Ascension (The Beginning after the End, #8)

by TurtleMe

“Behold, master. I—Regis, the mighty weapon gifted to you by the asuras so long ago—have finally manifested in all my glory!” the dark orb declared before…letting out a sigh. “Honestly, I wish you’d have been conscious for it. It was pretty damn impressive.”

“Hey, keep your hands to yourself, buddy!” the will-o-wisp snapped. “That is a major infringement of my bodily autonomy.”

I'm loving Regis.

What was the point? I had failed, and had lost everything. Again. Then the small iridescent egg glistened in the corner of my eye. “Yes, that’s it. You can do it! Do it for that rock!” Regis said, bobbing up and down excitedly.

I'm really loving his quips.

The face staring back from the icy depths looked a lot like me, only a bit older, with sharper features and skin the same milky white as my arms.

My eyes were a piercing gold and the color seemed to have been completely washed out of my once-auburn hair. My head of deep reddish-brown was now a pale wheat color, even lighter than Sylvie’s hair in her human form.

“The Indrath Clan had been distinguished as leaders among the other asuran clans and were revered as beings closest to true gods, not just for our strength, but because our control over aether could not be replicated by any others. So when one of the emissaries from the Indrath Clan discovered a reclusive civilization of lessers that were able to harness these aetheric powers, the dragons grew resentful.

“My biggest regret will always be allowing my family to completely destroy the life of my betrothed…and my unborn child’s father.”

an element—an edict, higher than what aether encompasses, above that of time, space, and life. “Fate.”

“Fate ties into not only the life we live in now but lives elsewhere and elsewhen.”

“Though I did not discover the scope of Agrona’s plans before my escape, I did learn that there are four ruins built by the ancient mages that neither he nor any other asuras are able to cross into.

“Regis has gained master’s approval! Regis is worthy!”

“Anyway, your bond used a high-level vivum art to give you some of her asuran body in order to save you…”

A slightly older and sharper-faced Arthur looked back at me with piercing gold eyes. My hair reminded me of bleached sand as it flowed just past my shoulder in waves.

What would Ellie say when she saw me, I wondered. Would I hear her exclaim “Brother!” or would she look at me like I was a stranger? Mom would look into my golden eyes and her heart would break, knowing my father’s deep blue eyes were gone. Would Tessia still…love me?

“Well, perhaps the one good thing that came out of all of this—aside from myself, of course—is your new body,” Regis explained. “Your body, while not being completely draconic, is pretty damn close.”

“He was our best chance to ever have a life outside of this cave again, but he was also a big, fat idiot who couldn’t just let you go! You should have known that!”

I wanted to hate her so much, but I just couldn’t. I couldn’t hate her, because Arthur had loved her. He had loved her so much that he had traded his life for hers. That’s what she meant. Her life was my brother’s last act of heroism.

“A promise only one of us could keep, it turns out. So I’m going to live, Ellie. I’m going to live for Arthur, do you understand?”

Regis’s fiery form flared as he snorted with laughter. “At least buy me a drink first!”

“Well, after you committed seppuku and sat completely still for about a full day, your body suddenly combusted into purple flames. Then you passed out for another two days,” Regis explained, grinning maniacally. “But you did it, you sick, sadistic bastard!”

It was like a scene straight out of a fairytale—except instead of a giant dragon guarding its mountain of treasure, it was a millipede guarding its mountains of…excrement? “Pfft!” Regis stifled a laugh that echoed throughout the giant cavern, drawing my attention and—to our horror—the attention of the giant millipede.

Since our fight by the stream, Tessia and I had been spending a lot of time together. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it at first; a part of me still wanted to be mad at her, to hate her even, but I was starting to understand why Arthur had loved her. It wasn’t just the way Tessia looked or how she was so refined. She had this quiet strength to her that I couldn’t really describe.

As it stepped toward us, causing the entire platform to tremble, I said the only thing appropriate for the situation: “Look, Regis. It’s your dad.” My companion regarded me for moment, deadpan. “I liked you better when you were depressed.”

“Check me out. I’m majestic as fuck!” The wolf gave me a toothy grin, its shadowy tail wagging excitedly.

‘Never thought I’d see a picnic down here. Wait, are you drooling?’ Regis scoffed. “Wha—no!” I exclaimed, wiping my chin and ignoring Regis’s cackling.

‘Oh man…the inner Uto in me is having some very naughty thoughts,’ Regis muttered. Do you know what a simulet is? I asked. ‘The inner Uto is too busy thinking of other things to care what a simulet is.’ Get your mind out of the gutter, I snapped.

As if I was reading out of my own diary, I conveyed to Regis that, despite having more than an entire lifetime, my ability to properly express and communicate my emotions was passable on a good day.

But you know what I’m afraid of the most? Even though I have the body of an asura and the ability to manipulate aether in a way that not even the Indrath Clan can, I’m afraid of growing close to you.

Not to be overdramatic, but it feels like the closer I become with someone, the harder it is for me to protect them.

I’m beginning to remember more and more why I became the person who I was back in my previous life…and it’s why I needed to just think of you as a weapon, Regis. Because it’s easier for me that way, in case I lose you too.

A knot formed in my stomach and I found myself struggling to hold back tears. The warm touch of the sun enveloped me like a mother’s embrace.

But I couldn’t help but worry about how everyone I knew would look at me. How would my mother and sister treat me when they saw me like this? How would Tess?

‘A once quadra-elemental Lance, gifted with the physique and aetheric abilities of an asura, now reduced to this…a dress-up doll,’ Regis lamented mockingly. ‘Oh, how the mighty have fallen.’

“I can’t tell whether you’re an idiot or just ridiculously overconfident.” “Those two traits aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive,” Regis chimed in with a snicker, his head peeking out. “He can be both.” Alaric raised his bottle of alcohol. “I can drink to that.” “You can drink to anything,” I groused, shoving Regis back into my body.

I’d seen Tessia after she got back without my brother. I’d been on the other end at that time, but now I knew how much Tessia was hurting, how lonely and helpless she had felt.

There was no sign of recognition in her weary turquoise eyes.

Cecilia

Ellie was gazing up at something, and I followed her attention to a small balcony. Elijah—or Nico—was standing next to Tess. The vision I was seeing refocused on Tess as I became captivated by how she looked…and by the runes that lined her fair skin.

“Having people to protect only serves to hinder you from making the optimal and most rational decisions,” Lady Vera had repeatedly stated. It was why I had walked out on everyone I cared about as Grey. I shook my head. But it was those same people that I cared about in Dicathen that had driven me to make it this far.