Ray swung wildly, but the king blocked every strike, stepping back and swinging his staff at Ray’s head. Ray disappeared, appearing behind the man and swinging with all his might while infusing his arm with mana. The orange shield spread once again, blocking his strike, but it was shattered as mana exploded from Ray’s arm, and they both were sent flying back.

  Bolts of flame flew at the king as he stabilized himself after the blast. He swung his staff, deflecting the strikes, but they exploded on contact, creating a smoke screen and allowing Erith to close in. She roared with anger and pain, swinging her arm down in a chopping motion while infusing it with a sword martial art. It cleaved into the king’s shoulder, causing him to yell in pain and teleport away. Erith gritted her teeth and held her mangled arm, staring daggers at the king.

  He hefted his staff high and began another incantation, but Ray was on him again in seconds, hitting him with mana-infused punches and sending shockwaves through the forest.

  “Damn you!” The king roared and swung his staff in a downward motion.

  Ray clenched his teeth, shifting so the strike would hit his left shoulder while returning a full-power punch. He bit back a cry of pain as the staff hit his shoulder, and felt it pop out of its socket. With an explosion of mana, he and the king were sent flying back again. He felt his shoulder loosen from its socket and, with an infusion of stamina and a grunt of pain, forced it back into place.

  Before the king could recover from the blast, he and Erith were upon him again, raining down attacks with reckless abandon. He tried to block with his arm first, but it was quickly engulfed in flames, and another blast of mana caused it to shatter and rip apart. The king gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain as he continued an incantation while attempting to block strikes with his staff. Ray swung down again, and another mana explosion caused a crack on the staff.

  ‘Enough!” the king shouted, and a cacophony of golden chains wrapped around Ray and Erith, pulling them back.

  Several bolts of black mana manifested behind Ray and slammed into the chains, causing them to disappear. He charged forward again as another volley shot toward Erith’s chains, severing them as well.

  The king dashed in to meet him, swinging his staff like a club. Ray was unable to change his stride in time to avoid the strike and had to settle for raising his left arm to meet the impact. He felt his bones shatter as he was pushed away. He panted and grabbed the limp arm. He could feel the vertigo from low stamina starting to set in, but he had to keep pushing. He began chanting the incantation for his mana blade as Erith charged in.

  Flames flew from her unmangled hand, engulfing the king. He quickly teleported, and before Erith realized it, he swung his staff, slamming it into the side of her head and sending it clattering to the ground.

  “No!” Ray cried, abandoning his spell and teleporting next to the king.

  He swung, infusing his entire body with every drop of mana and stamina he had left as his veins began glowing with a blue sheen. The king desperately tried to block the onslaught but found him seld quickly running out of steam as Ray screamed with rage and his construct hands began turning a sickly purple. Ray slammed punch after punch into the man running on fumes and whatever energy his attacks could steal.

  “Warning: stamina limit exceeded–”

  “Warning: mana limit exceeded–”

  Alarms continued to blare in his mind, but he ignored them, letting his body tear itself apart while he stole enough vitality to repair it in a vicious cycle. The king, bloody and bruised, feebly tried to raise his staff, but Ray let out another roar of anger, striking the weapon and shattering it. He grabbed the man by the collar of his robe and, with a prime roar, lifted him into the air and slammed him into the ground.

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  The king screamed and pleaded, but Ray ignored him, consumed by rage and hunger, slamming his fist into the man over and over until the ground was stained red and his fists impacted nothing but dirt.

  “Shit,” he panted standing from the man and scaling back his mana and stamina usige.

  Built up vertigo consumed him as he turned and tried to walk toward Erith’s still form. He made it two steps before the world went black, and a single message played through his head.

  “Ascension achieved. Congratulations on your success!”

  Zenith appeared on the battlefield once more with a wicked smile on her face. Everything had played out just as she had predicted. She walked over to Erith, and a golden light poured from her hand, stabilizing her but keeping her in a coma-like state. She turned toward Ray and kneeled down, whispering into his ear. “See you soon, it will be my pleasure to take in a new attack dog.” A golden light enveloped her, whisking her away once more, as she licked her lips.

  Ray found himself sitting inside a familiar room. He sat at a table across from a woman dressed in a plain white robe.

  She smiled warmly at him. “Welcome back and congratulations. I can see you sacrificed a lot to make it this far. You should be proud.”

  “What is this?” Ray asked, panic seeping into his voice. “Send me back!”

  The woman shook her head. “I can’t do that yet.”

  “Why not?!” Ray shouted, pushing himself out of his chair with so much force that it was knocked over.

  “Because you have not yet completed your ascension.”

  “I don’t give a shit I need to help Erith!”

  “Please calm down and rest assured, no time is passing while you are within this space.”

  “I– Fine, what the hell do I need to do?” Ray asked the edge slightly, leaving his voice.

  “You will need to forge an upgrade for your spark and merge with it to complete the process.”

  “How?”

  The woman rose from her seat. “Please follow me.” She walked to a nearby wall, and it split open into a large corridor.

  Ray followed, walking through the large corridors before they came upon another wall that split open and allowed them in. A completely white room, empty except for a pedestal containing a small orb that looked like it had been cut from the night sky.

  “What is this?” Ray asked, walking toward the pedestal.

  “A portion of the creator,” the woman said, entering the room as the wall closed behind her.

  “The goddess?”

  The woman shook her head. “A portion of the being the goddess used to create the system.”

  Ray’s eyes widened as he turned back to the orb. “Why are we here?”

  “That portion of the entity has been granted to you for reaching the first stage of ascension. It is now up to you to mold it and add it to the system, permanently placing your mark on the universe.”

  Ray nodded and walked toward the orb, picking it up and turning it over in his hand. “So what do I do?”

  “Simply think about what you want it to do while pushing some of your mana and stamina into it.”

  Ray nodded.

  “But be warned, it can only add to the world, not take away, so any change that attempts to remove something will fail.”

  “How large of an addition can I make?”

  “This peace will allow for a minor change, such as a new skill or ability. Some have even used it to force an awakening.”

  Ray frowned. “Didn’t the first scale monarch use his first ascension to create the entire race of scale kin?”

  The woman nodded. “Yes but he was among the first to ascend and was granted a greater piece of the creator to allow the system to fill itself out quicker.”

  “How big of a piece is needed for a change like that?”

  “That change would be equivalent to what you receive for a fifth ascension now.”

  Ray nodded and looked back at the sphere. “Can I use it to revive someone?”

  The woman shook her head. “A change like that would require the removal of the event that caused their death, and thus it is not something that can be done.”

  Ray nodded and looked at the ground. He had expected an answer like that, but it still hurt all the same. “What about a system-created consciousness?”

  “Not possible, but for a different reason. You see, a system-created consciousness never truly dies. When its vessel is destroyed, it simply rejoins with the system.”

  Ray’s eyes widened, and a spark of hope lit in his heart. “So could I use it to attach a specific system-created consciousness to myself?”

  The woman rubbed her chin. “I don’t see why not, but I also can’t understand why you would want that.”

  Ray grinned and turned his attention to the black sphere. I’ll see you again soon, Horde Breaker.

  Revenant - Power Stealing Superhero

  by Siborg24

  When Michael needed a hero, no one answered his call. His life lay in ruins. His dreams were shattered. With no options left and nowhere else to turn, he found himself forced into the shadowy embrace of a criminal enterprise. Trapped under a crippling debt and the threat of death, he did what he had to survive, even if it meant helping the monsters he once hoped to fight against.

  He had all but given up when it finally happened. His powers manifested.

  Granted, the ability to steal the superpower of any corpse he touches. Michael pushes to carve out a better life for himself. The life he always dreamed of. He would be a superhero, but first, he would need to clean up the underworld that had dug its hooks into him.

  Will he forge his dream into reality, or be devoured by the ghosts of his past?

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