The silence pressed down on Kael like a living thing.
The underground chamber was small, circular, and unmistakably ancient. The stone beneath his feet was cold and uneven, it was worn smooth by time rather than use. Runes covered the walls in spiraling patterns, some of which were cracked, some faded and others pulsing faintly with residual energy that made his skin prickle.
And floating before him was the ring. It was extremely simple and unassuming.
Yet the moment Kael's eyes locked onto it, his heart thundered violently, as if his body recognized something his mind could not.
"…the only one in this age capable of walking it."
The voice echoed again in his head, deeper now, no longer fragmented whispers but a unified presence.
Kael swallowed hard.
"You said… Dual Ascension?" he said slowly. "That path is supposed to be impossible!"
The ring drifted slightly, rotating in the air. The silver fissures along its surface brightened, then dimmed.
"Impossible to those who are incomplete."
Kael felt a pressure behind his eyes, as though knowledge was trying to force its way into his mind. He staggered and braced himself against the altar.
"You're… a relic spirit," he said. "A sentient one."
"Correct."
The answer came without hesitation.
"I am bound to this relic, yet not confined by it. I observe. I judge. I choose."
Kael's throat tightened. "And you chose me?"
For the first time, the voice hesitated.
"…I sensed you."
The ring floated closer, stopping an arm's length away from Kael.
"Your body carries seals layered before birth. Your Qi pathways were deliberately locked and your Mana heart was suppressed at its origin."
Kael's fists clenched tightly.
"Then I was sabotaged," he said bitterly.
"No."
The response was immediate and firm.
"You were preserved."
Kael frowned. "What does that even mean?"
The runes along the walls flickered brighter.
"The world divided Aether into paths because it feared collapse. Qi cultivators feared Mana's instability. Mages feared the body's limits. Dual Ascension was not erased because it failed…"
The ring trembled slightly.
"…but because it succeeded."
Kael's breath became disordered as a little bit of confusion set in as the chamber seemed to grow colder.
"Those capable of walking both paths were too few and too powerful and also too uncontrollable. So the knowledge was destroyed, and the vessels... eradicated."
A sharp chill instantly ran down Kael's spine.
"…Except me."
The ring's glow intensified.
"Except you."
Then, a brief silence followed.
Kael stared at the relic, his thoughts racing. His entire life, three years of humiliation, of being called useless, of being passed over, suddenly felt… deliberate.
"So you're saying," he said carefully, "that I was born this way on purpose."
"Yes."
That single word carried immense weight.
"Then why didn't anyone tell me?" Kael demanded. "Why let me suffer? Why let me believe I was worthless?"
The ring then hovered lower.
"Because no one remembers."
Kael froze.
"Those who sealed you did so beyond this era. The lineage that carried the knowledge ended generations ago."
The pressure in Kael's chest returned, sharper than before but it wasn't pain this time around, it was something closer to grief.
"All this time…" he murmured. "I wasn't broken."
"No," the relic said softly.
"You were unfinished."
Kael took in a deep, shaky breath.
"…And now?"
The ring then slowly drifted back toward the altar.
"Now comes choice."
Kael's heart skipped a bit.
"I am the Axiom Relic," the spirit said.
"A regulator forged to stabilize Dual Ascension. Without me, your awakening would tear you apart within minutes."
The air immediately grew heavier and colder.
"If you bind with me, your path will be revealed but it will be painful, dangerous, and irreversible."
Kael started ruminating over the offer as his mind flashed with images of the academy hall, the scornful laughter, the examiner's cold voice and finally, the word 'expelled' hanging over his future like a blade.
"And if I refuse?"
The ring settled gently onto the altar.
"Then your seals will remain dormant."
"You will live."
"Ordinary and powerless."
The final word struck Kael in the deepest area of his heart. He lowered his head as he began to contemplate deeply.
He had lived sixteen years in quiet endurance, believing effort alone would someday be enough. Now he understood the truth, no amount of effort could overcome a locked door. Unless someone handed him the key.
Kael raised his gaze and said.
"If I bind with you," he asked, "will you abandon me?"
The chamber went still.
When the relic answered, its voice was different, it was less distant and more… present.
"I do not choose lightly."
Kael stepped forward.
"I don't want borrowed strength," he said. "I don't want shortcuts. I just want a chance. Teach me, walk with me and if I fall, I'll accept it but I won't stay weak."
The ring then lifted once more.
"…You speak as those long dead once did."
The silver fissures flared brightly.
"Very well, Kael Ashborne."
The relic surged toward him.
"Binding protocol initiated."
Pain unlike anything Kael had ever known tore through his body. It wasn't a single sensation, it was many. His bones felt like they were being hollowed out and reforged. His meridians burned as though molten metal was being poured through them. His heart convulsed violently as a foreign presence merged with his core.
Kael screamed.
Runes ignited across his skin, spiraling outward from his chest. The chamber shook as ancient formations activated for the first time in centuries.
"Qi pathways… unlocking."
"Mana heart… stabilizing."
"Dual core framework… incomplete."
Kael collapsed to his knees, gasping, his vision was getting blurry.
"Do not resist," the relic commanded.
"Accept the pain. It is proof that you alive."
The ring shattered into countless motes of silver light, plunging directly into Kael's chest.
For one terrifying moment, his heartbeat stopped.
Then... thump. A new rhythm formed, not singular but... dual.
Kael slumped forward, his palms pressed tightly against the stone floor, his body trembling violently.
The pain slowly receded, leaving behind an exhaustion so deep it felt bone-deep.
"Binding complete," the relic said quietly.
"From this moment onward, your fate is intertwined with mine."
Kael laughed weakly, half-delirious.
" I guess… that makes us partners. Right?"
There was a pause.
Then, unexpectedly...
"…Yes."
Kael's vision darkened almost immediately as unconsciousness claimed him once more. The last thing he felt was not pain but warmth.