SYSTEM ASCENSION

Kael’s feet left the ground, and for one terrible second, everything seemed to stop.

Then gravity took hold. He dropped past the edge of the mountain, his stomach twisting as the ground vanished beneath him.

”ELIAS!” His scream tore through the open air as he desperately reached upward, his fingers grasping at nothing. He slammed into the nearest wall, before falling further.

The mountain wall rushed past him in a blur of stone and green, the wind violently tearing at his bloody clothes and hair.

He tried to turn himself around, but the force of the fall sent him spinning, making the sky and earth trade places over and over again.

Tears streamed from his eyes as he screamed until his throat hurt, his voice echoing against the cliffs. ”PLEASE! PLEASE, STOP!” But there was no answer. Only the deafening roar of the wind and the rapidly approaching ground.

Kael squeezed his eyes shut, trembling uncontrollably as another scream escaped him. He could feel the air rushing against his body, faster and faster, and every instinct inside him screamed that he was running out of time.

His hands clenched into fists. His tears continued falling, disappearing into the wind beneath him. Then something inside his chest snapped awake. A strange warmth spread through his body, starting from somewhere deep within him and exploding outward with overwhelming force.

Kael’s scream changed. It became louder, deeper, powerful enough to shake the air around him. Light suddenly burst from his body, swallowing him in a brilliant glow that could be seen from the mountain peak above.

His hair began changing before the light even faded, the strands bleaching until they became completely white. His eyes flashed open, glowing with an intense bluish white. A shockwave erupted from his body, scattering the air around him, and then two enormous wings suddenly burst into existence behind him.

White feathers exploded outward in every direction, catching the sunlight as they spread wide. Kael’s body jerked as the wings instinctively opened, and for the first time since he had been thrown from the mountain, his descent slowed.

He stared downward in disbelief, his glowing eyes wide with confusion as the ground continued rushing toward him.

Then the light surrounding him condensed.

A translucent shield formed beneath his body just moments before he reached the ground.

BOOM!

The impact sent dust and loose stones flying across the mountainside, but the shield absorbed the force, cracking with radiant lines before finally collapsing. Kael remained suspended inside the fading light for a moment, his enormous wings spread around him as feathers drifted slowly through the air.

He landed safely among the rocks, breathing heavily, his hands trembling as he stared at his own wings. He didn’t understand what had happened. He didn’t understand what he had become.

The glow still pulsed beneath his skin, slow and steady, like a second heartbeat that didn’t belong to him. A single white feather settled on his knee. He reached for it, and it dissolved into sparks the moment his fingers closed around it.

High above, Elias looked down from the mountain’s edge. Claude stared at Elias.

Neither spoke about what just happened before they looked away. Then Claude slowly looked back toward Kael.

’This form. I have seen it before.’

”...You knew that would happen?”

Elias remained silent. His eyes stayed fixed on the boy below.

”You can really see beyond the normal eyes.” Claude muttered. ”Then you probably know about me.”

Elias didn’t reply. He just stepped away from the edge and shut his eyes. He swirled his hand in the air. Once. Twice.

Claude narrowed his eyes.

”What is he...”

By the third time, energy lines burst out from Elias’s finger tip forming a round shape. The shape expanded and gathered energy from the air.

As Claude continued to watch, his mouth fell.

”Elias,”

”What?”

”Did you...just open a portal?”

Elias stared at the swirling purple energy, and back at Claude like he just did something absolutely normal.

”You just opened a portal!” Claude exclaimed. ”How did you...have you already been able to do that?”

”Yes, why.”

”Yes, why?! You just opened a portal!” Claude looked around. ”Where is the artifact?”

”What artifact?”

”Did you open it without an artifact?”

”Do I need an artifact to open it?” Elias asked, while already walking into the portal.

*Claude stood frozen a heartbeat longer, muttering something about centuries of tradition and ruined theories, then hurried after him before the portal could close.*

It led to the base of the mountain, where Kael had landed.

Kael was staring at the portal when they walked out. It swirled shut behind them.

”...”

White eyes stared at them with zero expression.

The wound on his body slowly began to heal. Each torn muscle knit back together. After a while, he took a step forward.

”Why...”

He staggered, and the wings slowly retraced into his back, till they were gone completely.

”I never awakened my system ability. You did it for me...”

He took another step forward, limping slightly.

”You did it for me...but...was it that easy?”

He looked Elias in the eyes.

”Tell me! Was it that easy?! We are supposed to be friends! There is a huge chance that that wouldn’t have happened. I could have died!”

”Life and death matters not, for life is just a hassle and death is another life,” Claude spoke.

”What?”

”It’s his name. He said it himself. A name is a reflection of a person’s real self.”

Kael blinked. Then, he laughed softly, and covered his face.

*His shoulders shook, though it was hard to tell whether it was from laughter or something closer to tears.*

”What bullshit. I almost died. Is there no exception to your cruelty?”

”We should go back.” Elias turned around.

Claude watched him walk away, before glancing at Kael.

”Come on.”

”You...” Kael took a single step, and his eyes rolled back. He fell unconscious, and collapsed into the dirt.

They both looked at him.

”I’m sitting this one out.” Claude turned around and walked away.

Elias returned to the unconscious boy. He grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up on his back. He adjusted Kael a little bit, before following behind.

The portal’s last purple sparks faded behind them. Kael’s head lolled against Elias’s shoulder, his breathing slow and even. Somewhere above, the wind carried the last of the feathers off the cliffs, scattering them over the valley like snow.