My biggest question is why y'all are over here and not Ao3. But alas, that's bias on my part. I posted this over a year ago on Ao3, gave up for awhile because life is hell and I was hesitant to pursue this before ETD was released, and now I'm back.

Since Rin announced that she won't be continuing Ascension anymore, I just decided to return to this fic and fly with my creative liberties. As a rising game developer myself, I understand her position and decision to move on from this series onto larger projects, so I ask that you don't attack her over this.

Be sure to follow the Ao3 version because I have a chapter dedicated to the new lore I've developed, and please leave a comment with your opinion! I don't bite, I promise.


It was almost the same as he remembered it years ago. Golden sand stretching far and beyond the eye can see, the fortress made of mud brick that surrounded the capital city, and the hot sun beating down on the landscape.

The young man hidden beneath a drab brown hooded cloak tilted his head to squint into the bright sun's rays as he sat atop a brown and white mottled steed, a wavy black lock of hair shifting away from his almond shaped cerulean eyes. He pursed his lips as a feeling of nostalgia and melancholy burdened his heart.

Adeshia may be the same, but even the sun could not warm his heart again like it did years ago as a child. He may be twenty seven years old now, but time as it passed for him felt like millennia. The radiating heat from the sun and the sand underneath felt almost... Empty.

The man urged his steed to continue ahead to the gates of the mud brick fortress, bidding the city guards a greeting and prayers after flashing a royal seal as he went. He took a deep breath, taking all the scents of the marketplace once he entered. He dismounted his steed and removed his hood with a faint smile on his lips.

Home at last.

The man led his steed onwards, maneuvering through the throngs of people and taking solace in hearing his native tongue spoken again. He observed everyone that surrounded him as he passed, meticulously taking note of all the faces. All of them were unfamiliar, just as no one recognized him. Though he couldn't help but feel slightly saddened by this, but it was only to be expected. It has been over a decade since he'd last been here.

"May Neema bless your path, young traveler!" An elderly lady, hunched slightly and leaning against a staff, blessed the man as he passed.

"May Neema bless yours as well, yaja'min." He smiled at the elderly lady, formally greeting her by title and with a bow of his head.

"I have not seen you in this city before. Where do you hail from?" The elder questioned as she slowly took a seat beneath the tent of her market stand. The man quietly took note of her struggle to sit and quickly helped lower herself into the chair. "Thank you, yara'mel."

"I was actually born and raised here in this very city." He responded to her inquiry quietly. "I left for about ten years to study the arcane arts in Ildis."

"Indeed?" The woman's pale blue eyes widened. She spoke raspily, "Then you must've been well respected by Queen Calida herself if she allowed you to travel so far north to Ildis. That is not an expense to scoff at."

He laughed. "Even Queen Calida was surprised at the sea fare and the education fare at the academy just for a lonely simpleton like I. I am very grateful to have been able to study the arcane arts."

"You are very humble. You are a very respectable young man." The woman complimented. Before the man could refuse the compliment, she commented, "Sometimes I wish I had the chances you did to study the arcane arts when I was young…"

The man's eyebrows raised significantly. "You too have the enna'jane?"

She nodded, her smile emphasizing her wizened face."Yes, yes. Inborn magic. My inner heart magic is healing from the earth. I've only learned to harness a portion of it but I have never been able to become a master of it."

"For learning how to harness it on your own is a feat alone, yaja'min." The man couldn't help but be in awe of the elder woman. He has not met many who were able to control magic without a formal education.

"You certainly know how to impress a lady, yara'mel." The woman cackled jokingly. The man laughed with her.

"It is true though, yaja'min. Not many can control their magic without a mentor."

The woman became quiet once again, fixing a perspicacious gaze on the man. When he began to feel uncomfortable under the scrutinizing gaze of the woman, she spoke, as if in explanation, "I have had this ability to see within the hearts of others. I see their heart, their character, and the magic that accompanies it."

The man was uncertain of how he should respond, and remained silent for a couple moments. Since he remained silent, the woman continued.

"Once several years ago when I was young I met this youthful noble. The magic in his heart was faint but I could tell it was like no other magic I've seen. It was a pure white and almost alive as if it had a spirit of its own, quite unlike the elemental magicks I have seen in others. But his heart, this dark black hole of nothing, had twisted that magic so much. I suppose that it's only to be expected of a noble.

"Your heart reminds me of his. However, that darkness doesn't exist in you. Your heart is bright, curious, and very old. So, what of you, yara'mel? What is your enna'jane?"

The man swallowed as a sudden realization hit him. Instead of answering her question, he said, "This ability of yours… It's enka'jane. You can see the souls of others."

"Soul magic, ah." The woman spoke, rather unsurprised.

"You're not… Er, surprised by that notion?" The man outright stared at the woman as if she was insane.

"Should I be?"

"Soul magic is banned in all of Arunia. It's considered a black magic." The man said cautiously.

"Well, am I causing harm by using it?"

"No?"

"Then it is not a black magic." The woman shook her head. "The whole ordeal with black magic and white magic is complete nonsense. Why should one form of magic be banned if it isn't inherently evil?"

"That is a question that should be taken to the high mages of Ildis." The man mused. "I do agree with you on that notion."

"Now that I have answered your questions, I'd like to hear your answer to mine." The woman subtly demanded. The man hid a sigh at the fact that he couldn't slip past her perceptions.

"What you saw in my heart… That is soul magic. My enna'jane is soul-based healing." The man reluctantly replied.

"You seem to be careful to hide it."

"That's because I would be executed if others found out."

"Then why were you not executed earlier? The mages must have a way of discovering your enna'jane, do they not?"

The man smiled nostalgically, slightly amused at how shrewd the woman was. "They did find my enna'jane, but they discovered it as water-based. I studied that magic during my time at the academy, but when I graduated, I discovered a ritual…"

"Necromancy." The woman guessed. The man blinked at her, struck by how fast she figured him out. Before he could question her, she said, "Necromancy is the art of the soul, yes? So you must have used a ritual to change your heart."

The man nodded. "Yes, however this ritual I used didn't just change my heart. You see, once a person dies, their heart- or, rather, soul- is reused. At some point, their spirits are reincarnated and reborn into another being. This ritual allows the soul access to all its previous lives. In my previous life, I was a necromancer."

"Back in the time of the Old Kingdom, then?" The woman concluded. The man affirmed her words with a single nod. "That explains why your heart seems so old."

"Five thousand years does that, yes." The man hummed. There was another moment of solemn silence.

"Yara'mel, it does seem strange that fate has led you here and we speak so much as if we are old friends." The woman spoke. "It's as if we've known each other long before this day."

The man was taken aback for a moment, not once observing this fact. "Indeed."

The woman smiled with a chuckle, "Perhaps we might've known each other in a past life. But time will only tell." The man nodded solemnly, and the woman changed the subject. "You must be here on a journey, yes?"

"Yes, it is so." The man agreed, noting the sun was lower on the horizon as he glanced over his shoulder. "It's… Very important that I finish my journey, yaja'min."

"Then I shall hold you no longer, yara'mel." The woman spoke, patting the man's shoulder. "Before you leave, what is your name?"

"Xavier, yaja'min." The man smiled at the elder woman.

"Remember me as Ernesta. I bid you good luck on your journey, Xavier, for I fear that even the gods may not be able to help you."

The man, Xavier, was solemn again as he nodded, taking her words as a warning. "Thank you, yaja'Ernesta. I am glad to have met you in this life."

"Until the next time we meet, yara'Xavier."

Xavier continued on his ways, his heart uplifted and slightly less empty than it was before.