It's been three hours since Ashton started his breakthrough and he's still not done.
Skylar hovered in the air, hidden in a Dream watching its master worriedly. Ashton was bathing in his own blood. In fact, blood dried out on his skin, causing it to harden and form a thick layer of coating all over his body.
Ashton was still alive, but his breath was faint. His aura was incredibly weak. If it weren't for the fact that Skylar could still feel the connection they had, it would've thought that master was already dead.
Within Ashton's consciousness though, a different scene was playing out.
Ashton found himself still stuck in that same place where he sensed the barrier.
He was there, battered and bruised. He was weakened, meaning that he was nearly losing consciousness. Yet despite his current state, his expression never faltered at all.
If anything, his will to succeed burned even fiercer with opposition.
This is probably the first time that Ashton had this much difficulty with a breakthrough. It was humbling and enlightening at the same time, but this isn't the time to be distracted by that.
He was so close. The barrier had thinned out a lot compared to what it was before. He could almost feel victory at his grasp so he couldn't rest now.
Summoning the remaining energy he had, the compressed it to its utmost limit, even though this was hard for him to do in his current state but he didn't care.
He was determined to see this through so he did it and blasted the wall that was preventing him from advancing with a loud yell.
Boom!!
A fearsome impact resonated throughout his entire body. Ashton felt that in his guts. Ashton felt extremely weak at this point, there was no doubt that he wouldn't be able to perform that kind of attack in this state again.
Thankfully though, he had succeeded somehow.
He almost missed it since he was nearly fainting, but he sensed that he blew a hole in that wall.
A wisp of foreign energy seeped out and fused with his consciousness. It felt like a shot of pure adrenaline, causing him to instantly feel energized and woke.
When gained some clarity back, he discovered that he was not hallucinating. There was indeed a small hole in the wall where the energy of that same kind was coming from.
He got close to it and absorbed as much of that energy as he could. Then, he used that same energy to blast the wall, making that hole bigger.
To his amazement, the wall was like a paper against this new type of energy. There was no resistance at all. The wall completely crumbled down in his next attacks.
As a result of that, more and more of that same kind of energy flooded into Ashton's consciousness, elevating him into a state that he had never felt before.
The sensation felt overwhelming and incredible. It's like he had the world sitting firmly in his grasp. It was maddening yet also humbling at the same time.
With his newfound strength, Ashton completely got rid of the wall until not a single block of it remained. Once he's done with that, there was nothing stopping him from crossing the threshold.
So, he stepped forward and crossed the boundary.
That's when Ashton's body began emitting a milky white radiance in the real world.
Like snow under the summer's heat, the thick coating of hardened blood dissipated from his body, same goes with his clothes.
The glare illuminated the entire room and brought about a solemn atmosphere.
Ashton's consciousness was further elevated upon crossing that threshold. He could literally feel himself Ascending from his previous state.
His senses were spreading farther than before, the mysteries that had puzzled him before became clear to him now. The sheer power coursing through his veins was addicting, it was like he could alter this world's orbit with a single punch.
Ashton's Mageroot completely changed. His Sorcerer Tower extended up to a certain point before transforming into a streak of light just like the rest of his Mageroot.
It then became an orb of light that began sucking every kind of energy presents around him. It behaves as if it was breathing, sucking everything in blowing everything away, rinse, and repeat.
That's until a blanket of nothingness seeped out of it. Forming a null field around Ashton where only he was permitted to exist.
This is Ashton'a Void Shroud, a clear sign that he had indeed broken through his mortal shackles and reached the Void Rank in cultivation.
His Void Shroud covered a mile. It's much bigger compared to others but that's mostly because his foundations are that deep.
With the Void Shroud, nobody from the Mortal Ranks could ever hope to injure him unless he permitted it. Additionally, the Void Shroud will also gnaw at foreign attacks on him. And with how large Ashton's Void Shroud was, it'd be extremely difficult for him to be injured.
Aside from attaining the Void Shroud, Ashton's Dream Laws were also elevated.
The things that had puzzled him before about it had become crystal clear to him now. He could utilize his law even better than before so his enemies best be prepared for that.
But what really blew Ashton away from all of this, was the freedom he felt.
He never knew how incredibly restrictive his mortal shackles were until they were gone. It's just a world of difference for him.
The influence of time over him was greatly loosened, meaning that he would still age but it will happen slowly. His lifespan was boosted immensely as well and he'd have no problem living for thousands of years.
He even has this sensation of being able to exist in places that people would normally deem inhabitable. He could exist in the vacuum of space without needing any kind of apparatuses and he'd be just fine.
It was only now that Ashton truly understood why being a Mage or a Knight doesn't matter upon reaching this stage.
The path of cultivation becomes linear from this point onward. All of them would be pursuing Life Evolution now.
He's no longer a simple creature that depended on the world to provide for him. He had grown past that. In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to call him a Heavenly Body at this point.
Mana and Aether had lost their value for him. They no longer fit to be on his body when there's obviously something better, that being Stellar Energy, the very energy that Heavenly Bodies had.
This was the same energy that revived Ashton's consciousness and allowed him to continue his breakthrough.
Skills? Spells? There was no difference between them past this point. Especially when even the smallest gesture from him could be interpreted as something very profound by mortals.
The parameters of his Aptitude no longer matter since they have become simple tools for him to use.
The Unsealed Book of Infinity and the Auspicious Rainbow Cloud turned into simple tools for him to utilize according to how he pleases at this point.
His Providence which also gave him the Fey Bloodline stayed with him of course, his breakthrough affected that as well.
The virtues he learned and his Laws were his main arsenal now. And because of his familiarity with them, he didn't need a refresher to adjust.
Ashton's consciousness returned to his body and he opened his eyes.
He could immediately sense the difference just by existing. He had a feeling of omnipotence for a brief moment there but he hold on to that since he knew that it was false.
Still, Ashton is a real Ascendant now. This is an irrefutable fact at this point. He had caught up and managed to make it safely to the other side.
Chirp!!
"Oof!" Ashton made a sound whilst catching Skylar who came barreling towards him. He chuckled and said: "Sorry for scaring you buddy, but don't worry it's all over now. I'm fine and I succeeded."
Skylar looked at him as if wronged before letting out a few chirps. Ashton pacified his pet for a few moments until it calmed down.
After that, Skylar excitedly dove into Ashton's consciousness where the changes occurred.
To Ashton's surprise, Skylar immediately fell asleep in there.
'Must be having another growth spurt because of my breakthrough.' Ashton guessed to himself.
He shrugged and let it be. It's not like that's a bad thing anyway.
It was also then that he noticed that he was completely naked. His clothes must've turned into ash for some reason since he couldn't see them anywhere anymore.
Thankfully, he had clothes in his Inventory. He brought a new set out and wore them, feeling a sense of normalcy returning to him.
Then, Ashton spent some time stabilizing his new realm and grounding himself. The sensation of being an Ascendant was somewhat addicting so he needed to center himself before his ego inflates too much.
'This is just the beginning.' He said to himself. 'I still have a long way to go if I want to ensure Humanity's safety.'
