Act 3: Empire's Stand - Chapter 590: Forceful Ascension

Act 3: Empire's Stand - Chapter 590: Forceful Ascension

"Poison? Is that the finale to your grand strategy, Remulus?" Saul revolved his core and surged Ein into every vein and organ inside him but found nothing poisonous threatening him. His blood was clean, and nothing corrupted his core. He couldn't underestimate Remulus and quickly pulled out a vial of grade-five Devadraite elixir, slightly aggrieved at using a precious antidote. A precious elixir like this one required a decade to create, utilizing hundreds of ingredients, and he had to use it here because of these three. He poured out the elixir's contents, drinking it in a single gulp, but a dreadful unease congested his chest caused by the impertinent smile on Remulus's face.

"What are you smiling at?" Saul looked over his body again, seeing no changes. Was he not poisoned after all? Then what was Remulus's goal in sacrificing his son? Far off in the distance, at the side, the Dragnar Ancestor breathed heavily, losing control of his Ein, and the chains of light had been destroyed. Remulus no longer possessed any Ein, and Draven was dead. Where was the threat now?

"You lack vision." Remulus snarked back at Saul with his own words, the unsettling smile widening as his old eyes curled down in a menacing look of glee. "Everything we did, we did to breach past your defenses. You mocked my son by praising him for his fist reaching your cheek, which confirmed you had no more in defense past that. From the very start, we knew a chance of defeating you never existed."

Remulus's droned-out speech was too tiring to listen to. Suddenly, Saul felt a heat welling in his chest and clutched it, nearly digging his nails into his skin. His core was on fire, rotating rapidly. Thunderous claps resounded in his mind, and steam rose from his body. As sweat beaded down his forehead, Saul hissed out in a restrained voice, "You...what the hell did you do to me? My Ein, it's increasing?"

A sharp laughter added to the acute pain in his head. Remulus could not stop laughing daringly like an ant snarking at a human's foot. But tears streamed down the sides of his head, flowing endlessly as the laughs contained immense sorrow and unrestrained joy. He cackled, "You lack vision, Saul. Why do many believe the only way to defeat an enemy is by putting them down? Find the right enemy and the perfect timing, and uplift them to their death. My son gave his life to give you a boon, an extract of the Divine Essence."

"You...you!" Saul understood immediately. A bright light shone from the pores of his skin, enveloping him in a holy radiance. The ground caved in under him as if unworthy of touching his feet. He desperately tried to eject the influx of Ein, but most of it already entered his core since he revolved his core to check for poison and absorb the antidote. Roaring, Saul gripped his head and gazed widely at Remulus, his hate turning his vision red.

"You were at the utmost peak of Tricrown King Exalt, right? You could attempt to advance any time by taking in a sliver of Ein." The Pavilion Master kept his huge grin, the most hateful look, and explained, "The real reason you delayed giving Oscar a grade-five elixir to heal his missing arm is that you had to be especially meticulous in each step. One mishap of accidentally absorbing the extract of Divine Essence you were using, and you would have been forced to ascend. Try it now, Saul. Try to become a Primaere."Thê source of this conte/nt n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

His smile widened further, mocking Saul. "But I wonder. Can you become a Primaere when everything has gone out of your control? You're a careful and meticulous but stupidly prideful man. The slightest divergence from your expected result should be a dagger to your heart. You failed to take Oscar's core. You failed to kill all of us. And you failed to find the perfect time to ascend, forced to undergo it here. Your plan is ruined, your mind is in chaos, and your heart is shaken. What are the chances you will succeed?"

"REMULUS!!!!" Saul shouted, reaching out his one arm toward Remulus, angered to a violent red flush. A pillar of light descended from the sky and encircled him, basking him in its radiance. Shockingly, his hand could not break past the shimmering light, an inch away from Remulus, one damned inch. Saul never felt so enraged, duped by a couple of gnats. Calming himself, he retreated to the center of the circle of light and said coldly, "Once I ascend to the Primaere realm, I will enjoy what I'm going to do to your homes. Your legacy will be lost forever."

"If you ascend. This one was the only way out of the thousands of strategies I considered. Prepare, Saul, for the baptism has begun!" Remulus knocked his head on the boulder in roaring laughter. The weakling couldn't resist getting one last word in.

"HAHAHAHA!" He laughed. There was no pain. His preparations were enough. A second lightning struck, flashing across and reducing ten more cores into dust. As he traveled further up, the cores began to be destroyed in smaller numbers since the ones closer to him contained a deeper despair and, thus, a stronger connection. But his cores were limited, and the lightning never ceased. The last few cores exploded, leaving Saul alone to contend against the third trial. Peering around, he knew he was three-fourths of the way through the trial, excited to be so close to the end.

Lightning struck him, and a searing heat erupted from his core. He let out a shrill cry, blood gushing from his fresh wounds. Gritting his teeth, Saul continued up. The lightning relentlessly struck like merciless hammers from the heavens. He cursed and shouted in agony each time. Why did he have to endure this pain? If only he had Oscar's core, the perfect despair. Judging from how the lightning intensified over the distance traveled and the number of cores destroyed based on the depth of the emotion, if he added Oscar's core, he could have made it five-sixths of the way without the pain.

"How unusual. You're like an open book, Saul. Wondering how it would have been different if you had Oscar's core?" Remulus's voice reached him from outside. He turned to see his old friend lifted into the air by Caires, who was missing an arm. Remulus sighed, "That is why the pain is worse for you. A stalwart heart will lessen the pain, but you, who hid behind your schemes to cover up your weakness, have the weakest heart of all."

Saul wanted to retort, but another lightning hit him. His leg exploded off his waist, and his one remaining eye popped, leaking blood and fluid. The lightning was too painful. He heard a crack coming from within. His spotless core had a clear lightning-shaped crack on its surface. Inside, he howled because his throat had been burned. 'Bastards! If it wasn't for Oscar and the Ancient of Fire! If it wasn't for you all resisting me! If it weren't for any of you, this would be nothing to me! My plan was perfect!'

"Idiot! I can practically hear what you're thinking. You have no one to blame but yourself. If you had any heart, then you would fight on through this trial without complaints. You said you planted the seeds for your ascension, but you've only prepared your own downfall." Remulus scolded him like a child. "Now, face the consequences of your depravity."

Saul gave an incoherent shout as he stretched out his hand, so close to the gap, an inch away. The sky quaked as the lightning gathered into one, the most powerful he faced. Not even a crackle or a spark escaped its divine form as it sped down to his stretched-out hand. Remulus's words echoed in his ears. The memories of Oscar and everyone he deceived poured out in his mind, and doubt sprouted from his heart. Was he wrong? Was his path wrong? Even if he lost his methods, why did he struggle with the third trial? Saul flinched and realized his mistake, shouting and pleading for mercy as the lightning tore into his core and heart.

The doubt in himself, in his decisions, opened the doors for the lightning to engulf him. His core shattered into pieces, and Saul fell. The light dissipated, and he dropped to the crater, covered in a light coat of dirt. Saul lifted his mangled arm, the bones showing in the torn parts of his hand. He grasped out, unable to clench the closing gap in the sky or the radiant light as the last bit of light waned over his body before departing.

"An inch....I was only an inch away...." Saul murmured, his throat quivering from the slightest words passing by. A different burst of Ein exploded from far away, and a newcomer arrived, watching him from above, a man with onyx eyes and hair, cold darkness swirling from his gaze. Saul moved his lips, trying to adjust to speak louder. Oscar landed in the crater and approached, each step counting down to the arrival of his death. Saul gasped and found his voice.

"Boy...."