Ascension Online: Forsken Path

The silence inside the Hall of the Forgotten felt suffocating. Reed stood motionless, staring at the half-formed engraving of his own name. Nemesis.

The realization settled in his bones like ice. This wasn't just a warning—it was a countdown.

He turned to Vael, the armored warrior watching him with unreadable eyes.

"You're saying I'm being erased?" Reed asked, his voice steady despite the storm raging inside him.

Vael didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached out and ran his fingers over a different name—one that had been completely carved into the stone.

The moment his hand touched it, the name crumbled into dust.

Reed's throat tightened.

Vael lowered his hand. "The Forgotten do not die." His voice was quiet, almost regretful. "They cease to be."

System Alert: Your Existence Stability is Deteriorating.

Survival Rating: 83% → 81%

Reed inhaled sharply. Whatever this 'existence stability' was, it was dropping.

"What causes that number to go down?" he asked.

Vael turned away, stepping deeper into the ruins. "Follow me."

Reed hesitated but ultimately followed.

The deeper they went, the more distorted the ruins became—pillars that curved at unnatural angles, walls that shimmered like mirages. Some areas looked like they were halfway between being real and dissolving into nothingness.

It was as if the world itself was decaying.

"You asked why you're here," Vael finally said as they stepped into what looked like an ancient courtyard. At the center stood a towering monolith—covered in pulsating cracks of violet energy.

Reed's skin prickled as he neared it.

"This is where all who are Forsaken come," Vael continued. "And this is where they are given a choice."

A chill crept down Reed's spine. "What kind of choice?"

Vael turned to him, and for the first time, there was something like pity in his eyes.

"The choice to exist."

System Update: A Major Path Decision Has Appeared.

'The Forsaken's Choice' – Select Your Path.

Reed's vision blurred as system text filled his mind.

Path 1: The Fading Road

• Accept your erasure.

• Fade from the world without resistance.

• Peaceful. Absolute.

His blood ran cold. That wasn't a choice—it was a death sentence.

He forced his eyes down to the second option.

Path 2: The Forsaken's Trial

• Defy the system.

• Carve a place for yourself in the world.

• Survive against all odds.

Reed's fingers clenched into fists. There wasn't even a third option. It was either surrender or fight.

He exhaled sharply.

"You already know my answer," he muttered.

Vael's lips quirked slightly. "Then make it official."

Reed stepped forward, pressing his palm against the monolith. A surge of energy shot through his arm, and a sharp pain stabbed into his mind—like something was rewriting him.

Path Chosen: The Forsaken's Trial.

You have rejected erasure. You now walk the path of the Forgotten who fight.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—the world trembled.

The ground cracked beneath him, and the monolith's glow flared violently. Vael stepped back, his expression turning grim.

"Brace yourself," he said. "The Trial is not just a title."

The sky split open.

From the rift above, something descended.

A figure—twisted, shifting, unnatural.

Forsaken Trial Initiated.

Opponent: Remnant of the Erased.

The thing moved.

And Reed had seconds to react.

The Remnant of the Erased landed with a force that sent cracks spreading through the stone beneath it. Its form was unstable—its body flickering between different shapes, different faces.

One moment, it looked like a warrior. The next, it was a beast. Then a blur of something unrecognizable.

Reed barely had time to process before it charged.

Too fast.

He threw himself sideways as a clawed arm lashed out, slicing through the air where his head had been. He rolled to his feet, his mind racing.

This wasn't like the Fragmented One.

The Remnant wasn't just attacking—it was adapting. Learning.

Survival Rating: 81% → 76%

Reed gritted his teeth. His existence was still dropping—because he was running.

He had to fight.

The Remnant lunged again. This time, Reed didn't dodge completely—he twisted just enough to let the attack graze his arm while slamming his dagger into its side.

Damage Inflicted: 3.5%

Reed barely had time to react before the Remnant's form shifted. The place where he struck reshaped itself, the wound disappearing like it had never existed.

It was regenerating.

His stomach dropped.

Vael's voice cut through the chaos. "Stop thinking like a player."

Reed spun. "What?"

Vael tossed something. A rusted chain, long and sturdy.

"Use that."

Reed didn't hesitate. He caught the chain just as the Remnant lunged again.

This time, instead of dodging—he wrapped the chain around its shifting arm and pulled.

The creature staggered, thrown off balance. Its body glitched violently, its form trying and failing to stabilize.

Reed narrowed his eyes. So that's how it worked.

It wasn't that the Remnant regenerated.

It was that it couldn't handle instability.

A plan snapped into place.

Reed adjusted his grip on the chain. If wounds weren't enough, he'd break it another way.

He yanked hard, twisting the Remnant's body. The shifting mass of flesh and code jerked violently, its flickering shape distorting further.

System Warning: Critical Instability Detected.

Remnant of the Erased is at risk of collapse.

The Remnant shattered.

For a moment, the world fell silent. Then—

Trial Complete.

Survival Rating Stabilized: 76% → 79%.

Reed clenched his fists.

One trial down.

He had no idea how many more were coming.