Gun of Ashes

Ascend.

Continuously ascending.

Lorenzo awoke. He tried to move his body but found himself so exhausted that he lacked even the strength to move a finger. He could barely open his eyes to gaze at the grim world.

He was rising.

No force was carrying his body upward; instead, his heavy body began to feel lighter.

”Weight” gradually decreased, continuously shedding the unnecessary impurities from his body, much like gold refined to become purer and lighter, discarding all its flaws until the earth could no longer confine Lorenzo’s body.

Ascending into the skies, reaching the Celestial Kingdom.

”What... what’s happening to me?”

Lorenzo was bewildered, struggling to comprehend the present situation. His foggy consciousness stalled his thoughts, making it difficult to think, like rusted gears on the verge of falling apart.

An unknown amount of time passed before he finally summoned some strength. His hands slowly regained control, and he struggled to wave them.

Lorenzo saw a wall, resembling the Gate of the Celestial Kingdom, covered with gray-white human statues. They entangled with one another, as if vying for him, extending their hands, one after the other, arms lengthening until they reached him.

Very close. Close enough that Lorenzo could stretch out his hand and grasp the hands of the statues.

Why were they reaching out to him?

Lorenzo didn’t understand. But soon, he realized the distance between himself and these statues was widening. He couldn’t feel his legs, suggesting it wasn’t his will that was moving him. Lorenzo then felt himself collide with something.

Struggling, he turned his head and saw another person.

His heart seemed to plunge into a cold sea, the biting chill seeping through his entire being. It was a person floating in mid-air, dressed in tattered clothes worn down by time, moving slowly as Lorenzo collided with it.

A face gradually appeared before him, completely blank.

This person had no facial features, just a flat cheek, similar to the Watchers he had seen in the surreal realm.

Lorenzo could feel more power being mobilized. He turned his head with difficulty to peer around, and behind him lay countless similar floating corpses, suspended one after another in mid-air.

His gaze extended to the far end behind him, where a blinding celestial light shone. Lorenzo could only see a few shadowy figures, so close to the light source that they seemed almost merged with it.

No... something wasn’t right.

Lorenzo realized the dire situation; he looked panic-stricken at the ”wall” before him. It was only then that he understood why these statues assumed such poses.

This was not a wall at all, but the ground.

Zooming out, Lorenzo was one among the many ascending floating corpses, attracted by the celestial light, continually rising away from the mortal realm, like angels summoned by God.

Lorenzo reached out, trying to grasp the hand of the statue. These statues wanted to hold him back, to stop his ascent.

But Lorenzo had become too light, too much abandoned during the ascent.

Lorenzo wasn’t sure what would happen if he continued to rise, but instinctively, he felt a fear that surpassed death.

”Damn it!”

He cursed, flailing about like a drowning person, but no matter how he struggled, the distance between himself and the statues continued to grow.

In the end, Lorenzo could only straighten his hand forcefully, trying to touch the statue’s fingers, even as the dust on the statue fell away, revealing a sorrowful countenance, as if it couldn’t bear his departure.

”What’s this...”

Lorenzo muttered, looking at the face of the statue. For some reason, it seemed familiar, as if he had seen it before.

The statues vibrated slightly, shedding more dust, revealing familiar faces entangled together, yet Lorenzo couldn’t remember who they were. Their faces, too, bore the same sadness, gazing at the departing Lorenzo.

A crack spread across the statue.

Lorenzo heard someone seemingly speaking, and the next moment, the statue moved eerily, like a demon, opening its mouth, chanting a lament, layer upon layer, intertwining. Countless arms overlapped until one hand reached across the vast distance and grabbed hold of Lorenzo, who was about to leave.

Pulling down forcefully.

Lorenzo fell.

His vision turned dark, as if sliding into the Abyss until he hit bottom.

Lorenzo’s eyes snapped open. His forehead was covered in cold sweat. What he saw was no longer the bizarre scene but a gray-white ceiling, accompanied by the sound of his own rapid heartbeat and the ticking of a clock.

”Ha... Ha...”

Lorenzo breathed heavily. He couldn’t tell whether it had all been an illusion or something else; it was so real, even the final fall.

He attempted to rise but felt the intense pain permeating his body, as if he had slammed onto the bed from nothingness in that final fall.

”What... is going on?”

Lorenzo recalled. He remembered having taken down Roger’s vessel, then his consciousness plunged into a coma...

Slowly raising his hand, he found it wrapped in bandages, with crimson seeping through the pristine white fabric.

”Ascension...”

Lorenzo remembered. To fight against Roger, he had broken through the Double Critical, reaching that irretrievable Abyss. For this, he had acquired the Authority of Shangdafeng from the darkness but had paid the corresponding price.