Damon's Ascension-Chapter 92: Assembling The Team 1

Felicia let out a slow breath, still leaning against the terminal as she tried to shake off the residual presence of the Universe Will.

Damon stood with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable, though his mind raced with everything that had just transpired.

The silence between them stretched before Felicia finally smirked.

"That was a hell of an experience," she said, rolling her shoulders as if to physically shake off the supreme being that had just occupied her body.

She glanced at Damon with amusement. "So? Did you like my new look? Think I should keep the whole glowing-eyes, godly-presence thing?"

Damon arched an eyebrow. "You looked like a malfunctioning NPC."

Felicia scoffed, standing up straight and stretching. "Huh, and here I thought I was exuding divine authority. Guess it’s back to being a normal, boring human then."

"You were never normal, and that’s the best thing about you." Damon responded with a chuckle.

Felicia smiled appreciatively but did not pursue that thread just yet as there were more important things.

"So, what do you think about the whole ’Primordial Lake’ thing?" She asked with a serious expression.

Damon exhaled through his nose, his fingers drumming against his arm. "It’s not the worst option, but I don’t like it. The idea of fixing our ’defective law’ is attractive for sure. But to enter the Chaos Realm before our 20-year grace period is over..."

He trailed off, expression darkening. "...there really isn’t a better alternative, is there?"

Felicia nodded. "You heard it yourself. The only other method requires Chaos Essence, and the Universe Will isn’t willing to waste even a speck of it on us. So unless you plan on changing your policy towards Providence, we’re stuck with this."

Damon remained silent, his frown deepening.

Felicia placed a hand on her chin as she smiled strangely. "You really are something else, Damon Arnan. You really won’t even put just one point - one point! - into Providence?"

Damon sighed and shook his head. "I hate relying on things I don’t fully understand, but I hate losing more. I am not inflexible, if things are not looking good, I will invest in Providence even up to 99 points if necessary."

Felicia smirked. "Impressive, I like a man who can think beyond his prejudices. Will you actually listen to the Universe Will’s request on the matter of trust?"

Damon’s lips curled into a mirthless smile. "Not even a little bit. I’m going to use its advice to my advantage while keeping my guard up at all times."

Felicia removed her hand from her chin and sat down near the terminal, spinning around in her seat. "You’re crazy, Damon Arnan."

Damon ignored her and focused on the mental map now etched into his mind. The Primordial Lake was deep in the Chaos Realm, past areas even IUAS hadn’t mapped.

If the Universe Will itself had only seen glimpses of it through high-Providence explorers—who all died trying to bring the information back—then it was likely a death trap of the highest order.

"We need a team," Damon said abruptly.

Felicia tilted her head. "Not planning to solo it?"

"Even I’m not that arrogant." Damon shook his head.

He then folded his hands behind his back. "From all we’ve heard, the Chaos Realm isn’t something you can handle alone. If I had ten avatars, maybe, but even then, I wouldn’t bet on it."

"We need people who can handle themselves, who won’t drag us down, and who actually have a chance of surviving what’s coming." Damon concluded with a sigh.

Felicia tapped her chin. "A small elite squad or a full-fledged human army?"

Damon’s gaze sharpened. "A squad. A small, precise, and ridiculously strong team. Anything bigger is a liability."

Felicia nodded. "Alright. Any names in mind?"

Damon smirked. "Yes, the same ones that came to your mind. But before we can move out, I - we - need to hit level 30."

Felicia sighed. "Which means more grinding."

Damon chuckled darkly. "Not necessarily. We have the means to utilize a shortcut so let’s utilize and make a big investment for the human race’s future."

Felicia was startled by this. "You plan to...?"

Damon began to fiddle with his VQD. "That’s right, it’s time for the human race to pay up for the work I’ve done."

........

Connor Baines stepped through the battlefield of fallen beasts, his crimson-lined coat swaying behind him as he strode past corpses that hadn’t even cooled yet.

The remains of demon-spawned creatures lay scattered in grotesque shapes, their twisted forms half-sunken into the abyssal black of their own shadows, remnants of his power swallowing them whole.

His gloved fingers idly flicked the lingering dark mist from his sleeves as he turned his gaze upward. The artificial sky of this particular Essence Instance flickered slightly, signaling its impending collapse now that its guardians had been slain.

Connor exhaled through his nose, almost bored as this was too easy.

Just as he prepared to step into the void of his own shadow, his VQD vibrated on his wrist. He flicked his fingers, and from the darkness beneath his palm, the sleek interface materialized as if drawn from the abyss itself.

[Caller: Damon Arnan]

Connor’s lips curled into an intrigued smile as he thought of his ’boss’, feeling that this was going to be interesting.

With a lazy swipe, he accepted the call.

"Damon," he greeted with casual amusement.

"I assume you’re not just calling to check in on my well-being. What do you need?"

As he spoke, he stepped backward into a nearby shadow, his body vanishing completely into the ink-like void beneath a fallen beast’s claw.

By the time the last syllable left his lips, he was already gone, traversing through the dark to whatever destination awaited him.

.........

The rhythmic clang of steel echoed through the cavern as Bane McGregor drove his fists into the tempered metal, forging an axe with nothing but his bare hands.

Each strike sent sparks flying, illuminating his chiseled features in a flickering glow. The underground forge was sweltering, but the heat did not bother him and if anything, it was comforting.

Bane worked in silence, his massive frame bent slightly over the anvil, a hammer in one hand, the heated weapon in the other. The axe took shape under his thunderous craftsmanship, refined with each strike as well as each adjustment.

His VQD vibrated on the stone table beside him. Without looking, he reached out and tapped the interface, answering the call with a grunt of acknowledgment.

"Sir Damon." His voice was a deep rumble, steady as the earth itself.

He lifted the glowing axe to inspect its edge, then nodded in satisfaction, setting it aside to cool.

Only then did he glance at the screen.

"What do you need?" Bane asked simply, wiping soot from his forearm.

His tone was calm, patient, and unrushed, as if he had all the time in the world.

.........

Henry Jasek lounged atop a crumbling rooftop, a bag of spicy chips in one hand and his VQD in the other.

Below, a group of low-level scavengers were arguing over a pile of scrap like a pack of starving hyenas.

Henry had been watching them for the past ten minutes, purely for entertainment.

"C’mon, guys! Fight already, I need something to bet on!" He muttered, crunching down on another chip.

One of the men finally snapped and threw a punch, sending another sprawling into the dirt.

Henry snorted. "Called it."

Then, his VQD buzzed. He checked the screen, saw Damon’s name, and smirked.

"Ohhh, the boss man calls," he mused, stretching lazily before tapping the answer button.

He didn’t sit up, but just kept reclining against the rooftop edge. "Yo, what’s up? You need me to clone some busted skill and break reality again?"

He licked the chip dust off his fingers, then added with a grin, "Or did you finally decide you need an anime protagonist on your squad?"

......

Kyle Greer sat cross-legged in a dimly lit corner of Ambrose’s spaceship’s mess hall, his bathroom slippers resting lazily on the table as he scrolled through his offline anime library.

A steaming cup of instant ramen sat beside him, untouched, its scent filling the air.

He was halfway through a rewatch of Legendary Mecha Vanguard: Redux—an anime made by a different race—when a group of crew members at a nearby table started talking.

At first, he ignored them as he was engrossed in his show, until one of them said something that made his eye twitch.

"Nah, Cyber Paladins is way better than Vanguard. At least its fights make sense. Vanguard just throws in random power-ups with no explanation." The fellow said dismissively, his voice carrying a hint of mocking.

Kyle’s ramen vibrated.

Slowly, he turned his head toward the offender, his hazel eyes gleaming with eerie intensity.

"Random power-ups?" He repeated, his voice soft but carrying an unnatural force that made the air itself shake.

"Did you even watch the series, or are you one of those ’I saw a clip on Galactic Hub’ casuals?" Kyle asked coldly.

The crew member froze mid-bite into his sandwich, clearly unsure whether Kyle was joking or about to erase him from existence.

Before the situation escalated, Kyle’s VQD vibrated. He blinked, then sighed, flicking open the call.

"Boss Damon. If this isn’t important, I’d like to go back to correcting the ignorance of the masses."