CHAPTER 50: THE CHOSEN ONE

Ace slept deeply in the underground camp Alex had built alone. It was supposed to be a short trip to the Heaven Village, so no one brought camping gear. They piled their spare clothes into a pillow for Ace.

He hadn’t shown any sign of waking, so the team stayed hidden. One person kept watch by the tunnel entrance, scanning the area. A few rankers wandered close, mumbling about the camp and the Rank One’s archery lessons.

"The word is spreading fast," Chaewon whispered.

Ace wasn’t the only one in rough shape. His friends had taken serious hits, but small potions, Rejuvenation Flux, and time healed their wounds. Chaewon’s face was still ashen, but she was doing better. The same went for the rest.

Ace, however, slept like a dead man.

Looking at him, Chaewon clenched her fists. Why did he attack me first? Why couldn’t it be me facing that monster?

—

Noah. Find Noah and kill him.

Ace heard a woman’s voice. She sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place her. He tried to open his eyes and felt nothing—no eyes, no arms, no breath. It was as if he’d stopped being human and existed only as awareness.

One question stayed with him.

Who the fuck is Noah?

Fufufufufufu.

Huh. It’s you. Now it makes sense.

He knew why she sounded familiar. He’d only ever heard her unique laughter; her serious tone was different. The one speaking to him was Yvandra’Annah.

He wasn’t sure how she’d pulled this off. He knew he’d blacked out after drinking Chaewon’s medium potion.

She must’ve slipped into my head and planted herself in my dreams. This bitch is intrusive.

You excite me so much, Ace Avalanche. Insult me again, please. The more you push me, the deeper I sink. This is intoxicating~~.

She moaned.

Yeah. My thoughts are wide open whenever I deal with your familiars—or you.

He kept the reason to himself: her scheme had bounced back on her. Now she was a slave to him, in more ways than one. She seemed to enjoy it.

Let’s get to business. What’s up with this Noah?

Don’t be hasty. This is the closest we’ve ever been, Ace Avalanche. Let it sink deeper.

The way she lingered on "sink" turned sultry, and Ace’s interest spiked. He wasn’t sure how he could feel anything in this state, but he did. Even so, he slipped into casual teasing with her without realizing it.

You and your familiars keep alluding to the Drowned. What did Tava’Az call it—the Sea’s Bosom? People could take that a lot of ways. What if your other followers picture burying their faces in your chest?

Only you may take it that way, Ace Avalanche.

It should have sounded playful, but her tone was flat and lethal. Ace snapped back to himself.

Now that we both sank in—

Mhm.

—let’s talk about Noah.

Noah isn’t a person yet: he’s a concept. He appears across the multiverse, and Earth isn’t an exception. Long before modern conveniences existed, people believed God once drowned the world to reset it. A few were spared, led by Noah, the chosen to survive the deluge.

Noah will be chosen on Gravehaven Isle. He’ll try to stop the deluge and reach the Crimson Shrine of the Drowned. It was Tava’Az’s task at first, but I want you to find and kill Noah for me.

I’ll think about it later.

Ah. Not an outright rejection. I love it.

How did you get into my dream space?

It’s thanks to the little one you found at the bottom of the Crimson Lake. I gave birth to it from the purified blood of the Drowned that Tava’Az cultivated for decades. That slime is blood itself and closer to me than to you. It transfused its blood into you along with the blood of monsters it absorbed. I can’t wait to see what you’ll become. Whatever the form, I will worship you and devote myself to you forever, Ace Avalanche!

Shut up, crazy bitch! You just confirmed I might become a fucking monster!

Mhm!

The dream snapped, and Ace woke.

—

Across the multiverse, unexplainable phenomena cropped up—and still do. Some later became partially understood. One pattern emerged: collective belief could take form and move with a single purpose.

Yvandra’Annah was born from fear of the deluge said to erase worlds. Her true form was unknown. The Crimson Waters were her signature power.

Elsewhere, she took the shape of a woman—an allure many would find hard to resist.

Why? Because she had been given another purpose: devotion to Ace Avalanche. He became her favorite and the second reason for her existence.

He’d overwritten her, and she liked it. Genuinely.

From the bottom of her heart. Yvandra’Annah was deeply, unequivocally devoted to Ace Avalanche.

—

Ace woke and lifted his hands. His new flesh was pink, off from his usual tone, so his hands looked like mismatched pieces stitched together. The scars were brutal. He clenched his hands; he was still weak and needed more time to recover. Still, he was healed. His friends had done the work to get him there.

I can only thank them.

He turned and saw Alex sitting on the stairs, smiling. He waited until Ace noticed him.

"Arms and hands healed, yeah? Good. Otherwise, Godmother would’ve been our linchpin," Alex said.

Ace chuckled. "She’d do fine in that role. I’m sure of it. But it’s already mine. I’m the linchpin of my Sixteen and will be the linchpin for my friends."

"Sounds cool." Alex smiled. "Good to see you awake. I... I’m sorry for being so useless."

"Useless? Didn’t you take the blow and fly like a damn bullet? That’s talent," Ace said.

"Don Capo!" Alex’s cheeks flushed.

"Our objective was to survive, and all of you did well. I don’t want to flex, but I’m clearly ahead of you. Yet this is how I ended up." Ace raised his hands. "We all survived the Conductor’s Trial. That’s it. We won. Your rank is safe, Alex."

"Oh... yeah... haha!" Alex grinned.

One by one, the others woke. When they saw Ace on the makeshift bed, their eyes teared up. They ran to him and pulled him into a hug.