Endless Ascension
Episode 9 – Day Two: Warbands of the Void
The arena resets to silence.
The sand is clean. The walls are smooth. The air tastes like metal and ozone, as if the arena itself is bracing for what's next.
The System speaks in its cold monotone.
[Survival Gauntlet: Day Two Begins]
[Warning: Enemy factions will coordinate their assault.]
[Objective: Survive all squads until Day Three.]
My God-Tier stars hum in my hands. The Rune Afterimages glow faintly, spectral copies flickering like predators waiting to be unleashed.
Level 111. Hungry for 116.
The first gate rumbles.
Squad One – Fire and Fang
They don't come alone this time.
From the left gate, Ashmaw Werewolves burst out — black-furred monsters with molten lines glowing under their skin. From the right, Inferno Raiders march in, humanoid pyromancers armed with flame-tipped spears.
Fire and fang. A coordinated strike team.
The werewolves howl, charging straight at me while the raiders hang back, hurling spears that burst into firestorms on impact.
I split the stars instantly, ten spectral copies curving mid-air. The first arc slices through a raider's chest, detonating his entire squad in a wall of fire that consumes two werewolves with them.
But the others keep coming, faster than flames.
One claws for my head. I duck, slam a star into his ribs, ignite, and use the shockwave to propel myself backward out of the firestorm zone.
The remaining raiders pin me between walls of flame, their werewolf allies closing the gap. A perfect kill box.
Too bad it's mine.
I hurl both stars straight up. They split into a storm of copies that rain down like falling suns. The detonations chain together, collapsing the fire cage and shredding the last werewolves mid-leap.
The sand burns. Their bodies don't.
[Level Up] → 111 → 116] (+5 levels)
*[Weapon Upgrade] → Tier 13 Visual Mod – Solar Shards: Spectral copies now leave burning embers that explode after a delay.]
The arena smells of ash and blood. I breathe it in.
Squad Two – Blades and Shadows
The second gate opens without delay.
Out step Void Assassins, their forms half-formed from shadow, blades dripping black venom. With them — Bone Knights, heavily armored skeleton warriors wielding serrated swords as big as I am tall.
Stealth and brute force. Together.
The assassins vanish immediately, blending with the shadows of the Bone Knights' massive frames. Every strike from the knights hides a follow-up slash from the assassins.
I rush headlong into them. The stars split wide, spectral copies weaving through gaps in armor, detonating in flashes of concussive light. A Bone Knight crumbles under the blast — the assassin hiding behind him exposed and torn apart.
Another Knight slams his blade down, shaking the floor. An assassin lunges for my back. I spin, my star curving mid-flight with the Death Spiral upgrade, severing his head before it lands.
The last Knight blocks every throw, his armor impossibly thick. But the Solar Shards upgrade changes everything — each spectral copy leaves a burning ember lodged in his chest. By the time I press close, his armor is riddled with glowing cracks.
One detonation. He explodes in shards.
[Level Up] → 116 → 121] (+5 levels)
*[Skill Unlocked] → Venom Ward: Immunity to poison and corruption damage.]
Their shadows fade. I'm still standing.
Squad Three – The Flood and the Flame
The third gate opens with a roar of water. The arena floods again, waist-deep in black tide.
Tide Reapers emerge — eel-bodied predators with hook-blades for arms, swimming circles around me. Above the waves, Flamecasters hover on discs of burning rock, hurling molten spheres into the water to boil me alive.
Water and fire. A cruel pairing.
The first sphere slams into the tide, steam exploding in every direction. I leap above it, Aqua Pierce keeping my throw steady even as droplets blind my sight. Both stars split, copies tracking the reapers below, igniting in muffled blasts that send boiling waves crashing.
The Flamecasters rain fire from above, forcing me down. A reaper slashes my leg under the water, flesh tearing. Pain sharpens the kill.
I dive instead of retreating. The reapers swarm me, dozens of hook-blades slashing. I unleash both stars in a wide spiral, igniting the entire section of tide into a boiling, gore-filled maelstrom.
The last Flamecaster screams down a firestorm. I rise from the steam, press a star to his chest, and detonate him out of the sky.
[Level Up] → 121 → 126] (+5 levels)
*[Weapon Upgrade] → Tier 14 Visual Mod – Starburst Recall: When stars return, they release a radial explosion at each copy's position.]
The water drains. Only blood remains.
Squad Four – Glass and Fury
The fourth gate slides open.
They march out slowly this time. Crystalmancers — robed figures with glass staffs, each capable of shaping jagged constructs mid-air. With them are Rageborn Ogres, flesh hulks with veins glowing red, strength multiplied by their fury.
The ogres charge, fists smashing the ground like meteors. The crystalmancers weave barriers of glass in front of them, shielding their approach.
I hurl my stars. They shatter against the walls.
The ogres slam into me, one fist catching my ribs and throwing me back across the arena. Bones crack. My vision flares white.
They press in, but I'm not done.
I hurl my stars again — but this time I wait. The Starburst Recall upgrade activates. When the stars return, each spectral copy explodes behind the barrier, catching the crystalmancers hiding there. Their screams echo as glass shards pierce their own throats.
The barriers fall. The ogres are mine.
I weave between their swings, each detonation slowing them with Celestial Surge, each strike carving chunks of flesh away until the sand runs red.
The last ogre falls on his knees. My star ignites inside his skull.
[Level Up] → 126 → 131] (+5 levels)
*[Skill Unlocked] → Rage Cycle: Every kill temporarily boosts attack speed by 15%.]
My stars hum faster in my hands.
Squad Five – The Silent Choir
The arena grows cold. Too cold.
From the final gate of Day Two, they step out in perfect unison — The Silent Choir. Dozens of pale, faceless humanoids, each carrying blades of bone. They don't speak. They don't breathe.
When they move, they move as one.
The first swing comes from all directions — impossible angles, blades shrieking. I dodge, parry, deflect, but even my demon reflexes strain against their unity.
I throw both stars — they split, but even the spectral copies are deflected by the perfect synchronization of their parries.
Then I see it. Their flaw. They're linked.
If they move as one… they fall as one.
I hurl both stars high, split them into storms of copies, and detonate them all above the Choir. The explosions rain down like a thousand suns. Even if their blades rise together, they cannot block the sky.
When the light fades, nothing remains but ash.
[Level Up] → 131 → 136] (+5 levels)
*[Weapon Upgrade] → Tier 15 Visual Mod – Eclipse Form: Stars shift between solid and spectral mid-flight, phasing through defenses before striking.]
The End of Day Two
The System's voice cuts through the silence.
[Survival Gauntlet: Day Two Complete]
[Rest Period: 2 Hours]
The arena is empty again.
Level 136.
The God-Tier stars hum with new hunger, their Eclipse Form flickering in and out like dying suns.
I know what's coming.
Day One was to test me.
Day Two was to coordinate against me.
Day Three… will be war.