Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner

The deeper sections of the fortress felt different. The oppressive architecture gave way to corridors that were almost normal, if you ignored the way shadows seemed to move independently of any light source. Noah and Lucas moved through the dimly lit passages, their footsteps echoing off walls that absorbed sound in unnatural ways.

”I know all of this makes no sense to —” Lucas was about to say before getting cut off.

”You don’t have to explain it again,” Noah said, cutting off Lucas before he could launch into another justification for their deviation from the rescue mission. ”I understand what’s at stake. The Eighth has been systematically hunting down the descendants of the original seven families. Your father, the others in those draining chambers—they’re not just prisoners, they’re trophies.”

Lucas nodded, electricity crackling softly around his clenched fists. ”He’s been playing with us. Taking people when he wants, where he wants. Making us react instead of act.”

”So we change that,” Noah replied, void energy swirling around his gauntlets. ”We find him before he expects it, and we end this.”

They rounded a corner into a circular chamber about sixty feet across, with multiple levels connected by stone steps carved directly into the walls. The ceiling rose into darkness, and the floor was polished black stone that reflected their movements like dark water.

That’s when the shadows began to move.

It started as a ripple in the floor’s surface, like something swimming beneath dark water. Then the shadow began to rise, pulling itself up from the stone with fluid, unnatural movements. A figure emerged—tall, lean, wearing combat armor so dark it seemed to absorb light itself.

Six parallel slashes were carved into his chest plate.

At the same moment, another presence descended from the ceiling. Not falling or dropping, but flowing downward like liquid darkness given form. This second figure was identical to the first in every way, down to the six slash marks on his armor.

”Interesting,” the first figure said, his voice carrying an accent Noah couldn’t place. ”The one with the dark elements and a Grey descendant, hunting together.”

”We were told you might come looking,” the second added, his voice identical to the first. ”The master is most curious about your abilities.”

Lucas stepped forward, lightning building around his body until the air itself began to vibrate. ”Six-slash marked soldiers. These aren’t going to be like the others.”

[Enhanced Null Strike - Activated]

Noah moved without warning, void energy flowing through his fist as he launched himself at the first shadow soldier. The strike would have erased anything it touched, turning matter into nothingness at the molecular level.

But the soldier wasn’t there.

Instead of dodging or blocking, the figure sank into the floor like it was water, disappearing completely just as Noah’s attack passed through empty air. Noah’s enhanced strike hit the stone floor, erasing a perfect circle of material and leaving a void-black crater behind.

”Fascinating,” came the soldier’s voice from everywhere and nowhere. ”Dark energy that actually unmakes matter. We’ve never faced anything quite like it.”

Noah spun as the soldier emerged from his own shadow, rising up behind him like a nightmare given form. The attack came from point-blank range—a crystallized darkness blade aimed at the gap between Noah’s helmet and chest plate.

[Dimensional Shift - Activated]

Noah phased out of sync with reality for a split second, the blade passing harmlessly through his shifted form. But even as he solidified, the second identical soldier was already moving, emerging from a patch of darkness near the chamber’s wall.

”Two of them,” Noah realized. ”No—one shadow user controlling two forms.”

The confirmation came as both soldiers moved in perfect synchronization, their attacks coordinated with inhuman precision. One launched a barrage of shadow spears while the other sank into the floor, traveling through the darkness toward Noah’s position.

[Void Blink - Activated]

Noah disappeared in a swirl of purple energy, reappearing twenty feet away. But the shadow soldier was ready for this—he emerged from the darkness directly beneath Noah’s new position, crystallized blade driving upward toward his spine.

The Knight Grace armor absorbed most of the impact, but the blade found a weak point between plates. Pain flared across Noah’s back as the weapon drew blood.

[Health Points: 3,485/3,520 (-35)]

Noah rolled forward, coming up in a combat stance as both identical soldiers positioned themselves on opposite sides of the chamber. They moved like mirror images, every gesture perfectly synchronized.

”You’re not just controlling shadows,” Noah said, studying their movements. ”You’re using them to exist in two places at once.”

”Very good,” both soldiers said simultaneously, their voices creating an unsettling echo effect. ”Few fighters recognize the nature of our ability before it kills them.”

Meanwhile, Lucas faced his own challenge.

The single six-slash soldier attacking him moved with inhuman speed, shadow constructs flowing from his hands like living weapons. But where Noah’s opponent relied on trickery and misdirection, this one was pure aggressive power.

Lightning erupted from Lucas’s hands in a concentrated beam, but the soldier created a shadow barrier that absorbed the electrical energy instead of being destroyed by it.

”Impressive,” the soldier said, his voice carrying the tone of someone genuinely appreciating good craftsmanship. ”Most lightning users rely purely on destructive force. You have actual control.”

Lucas didn’t waste breath on conversation. He launched himself forward, electricity crackling around his entire body as he closed distance. His first strike was a lightning-enhanced right hook that would have shattered concrete.

The shadow soldier caught his fist in a grip enhanced by crystallized darkness, the two forces meeting in a shower of sparks and shadow fragments. Neither gave ground, locked in a contest of enhanced strength against enhanced technique.

But Lucas had been fighting powerful opponents his entire life. Instead of trying to overpower the grip, he twisted his wrist and sent electrical energy surging through the contact point. The soldier’s shadow constructs flickered as the electricity interfered with his concentration.

Lucas’s left hand came up in an uppercut aimed at the soldier’s ribs, but the man was already moving. He released Lucas’s right hand and spun away, shadow constructs forming into a whip that lashed out at Lucas’s legs.

Lightning erupted from Lucas’s boots, the electricity burning through the shadow construct and allowing him to leap clear. But the soldier was already following up, shadow spears materializing in the air around him.

The attacks came from multiple angles—not random, but calculated to force Lucas into specific defensive positions. This wasn’t just raw power; it was tactical brilliance enhanced by years of combat experience.

Lucas created a lightning net between his hands, the electrical energy forming geometric patterns that intercepted the shadow spears. But each interception drained his energy while his opponent seemed capable of generating constructs indefinitely.

Back across the chamber, Noah found himself in the fight of his life.

The twin-form soldier had mastered shadow manipulation to an art form. One form would attack while the other sank into darkness, traveling through shadow to emerge from unexpected angles. They coordinated their assaults with perfect timing, forcing Noah to defend against attacks from multiple directions simultaneously.

[Void Barrage - Activated]

Noah extended both hands, unleashing dozens of void projectiles in all directions. The marble-sized spheres of nothingness would erase anything they touched, turning shadow constructs into empty air.

But the soldiers adapted instantly. Instead of trying to block the barrage, both forms sank into the floor, traveling through shadow faster than Noah’s projectiles could track them. They emerged from the walls on opposite sides of the chamber, their coordinated attack forcing Noah to choose which threat to address first.

He chose both.

[Phase Step - Activated]

Noah moved at inhuman speed, his form blurring as he activated the Void Striders’ enhanced mobility. He appeared behind the left soldier, null strike already flowing through his fist. But even as his attack connected with empty air, he sensed the second form approaching from behind.

The soldier emerged from Noah’s own shadow, the darkness cast by his armor becoming a doorway for his enemy. A crystallized blade drove toward Noah’s spine, aimed with lethal precision.

[Entropy Touch - Activated]

Noah spun and caught the blade with his bare hand. Void energy flowed through his grip, aging the crystallized darkness rapidly. The weapon crumbled to nothing in seconds, but the soldier was already adapting.

Instead of creating a new weapon, he grabbed Noah’s wrist and used shadow manipulation to drain the light from around them. The chamber plunged into absolute darkness, giving the shadow user perfect environmental control.

In the pitch black, Noah found himself fighting an opponent who could be anywhere and everywhere simultaneously. Attacks came from directions that shouldn’t have been possible—below, above, through shadows that didn’t exist moments before.

A blade scraped across his ribs, finding a gap in his armor. Another caught his shoulder, the impact sending him stumbling.

[Health Points: 3,450/3,520 (-35)]

But Noah had advantages beyond sight.

[Shared awareness- Active]

Through his connection to Lucas, Noah could sense the electrical discharges lighting up the chamber intermittently. Each flash revealed the positions of both identical soldiers, giving him tactical data even in complete darkness.

[Storm Call - Activated]

Noah raised his hand toward the ceiling, void energy calling down something that wasn’t quite lightning. Purple-black energy crackled through the air, striking the chamber’s highest point and cascading downward in branching patterns.

The void storm illuminated the entire chamber, revealing both soldiers in the middle of coordinated attacks. More importantly, it burned away the shadows they were using for mobility, forcing them to fight in normal space.

Noah pressed his advantage immediately.

[Void Blink - Activated]

He appeared directly between both soldiers, then spun with his arms extended. Null strike flowed through both hands as he targeted both forms simultaneously.

The left soldier managed to duck under Noah’s attack, but the right one wasn’t fast enough. Noah’s void-enhanced strike caught him across the chest, the null strike erasing a diagonal line through his armor and leaving a gap that revealed pale skin beneath.

But instead of falling, the soldier smiled.

”Impressive,” both forms said in unison. ”But you still don’t understand what you’re fighting.”

The wounded form began to dissolve, shadow energy flowing from the damaged body toward the intact one. Within seconds, there was only one soldier again—but he showed no sign of injury, his armor completely restored.

”We are not two fighters,” the soldier explained as he created new weapons from crystallized darkness. ”We are one consciousness using shadow to exist in multiple states simultaneously. Damage one form, and the energy simply returns to the whole.”

Noah’s jaw tightened as he realized the implications. This wasn’t just shadow manipulation—this was something approaching immortality, as long as shadows existed for the soldier to retreat into.

Across the chamber, Lucas was having his own revelations.

His opponent had revealed abilities that went far beyond standard shadow manipulation that he had seen or experienced. The soldier could create constructs that moved independently, shadow weapons that reformed after being destroyed, and defensive barriers that actually absorbed electrical energy instead of being disrupted by it.

”You’re not just using shadows,” Lucas realized as his latest lightning attack was absorbed by a shadow barrier. ”You’re converting my electrical energy into shadow constructs.”

”Very good,” the soldier replied, his barrier now crackling with absorbed lightning. ”Most fighters never realize why their attacks grow weaker as the fight progresses.”

The soldier released the absorbed energy as a wave of electrified darkness, shadow constructs enhanced by Lucas’s own lightning racing toward him at incredible speed.

Lucas barely managed to dodge, the enhanced shadows carving furrows in the stone where he’d been standing. But he was learning from the exchange, understanding his opponent’s capabilities and limitations.

If the soldier could absorb electrical energy, then the solution was to overwhelm that absorption with raw power.

Lucas planted his feet and raised both hands toward the ceiling. Lightning began to build around him, not the controlled beams and nets he’d been using, but raw electrical fury that made the air itself burn.

”Let’s see you absorb this,” Lucas snarled.

The lightning that erupted from his hands was beyond anything he’d used in their previous fights. It was less controlled, more dangerous, but carried enough raw energy to power a small city. The bolt struck the chamber’s ceiling and cascaded downward in a web of destruction that left glowing scars in the stone.

The shadow soldier’s eyes widened as he realized the scale of the attack. His absorption ability had limits, and Lucas had just exceeded them by an order of magnitude.

The overflow energy struck the soldier like a physical blow, his shadow constructs destabilizing as electrical feedback overwhelmed his nervous system. He went to one knee, shadow armor crackling with residual lightning.

But he wasn’t finished.

”Impressive,” he gasped, pushing himself back to his feet. ”But raw power without precision is just destruction.”

Shadow constructs began forming around him again, but these were different—more complex, more deadly. Instead of simple weapons or barriers, he was creating shadow machinery, constructs that moved with mechanical precision and struck with calculated force.

The fight was escalating beyond normal combat into something approaching a supernatural duel.

Noah, meanwhile, had concluded that conventional attacks wouldn’t work against his twin-form opponent. If the soldier could retreat into shadows and reform, then Noah needed to eliminate the shadows themselves.

[Void Absorption - Activated]

Instead of attacking the soldier, Noah began draining the shadow energy from the chamber itself. Void energy flowed out from his position, consuming shadows and leaving nothing behind. The bioluminescent strips provided just enough light to eliminate the darkness the soldier needed for his abilities.

For the first time, both forms looked genuinely concerned.

”Clever,” the soldier admitted as his ability to sink into shadows failed. ”But you cannot drain all darkness forever.”

He was right—Noah could feel the energy cost of maintaining void absorption across such a wide area. But he didn’t need forever. He just needed long enough.

[Enhanced Null Strike - Activated] [Void Blink - Activated]

Noah disappeared and reappeared directly in front of the primary form, void energy flowing through his fist as he drove it toward the soldier’s chest. With no shadows to retreat into, the soldier had to block the attack directly.

His crystallized darkness blade met Noah’s null strike in an explosion of competing energies. The shadow weapon held for a split second before beginning to unravel, void energy eating away at its structure.

But the soldier was skilled enough to use even a failing defense. As his blade dissolved, he stepped inside Noah’s guard and drove his knee toward Noah’s ribs. The impact caught Noah below his chest plate, lifting him off his feet.

[Health Points: 3,405/3,520 (-45)]

Noah rolled with the impact, coming up in a defensive stance as both identical forms moved to bracket his position. The soldier had somehow managed to split again despite the absence of shadows, using some technique Noah hadn’t seen before.

”Shadow energy doesn’t require darkness,” the soldier explained as if reading his thoughts. ”Light simply makes it easier to manipulate. We can exist in multiple states as long as consciousness permits it.”

The revelation changed everything. This wasn’t environmental manipulation—this was reality manipulation on a fundamental level.

Both forms attacked simultaneously, their coordination perfect as they struck from opposite angles. Noah found himself defending against attacks that came from impossible directions, the twin forms somehow sharing spatial awareness that allowed them to attack through each other’s positions.

A blade scraped across his helmet, leaving a scratch in the void-enhanced metal. Another caught his thigh, drawing blood through a gap in his armor.

[Health Points: 3,375/3,520 (-30)]

But Noah was learning too. Each exchange revealed more about his opponent’s capabilities and limitations. The twin forms were perfectly coordinated, but they shared a single consciousness. Attack the right pressure points, and he could disrupt their shared awareness.

[Null Strike ’n Chi Fusion - Activated]

Noah’s next attack combined void energy with enhanced life force, creating a strike that targeted both physical and metaphysical aspects of his opponent. His fist met the primary form’s chest, void energy unmaking armor while chi disrupted the consciousness controlling both bodies.

The effect was immediate and devastating. The secondary form flickered and destabilized as their shared awareness was disrupted. For a critical moment, both soldiers were vulnerable.

Noah didn’t waste the opening.

[Entropy Touch - Activated] [Enhanced Null Strike - Activated]

His left hand caught the primary form’s throat while his right drove into the soldier’s chest. Void energy and entropy effects combined, aging the soldier’s armor while unmaking his shadow constructs at the molecular level.

The soldier’s eyes widened in shock as his abilities failed him completely. Without shadow constructs to enhance his strength or speed, he was just a highly trained human against an enhanced opponent with reality-warping abilities.

Noah’s final strike was a null-enhanced uppercut that lifted the soldier off his feet and sent him crashing into the chamber wall. The impact left a web of cracks in the stone, and the soldier didn’t get up.

Across the chamber, Lucas finished his own fight with a lightning strike that overwhelmed every defense his opponent could muster. The shadow soldier collapsed, his constructs dissolving as consciousness fled.

”Status?” Noah called out, checking his remaining health and energy levels.

[Health Points: 3,375/3,520] [Void Energy: 22,100/24,000]

”I’m getting tired of these people,” Lucas replied, electricity still crackling around his hands. ”These six-slash soldiers are on a completely different level from any shadow user we’ve faced before.”

Noah nodded, surveying the unconscious forms of their defeated opponents. ”If six-slash soldiers are this dangerous, I don’t want to think about what we’ll face when we find the Eighth.”

They moved deeper into the fortress, leaving the chamber of their hardest fight yet behind them.

Behind them, in the shadows they left unguarded, something stirred.

---

Far below, in a throne room carved from black stone that seemed to drink light itself, a figure sat in contemplation. The throne was massive, built for someone of inhuman proportions, and the one who occupied it radiated an aura of power that made the air itself feel heavy.

His face remained hidden in shadow, but his voice carried a strange aura when he spoke.

”Interesting,” he mused, watching events unfold through means that transcended normal observation. ”A boy with SSS-ranked void manipulation and a Grey descendant, hunting through my fortress like they own it.”

He leaned forward slightly, and the shadows around his throne seemed to deepen.

”Children,” he continued, his tone carrying contempt mixed with amusement. ”Always so impulsive. Always so certain that power alone can overcome wisdom and experience.”

A low chuckle echoed through the chamber, the sound carrying harmonics that suggested something far from human.

”They have defeated my six-slash commanders with impressive skill, I’ll grant them that. But they still don’t understand what they’re truly facing. Power without context is just destruction waiting for direction.”

He raised one hand, and shadows began to swirl around his fingers like living things.

”Very well, young hunters. You seek the Eighth? Then by all means, come find me. I have lessons to teach about the difference between strength and true power. Lessons that will either forge you into something worthy... or break you completely.”

The shadows around the throne began to pulse with malevolent energy as ancient power stirred to meet the approaching threat.

”Come then, children. Learn why the EIGHT ANCESTOR has survived when all others have fallen.”