with a pouty face, "Sadly, not how it works. Magic, magitech, and technology seem to be universe-specific. The Astral Verge has something different. Psykinetics – based upon emotions and willpower. It is why your Crusader Class has the Valiant descriptor."

Damnit, Jace thought. So I have to be higher Potency to affect them with Arbiter's Anathema. But, if I do encounter other universe magic users, shutting down their magic will be a breeze. He nodded and glanced at Ollie, "How about the tether to get me back here?"

Ollie patted his tummy and Jace saw a thin, golden cord extend from Ollie, to Jace's torso, and then back to the ringworld in a lattice. "The tether travels with us, and we travel along it. It is ephemeral, inspired by Void. Nothing else should be able to interact with it. Think of it like a safety line that then stays put when you travel along it. We can return here once a week, recover, have you visit your wife, and then go back to pick up where we left off."

Xera began tapping a series of icons on the screens before her, "Indeed. Can't have you out there without some R&R."

"Hanging out with Greg a bit? That's the second Greg-like military term you've used."

Xera frowned and looked back at Jace, "He didn't tell you?"

Jace felt a cold pit in his gut. "Tell me what?"

"Greg is helping Missy in becoming an Ascendant at Tier 10. I've been helping him coordinate."

That explains where he's been, Jace thought. It's been months since I last saw him. He felt that cold pit vanished and relief washed over him. "Good. If anyone can help shepherd a new Aspirant through their Trial, it's Greg."

Xera nodded but that frown never left her face, "His goal is to have them both become Tier 10 so that Missy can accompany him, Priam, and Dee if you don't come back." Her frown deepened, "That will not happen, because I have faith in you, Jace."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Ollie clapped his paws, "So exciting! We are going to go to a whole different part of our reality!" He began swimming in tight spirals to show his excitement, his motion entrancing in a way as a vortex of starlight drifted up after him.

Jace brought his gaze back to Xera, "What about Quinn? She still going to be coordinating things?"

"I can hear you," Quinn responded over the comms in Jace's helmet. "Yes, I can contact you and have a Celestial Observer on you at all times. When needed, I can use my Skills to augment you – but they will have a cooldown, of sorts. Basically….once a day."

Damn, Jace thought. That's going to be a hard restriction to manage. He sighed but acknowledge the reality of his situation – he would not have Quinn's very powerful buffs to rely upon. That's not ideal…but I've been a lone wolf before. At least she can help in a pinch if things get really bad. He brought his eyes back to Xera, "What about Void? Am I good to use it on Astral Demons?"

"Yes. The Essence they break down into cannot be destroyed by Void, because it is…well, the best way to describe it is emotion given form. Void can destroy matter, energy, all manner of substances or fundamental forces – but not emotion."

"That's good," Jace said with relief, fearing it would be another Harkon Secundus situation, where he would have to fight without many of his Skills to keep the corpses intact. "What else do I need to know before we do this?"

Xera waved her hand and all of the screens vanished. She walked over to him, "I have a gift for you. Hold up Nethaldrim."

Jace drew the sword, an Artifact rarity [Equipment] given to him by the Nethal species for saving their home world from a tyrant, and a powerful tool. "What are you going to do to it?" he asked as he held it horizontally, the falchion with the extended grip feeling natural in his palm.

Xera grinned a mischievous smile, "It has not seen many upgrades. Just (Returning) and (Adaptable). I think it is time for an upgrade." She put her palms onto the top of it, and they glowed a solid, gold color before fading. Jace's silver blade with the golden runes was no longer silver – it was a deep purple.

The same color as Xera's eyes. "Now it has the (Fulmination) Augmentation. Effectively, a portion of all harm you inflict will be stored in the blade, ready to be unleashed. If not used, then after an hour it will slowly filter into your body, replenishing your energy." She pushed his sword aside and reached forward, hugging Jace. "You'll survive," she whispered. "You'll get that tether all the way down to the afterlives and give me the means to make that tunnel back up here. We'll save everyone."

Jace summoned the blade back to its sheath and hugged her back, "I promise I'll do my best." He pulled away and Ollie flew down from above. "Ready to go?"

Ollie nodded, "Yup! Verge Protocol time!" he flew into Jace's head and merged with the Ascendant, his voice echoing in Jace's mind. Ready to go! No one is messing with your emotions or mind controlling you!

Jace faced the singularity and activated his armor's helmet. Void Stalker (Rank 1), Dark Energy Mine (Rank 1). He became much harder to detect as his body was limned in a slight, grey aura, and a black dot appeared on his torso. Detonate.

The null gravity took hold, and he pointed his (Soul Tether) Anathema Arm at the singularity. A phantom grapple line shot out and affixed itself to a point in space just in front of Oblivion. I'm coming, Chroma, he thought as he yanked himself forward and flew into the black hole. The world became dark all around him, save for the cascading net of white-grey and purple energy of The Architect's Gate. As he approached the bottom of the funnel, he had to use another Dark Energy Mine to refresh the effect and not be pulled apart by the titanic gravitic forces that would otherwise rip him asunder.

"Good luck!" Xera's voice said over the comms.

Jace saw the net in front of him and for a moment, panicked and thought it would harm him. But Ollie's calm, deep voice echoed through his thoughts. You will be fine, he said. It is your Void construct. You will go right through it.

True to the otter's words, Jace passed through the mesh and into a nightmarish hellscape. All the blackness faded from around him, and casting a brief glance up, he saw the white-grey and purple netting over the singularity's entrance. The bottom of the "funnel", sealed up.

He could not look for long, as he kept traveling down and witnessed a mind-boggling sight. Without Ollie in his head, he surely would have been driven mad by the sheer incomprehensibility of existence around him. Thanks to his All-Seeing Dragon's Eyes, he could see far-off mountains that led to other funnels in the endless, flat space. But focusing further than that his vision swam. He could not focus on the endless expanse of what must be endless landscapes, extending into eternity.

Up in the skies above…it was endless. An endless black. No stars, no lights. Just darkness going on for eternity. He could see vessels flying through the blackness – some were slipping silently across the canopy and he only picked them out because he could see the faint shimmering of a Skill-like ability being used…or the flying swarms of Astral Demons that chased after them.

Hulking, small, wiry, muscular, on-fire, exuding freezing trails, dripping acid – all manner of demonic creatures were chasing prey across the skies. He watched in morbid fascination as one of the flights of demons caught up to a star ship and began tearing apart the hull as explosions of violent and indigo blasted outward – whether defensive actions or damage to the vessel, Jace couldn't be sure.

Far, far below was the mountain that was described – a deep, black monolith that towered over an endless, green expanse that rivaled some of the worlds he and Shhiv had visited. A paradise, if not for the hordes of Astral Demons who seemed to be locked in conflict. They were fighting around the exterior of an enormous, walled city that a dome extended up from. A shimmering, crackling barrier of bright green that caused it to stand out as a beacon on the landscape. A city locked in perpetual siege.

He could see people inside. Well, something akin to people. They weren't human, for sure. But just like his universe's Cosmic Corridor, he saw sentient creatures going about their everyday lives through the barrier. Despite the chaos outside, it appeared that people lived in the Astral Verge. Whether they were native or not, he was not sure.

Jace's attention was drawn to the mountain below as gravity asserted its control over him and sent him down far faster than he was used to. Firing off his grapple line, he slowed his descent until he landed atop the black spire. "People live down here?" he asked Ollie as he looked over at the city under siege to confirm his suspicions with someone more knowledgeable.

Apparently, Ollie replied. I mean, Xera and I knew this from the probes. But the probes could not get inside the barrier. For all we know, they are just Astral Demons who chose to live more peaceful lives. Maybe they are residents of another universe, and this is an outpost?

"We could try and help them out," Jace said as he began descending the mountain, taking note of the deep, dark, red stains all along the towering heights. "Maybe get some information from them that probes couldn't gather." He felt a sense of swelling pride in his chest.

Our probes were able to gather a lot about the topography and how this layer of reality works…but having firsthand knowledge would be helpful!

That sense of pride built up in him. Almost calling him to action. He felt an urge to rush over and save the city from its endless siege. And by instinct he drew his sword and activated Void Blade (Rank 17) [Rending]; the white-grey of Void and dripping, viscous, red miasma coating the blade and causing it to vanish from all but his sight. "We have to help them!"

And this is what Xera was concerned about, Ollie stated. Your Emotion Source is Valiance – bravery, courage, or heroism in the face of adversity. Being heroic. From what we gathered, giving into your Emotion Source is okay. But I can shut it off if needed by altering your brain's chemicals. Just let me know! Ollies' voice sounded excited, but also filled with a sense of tension.

Jace raced down the mountain, jumping from rock to rock as he raced down toward the plains and the city needing rescue.