Ascension Protocol: Rise Beyond Limits

The night sky above Kael shimmered with a thousand stars, but the world below was anything but peaceful. In the heart of the newly awakened Arxian Ruins, deep under the canyon's belly, Kael stood before a towering obsidian monument covered in pulsating runes.

Behind him, Seris and Vex monitored the energy fluctuations, the air humming with volatile pressure.

"Are you absolutely sure this is the Third Seal?" Seris asked, tightening her grip on her plasma staff.

Kael nodded slowly. "The system identified it. 'Echoes of Ascendants — Seal III.' The energy signature matches what we saw in the last sealed realm. This one's... ancient, but active. It was never meant to be touched by mortals."

The Protocol Interface flickered before his eyes.

[ASCENSION NOTICE]Seal III Detected:Origin: Arxian NexusStatus: Dormant (Stabilization Required)Requirement: Echo Link x3 | Quantum Authority ≥ 40 | Class: Proto-Ascendant

Progress: 2/3 Echo Links AcquiredProceeding will unlock Pathway: Forgotten Ones

Kael's breath caught. "Forgotten Ones... what the hell does that mean?"

Vex stepped forward, analyzing the environment through his data visor. "It means we're poking at things the Arxians never wanted to be found. You sure you're ready to link with the third echo?"

Kael glanced down at the two floating Echo Shards embedded into his left arm. The third, he suspected, was hidden within the sealed monument.

He reached toward the obsidian structure.

"Protocol—initialize Echo Link sequence."

Warning: High-Risk OperationMental Overload Probability: 72%Echo Convergence Will Alter Genetic Resonance Permanently.Proceed?

"Yes."

The ground beneath them shook. The monument cracked, and ethereal whispers erupted from within, as if thousands of forgotten souls had been trapped inside for millennia.

A blast of cold surged through Kael's mind as the final Echo Shard detached itself from the monument and pierced into his chest. His body convulsed—every nerve lit aflame.

He fell into darkness.

When Kael opened his eyes again, he was floating in a void—no sky, no ground, no time. Only whispers.

A form emerged from the shadows: a towering figure, faceless, cloaked in shifting light. Its voice echoed like thunder caught in a cave.

"So... you've come. Protocol's last candidate. What makes you worthy to inherit the Legacy of Ascendants?"

Kael steadied himself. "I didn't ask for this. But I won't run from it. I'll surpass it. I'll become more than what you left behind."

The figure extended a hand.

"Then endure the Judgment of Echoes."

Suddenly, Kael's vision flooded with fragments—memories of civilizations long dead, titans warring in the stars, dimensions torn asunder by uncontrolled Ascendants, systems collapsing under their own pride.

He screamed.

And yet, at the core of it all, he saw one moment—one echo that resonated with him:

A lone warrior standing before a dying world, refusing to abandon it. The same spark. The same defiance.

Kael awoke, gasping.

The ruins were silent. The monument had vanished. Seris and Vex stared at him, stunned.

"Kael… your eyes," Seris whispered.

He looked at his reflection in her visor. His irises now glowed with a crystalline fractal pattern, shifting like galaxies in motion.

[ECHO LINK COMPLETE]Class Upgraded: Proto-Ascendant → Awakened EchobornTrait Gained: Resonance PulseNew Protocol Unlocked: "Chrono-Rift Manipulation"Memory Imprint: [???]

"Protocol," he said breathlessly, "Show me what Chrono-Rift Manipulation does."

Ability: Bends space-time in a localized zone.Duration: 3 seconds per activation.Cooldown: 45 seconds.Uses: Evade attacks, reposition, or delay environmental events.Note: Overuse will destabilize neurological integrity.

Vex whistled. "Time-bending now? You're becoming a walking paradox."

Kael staggered but grinned. "Then let's become the paradox that rewrites this damn universe."

Seris looked to the data pulsing on her tablet. "Uh, Kael… you might want to see this."

She projected a hologram: a signal pulsing from orbit.

"A ship's coming. Military grade. Not ours."

[SYSTEM ALERT]Unregistered Lifeform DetectedThreat Level: OmegaIdentity: [Redacted]Origin: Exiled Ascendant Colony

Kael clenched his fists. "They know the seals are breaking. We just woke up something... and now it's coming for us."

Seris whispered, "What do we do?"

Kael turned to them both. "We prepare. Because the real war hasn't even started yet."