"You want to do Ascension Trance?"
"Yes!"
"First time? Second? Or third?"
"It's the third promotion, from 8th to 7th Class."
Niveus put his hand under his chin, pondering for a moment. After a while, he looked at Eliana and nodded, agreeing to help her.
"But first, let's go somewhere else," Niveus suggested. "There are too many people here."
Niveus and Eliana were in the middle of the square, precisely around the fountain.
If it was any normal day, this place would not be as packed as this—it might be crowded, but not something that was suffocating, hard to move, and see what was in front without getting vision-blocked.
Seeing the sea of people before them, they both sighed softly.
"Yes."
Ascension Trance was the only way for an Ascendant to 'level up' to the next level.
It was a kind of trial that tested whether or not they were worthy of being in the higher rank. If they passed, they would get stronger. But if they failed, they would turn into mindless creatures designated to be killed on the spot.
Fortunately, there was a way to prevent that scenario from happening.
It was to interrupt their Trance State from the outside.
Thus, asking a trusted Ascendant to watch over the Ascension Trance was recommended. So they could interrupt or kill if the worst happened.
Although it would cause an injury to the person taking the trial, it was better than turning into a monster, at least.
The bad news was they could not infinitely do that, or else they would die eventually.
Niveus and Eliana were back in the townhouse.
The emptiest and quietest place during this time, where the city was alive and packed with people, would be the townhouses in the Noble Square.
Choosing a proper place before taking Ascension Trance was a strategy in itself.
In the case where one failed and became a monster, it would determine how much damage they would cause if the overseer could not handle it.
It was always a risk to take the trial in the middle of the city unless they were planning to terrorize.
Eliana sat on the chair comfortably as per Niveus's instruction. She placed her hands on her thighs.
"Remember, don't do anything for a few hours after you are in the Meta Domain."
Eliana nodded. After that, she closed her eyes tightly, taking a deep breath.
A second later, her entire body was completely frozen.
Niveus felt an overflowing energy exuding from Eliana's body during her Trance State.
A minute later, her body absorbed those energies, causing a shockwave around Eliana. A transparent circle manifested, gradually shrinking and disappearing into Eliana's forehead.
'Two days... that was fast.'
When the spectacle of energy completely vanished, Eliana's body seemed to return alive. Then, her eyes snapped open.
At this moment, the atmosphere surrounding Eliana a minute ago had changed into a fresh, warmer, and slightly intense aura.
"Congratulations on reaching the 7th Class, Eli."
The smile on her face was wide. Not only did she pass the trial, but she also spotted Niveus the instant she opened her eyes.
'He also congratulated me...'
Making a 'V' gesture with her fingers, Eliana grinned wide. Her clean, white teeth were seemingly glistening.
"I did it!"
The Ascension Trance might seem quick from the perspective of those who were observing from the outside. In reality, it was longer.
An hour within the Meta Domain was a second within the real world.
Thus, what seemed a quick 63 seconds was actually 63 hours. That was the time Eliana took to pass her third Ascension Trance.
...
After falling into a Trance State, Eliana found herself standing in a large, dark chamber.
Not only was it large by width but also by height.
That place seemed to be inside a tower.
Eliana raised her head, looking at the endless height of the chamber. Instead of finding the ceilings, she only saw darkness with no end.
Fire orbs were floating and flickering above. Burning pillars were placed in a circular formation, trapping Eliana in the center. Giant chains tangled from pillar to pillar, emerging from the darkness above, and were also on fire.
The amount of flames, chains, and colossal structures in this chamber made Eliana's hair stand on end, reminding her of the bad memories she experienced.
In that sort of moment, Eliana steadied her breath to conceal the rising anxiety.
'This is the cause...'
Eliana thought that the Enlightenment caused the bad memories to resurface.
But she quickly shook her head.
It was not time to think about the past.
No matter what, she must pass the third Ascension Trance and reach the new high.
Eliana did not want to be left behind. She did not want to be a burden like when they were clearing the Monolith a few months ago. More importantly, she wanted Niveus to notice her and rely on her like when they battled the Ittey.
Elina clenched her fists tightly and made a motivated gesture.
'Let's make sure that happens!'
Then she examined herself. It was a good thing she had changed into more comfortable clothes that would not restrict her movement like the dress.
Sitting on the cold ground, Eliana hugged her knees and leaned her head on them.
'For now, let's wait for a few hours before I go through that door.'
Elina glanced at the colossal door briefly.
It was marked with eerie patterns depicting a dying mythical creature, Phoenix. From its eyes, flames were blazing fiercely.
"Phoenix..." Eliana mumbled after looking away. "Why did an exile like me receive your blessing? Is it an act of pity or..."
She shook her head.
The end of her hair blazed with flame briefly before it returned to normal.
Her eyes were now closed, trying to find solitude within that trauma-inducing place.
Her mind wandered somewhere else. Rather than thinking about useless things, she was better off thinking about her recent life, where she had made many sweet and happy memories after becoming a Knight of Glacend.
Of course, there would be no better thing than thinking about her calm, mysterious, and shy colleague Niveus.
Her giggle resounded in the grand chamber.