Ascenders Rift

Chapter 246: Dream Fusion? Layla's Change

Layla had found herself in a familiar world of blood-red, one that she hadn't seen for quite some time, the familiar corpses that littered the sky with demons from all walks, chewing their flesh with excitement.

She stood here naked, her beautiful form so radiant that it could bring light to this dismal scene, but sadly, her current mood was one of numbness. Her two pupils now glowed in darkish purple lights, as strange purple runes formed on different areas of her skin.

She lifelessly walked forward step by step over the countless bones and flesh towards the familiar demonic black tree that towered over this world, her body now permeated by a light-dark purplish aura.

'What do I do without you, Evan? What purpose do I have?'

Layla's thoughts resounded across the world as the scenes seemed to grow even darker, fading out the world except for the demonic tree that shone in ominous dark purple lights.

"Have you accepted your fate... child?"

A resonant voice said, carrying a trace of the divine, yet innately devilish. Layla looked at the tree with no end with dead eyes; the last things that flickered in her mind were Evan's scenes being crushed into the earth; she opened her mouth and spoke in an icy tone.

"I don't care anymore."

Women are strong creatures, many of whom can resist the greatest of obstacles. Still, when it comes to events whereby they've invested all of their emotions, the slightest breakage will cause them to transform in entirely, become something vastly different from their prior selves.

As if the demonic tree heard her words, a sinister chuckle sounded across the dismal world as its resonant voice sounded across its heavens.

"Perfect... then let us be one and live eternally, our unity shall exist beyond all things!"

Following those, the entire world collapsed as if it was being swallowed. Even the tree shattered as everything swept towards Layla. In this instance, Layla's body went into the fetal posture as her consciousness faded, all seemed as if it was going to go as expected, but suddenly a change occurred.

A special crystal appeared around Layla's chest, glowing in a holy blueish hue with a unique marking of a square-shaped barrier that was etched on their surface with a bright light.

The moment this crystal appeared, it emanated a dense power that bounded Layla's being, forcing out a majority of the world that tried to swallow her being.

"This... it's a Warding Void Shard, curses... such a perfect chance for fusion, but now it's incomplete."

The sinister voice said in anger, but sadly, it could do nothing about it as Layla's body soon after formed two markings one on her forehead, one of a dark purple tree with a sinister presence at the center of a holy blue barrier.

Not long after, Layla's body shone in even brighter lights that illuminated the vast majority of the world, shrouding everything in dazzling dark purple radiance.

***

Back within the actual world, Valoz's myriad beam attack was only from crashing into Layla's sealed form, but as if it meaningless, a change occurred.

With the sound of something breaking apart, the towering roots that bound Layla shattered into bits like glass as Layla's body glowed in an immense amount of dark purple energies. Her power soon after converged as it revealed her current state, one who caused not only Emilia but Joe and everyone else to open their mouths wide with shock.

'Incredible... to think she could change this much!' Rick thought as he watched the scene from nearby in shock.

Joe looked at it in wonder, but as for Emilia and Breya, they both had different feelings Breya's heightened senses felt an innately ominous will coming from Layla's body while Emilia's spirits from nature shivered in fear as they shared with her their feelings.

'This isn't good; I can no longer stop it, Big Brother Evan, we need you... you are the only one that can return her to her normal state.'

Emilia thought as she shifted her eyes from Emilia towards the crater in the distance, her face carrying a hopeful look.

Breya also shared Emilia's thoughts, but unlike everyone else, she had a clearer understanding of Evan's current state as her unbreakable threads bounded him.

Layla now had two bright purple pupils with two dark purple wings on their back; a bright dark purple halo shone above her head, looking no different from a crown.

Suddenly, Layla's face made a sinister smile as she spoke as if speaking to herself, "Fascinating, the body of this Blessed One is even more exceptional than I could ever imagine. Huhu... it's a pity; our Dream Fusion isn't completely suppressing the greater part of myself; it's even awakened her true nature. Oh well, I'll have to make do and enjoy this momentary pleasure..."

Following those unusual words, Layla's eyes then glared at the incoming beam attacks as she pointed her staff towards it and spoke, "Dark Angelic Cancel."

Following her words, her body released a ripple of dark purple lights, they spread out at a speed that was faster than everything else as it caused the rays that bolted down to instantly halt as they soon after faded into nothingness; it was a skill that was even more efficient than Irene's Superior Cancel.

Valoz looked at the current scene in shock; he stared at Layla with a look that couldn't quite understand her change.

'This girl... her strength has risen by an absurd level, I'm even feeling a greater degree of threat from her body, but even so, it's not enough to match my state. Even in my Semi-Compete Primal Blood Form, my stats have already strengthened by 50%'

After thinking for a bit, his manner turned cold as he erupted with even more power. His dominating presence scattered across the surroundings as he charged towards her directly to perform close combat.

Layla frowned as she once more spoke in a manner unlike herself, "Oh, genetic fusion with a parasite, truly an interesting lifeform. Huhu I'll play with him before I kill those humans..."

When everyone heard those words, their faces turned pale; Layla looked at them and winked before she jumped into the sky, as Valoz's fist punched the earth.

With a bang, it shattered, forming another crater, but as if Valoz didn't mind it, he kicked the ground and jumped towards her retreating figure, the two moving like blurry flashed of lights into the distance.

Joe and the others were momentarily stunned as they didn't know how to react, but as if Breya was already on it, she looked at them and spoke.

"Everyone, this isn't the time to space out, hurry and get yourself together; we can't let Layla stay in that state for too long. I'm sure you've already noticed, but she's not herself."

When the others heard this, they thought for a moment, recalling Layla's strange vibe before nodding in agreement. Emilia was the only person other than Breya who knew her actual state; as such, she had already agreed with her statement.

Breya then looked at them and spoke again, "Right now, I think those of us who have already broken past the threshold of 100 stats should try and empower themselves. The rest of us should wait for Evan to wake up while you can use the time to become Second Tier Ascenders. Although I arrived at Level 13 after my battle with Pira, I'm still quite a distance away."

Hearing Breya's words, Rick and Joe looked at each other before staring at her and speaking.

"Fine."

Not wasting another moment, Joe and Rick sat themselves down as they started to tune into their [System], focusing on the instructions to ascend. In moments their bodies began to glow in radiant lights as the process of ascension had begun.

Breya looked at this before staring at Emilia, who looked back at her; the two seemed to have similar ideas as they hurried over towards the crater where Evan rested.

Deep within the crater, Evan's severely wounded figure rested at the core of Breya's threads shaped like a cocoon. His breath unsteady as he listened to the shocking booms sounding from a distance as the battle between Valoz and Layla had begun in full.

****

Sorry, it's been a while, at this time I'm flowing between a mix of good and bad health, trying to fully recover, I shall post as often as I possibly can, and once again I thank all of you who continue to support the story. I hope you all had a good day, please do keep healthy and stay safe. Here is the latest chappy, have a great reading :)