MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 1205: Ascension

“It seems we really are doing this,” Aura Nova spoke in a calm tone as she gazed towards the sky.

“You seem too excited,” Anthony spoke as he came to a stop.

“That obvious?” Aura Nova asked with a smile on her face.

Lucian shook his head as he spoke, “Your voice gave it away.”

Aura Nova smiled, her hand moving towards her head to pet Akira, but the cat wasn’t on her head. Aura Nova had also sent her to the Mirror Dimension; if not, Akira would have been left behind.

“For safety reasons, we should each stay a kilometre away from each other, then answer the Calling at the next o’clock,” Aaaninja suggested.

Everyone nodded in acceptance as they all began to exchange small talk. But while they were having their conversations, those who had come to spectate were left in awe and shock, as they simply couldn’t believe just how many people were ascending. They couldn’t help but wonder whether the whole Ascension thing was even as rare as it was made out to be, or if they had been lied to all along.

And their thoughts were understandable. After all, seven of Anthony’s subordinates were ascending, then Anthony himself, plus Aura Nova, Aaaninja, Lucian, Kingsley, and Vega.

That was a total of thirteen whole people, which was no different from insanity to them.

But neither Anthony nor anyone else moved to answer their shock or questions. As the time approached, Anthony and his friends stopped talking as they each moved a kilometre away from one another.

Anthony simply sat on the ground in a lotus position as he entered a meditative state… not that there was anything to meditate on. He simply wanted to drown out all noise and everything around him.

The moment the next hour arrived, Anthony, Lucian, Aaaninja, Aura Nova, Kingsley, Vega, and all seven of Anthony’s subordinates simultaneously reached out to the Calling and immediately answered it.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, as though the entire Ascension was a sham. But nobody was foolish enough to move or say anything. The entire planet was simply drowned in utter silence as even the trees no longer rustled and the wind itself ceased.

The next moment, the planet itself began to quake with maddening intensity as though it were about to burst apart. Lava shot upwards from below as though the planet’s inner core was rising to the surface. Mountains collapsed, oceans immediately began to dry up as though the sun had become unbelievably harsh. Every form of green life, from towering trees to the smallest blades of grass, seemed to wither and dry out as though some sort of abomination was descending upon the world.

Nobody reacted to any of this. After all, even if the planet were destroyed, none of them would be injured in the slightest.

The sky churned, twisting as a blinding golden brilliance flooded it in its entirety. The next instant, thirteen colossal beams of incandescent light thundered downward before the thirteen Ascendants with frightening power, as though they were trying to erase each of them where they stood.

Anthony’s long white hair flapped backwards as he finally opened his eyes and looked at the beam before him. It didn’t char the earth upon which it descended, nor did it destroy anything. It was as though it was some sort of creation energy rather than one of destruction.

The colossal beam didn’t stop its descent; it continued pouring down endlessly. The next moment, the beam of light seemed to part open like a curtain. Anthony raised his head, his eyes tracing the internal structure of the beam until they stopped upon the sky.

Then it appeared… a staircase. There was only one at first, suspended directly beneath the heavens. Then another appeared beneath it, then another, as a series of staircases manifested one after another until the final step stopped just inches away from the earth, as though it couldn’t bear to stain itself with dirt.

Anthony rose to his feet. The moment he did, Aaaninja, Lucian, Aura Nova, Kingsley, Vega, and the rest also rose to their feet. With only two steps, they now stood before what seemed to be a staircase that led directly towards the Heavens.

Their eyes shifted towards the sky once more. There was nothing there, not a portal, not a star, just a vast tapestry of golden energy and radiant light that painted the heavens. Anthony’s eyes shifted, meeting the gazes of the others. He simply nodded at them, and they nodded back as they silently signalled one another to begin the ascent.

The people at the side watched in awe as it all unfolded right before their eyes. None of them had ever experienced anything like this in their entire existence. Just from standing on the same planet as the Heavenly Staircases and the colossal beams, their bodies seemed to become stronger ever so slowly as their mana gradually increased in both purity and quantity.

Although they weren’t the ones ascending, they were still gaining simply by spectating. But it wasn’t the case for Anthony and the rest. They gained nothing from being in such close proximity.

As Anthony was about to take a step onto the first staircase, a figure blurred forward, arriving before him in an instant. The figure didn’t hesitate; they simply planted a foot upon the Heavenly Staircase with greed burning in their eyes. To them, this was an unprecedented opportunity. How could such an opportunity fall right before their very eyes, and they were expected to simply stand there and watch?

The same thing was happening at Aaaninja’s side as a Celestial had already taken a step onto his Ascension Staircase. It was the same for Aura Nova and Lucian. As for Anthony’s subordinates, they had brought no one with them, so no one approached their staircases. The same applied to Kingsley and Vega, who had only brought her parents.

But the moment these people’s feet came into contact with the Heavenly Staircases, their bodies immediately burst apart into dissipating motes of light. There was no scream, no splatter of blood, nor the sound of flesh tearing. Just pure erasure.

Truly, the hearts of men were wicked and filled with greed. But they had paid the price for it.

The rest swallowed hard as they saw what had happened. They wouldn’t deny it; they too had been tempted to do the same thing. It was simply that someone else had acted before them. Now, they had seen exactly what would happen to those who touched a Heavenly Staircase that wasn’t meant for them.

Anthony didn’t bother thinking about what had just happened, as it came as no surprise to him. Without missing a beat, he took a step. The moment he did, the entire Heavenly Staircase seemed to hum. With that, Anthony took another step as the golden colossal beam of light that had earlier opened like a curtain bathed him while he walked ever so calmly.

Beside him, the others were also walking up their own Heavenly Staircases, as none of them knew what lay ahead.

Anthony paused mid-step, his eyes turning towards his parents and grandparents. He gave them a warm smile and nodded in their direction, as though saying his final goodbye before continuing his ascent.

Soon, he reached the final staircase, and the moment he did, Anthony felt a powerful suction force pull him upwards like the beam of an alien UFO.

And with that, Anthony, Lucian, Aaaninja, Aura Nova, Kingsley, Vega, and his subordinates all left the Acarnis Galaxy.

The colossal beams of light immediately vanished, the Heavenly Staircases flickering out of existence as though they had never been there, leaving only those who had come to spectate staring at the scene in fascination of the highest order.