In a quiet field on the outskirts of what had once been known as the Carpathian Basin, the wind stirred the tall grass with a whispering sigh. Birdsong ced the morning air, weaving a fragile calm across the ndscape. Sunlight spilled over the wild terrain in golden streaks, brushing ancient pines that stood like solemn sentinels, patient and unmoved by time.
The birds fell silent, and a heartbeat ter, they exploded skyward in a frenzy of wings, instincts screaming of danger.
The air split open.
A swirling portal tore into existence at the center of the clearing. A spiral of light and shadow, violent and jagged, as if reality itself had been wounded. A muffled sonic boom rolled outward. Not loud, but like a bomb going off under water. From the vortex burst a figure, trailing blood and scorched armor, her body a blur of motion and agony.
Kae Sirova hit the ground shoulder-first. The impact carved a muddy trench through dew-slick grass before smming her against the base of a massive tree. Dirt and steam exploded around her, clinging to her face and matting her blood-soaked hair.
Her armor hissed, venting heat in ghostly tendrils. The pting was burned and bckened, scorched like the hull of a downed starship. Blood traced a dark line from a gash above her brow, curling across her cheekbone. Her left arm dangled at an unnatural angle, clearly shattered.
Pain bloomed, not sharp or clean, but deep and primal, the kind that strips away identity and leaves only instinct.
Shit. That’s the only pce I’m still bleeding?Hoo boy. I got lucky. Too damned lucky.Those st few strikes I had to take…
Blinking sweat and blood from her eyes, she looked at the ruin of her arm and gave a breathless half-ugh, half-cough.
"I've seen worse," she muttered. "Least I’m still breathing… More than I can say for the other guys. That’s for fucking sure."
Lying broken beneath the tree, Kae listened to the silence.
No cheering crowds.No audience.No witnesses.
After everything she’d done today, she was still alone.Is that the price of winning?But she was breathing. And she had won.The rift was sealed. The incursion stopped.
Alone.
Kae's trial, unprecedented and entirely solo, was complete. No one had known what waited beyond that breach. She’d gone through anyway. Fought. Endured. Survived.
Her head rolled back against the bark, eyes closing as her wounds began to mend. Warmth rippled through her body in faint threads, her systems knitting bone and flesh back together. Her breathing slowed, shallow and steady, as she forced everything inward.
She was still standing.
Well, not literally, but that would come. At this pace, she’d be on her feet again in under an hour.
Desperately in need of a shower, yes. But hey—You don’t have to be clean to kick ass, do you?
She shifted and tried to rise. Braced herself on her right elbow, reached toward her scorched bde, half-buried in the grass.
Her fingers brushed the hilt…And her arm gave out.
She colpsed with a grunt onto her back, shoulders shaking in quiet ughter as a few zy clouds drifted across the pale sky above.
Then…
A soft chime echoed in her mind. An overy shimmered into view, translucent and waiting.
---
System Message
Kae SirovaYou have completed [Trial: Ascension Portal of Glynnax]
1,500,000 experience points have been awarded.
You have reached level 500.Stat points have been allocated.+50 free points.All core attributes have reached maximum values.You are the first to reach this milestone.
You are hereby granted the title:[First Ascendant]Goal: Complete Level 499 Trial, reach Level 500, and attain maximum values in all core attributes. Effect: All core stats increased by +20%.
---
Kae stared at the message, unmoving, her breath caught between awe and exhaustion.
After decades of rift closures, System trials, and brush-with-death battles across the multiverse, she had finally reached it. The ceiling, the edge of what even the Architects of The System had defined as mortal.
Level 500. The final threshold.
Part of her wanted to scream in excitement, while another simply stared at the title.
[First Ascendant]
It felt so quiet. Not lonely, more like the stillness between the lighting and the thundercp. As if the universe itself had paused, holding its breath.
No grand announcement.No bring fanfare.Just glowing words in her mind. Simple, absolute.
This can’t be it… right? There has to be more beyond this.
She had done everything The System required of her. Every Trial survived. Dominated, even. Five hundred levels of agony, precision, and control.
She had shed blood, identity and fear. What else could it possibly want from her?
She exhaled slowly, then mentally selected Status.---
Character StatusName: Kae SirovaAge: 134 yearsLevel: 500Race Path: Homo Sapiens - AugmentedCss:
Fighter Phantom Sword (Rare) Aetherbde (Legendary) Void Sentinel (Mythical)
Profession: Chrono-Architect
Titles:
First Ascendant (Mythical – Unique)Chronicler of Ages (Legendary)Harbinger of Silence (Epic – Combat)Vow Keeper (Rare – Moral Integrity)Architect of Insight (Rare – Profession Path)
Health: 45,236 / 98,490Stamina: 12,955 / 65,660Mana: 31,004 / 76,896
Core Attributes (Stats):
STR 6,096 DEX 6,788 END 6,566 VIT 6,566 INT 6,020 WIS 6,408 CHA 6,044 PER 6,894
---
Kae blinked slowly, studying the numbers.
Her hand trembled slightly as the final traces of adrenaline bled from her system. The tension she'd carried so long—the drive, the hunger—surged through her spine like an electric current, then vanished.
---
Notifications Pending– View now? [Y/N]
---
She was surprised to see there was more. She selected Yes—and nearly fell back in surprise.
A notification bloomed across her entire vision, its border etched in glowing gold. Even the font felt different. Older. Ancient.
---
[Private System Alert – Legacy Access Level Granted]Kae Sirova, you have triggered a dormant message embedded within the Ascension Framework.No other individual has reached the criteria required for activation.
Message status: UnlockedSubject: First AscendantYou are the first to unlock this message.Message review will take time.Ensure you are in a safe pce before beginning pyback.Do you wish to view the message now? [Y/N]
Note: You can return to this screen when ready.
---
Kae’s breath hitched, her vision blurring. Exhaustion tugged at her consciousness. She closed her eyes and selected No.
Not yet. She needed rest. A safe pce. Crity.
Finally healed enough, she retrieved her Aetherbde, slid it into its scabbard on her back, and turned toward the clearing’s edge.
It was time to return to civilization.
Time to unlock some secrets.
Kae Sirova was ready.
Maybe, hidden in that waiting message, there would be answers.