The first day of the Ascended Crucible is over, with the winning team of that day being The Vassals. Due to their win, Truth provided them with a bigger and more lavish room as he prepared their rewards. All of the vassals, save for Pax, walk into the room and observe your surroundings. Blake walks in after them.

  [Harpstein: Hello Blake! Glad to see you've recovered fully!]

  [Azarath: Only natural for someone on the same team as me!]

  Peak gives a big smile and jumps on Blake for a hug.

  [Selene: What about Pax? Is he still recovering? I would like to get our rewards and leave as soon as possible.]

  *Selene: I know Ran said he would leave after my round, but I can imagine him stalking me as well. Gross!*

  [Blake: About that. Truth actually asked me to bring you to him and Pax.]

  Everyone releases a collective [Huh?]

  They are walking to the infirmary. Blake won’t answer anyone's questions.

  [Harpstein: If I might ask what this is about?] Harpstein asks in a shaky voice.

  [LET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!]

  [Blake: You will see…] Blake slowly opens the door, revealing Pax strapped down to a hospital bed. Truth is over him, keeping the straps in place.

  [Pax: Let me out of these binds, you bastard! I need to watch my homies fight!] Pax yells at Truth.

  [Truth: I told you already. You just woke up; your netsu is not fully recovered. You gotta stay in bed for at least the next day. If anything, your recovery is monstrous, considering you already woke up. That type of strain puts people in comas for weeks. I will transfer some of my netsu to you to enhance your recovery. Just stay still!]

  [Pax: This conversation is going nowhere. I'm gonna have to do it. Unstop-]

  Suddenly, Peak bounces over to Pax and jumps on him.

  [Pax: Peak!?!]

  [Peak: Yo! Our fights are already over! We all won, though, you all did amazing, right guys?] Peak points to the other vassals in the room.

  [Azarath: Naturally!] Azarath glows with pride with a smug look on his face.

  [Selene: I-It was no big deal.] Selene looks to the side and scoffs. She was not good with taking compliments.

  [Harpstein: Yes. We all did our best and won our fights.] Harpstein talks eloquently and respectfully, as expected of a member of the royal family. Peak bounces back in.

  [Peak: I met my long-lost brother!] Silence follows.

  [Blake: Yeah, we won.] Pax yells out [Are we just going to ignore what Peak said?!?] The conversation continues.

  [Blake: It took a bit of energy, though. So it better be worth it.] Blake looks over at Truth. His gaze shot daggers into Truth.

  [Truth: The one who decides the worth of what I give will be you. What I can guarantee is that what I give will save your life. Also, I helped you tame all of the shadows. So don’t get aggressive with me.]

  Blake went to speak up, but it was true. Blake needed to find something else he could hold over him. Selene starts to talk.

  [Selene: I want to leave as soon as possible. Just give us the damn rewards and send us on our way.] Selene was getting annoyed with all of this beating around the bush.

  [Harpstein: Now Selene: Remember, this is an Old God we are talking to. You should show res-]

  [Selene: Shut up.]

  [Azarath: Wow. Harpstein, I thought you were the leader? Me personally-]

  [Selene: Shut up.]

  Both Azarath and Harpstein sit dejectedly in the corner. Peak looks at Truth.

  [Peak: I can’t wait for these rewards! When can we get them?]

  Truth looks at Pax and then back to Peak.

  [Truth: I want you all to be in good condition when accepting my gifts. Pax still can’t even walk. We will have to postpone it until Pax lets me help him recover.]

  Peak goes up to Pax and puts his hand on him. Pax and Peak start to glow.

  [Truth: No way…]

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  Peak jumps back, and Pax stands up.

  [Peak: You said something about netsu transfer, right? So I had to give it a go!]

  *Truth: He heard me talk about the technique? From that one sentence, he was perfectly able to replicate netsu transfer. His learning ability might be the most dangerous thing he has. The same attack probably doesn’t work on him twice. He has potential?*

  [Truth: Peak. Who is your father or guardian?]

  *Truth: I want to see if he is a part of any special lineages.*

  [Peak: I don’t remember my dad's or my mom's name. They never believed in the dream anyway! My uncle, though! He let me live with him rent-free! His name was Jimmy Dean!]

  [Truth: Jimmy Dean. I…]

  Everyone waits with bated breath. Is Peak a part of a special family as well?

  [Truth: Never heard of him.] Peak falls on his face.

  [Azarath: My family is amazing!] Truth looks over at him.

  [Truth: That is true. The Goldwyns did make a name for themselves in the war against Umbra. The bloody war that ended 5 years ago. Pax, if I'm correct, your dad was considered the hero of that war, right? He had to stop fighting after sustaining an injury.]

  [Selene: Umbra?]

  [Truth: Ah, yes. The war of shadows. It was a 40-year-long conflict between the demon lord who tried to invade Aranthia and Aranthia themselves. A lot of lives were lost, and it is considered the bloodiest battle in history. We made great strides with Garrick. However, he was defeated by the demon lord around halfway through the war and was forced to retire. Five years ago, Aric was able to defeat the demon lord and officially put a stop to the war, winning it for Aranthia.]

  [Blake: Yeah, I remember the royal family was heavily involved.]

  Harpstein looks to the side. Truth looks at him once and looks back at Blake.

  [Truth: Harpstein probably won’t talk about it. After all, his older half-sister with no ability was drafted into the war. She was around 10 years older than Harpstein. He was 10 when she was drafted, so she was 20. When Harpstein was 15, she went missing in battle. Ten years later, the war ends, and she is still nowhere to be found. Unlikely, she is still alive.]

  [Harpstein: She is!]

  Truth looks at him for a second and sighs.

  [Truth: I will leave it then. Since Pax can walk, we will do the rewards. You will come one at a time. Since I like you guys, I will also give all of you one piece of advice so you can survive the upcoming fight.]

  [Blake: The upcoming fight?]

  [Truth: Yes. The next fight you will face will be lethal for all of you. Therefore, some advice may be helpful. We will go in order of fights. Azarath, come with me.]

  They enter the pitch-black room where Pax and Truth had spoken. Truth gazes at Azarath, and his eyes illuminate.

  [Truth: I see…]

  Three orbs appear in front of Azarath. A red one, a blue one, and a green one.

  [Azarath: What?]

  [Truth: I have determined these three abilities are what you need. Flight, laser vision, and ice breath. Please absorb them all.]

  Azarath touches them, and they go into his body.

  [Azarath: Naturally! After all, I do deserve three abilities!]

  [Truth: As for advice, “You will have to face your past eventually. If you don’t come to terms soon, or else you will forfeit the chance to kill an enemy that will become a problem later.”]

  The cold tone made Azarath freeze up. This was real. He meant everything.

  ____________________________________________________________________________

  Selene walks into the room. She looks around.

  *Selene: Pitch dark? I can’t sense any life other than Truth.*

  Truth's eyes glow again.

  [Truth: You get information because you have a misunderstanding. You don’t manipulate nature. You manipulate the natural forces. Anything considered “Natural.”]

  [Selene: What does that even mean?]

  [Truth: That's for you to decide. As for your advice, “Don’t use the button Ran gave you in the next fight if you do, you will lose everything.”]

  Selene looks at Rans button.

  ____________________________________________________________________________

  Pax strolls in. He remembers this room and just looks at Truth. Truth's eyes glow.

  [Truth: An item. I couldn't recreate this item, so I had to steal it.]

  A glowing purple glass orb appears in front of Pax.

  [Truth: This is the “Orb of Negation” it is an item that gives the wielder a negation power. It was previously owned by the “Negation Killer.” A man who only kills negators. After killing them, he stored their negations in this orb. He is still active, so watch out. Currently, it has 25 negation abilities inside of it]

  Pax cautiously touches the orb. It disappears. Truth looks surprised. Suddenly, a huge shock runs through Pax’s body as he screams out in pain.

  [Truth: Huh?!?]

  『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』『Analysing』...

  [Truth: Did his Unfair absorb the orb entirely and is trying to copy every negation in it? Stay with me!]

  Pax is about to pass out.

  [Truth: Fine, since you can’t listen to my advice. I will etch it into your brain. By my power as the old god of knowledge, I etch the words “Trust Riga” into your brain.]

  Pax stops speaking for a moment as the words penetrate deep into his consciousness. Pax passes out.

  ____________________________________________________________________________

  Blake walks into the room, wondering how dark it is and how he is seeing Truth and nothing else. Truth's eyes glow.

  [Truth: For you, I have a special gift.]

  A key appears in front of Blake.

  [Truth: This is the key to the forbidden library, said library is currently owned by King Valerian.]

  Blake grabs the key in amazement.

  [Blake: Now I can finally visit it!]

  [Truth: My advice is, “Kishikai. It is a form that the Old and New Gods revert to when near death. It looks like an eldritch abomination and is the god's true form. It grants them immense power and endurance at the cost of sanity. Do not forget this information or else two people close to you will die.”]

  Blake looks at Truth for a second before speaking.

  [Blake: Do you have money? I need another ten pulls for a five-star.]

  *Truth: Did he just completely blow off my statement???*

  ____________________________________________________________________________

  Harpstein walks into the room and bows to Truth. Truth's eyes glow.

  [Truth: At least one of you has respect. I have an ability for you.]

  A white orb appears in front of Harpstein.

  [Truth: This is an upgrade to your current abilities. It grants you the ability to accelerate time as well.]

  Harpstein touches the orb and gets the ability.

  [Truth: As for your advice. “Be careful. You can only timestop three times a day. Work on your stamina. Bad things will happen if you can’t remove the limit on your abilities.”]

  Harpstein bows.

  [Harptein: Thank you. Old God of Knowledge, Truth.]

  ____________________________________________________________________________

  Peak bounces into the room with excitement. What will the reward be? Peak can’t wait. Truth’s eyes glow.

  [Truth: You get a weapon! Here it is!]

  A katana manifests in front of Peak. His eyes widen in excitement. As soon as the mystical light fades, so does the light in Peaks' eyes.

  [Peak: What is this?!?]

  A single-edged katana-like blade connected to a handle shaped like a human hand appears. The hand gets on all five fingers and starts to scurry around the room. Peak screams as he tries to shoot the hand with webs.

  [Truth: Calm down! It is your new weapon! It’s name is Chad!]

  Peak stops and looks at the blade connected to a human hand.

  [Peak: I mean, I guess it could work?]

  Peak grasps the blade, finding it a bit awkward to hold since he must grip it like he would a human hand to use it effectively. Truth smiles.

  [Truth: Advice time. “Don’t kill her. She will be crucial for your goals later on. Winning will be hard, but don’t forget who you are.”]

  *Peak: I don’t kill anyway.*

  Peak thinks that, but Chad keeps flying in random directions to escape Peak's grip.

  ____________________________________________________________________________

  After a little bit, Truth gathers everyone.

  [Truth: I have a surprise for you!]

  Truth reveals an old man, but it’s not any old man, it’s Aric!

  The vassals are surprised.

  [Harpstein: Aric? What about the summit?]

  [Aric: The summit has been moved up. Tech woke up, and they wanted to give him some time to recover. So I thought I would bring you back!]

  Aric smiles, as does everyone else. Time for them to go home.

  ____________________________________________________________________________

  In a destroyed town, a man sits on a corpse. His eccentric rainbow eyes, spiked purple hair, and suit stands out among the rubble and mutilated corpses littered around him. A man is crying before him.

  [Please…Please… Spare my wife and child…]

  The purple-haired man smiles as he looks at the crying father.

  [???: Ah~ Don’t worry about them, they are right here!]

  Two piles of flesh roll in front of the man. With limbs and eyes all over. Strands of hair protrude from them, and they groan in pain with ungodly sounds.

  [???: What do you think? Beautiful, right?]

  The man stares for a second before flying into a fury and lunging at the laughing monster. His rainbow eyes seem to leave a streak in the air as he sidesteps the father, causing him to fall. He tries to get up, but his legs won’t move. When he looks down, they are gone—replaced by stumps.

  [My legs!]

  His arms disappear as well. He now just lies there on the ground screaming with no limbs. The man smiles as he approaches the body.

  [???: I will keep you and your family! No harm will be done!]

  Both the man and his family disappear.

  [???: It is hard being such a nice guy. I need to really look for this guy named “Pax” though. Cawdore told me he would be in this area! Stupid Cawdore! I guess it’s time to move on to the next town! More fun awaits!]

  『Fun of the Apocalypse, Madness- Zane』

  To be continued…