RE: Ascension – The Return of Aeon

They say the worst enemies are the ones we leave behind. But what if the one you buried… was yourself?

The air inside the Citadel of Still Flame pulsed with heatless fire. Walls forged from crystallized fury whispered names Kael didn't remember, and the floor trembled beneath every step he took. Kara and Ress remained outside, unable to pass the threshold. This place rejected the living, the sane — the mortal.

Kael was none of those anymore.

He walked the black-stone corridor alone, the silence thicker than death. His breath fogged as he neared the inner sanctum, even though the air felt like burning glass. A massive door stood ahead — etched in celestial sigils that shimmered with locked emotions.

Fear. Regret. Rage.

He didn't knock.

The doors opened inward with a thunderclap, revealing the throne room.

And there he was.

Kael froze, heartbeat faltering. On the throne of skulls — a towering version of himself, ten feet tall, skin like molten obsidian veined with gold, godflame burning through every crack. His eyes? Suns gone mad. His voice?

"You came back." It was deeper than thunder. Older than words.

Kael narrowed his gaze. "You're Wrath."

A smirk cracked across the creature's face. "I am you. The part you severed, the fury you buried to play savior."

Chains of divine law wrapped around Wrath's arms and chest, forged to bind gods to their oaths. Most had snapped. Only a few held him now.

"You left me behind," Wrath growled, rising. "You chose to forget. To feel. To care."

Kael's fingers flexed. "I had to. Or I would've burned the realms."

Wrath took a step forward. "And now look at you — burning anyway. Lit the sky on fire. Killed a godspawn. Awakened the Eye. You think you can carry the burden without me?"

"I don't want to carry you."

Kael's halberd snapped into existence, shimmering with shadow and light.

"I want to face you."

Wrath's laughter was a sound that made the Citadel quake. "Then fight, coward. Show me what the new you has learned."

And they clashed.

The first strike cracked the room in half. Kael swung his halberd in an arc, only for Wrath to catch it barehanded, flames exploding in every direction. The backlash sent Kael skidding back, boots digging trenches in the obsidian.

Kael vanished — Shadow Echo splitting his form into four. The illusions attacked from different angles, while Kael activated Soulbind, trying to leech Wrath's core.

Wrath exploded with fire, incinerating the echoes instantly.

"You think I don't know every trick?" Wrath's voice boomed.

He rushed Kael with a burning war kick that tore the air apart. Kael barely blocked, but the force launched him into the throne, cracking it.

He coughed blood, then grinned.

"Crucible Drive," he whispered.

Pain became power. His wounds glowed white as raw mana surged into his limbs. He teleported mid-strike, glaives replacing his halberd as he danced through dimensions.

He struck Wrath across the jaw.

And Wrath smiled.

"Good."

Their battle blurred — echoes of fallen stars, weapons forged and discarded in seconds, the ground reshaping from their fury. The Citadel collapsed around them as they soared into the air, blades clashing, screams of the past echoing.

"You buried me to protect them!" Wrath bellowed mid-air. "But they — mortals — will never accept what you are!"

Kael's response was softer, even as he bled silver light from his ribs.

"I know."

He lunged, embedding a glaive into Wrath's side — not to kill, but to connect. And in that moment, their auras entangled.

Images flooded Kael's mind.

The first war. The betrayal. Aeon weeping as he carved Wrath out of himself, sealing that fury away for the sake of peace. For the mortals. For a future that would never come.

Wrath wasn't evil. He was wounded.

And Kael finally saw it.

"I didn't bury you because I feared you," Kael whispered. "I buried you because I wasn't ready."

The flames flickered. Wrath's massive form trembled. "Then… are you ready now?"

Kael nodded.

"I'm done hiding."

He extended his hand.

Wrath hesitated.

Then grasped it.

Light exploded. Not blinding — but cleansing.

The throne shattered.

The chains melted.

And Kael stood alone in the crater, whole again — and not the same.

[Core Evolution: Aeonic Resonance Achieved]

Class: Transcendent Soulbound → Imperium Echo

New Trait: Infinite Memory Loop — Unseal combat instincts and techniques from past lives

New Skill: Throneless Reign — Temporarily ascend into Aeon Form. Limited duration. Absolute devastation.

Kael took a breath. The Citadel was gone. In its place floated the Third Fragment — no longer pulsing with rage, but radiating clarity.

He reached out.

Touched it.

And felt the sky crack.

The heavens screamed.

Reality bent.

And something far, far above them… woke up.

[End Of Chapter14]

In the realm beyond realms, Solmari opened his eyes — and whispered Kael's true name.

Next Chapter Preview:

Chapter 15: The Throne CracksAs Kael awakens from the fusion, the Pantheon no longer sees him as a threat — but as a rival. With Solmari preparing to descend and Izel showing signs of corruption, Kael must now walk the fine line between salvation and annihilation. Because the next Grave... isn't a place.

It's a person.

And she remembers everything.