The Path of Ascension

Book 2: Chapter 31: EMP POV Epilogue

Chapter 31

Emmanuel let out a long breath, and he finished the last dozen forms and requests that needed his attention.

It was an unending battle, but it had its high and low points. And at the moment, it was distinctly the latter.

With his schedule cleared of one task earlier than anticipated, he had exactly eight hours to himself, and knew precisely how he wanted to spend them.

Carissa, his wife, was currently in her sitting room, scratching away at a drawing of some beast he didnt recognize, meaning it was probably from one of the shows she watched without him.

With a thought, he ripped through space to enter the hall outside her workshop.

After a knock and her confirmation for him to enter, he strolled it.

Honey, Im free. Eight glorious hours of no work. I need a martini.

Carissa smirked as she pointed off to the side at a liquor cabinet. It's right there. Do note that theres some assembly required. While youre there, get me one too. Please, and thank you.

Emmanuel laughed as he swept over. Carissas acerbic humor had been one of the things that initially drew him to her during his youth, when he was incognito on the Path. She had only refined her wit during their millennia together.

After mixing the drinks, he handed one to her and watched her outline the painting for fifteen minutes, until she was in a good place to stop. It was a nice, slow moment that they both enjoyed.

Calm.

Peaceful.

Just the two of them doing something mundane.

Using her Domains Concept to lift his glass, she cleared the way as she leaned in and gave him a kiss.

So, how did you get out early? Burn the paperwork down?

Emmanuel chuckled. Nothing so dramatic. A combination of a light day and working quickly. I need to leave to go deal with Duke Frederics little petition in the Assembly, but for now, we have a little time to ourselves.

His wife smiled and leaned in. Oh, how rare! And we aren't even absconding into a rift to abuse the time dilation. This is a treat.

They were cozying up, and things were turning decidedly heated when Emmanuel felt a pulse ripped through the fabric of the realm.

Someone was breaking through to Tier 47.

Someone he hadnt authorized.

Growling, he sent a brief message to his wife even as he tore through the fabric of reality and into chaotic space.

The individual in question had broken through a dozen planets over, but he could feel them even after the breakthrough ended. They were moving away, trying to hide, but that was impossible.

As a Tier 50, he was intimately connected with the realm, and could feel every entity over Tier 45.

Tier 46s were common enough, thanks to the cap imposed by the eight Great Powers to limit the amount of essence that left the realm with each ascension. They were usually mundane enough that he didnt really notice them. But when someone broke through to Tier 47, he was acutely aware of it.

All of the Tier 50s would, and this would no doubt be used as proof of his being lax in his duties.

Not that the others didnt have the same hiccups occasionally, but it always looked terrible, and was sure to be used against them.

Despite the individual fleeing and trying to veil their presence, it only took Emmanuel ten hours to cross the distance and corner them in chaotic space.

He even recognized them. Gilbert Handel was an older man from his father's generation, and should have known better than to try and hide like this, but Emmanuel was in no mood for an integration.

Gilbert, ascend immediately, or I'm going to beat you until you do so.

The man in question stopped fleeing and said, I thought being able to track higher Tiers was just a rumor that your father faked with his Talent, but it seems it's true. That, or youre using his Talent the same way. Regardless, I might be slower than you, but I don't think you can stop me from leaving. You're too soft, Emmanuel. Im going to go kill that bastard Alatal, no matter what. I planned too much for this. I tried to be good and wait for them to leave Rustys capital, but they never left, so now I have no choice.

Emmanuel just watched the man through the roiling mass of chaotic space, saying nothing.

He was frankly disappointed.

Gilbert was an old ally of his father, who had stayed behind when the previous Emperor and his loyalists ascended at the end of his reign. His official reasoning had been that he hadnt completely solidified his Aspect. But Emmanuel had always suspected that he wanted revenge on Alatal, another delver of his generation, for seducing his wife away from him.

Without even blinking, Emmanuel waited as Gilbert cast his strongest spell, a heavily modified and upgraded [Fire Lance].

The bar of fire was ten times larger than he was, but he stood there, not even raising a shield.

Gilbert, like so many others, didn't truly understand the gap in Tiers. At lower Tiers, jumping one, or two, or even six Tiers was possible, but even by Tier 25, only Ascenders and their peers could do so reliably. By Tier 40, it was all but impossible to fight even a single Tier up. That was when cultivators started to measure their progress inside the same Tier, as in mid Tier 45 versus peak Tier 45, and those small stages mattered.

A Tier 50 couldnt be hurt by even a strong Tier 47. Not even by a hundred of them.

His grandmother had been the exception that proved the rule when she, as a Tier 49, killed the Tier 50 Emperor of the time and took the throne. But even that was only possible because the man was both personally weak, and a coward. He was a fool to not annihilate his grandmother early, before she became a problem.

When the blast ended, Gilbert was far off, but still within spiritual sense range, and he stopped fleeing when he saw that Emmanuel was untouched.

He knew it was over, but still turned and screamed, Im not resigned to this! He deserves to die! They both do, the traitor and the whore!

Emmanuel flexed his entire Domain, his Concept, Intent, and Aspect, to reach the man in a blink, and punched out.

His fist hit Gilbert squarely in the chest, but he was careful to not outright kill the man.

Even without a melee set of Talents active, he broke most of the man's ribs and pulverized his lungs and heart.

Nothing lethal to one at Gilbert's Tier, but it would force him to expend energy to keep his body going.

If Emmanuel could avoid it, he really didnt want to kill the man. Being cheated on by your best friend was a hard blow to recover from, but he also couldnt allow the man to Tier up and go on a rampage.

Gilbert. Ascend, so I don't have to kill you. Please.

He didnt like the idea but while Emmanuel could be patient, he wasnt soft.

As Gilbert spluttered, Emmanuel sighed.

It took seven more strikes before the man started to fade away as his control over his Domain started to slip, and he began to ascend.

With a thought, Emmanuel removed the mans spatial rings and most of his other items. Without being over Tier 45 and bound to Gilberts spirit, they would just burn up in the ascension.

He wasnt going to let good money go to waste, and after Gilbert ruined his free time, Emmanuel was going to take the man's accumulated wealth and add it to the tax fund.

Usually, he allowed higher Tiers to keep a large portion of their wealth in their family, guild, or corporation, but after this stunt, he wasnt going to be so lenient.

As Gilbert was fading away, Emmanuel said, Use this as a fresh start, and try to move on from this.

He could see that the man was raging internally, but it didnt mean anything now.

Gilbert was ascended, and couldnt come back down to this realm without immediately dying. Even if he was willing to give up his life to descend, he wouldnt be able to find and locate his hated foe before dying. Gathering power in the higher realm and then trying to descend for one final blow was pointless.

The only thing Gilbert had done with his revenge plot was waste Emmanuels time and energy for a futile chance.

Worse yet, he ruined his vacation with his wife, and had set Emmanuel days behind his schedule.

At his best speed, Emmanuel went to go perform his duty.

Duty, it always required something of him. His grandmother and father before him, and now even Emmanuel himself, had worked all too hard to make his Empire a place of peace and prosperity. Countless lives were relying on his guidance. He could do nothing less than his best, and there was no rest at the top; no room for error nor sloth.

Empires ran themselves in one direction.

The ground.