The sound of loud chatter, the clinking of drinking and the howling of laughter echoed throughout the large establishment.
Two figures, both draped in dirty cloaks moved through the crowd, their heads hung low, the shadows hiding their faces.
Most of the crowd sat around large tables, others sat at bar on the far wall. However, there was also a set of stairs to the right, leading downstairs.
These were the private rooms, the place the two figures were headed.
The moment they stepped out of sight, the figure in the back stopped.
"So, tell me again. This girl, what's her name?"
The one in the front turned, his voice a whisper.
"It's Storm, she is the one I met to get information on the trials."
Jet snorted.
"Yeah, and what exactly are these tests? Maybe rituals to empower your demon overlord?"
The mockery in her voice was thick, but the man bit back whatever come back he might have had.
"Umm... well, I would tell you, but..." He sighed, deflating.
"I was rejected."
"..."
"HAHAHAHA."
Jet laughed, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably as she wheeled for breath.
"It's not funny!"
Jet stood straight, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Ah, yes, my apologies."
The man grumbled and turned.
"Come on, let's go."
Jet nodded to the man as he began to move.
He led her through the dark underbelly in the form of a labyrinth of hallways, winding and intersecting in ways that made Jet confused.
However, at some point, they stopped in front of a simple door, entirely indistinguishable from the rest.
The man knocked seven times and took a step back, waiting.
A moment passed then two before the door opened.
The first thing Jet noticed was the woman standing at the door.
She wore a black mask, her body hugged by a pitch-black suit of armor, clearly made specifically for her.
She bowed as she gestured to a plush sofa sitting in the center of the room.
At that moment, Jet's eyes finally began to take in the room around her.
The space was much more lavish than the bar above, the entire appearance of the outskirts gone.
The walls were a deep crimson, golden trim lining the decorative pillars and ceiling.
At the center of the circular room, two lush sofas faced each other, a table made from black metal resting between them.
The woman gestured to the couch on the left, while...
On the right, a woman sat, her face covered by a black mask carved with the intricate image of clouds.
Her black hair fell behind her head as she gazed towards Jet with casual content. Not a single trace of power leaking from her body.
She wore a delicate suit made from pitch black fabric, the same color as the other's armor. The tie a stormy grey.
However, then her eyes drifted just a bit farther.
Next to the girl sat something else entirely.
A being sat, something she was not exactly able to define, its form shifting, its height and width changing from one moment to the next.
And yet, one thing stood solid in the warping figure.
The mask of a snarling demon sat upon its face, three horns spiking up from its top, deep shadows nesting in its eyes.
At that moment, Jet thought of the reports she had read.
'A real demon...'
Jet's fingers tingled as she awaited the moment she would need to summon a memory.
However, in the next moment, the man in front of her simply walked into the room, sitting in the indicated place.
Jet blinked, then almost embarrassed, she remembered that she was here with permission.
Currently, there was no need for fighting.
But that did not mean she let her guard down, if anything, it made her more wary for the moment conflict happened.
She walked in, the woman closing the door behind her.
As she sat next to the man, he pulled his hood back, revealing his face.
Jet followed, pulling the hood from her head.
A moment passed, then the woman spoke.
"I remember you, you were here just earlier, why have you returned?"
The man refused to meet her eyes as he shifted in his seat.
"Well, I-"
Jet cleared her throat, the sound cutting him off.
"Well, my friend here happened to tell me about this wonderful organization. What can I say, I was interested."
The woman turned, facing Jet.
A moment of silence passed between them before her voice sounded from behind the mask.
"Why do you wish to join the Shadow Clan?"
The woman's voice asked.
Jet shrugged.
"Well, what do you have to offer?
The figure in the demon mask shifted, and the girl spoke, her voice a bit different.
"That depends on what you can bring to the clan... As a Master and high ranking government agent, you are a perfect way into the government."
Jet flinched, her eyes losing all humor. However, the girl was not done.
"There are plenty of government workers, however, not many are Ascended with as much notoriety as you."
A few seconds passed before she spoke again.
"How does Transcendence sound? The ability to surpass the limits imposed by those already in power?"
Jet face changed in an instant.
"What did you say?"
She had come here looking for a threat to the people, but what she had found was something else.
A mysterious clan that somehow knew exactly who she was, as well as exactly what she wanted.
And in that moment, this was no longer reconnaissance to her.
She leaned forward, her gaze growing heated.
"Is that something you can really promise?"
In her mind, she knew that it was nothing but jesting, a clever way to get under her skin, meaningless hope, not true.
But...
The demon
Moved for the first time, his voice sounding like thunder in the quiet room,
"Sera, see him out."
The woman wearing the dark armor that stood near the door moved for the first time since they had entered.
Suddenly, a weird phenomenon occurred.
The girl walked swiftly to the man's side, her hand landing on his shoulder.
Then, she began to tremble, her form becoming hazy, the edges fading in and out.
In the next instant, she blinked away, then back, however this time without the man.
It was so simple for her to simply make him disappear, something that made Jet's hair stand on end.
She turned to the shadowy demon in front of her, the reality of her situation suddenly feeling much deeper.
The moment seemed to stretch as she waited for the demon's next move, her calm eyes watching him with both suspicion, and hope.
She had expected and anticipated many things, however, one thing she hadn't expected was for the demonic mask to simply fade away, golden sparks fleeing into the air.
Her eyes widened as she saw a familiar face.
She jolted up, her face confused.
"S-Sunny?"
Sunny's pale face smiled at her.
"What, surprised?"
Jet gaped, her mind coming to a halt. The thoughts in her mind halted, however, one thing drifted to the fore front of her mind.
"How did you know?"
Sunny's smile faded, his face turning questioning.
"What do you mean?"
She glared him in the eyes, her attitude nothing like the amiable master he had met after his second first nightmare.
"How did you know I want to Transcend? Was any of that real? Is any of it real?"
Sunny gave her a long look.
He could have tip toed around his flaw, ensuring her of his honesty, however, out of respect for his long time friend, he decided to divulge.
Making sure to keep his face passive, he began.
"Yes and no. The clan is real, our goal too. However.... currently, I can not ensure your Transcendence."
She seemed to dim, the gleam in her eyes losing its edge.
"However..."
Sunny gave her a long look, his eyes searching.
"…you can earn it."
Jet blinked. "Earn it?"
Sunny leaned back, his expression calm.
"Transcendence is a path just as much as it is a rank. Every step requires action, and if you wish to go beyond, you must be willing to oppose the laws around you, the very world if you must."
He gestured at her.
"Right now, you cling to the skirt of the government, or, more accurately. They have you by the leash."
He smiled, leaning back in the plush sofa.
"Tell me, if your flaw was not what it is, would you be a member of the government?"
Jet's eyes burrowed into his own, deep ice meeting abyssal shadows.
"How..."
He waved her words away.
"No, the answer is no. I know perhaps more intimately than any other just what it is you want. Freedom."
Seeing her expression, he knew she remembered.
"You once told me yourself. You told me to pick a new goal, that freedom was nothing but a dream, an illusion. Well, you were right."
He made a grand gesture with his arms, the shadows swirling in reverence of their lord.
"In this world, nothing is truly free, not even the Gods themselves." A shadow fell over his face, his words filled with something she couldn't place.
"That is why I will destroy it."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room, and only after a long time did Sunny look up, meeting her eyes.
"Someone once told me, people like me, people like us. We are destroyers, not creators. We kill things, that's what we're good at. But the world isn't built by people like us. It's built by those who stay behind, who plant, who make, who build."
His eyes were dark, yet Jet could see the embers within them.
"We were born in a time of war, disaster, and ruin. In a world that is being killed by a flood of invaders. Such a world doesn't need saviors and builders... their time will come after killers and destroyers like us do our part. If we don't, there will be no world to save, and no homes to rebuild."
His words hung in the air with an almost physical presence, his eyes boring holes into Jet's own.
"So, will you stand in the crumbling world around you, or will you tear it down so the next can begin to be built? I wonder which you will choose."
Silence.
Jet didn't say anything for a long while, her gaze turned to the ground.
A minute passed, then two before she finally looked up.
Her clear blue eyes gleamed with conviction, her fists clenching in his lap.
"Well, where do I sign?"
~~~
At the same time as Sunny and Jet chatted about the Shadow Clan, another important event was taking place.
"Ah, you see, that is it!"
Eurys yelled from his boney throat as he watched the Essence refining process begin to accelerate.
"Good, good. That's it."
Kai, Effie, and Cassie stood in a rough circle around the sitting form of Nephis.
The power flowing within her was something they had seen more than a few times, however, it was nothing like other Awakened.
None of them were.
Each and every one of them had spent every day since Sunny's return with Eurys, his training constantly enforced on them.
They had barely left the ship at all since the first of the cabins had been repaired.
And those efforts had paid off.
Kai was approaching the threshold for Ascension, while Cassie and Effie had already reached it.
Nephis however...
"Yes, keep refining. Make sure to circulate."
Nephis was entirely focused as her body swirled with white power, white sparks drifting from her body as the Essence grew beyond what her body could hold.
And in that moment, the moment she felt her very essence leaking from her skin, she felt it.
The connection from her soul to her body, and then.
*Vhoom*
The Essence that had been continuously leaking from her skin was sucked back in in an instant. The Essence swirling through her flesh and back through the connection to her soul.
The connection bloated and twisted, pulling her soul and body together as it fused them, her very existence solidifying.
Essence swirled, white sparks leaping into the air like embers of soul fire. The sight leaving even Eurys in awe.
Nephis's eyes opened, her gaze foggy and unfocused.
However, in her gaze, a single hand rose, the power coursing through her as white flames bloomed across her skin.
They were the same pure white, however, they felt much more potent, much more powerful.
Then, she heard it.
[You have Ascended.]
[Aspect ability unlocked.]
She exhaled, hot steam filling the air.
Then, she smiled.
She had done it.
Nephis, Changing Star of the Immortal Flame, had become the first human to Ascend naturally in a long, long time.