Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1962: Eternal State [Bonus]

[Bonus chapter thanks to trippelstabb... I hope you have to piss out 17 kidney stones in the next few days]

~Minutes ago~

Deacon had been brought out of the Mancer Scape by his sister. Heavily injured, and needing time to heal, staying inside would have just been a humiliation ritual for him, one that may very well have led to death.

What he hadnʼt expected was that the outside world would suddenly become even more dangerous than the inside had been.

Even so, he had jumped at the chance. The pain in his chest wasnʼt something that he could deal with by staring at the ceiling of his room. If she hadnʼt been his sister, he could have just cut her out of his life and moved on.

But how could he give up on family? He could only sit there and watch the train wreck as it happened.

He knew Keyesen would break his sisterʼs heart. He knew that that would somehow only be the best case scenario. For all he knew, she could end up losing her life or maybe worse than even that. Who knew how far she would go for her one-sided love?

And as a brother, he was helpless to it. He wasnʼt as strong as Keyesen, he didnʼt have any hope of becoming a God Beast, and every attempt he made to stop things was stonewalled by either his sister or his lack of strength.

He couldnʼt even ask his elders for help.

Keyesen was the son of the 713th Scorpion Emperor, the direct descendant of the 712th and the Ancestor of the Scorpion Emperor. While Deacon was a talent, he was neither as great a talent nor was his backing nearly as strong.

The Dove Lineage wouldnʼt go out of its way to protect him, not when they were all technically one Clan to begin with and his sister was acting out on her own.

Honestly, when he stepped out onto the battlefield, he had been hoping to die in a blaze of glory. His blades continued to move, his blood pumping with naked abandon as he recklessly used his Aether as though he didnʼt care if it ran out at all.

He didnʼt have the heart to take the cowardʼs death and just end it all. But this wouldnʼt be too bad of an ending.

Maybe his example would show his sister a different path, to show her that she could have pride of her own that went beyond what veil she had covered herself in, to show her a different light to follow.

On that day, at that hour, he was covered in his own blood, his Dove Emperor Armor nothing but broken shingles of illusory golden light.

He didnʼt know how many enemies he had cut down by now. Maybe it was thousands, maybe it was just a few dozen. It all blended together into one, a misty wisp that smelled of blood, death, and decay.

But he did know that the enemy that positioned before him now would probably be his last.

They werenʼt particularly strong, just stronger than most. A D-tier who had already begun building his C-tier Foundation, an existence of a B+ Race who, while inferior to the Spirit Beast Race, was close enough that the fatigued Deacon couldnʼt bridge the gap between their Levels anymore... not in this state.

Yet, Deacon just grinned, his blood streaking down his face like tears. There was a glow in the depths of his eyes that almost lit with a manic sort of madness.

He had already done his best to protect his sister. Now, it was just going to have to be up to her.

He truly did hope that he was somehow wrong about Keyesen, that maybe he would change for his sister. He believed his sister deserved it, she had once been such a sweet, kind girl. And maybe that was why a darkness like Keyesen was so easily able to corrupt her.

If only he could just... burn that darkness away.

A man with skin like rock and ash lunged at Deacon, his halberd brandishing like sparks of fire from two clashing stones. The air superheated and flashes of heat overwhelmed Deacon as though to push him over the edge he was already teetering by.

And then Deacon felt it... that flood of warmth.

It was like the world around him vanished and all that was left was a sea of white... one with a single golden path laid out before him... The First Layer... absolute speed... one of such purity and perfection it pushed reality to its greatest bounds. He didnʼt need to step into the void or the Mesh of Reality to touch this speed. He could feel the world slow around him to accommodate him... In a flash, Deacon had sidestepped the attack almost like it wasnʼt there. Even the heat slowed considerably as the world was forced into a lull.

The Second Layer... relative speed... it pushed the bounds of the first layer even further. The world didnʼt just feel like it slowed down, it did. Within this domain, opponents took more time to cast and finish circulating their Aether until, just maybe... they were frozen entirely.

The grey man tried to spin around, but it was like he was moving in slow motion. The sparks on the end of his weapon arched like fluttering leaves rather than crashing embers.

In an instant, Deacon appeared at his side, reaching out a palm toward his liver.

The Third Layer... Eternal State...

At this level, a Dove could capture a moment in time and achieve immunity as a result of it, maintaining their state of absolute purity as though no time at all had passed.

In this state, even a blow of death would be meaningless, a frame of time where the Dove would be untouchable by even the reaper himself.

Deaconʼs palm landed and it was like all the speed that had been restrained around him exploded at once.

The manʼs torso was blasted into a rain of blood. His hips and legs gradually swayed before collapsing to the ground.

Deacon looked toward the distance. He wanted to look at Sylas, he wanted to make eye contact, to say thank you.

But Sylas wasnʼt even looking.

Instead, two more Lineages had landed in Sylasʼ palms at the same time.