Chapter 683: Ascension

Xia Qingyue’s vision came again.

At first, there was nothing but darkness, followed by the sound of wind carrying a faint, unfamiliar melody.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing beneath an enormous crimson sky. Unlike the destroyed landscape she had seen before, this world was peaceful.

Vast mountains stretched across the horizon, ancient trees covered the valleys, and countless floating palaces drifted among the clouds as though the heavens themselves had been transformed into a kingdom.

Before Xia could make sense of what she was seeing, someone knelt before her.

“Queen Xia.”

Xia froze.

A second figure lowered their head.

“Your Majesty.”

Then another voice followed.

“Queen Xia, the eastern border has sent word.”

“Queen Xia, the wandering swordsman has arrived.”

“Queen Xia, the people are waiting for your decision.”

The voices continued until dozens of figures surrounded her, each looking at her with familiarity and reverence.

She wanted to ask who they were, but the moment she opened her mouth, the world shattered.

When her vision cleared, she found herself sitting beneath an ancient tree beside a young man.

He was dressed like a wandering swordsman, wearing simple and somewhat worn clothing, yet every movement of his blade carried an inexplicable elegance. His swordsmanship was beautiful, almost effortless, as though every strike had been refined through countless years.

For some reason, Xia knew him.

She was certain she knew him, even though she could not remember his name.

The world shifted again.

She now stood upon a battlefield with blood staining her robes while an enormous army gathered behind her.

Someone was shouting from the distance.

“They’ve breached the western gate!”

The soldiers around her were beginning to panic, but Xia merely raised her hand.

The entire army fell silent.

The vision shifted once more.

This time, she was sitting across from an old woman, drinking tea while listening to the elder complain endlessly about how irresponsible the younger generation had become.

Xia Qingyue listened patiently, occasionally laughing at the woman’s complaints.

When the scene changed again, snow was falling across a frozen lake.

Xia Qingyue stood beneath the white sky while the same wandering swordsman stood several steps away from her.

He stared at her with an expression she could not understand.

There was sadness and coldness in his eyes.

Perhaps regret.

Perhaps something even deeper.

Before she could speak, the world changed.

She was running through a burning city.

Flames consumed the buildings around her as people screamed and fled through the streets.

Then she was laughing.

The scene shifted again, and she was crying.

A moment later, she was holding someone’s hand.

She could not see the person’s face.

She only knew that she never wanted to let go.

Yet the hand slowly slipped from hers.

Xia Qingyue desperately tried to hold onto it.

She failed.

The memories began coming even more faster.

She saw herself wearing different clothes and standing in unfamiliar worlds, meeting different people who somehow carried the weight of relationships she had never experienced.

She saw the wandering swordsman once again.

This time, however, something was wrong.

There were multiple clear voices calling out to her.

“Traitor.”

“Savior.”

“You’ve forgotten everything.”

“You will remember.”

Xia turned toward the final voice.

There was nobody there.

The world around her began collapsing.

The floating palaces, the mountains, the people, the swordsman, the battlefield and every other memory dissolved into countless fragments of light.

Xia desperately tried to hold onto something, but each memory slipped through her fingers before she could grasp it.

Then, through the collapsing world, she saw herself.

Another Xia Qingyue stood in the distance.

She looked almost identical, yet something about her was fundamentally different.

Her eyes carried an exhaustion Xia could not comprehend, as though she had lived through countless ages and watched everything she cared about disappear one by one.

The other Xia looked directly at her.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then the other Xia smiled sadly.

“Not yet. In the world of dreams, you have yet to reach the peak.”

The entire vision shattered.

Xia Qingyue suddenly snapped awake.

She was back in her room.

The game console was still sitting beside her, its screen glowing softly as though nothing had happened.

She stared at it for several seconds before finally picking up the controller.

“I have to stop this.”

Xia clicked her tongue in annoyance.

She didn’t like this one bit.

Who was that swordsman?

Who were all those people?

Why did they call her Queen Xia?

None of it made any sense, yet the emotions attached to those memories felt far too real to simply be dreams.

Whatever was happening, it was incredibly strange.

Should she tell Grey?

She hesitated.

Last time, Grey had thoroughly examined her Source and found nothing unusual. There was probably no point in bothering him again.

Besides, she didn’t even know what she was supposed to tell him.

That she kept dreaming about a life she had apparently never lived?

Xia Qingyue sighed and returned her attention to the game, deciding that, for now, she would pretend none of this existed and work hard to get stronger.

Meanwhile, back with Grey, he was discussing the upcoming ascension with Elder Tharos.

“The Path should appear in about a week, right?”

Elder Tharos nodded.

“If everyone goes at once, then yes. It will soon be time.”

Grey nodded thoughtfully.

“Then I’ll prepare the ascension platform here in the Nexus Universe.”

Elder Tharos looked toward him.

“Not here. We’ll do it somewhere else.” Grey thought for a moment before speaking.

There was no reason to reveal the location of the Nexus Universe to anyone from the Higher Realm. He had no idea what kind of existence might be watching from above.

Until he understood the situation, keeping his home hidden was far safer.

Besides, Grey needed to become stronger himself.

Things had been progressing at a snail’s pace lately, partly because the lower realm had become too small for his current strength.

The Higher Realm should be different.

There would be far more powerful beings there, which meant far more people for him to beat up and steal universes from.

With that thought in mind, Grey went to visit Alissa.

Thanks to the server and the knowledge she had gained through it, Alissa had already comprehended Infinite Lifespan, effectively escaping the limitations of an ordinary life.

With her potential, she could theoretically spend an absurd amount of time cultivating without ever needing to worry about her lifespan running out.

She could practically sit around doing nothing for countless ages and still eventually reach the peak simply because she had infinite time to spare.

Grey had originally considered turning Valeria into an Infinity Dragon. However, after Ouroboros pointed out that Valeria was far more aligned with the nature of a Phoenix, he decided there was no reason to force the transformation.

Speaking of Ouroboros, Eterna would also be ascending with Grey.

During their time together, Eterna had gradually become more expressive. Grey had noticed another unexpected change as well.

She had become surprisingly clingy, almost rivaling Alissa in that regard.

Then there were his two mature girlfriends, Lia and Valeria.

Both were considerably more composed and dutiful, although they were still affectionate toward him. Lia, in particular, had slowly grown into the role of a powerful empress, spending her time guiding her people while steadily building her own authority.

By the time the week passed, everything was prepared.

The day of ascension had finally arrived.

Everyone gathered at the designated location.

Lyris stood alongside Elder Tharos while the talents they had recruited assembled around them. Beneath their feet was an enormous platform covered in intricate formations, countless lines of ancient symbols connecting to a central structure that seemed to pierce directly into the heavens.

Grey studied the formation carefully.

His comprehension did not activate.

That alone caught his attention.

Normally, observing something this complex would immediately allow his mind to dissect its principles. This time, however, there was nothing.

After examining the formation more closely, Grey quickly realized why.

It wasn’t complete.

The portion beneath them was merely one half of the structure.

The true mechanism existed on the other side.

In the Higher Realm most likely.

“The connection has been made,” Elder Tharos announced. “Everyone, get ready.”

Grey turned toward Alissa, Eterna and Ouroboros.

“Get ready.”

Alissa and Eterna nodded immediately.

Ouroboros gave a confident smile.

It was finally time.

A new chapter was about to begin.

Just then, Grey suddenly remembered something.

“Finality, you’re also in the Higher Realm, right?”

Finality’s voice answered from somewhere within his consciousness.

“Not really. I’m somewhere around the True Source World.”

“Oh.”

Grey nodded absentmindedly.

So he still had a long way to go before finding Finality.

Before he could think about it any further, Lyris suddenly stepped forward.

Her expression was unusually nervous.

“I-I hope I can be with you in the Higher Realm, Senior Grey.”

“?”

Alissa and Eterna simultaneously turned toward her with completely blank expressions.

Grey barely had time to react before the entire platform suddenly trembled.

A tremendous force descended from above.

The next instant, Grey’s vision blurred as an invisible pull seized his body.

“Alissa, Eterna, hold onto me!”

Both immediately grabbed his arms.

Ouroboros stared at them for a moment before pointing toward herself.

“What about me?”

Grey glanced at her.

“You’re strong. I don’t care about you.”

Ouroboros rolled her eyes.

“How considerate.”

Then golden light engulfed everyone.

Their bodies began rising as the platform disappeared beneath them. They were dragged upward through an incomprehensible golden space, the boundary between realms becoming thinner and thinner until Grey could no longer tell whether he was moving through space, information or some higher-dimensional structure entirely.

The sensation continued for several moments.

Then something went wrong.

Grey suddenly felt the hands holding his arms disappear.

“Alissa?”

Nothing.

“Eterna?”

Still nothing.

Before Grey could understand what had happened, Ouroboros’s voice suddenly rang out through the golden void.

“GREY! HOLD MY HAND!”

Grey turned.

Through the blinding golden light, he saw a hand reaching toward him.

He immediately grabbed it.

For one brief moment, he felt Ouroboros’s strength through their connection.

Then even that connection began disappearing.

At the same time, something deep within Grey stirred.

His comprehension, which had remained completely silent throughout the entire process, suddenly erupted.

[Your Comprehension defies the Heavens!]

[By observing the Higher Realm, you have gained insight into its Consciousness.]

[The Consciousness of the Higher Realm is rejecting you.]

Grey’s expression stiffened at the notification from his Chaos Lotus.

His eyes became cold.

Rejecting him?

Why?

He didn’t know.

But it didn’t matter.

If the Higher Realm didn’t want him there, Grey would simply force his way in.

“Nexus Energy.”

BOOM!

An overwhelming tide of Nexus Energy erupted from Grey’s body.

The golden space shook violently as his power expanded outward, crushing the invisible suppression descending upon him. The force attempting to reject his existence immediately vanished beneath the overwhelming authority of Nexus Energy.

The entire golden void trembled.

Then, from somewhere within the endless space, an ancient and incomprehensibly vast voice finally rang out.

“T-That power…”

The voice trembled.

“What is that?”