Chapter 42: Ascension Trance [1]
A sweet voice was heard from the second floor.
Niveus could tell whose voice it was without even looking at the person.
"…"
Slightly trembling, Niveus turned around and spotted exactly what he expected.
A young girl with flowing hair like a flame ran down the stairs. Her smile was unusually bright. And the clothes made her look like a bird who had finally been freed from its sanctuary, spreading its wings to experience the world.
For some reason, Niveus felt like he had gotten a new cliché detector skill because something whispered to him that the cliché would occur soon.
"…careful—!"
"Ah?"
And then it happened.
Eliana accidentally stepped on the edge of the stairways, shaking her off balance. She tried to regain her balance, but it led to another accident. She twisted her ankle, her body turning as she fell down backward.
At that moment, Niveus's mind processing accelerated like a supercomputer, predicting every outcome of his future action.
Yet, they all led only to one road, one outcome.
"…"
Niveus decided to stay still. Out of every possibility that led to one outcome, staying still was the least he could do to get that slightly different 'result.'
If Niveus rushed and caught Eliana, the 'time bomb' would definitely tick, intensifying her feelings toward him.
That was one thing Niveus wanted to avoid. Becoming a yandere's love subject was not a good thing, especially if the world would plunge into chaos. His mental health would be drained quickly.
Hopefully, by staying still, Niveus could end up with something that wouldn't trigger her lovesickness immediately.
Thud!
"Aeghh!!"
Eliana fell quite hard. Fortunately, she didn't hit her head first. One could only imagine she would go rogue if that happened.
Eliana, feeling her elbows throbbing, tried to lift her upper body but to no avail.
"Can you get up?"
A dark mask appeared in her line of sight, strands of white-snow hair falling on her forehead. Her pulse was faster than ever.
Her gaze couldn't help but be glued to the mask, even after it pulled away from her. Then, her eyes widened when Niveus lent her a hand.
She blinked, shifting her gaze back and forth between the hand and the mask.
"Don't want my help?"
"N-no!"
Eliana finally grabbed Niveus's hand.
There were no calluses on his hand. It was soft and smooth, as if he had never held or swung a sword even once, as if he had never been a knight but a noble who pursued an academic path.
'How can his hand be this soft?'
But it was not only her who thought like that.
After pulling Eliana up, Niveus lowered his gaze subtly.
'Why is her hand still this smooth?'
The only difference was that Niveus could get an answer to his question.
["It's the effect of [Phoenix's Blessing] she obtained before she awoken as an Ascendant."]
'Huh, wait? Is the channel still open?'
["...No, it's not. I read your emotions and opened the channel, thinking I should tell you that."]
'I see. What does the blessing of Phoenix give her then?'
["Immortality."]
'What kind of immortality? Is it rebirth like Phoenix?'
["Yes. However, due to the Beacon, its feats are adjusted. Her rebirth will not be perfect—she will not carry any memory from her past."]
'What? That's messed up.'
["It's not like you heard about the 'reset' for the first time. As long as the girl keeps moving forward, she will eventually regain the perfect blessing derived from her Forte."]
'Wow, you really know everything but me, the man who became your host.'
["..."]
Eliana had been silent for some time. The reason was none other than the man in front of her, who seemed to freeze.
'What is he thinking while staring at me quietly like that? Is he engrossed by my appearance?' Eliana mused, head tilting as she stared back affectionately. 'As I thought, he liked it. I'm glad I'm wearing this, hehe...'
Then, her crimson pupils shrunk when she realized something.
'Oh! Perhaps he was charmed by me from the start? Is that why he just stood there earlier instead of catching me? I see. So that's how it is...'
Pulled out of his thoughts, Niveus finally sighed. He turned his head slightly, glancing at Eliana.
Before he contemplated, Niveus made sure the Communication Channel between him and Nono was closed.
'Actually, Eliana doesn't need to become a yandere to get stronger. What she needs is a strong emotion. It could be anything from hatred, anger, joy, and other similar emotions except for the blues. I'm not sure about depression, though.'
Niveus grinned.
'Well then, I can help her reach her full potential as long as it's not love.'
He chuckled and then turned around, walking away from Eliana.
Eliana had not realized that Niveus had already walked away, she was too dazed to notice something as clear as that.
It was when Niveus had exited the door that Eliana came to her senses.
"W-where are you going, Niveus? Can I tag along?" Eliana shouted, her hands clenching tightly.
Unfortunately, her voice didn't reach Niveus.
In the end, Eliana didn't get confirmation from Niveus.
She was standing there like a statue for a moment before covering her mouth and shaking her head, her cheeks turned red.
"I-is he shy?" Eliana muttered. "H-he must be, right... He's too shy and embarrassed to ask me out..."
Putting her index on her lower lip, Eliana tilted her head and shut her eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed as she pondered.
"Hmm... I want to follow him, but..."
After a moment of pause, she shook her head and sighed. Her gaze was unmoved, still locking on the door where Niveus had disappeared from her sight.
"No. I don't want to be seen as a stalker."
Eventually, Eliana turned around.
She was thinking of reading the books she had borrowed from the library a few days ago.
'Huh? Books...?'
But after making only seven steps up the stairs, she stopped. For a second, she looked confused. Then, she clasped her palms and started running outside.
'That's right! The reason I need Niveus is because of that!'
A few days ago, when Eliana was engrossed in reading books, she gained enlightenment from new knowledge she had learned.
In this world, when someone became an Ascendant, the only way for them to get stronger was through the Ascension Trance.
However, before they could do that, what they needed was to gain enlightenment about their Forte.
When the condition had been met, they were then available to take the Ascension Trance and leveled up to the next class.
But there was a risk.
If they failed, they would lose their rationality and turn into a monster.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone