In my past life, my bondmate Lyra tried to keep the Gate of Ascension open for her weak old flame, Javier. The Gate opens only once every ten thousand years—the only chance for adepts to ascend. By delaying its closure, she would doom an entire generation. So I forced her through. We spent centuries together in the Celestial Realm, and I foolishly thought she’d moved on. But on the eve of my Archon breakthrough, she poisoned me. As divine retribution tore me apart, she screamed: "You made Javier miss his ascension! Go rot with him!" When I opened my eyes, I was back—at the moment she tried to stop the Gate. This time, I’ll let her have her way. 1 “This is the Gate of Ascension! If it doesn't close, our entire generation is doomed!” A handful of mages pleaded with Lyra, who stood defiantly in the Gate’s shimmering portal, blocking its path. “Javier hasn’t arrived yet,” Lyra’s voice was as cold as glacial ice. She didn’t budge an inch. “What’s the harm in waiting a little longer?” “It opens once every ten thousand years! This is our life’s work, our only hope!” In response, Lyra flung a bolt of pure energy, blasting one of the pleading mages from the sky. “Insects like you dare dream of ascension?” she sneered. “Javier is not here. Therefore, this Gate will not close.” She stood there, a lone figure against the tide, a portrait of magnificent, misplaced heroism. I clapped my hands, my applause echoing in the stunned silence. “Bravo! Spoken with the spirit of a true paragon, Lady Lyra!” Then, under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, I turned and drifted away. For me, the Gate was a mere formality. My power had long since reached the threshold of ascension. If not for my desire to ascend alongside the far weaker Lyra, I would have been in the Celestial Realm ages ago. I never imagined that our shared dream of an eternity together would end in such a bitter betrayal. This life, I was done with her. As the thought crossed my mind, I released the restraints on my power. Instantly, the heavens took notice. A summons to the Celestial Ordeal. In three days, the trial would begin. If I survived, I would ascend. After my departure, Lyra’s momentary confusion gave way to a faltering of her bravado. Her power, in the grand scheme of things, was unremarkable. Without me to protect her, she would have perished a thousand times over. Since we were bound, I had braved the Nine Hells and the deepest Abyss to fetch her elixirs and arcane relics, all to finally give her the strength to qualify for ascension. But now, in this moment, she seemed to believe she was truly invincible. The true archmages of the realm were all busy battling in the high heavens, vying for the first wisp of celestial essence to break through from the other side. The only ones arriving at the Gate now were the lesser adepts. I wondered what those old titans would do when they learned that a hundred centuries of cosmic alignment had been squandered for the selfish whim of a minor mage. The crowd of low-level adepts was no match for Lyra, who was armed to the teeth with the artifacts I had given her. She struck them down one by one, their spirit-veins fractured. “You pathetic worms dare stand in my way?” she declared, standing sentinel at the Gate, her gaze sweeping over the fallen. “Until Javier arrives, no one is closing this Gate.” With no one left to challenge her, her arrogance swelled. Hours passed. More and more adepts arrived, only to be blocked by the unyielding figure of Lyra. Finally, Javier appeared, stumbling and breathless. “Lyra, I knew you wouldn’t leave me behind,” he gasped, his own energy almost completely depleted. For someone of his level, just reaching these heights was a monumental feat. “Javier,” Lyra’s voice softened, her relief palpable. “As long as I’m here, you will always have a place on the Celestial Stairway.” But just as she spoke, the Gate of Ascension, strained beyond its limits, began to tremble. Before anyone could enter, cracks of light spiderwebbed across its surface, and it began to shatter. “The Gate… it’s broken! Ten thousand years of waiting, our only chance at godhood… gone!” “It’s all that witch’s fault!” “And that low-born mongrel! What right does he have to even be here?” The heavens filled with a chorus of curses. Javier’s face went white as a sheet. “Lady Lyra… did I do something wrong?” he whispered, shrinking behind her as a thousand murderous glares fixed upon him. “Let them dare touch you, Javier, and I will hunt them to the ends of the earth,” Lyra declared, her voice ringing with protective fury. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.” “Oh, Lady Lyra, you’re the best.” As the two of them exchanged their tender reassurances, a horrifying realization dawned on someone in the crowd. “The Gate of Ascension is shattered… but the gate to the Celestial Realm never opened! Don’t tell me the Archmages are trapped on the Stairway!” 2 A single mage’s panicked cry plunged the world into a chilling silence. The Gate of Ascension was the entrance. You passed through it to climb the Celestial Stairway. Only when the Gate of Ascension closed did the true gate to the heavens open. But now, the entrance had crumbled first. The gate to the heavens remained sealed. And all the great powers of the realm were trapped inside. Which meant that, apart from me, Lyra was now the most powerful being in this world. To make matters worse, blinded by love, I had once sworn an Unbreakable Vow. If I ever brought harm to Lyra, my own body would erupt into nothingness. “Does this mean… our masters are trapped for another ten thousand years?” The faces of the assembled mages turned ashen. Lyra, too, finally understood. A wild, triumphant laugh escaped her lips. “Javier, didn’t you say you wanted to see the treasures of the Three Great Orders? Today, I will take you on a tour of the world! Take whatever you desire. I’d like to see anyone try and stop us.” And so, with the tigers away, the monkey became king. Lyra began her grand tour, leading Javier to pillage the vaults and secret libraries of every major faction in the land. She had made an enemy of the entire world. But none of that mattered to me anymore. In three days, the Ordeal would come, and I would be gone. I didn’t expect, however, that with only an hour left until my trial, Lyra would seek me out. “Kaelan. Give Javier your protective artifact, the Prismatic Celestial Jade.” I frowned, looking at the two of them. A shimmering aura of potent energy clung to them both. Clearly, they had been enjoying the spoils of the great orders. “Give him the Jade?” For a moment, I thought I’d misheard. The Jade was my soul-bound artifact. Without the Jade, I was without life. “Are you deaf? I told you what I want,” Lyra said, her brow furrowing with impatience. “Don’t you know this is my soul-bound artifact?” I almost laughed. I never dreamed that a few days of unearned power would inflate her ego to such monstrous proportions. “So what if it is?” she retorted, an eyebrow arched in disdain. “You know that if a soul-bound artifact is separated from its master, the master dies.” “I’m the strongest in the world now. I can spare you a wisp of my power to keep you alive. Stop wasting my time and hand it over.” She waved her hand dismissively. I stared at her, my gaze cold. The person I had loved for so long was now a stranger. A current of power began to stir around me, a pressure that was almost physical. “The Jade is my life. It is bound to my very soul. And you want to take it, to take my life, just to please him?” Lyra’s expression hardened, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. She clearly hadn't expected me to refuse. “Kaelan, you have so many artifacts and elixirs. What’s the big deal about giving up one?” she snapped. “In this world, who can stand against me now? Give me the Jade, and I will naturally protect you.” I looked at her hideous, grasping expression, and a wave of profound sorrow washed over me. To ascend with her, I had suppressed my own power, hidden my true identity. I had braved hells and abyss for her, facing death countless times. And in her eyes, it was simply, “You have so much, why can’t I have some?” Javier, who had been hiding behind Lyra, suddenly bit his lip and stepped forward. “Lady Lyra, Kaelan… you are bondmates. It was presumptuous of me to ask. You shouldn’t fight because of me. I… I’ll leave.” He turned, his voice choked with emotion. “Lady Lyra, I’m an orphan. You’re the only person in this world who has ever been kind to me. If I have the chance, I will repay your kindness in the future.” 3 As Javier’s words faded, he made a show of turning to leave. Lyra’s eyes immediately reddened. “Javier, no. With me here, no one can bully you. You have a family now.” Tears streamed down Javier’s face. “Lady Lyra, you’re too good to me! For all my lives to come, I would be your beast of burden, your loyal servant, just to stay by your side!” Lyra, her heart aching for him, pulled him into a gentle embrace, whispering words of comfort. I had no interest in this melodrama. The Ordeal was imminent. I began to focus, to center my spirit, and the power around me began to hum and swirl. Seeing this, Lyra’s tone turned to ice. “Kaelan, are you actually thinking of fighting me? No one in this world is my match. I am showing you dignity because we were once bondmates. Do you take my kindness for weakness?” she raged. “When will you learn to be as selfless as Javier!” Her furious shouts echoed across the sky. I watched her shield Javier protectively, her defiant posture utterly laughable. For millennia, I had sheltered her so completely that she had no concept of what the celestial energy coiling around me truly meant. She had no idea why the most powerful mages in the land had always shown her such deference. Now, convinced of her own invincibility, her first act was to brandish her power at me. It was pathetic. It was tragic. I shot her a cold glance and said nothing. Just then, Javier stepped forward again. “Lady Lyra, please don’t be angry. Why don’t you step aside for a moment? Let me talk to him, brother to brother.” “Brother Kaelan,” he began, walking toward me with a look of manufactured sincerity. “I’m not here to ruin your relationship. I… I just want to join this family.” Lyra was hesitant, but at Javier’s insistence, she reluctantly agreed. “Kaelan, when will you learn to be as gracious as Javier?” she huffed, before finally departing. I gave them both a cold, sweeping glare, then turned my attention back to the heavens. The storm clouds of my Ordeal were gathering. The moment Lyra was out of earshot, Javier’s face transformed. “Kaelan, you’re really pushing your luck, aren’t you?” he sneered. “Lyra is now the undisputed master of this world. She’s far too good for a no-name adept like you. Only an Aether-touched genius like me is worthy of being her partner.” He puffed out his chest. “If I were you, I’d disappear. Don’t force my hand.” I couldn’t be bothered to respond to this dog borrowing its master’s ferocity. But then, a flicker of movement at his waist caught my eye. A jade pendant. It was a gift from my master, who had ascended long ago. It was the token of my love I had given to Lyra. The day we were bound, under a canopy of a billion stars, I had placed it in her hand and sworn an oath to never harm her. And now, she had given it away so casually. I thought my heart was a frozen stone, that nothing of her could move me. But seeing that pendant swaying at Javier’s hip, I lost control. With a flick of my will, I summoned it, and the pendant flew from his belt into my hand. Javier’s eyes suddenly lit up with a triumphant, malicious glee. The next second, he sprayed a great mouthful of blood, his face turning as pale as parchment. “KAELAN! HOW FAR ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THIS!” Lyra’s shriek ripped through the sky. She flew to Javier’s side, cradling him in her arms. “Javier was trying to make peace with you, and you attack him out of spite!” she screamed, her eyes blazing with fury. “Kneel and apologize to him right now, or…” “Or what?” I cut her off. Lyra froze for a second, then her face turned into a mask of cold fury. “Or our bond as soulmates is severed today!” The absurdity of it all was almost amusing. “Then let it be severed.” Her face twisted in rage. An instant later, a devastating blast of energy shot toward me—it was the ultimate, life-or-death technique I myself had taught her. My heart, in that moment, became perfectly still. For a common stray, she would use such a strike against me. The attack hit the shimmering shield of my own power and vanished without a trace. “Ant,” I said softly. The next moment, the clouds of the Ordeal fully converged. The world-shaking trial of ascension was about to begin. And at the same time, a shimmering stairway of light reappeared in the sky. The great powers of the realm were finally free.
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