Ascension. Part 2

Inside a mysterious dimension filled with endless seas of hellish fire, Alex found himself lost. Flames of a myriad colors filled his vision creating a beautiful sight. Plains, valleys, mountains, grasslands, all such natural formations were present in this dimension. Only that, they seemed to be constructed out of pure flames.

After being hit by that mysterious pillar of light, his soul was transported into this mysterious dimension of fire. No instructions were given and with him only being present here in his soul state.

Alex had waited for a while, expecting changes to occur. Alas even after waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, not changes occurred.

It was a scene of fire, fire and more fire.

Deciding to look around, he finally moved. Roaming aimlessly for a while, Alex finally gave up after completely losing his sense of direction. There was no change in the scenery with seas of various colorful flames filling his vision

"What do I do here?! Don't just pull me into this space and leave me alone! Tell me how to proceed!" Alex screamed, only for his voice to be drowned out in the sea of flames.

His current situation was similar to playing a open-world game, except that no objectives or quests were given. Hell, he did not even want to be here anymore.

"Bastard! Come out! I swear I won't hit you!" after another hour of walking around aimlessly, Alex started to threaten the empty air.

He received no reply.

Having lost all his patience, he furiously threw a punch towards the empty air. Unconsciously he seemed to have circulated his soul power. It was then, that a change occurred.

The various flames which were present before him, suddenly shook before flying up into the air. Flames that were green, white, red, yellow, and many others of different colors, gathered to form a frightening hurricane.

In face of Alex's astonished gaze, this hurricane of flames compressed into a small sphere before flying towards him and entering into his head.

The painful feeling of being burnt never occurred. Rather, he felt that a mysterious lock which seemed to have chained him, finally shatter. Alex felt himself leaving this space and returning back to his body.

Opening his eyes, he instinctively knew how to control fire and various knowledge regarding flames. He had achieved Stage 1. And his soul was called....

[Ruler of Flames]

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In another dimension, Reyna found herself surrounded by various machines and mechanical lives.

Tall buildings, trains, cars, flying drones, all sorts of wacky and fantastical construction were present. The scene seemed to be a mixture of Sci-Fi and Steampunk worlds, mixing with each other. Various creations which were both known and unknown to her were present.

Steam powered machines, robots, AI life forms, spaceships, computers. She found herself in a world that was made and belonged to various machines.

Seeing this strange yet wonderful world, Reyna did not feel scared. Rather, she felt herself returning home. Her curious and inquisitive nature was fully stoked.

Completely immersing herself into this world, Reyna started to converse with the various netizens of this world. Their language wasn't something that Reyna had ever learnt or heard, but somehow she found herself capable of conversation.

Her speech and selection of words were awkward at first. Her tone was unsure and her language was broken at the beginning. However, after a few hours she found herself improving rapidly.

Before she knew it, she had already mastered the language and could freely speak with the machines around her.

Just like how Reyna was curious about these machines, the machines in turn were curious about Reyna. Their conversation started from basic introduction, before delving into complicated mechanical and scientific theories.

Many doubts and questions which troubled Reyna for a long time were easily and casually solved by these machines. More and more machines started to gather around her and were involved in a fierce debate that was ongoing.

After a few more hours, just as the debate finally concluded, Reyna felt something shatter within her. Immediately, she found herself returning to the Alliance Base and a newfound power filled her. Various knowledge and mechanical theories started to fill her mind, as she felt her brain becoming more nimble and her calculating prowess increasing.

Her soul had also ascended into Stage 1, with her soul type being...

[Machinery Life]

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Olivia found herself kneeling before an altar inside a dilapidated temple. Her forehead was completely touching the moss-covered stone floor. Words belonging to an unknown language flowed out her mouth, as she seemed to slowly repeat an incantation.

Much like Alex and Reyna. Olivia found herself arriving in a mysterious dimension.

The sky inside this dimension was broken and a mysterious violet light, endlessly leaked from the endless abyss outside. Faint howls and screams were heard in the distance. When Olivia tried to focus her senses to hear these screams, the sounds mysteriously disappeared.

She stood atop a tall mountain, which consisted of a single path leading to a broken shrine. This shrine or rather temple, was built from a black colored stone and had golden light leaking from within.

Underneath the mountain, was an endless abyss which seemed to devour everything. Having no other choice, she walked towards the broken temple.

After approaching the temple, she noticed an enormous archway carved with beautiful murals. Although broken, the temple radiated a feeling of ancientness and majesty.

On either sides of this archway, upon the walls of the temple were carving illustrating a magnificent scene.

On the left were the most beautiful people Olivia had ever scene. The figures of the men and woman carved upon the wall were perfect and breathtaking. Mighty wings spread out from their back as each figure held onto a different weapon. Their faces were solemn as they seemed to rush towards battle.

They looked valiant and heroic, dominant and inviolable.

Looking at these pictures the first thought that came in Olivia mind was- Angels.

On the other side of the arch, was a scene which was the exact opposite. Devils.

Hideous figures with twisted bodies which seemed to originate from within the Abyss were seen. Their faces were hideous, with cruel smiles present upon them. Their humanoid figures held various extremities which seemed to serve the function of their weapons. Much like the Angels, these Devils, seemed to rush towards the other side for battle.

They looked vicious, depraved and wicked.

Looking at these images which were so beautifully carved that they seemed to be alive, Olivia seemed to be in a daze. Forcibly shaking her head and awaking from her stupor she headed inside.

Unlike the magnificent exterior of the temple, the interior were completely plain. There were no murals or carving present. At the very end of the temple, a simple stone altar was present. Through a hole in the rooftop, a ray of violet light entered the temple lighting up its interiors.

The floor was covered with stone similar to the walls and violet moss grew within it's cracks. Carefully scanning every inch of this space, Olivia finally made it towards the altar.

Standing exactly five meters away from the alter, she carefully scrutinized every inch of the altar.

It was a simple stone altar, made from the same materials as the walls and the floor. The surface of the altar was smooth and flat, with cracks present all over it. Behind the altar, upon the broken stone wall, Olivia finally noticed some carving.

The carving consisted of words written in an unknown language. The words gave off a feeling of suppression. Each stroke was deep and beautiful.

"Hymn of Souls." Olivia unconsciously mumbled the words.

Mysterious knowledge flowed into her brain at this moment, giving her the ability to read these words. Olivia's mind entered an unconscious, dazed state before mechanically speaking the words written and following the procedures written.

Completing the full set of rituals, she stiffly stood up before walking towards the stone altar. Using her nails, she slashed her wrists and let her blood fall upon the altar.

At the moment the blood made contact with the altar, it suddenly disappeared before a violet sphere of light appeared atop the altar. Upon appearance, it immediately flew into Olivia's mind.

Olivia woke up at this moment and found herself back at the Alliance Base. Various knowledge regarding her newfound abilities flowed through her mind. Her soul broke into the Stage 1 realm, with it's type being.

[Soul Suppressor]

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Such scene continued to occur to all the enveloped by the pillar of. Some found themselves in jungles, in battlefields, within laboratories. As their souls began to awaken one after another, the pillars of white light also started to disappear.

People looked at themselves in disbelief as knowledge about their respective powers and souls started to appear in their mind. Some continued to remain dazed, while others tried their new strengths.

Super strength, increased speeds, higher processing speeds, x-ray vision, such abilities were tested one after another by each person.

Alex, Reyna and Oliva were no exceptions.

Snapping his finger, an ember of flame appeared within Alex's hand. Reyna could instinctively feel the machines around her, which seemed to be alive. Oliva's mind was filled with new found incantations and spells related to her new soul.

It was then, that the sky suddenly pulsed with white light. All of them raised their heads and stared at the distance. A massive pillar of light, which seemed to be 10 meters in diameter was pulsing with energy.

The pillar of light which was white in color was turning black.

Alex, Olivia, Reyna, all the inhabitants of the base, witnessed this new change and started to head towards this pillar of light.