The Path of Ascension

Chapter 253

Maven smiled as she entered Ventillyrias realspace, right at the very edge of the parent stars gravity well in a small, single-man vessel.

Once she confirmed she was well away from the outermost planet that was the Empires local fortress, she looked down to the spherical artifact she had been given for this mission. As the result of secret formulae from a Talented crafter, it was made to connect two people across vast distances in a way that was nearly impossible to intercept, unlike [Spiritual Self] communications. The only limitation for the tech was the two devices needed to be in the same universe to function, meaning the communications couldnt cross over to worlds that were nearby in chaotic space, but whose planets were not in the same universe.

Calming herself, she sent her spirit into the artifact and waited patiently in the illusionary realm that the device created. It was quite nice, with a seating area near a waterfall hidden inside a verdant valley, nicely contrasting the perfect baby blue sky. There was even a small pond filled with fish that came up to investigate the new person in their home, which added a touch of liveliness to the surroundings. If she didnt know better, she would think this was a real-world miniaturized inside the orb.

Finding a tea set, she made herself a pot and then settled in for the wait while enjoying the scenery. It took almost a week for them to arrive, which was three days past the agreed-upon time, but finally, the local spymaster appeared in the illusion, and she got her first glimpse at them.

Normally, Maven would be respectful to someone so dedicated to the Sects, and her own sect in particular, but she was irritated at the woman's tardiness.

An attitude the nondescript woman immediately picked up on. Do not seek to question me, Dao Child. Things are not as they were before you entered Chaotic Space. The Empires Elder Luna has arrived with her newest charges.

Maven required a moment to properly recognize the name, but her eyes narrowed once she had. The Empire had few Elders worth remembering, but the Elder specializing in training Young Masters certainly had. Her legacy extended across multiple dynasties, and she had no less than four Masters and dozens of elites listed among her successes. Shed supposedly retired, but had returned to train another one of the Empires whelps, undoubtedly coaxed from her rest as a means of implying they had another group of potential Masters. A ploy that would work should their boast not be so utterly impossible.

Her presence complicated things, for certain. Their latest intelligence had the Elder at Tier 43, and as such, capable of foiling their entire plan should she decide to meddle. It was unseemly for a Dao Child to show distress, so her face was unmoved even as she realized just how close they were to disaster at every waking moment. Should their sleeves so much as cross the rules of war by a hairs width, the Elder would end their lives before they could so much as think. Their requirement of explicitly following every letter of the law was never more important than it was now.

Furthermore, while the Elder was not a warrior, she did not need to be one to foil their plans. It did excuse the womans tardiness, at least. As a spy, she was not covered by the wartime treaties, and no doubt had to perform impressive legal wrangling to ensure Luna did not capture or kill her with a spare thought.

What has she done? Maven asked, as she was quite afraid that a large part of their mission was now ruined.

The spymasters fists clenched. Nothing, yet. I do not know if she fully knows the scope of our plan, but she is aware of something. I know she suspects me, but I have been careful and there is nothing that she can do, in accordance with the Empires own laws. Not that there is much she even can do, before we make our move. Have you brought the final payment?

I did. Do we need to report this to the sect elders? If she chooses to interfere, our mission is impossible.

The spymaster shook her head. It matters not, everything is already set. The attacks schedule has remain unchanged, with most of the rifts already planted using the mana we were able to smuggle in beforehand. When combined with our Heart Of An Elder Tree still serving as a prime distraction for all others above Tier 35, we can simply hope that she prioritizes protecting her own proteges over interfering with our plan.

Maven nodded, then had a thought strike her. Indeed. In fact, I believe she may not be as much of a threat as we initially feared. When her students emerged from Minkalla, it was reported that she nearly broke her Revelations attempting to suppress an inspiration from one of them. It has only been a few decades since, not nearly enough for her spirit to recover, or possibly even her body.

As you say, Dao Child.

Yes, this could still work. There were not many cultivators over Tier 35 present upon Ventillyria, simply a few parents who had not left alongside their children. And the prize they were leaving for them would serve as more than an adequate distraction. It was, after all, partially why the world had been chosen.

The spymaster flicked a finger and a file appeared on the table next to Maven, but she didnt read it until she had finished her tea. The spymaster might have let her mannerisms skew to the Empire, but Maven was a Dao Child, and that meant being proper.

When she was ready, she adjusted herself to sit at the table appropriately and read the packet of information about the supply depot.

It took Maven a few minutes to digest everything, but when she finished the information, she let her gaze harden.

The elders said you have cleared most of the obstacles. Why is there a new team of mercenaries stationed at the depot? This is an unacceptable deviation from the plan.

The spymaster waved her concern off. It's a wrinkle, but better than it could have been had I not interfered. It was only possible thanks to the spies I seeded throughout various sectors in the surrounding worlds. The only thing the three idiots vying for the throne agree on is digging me out, and they initially wanted to hire another three teams. Thankfully, I got advance word and activated a few other contingencies to pull the teams away. Now it is only one team of above-average Tier 27 Empire delvers. You should have no issue in neutralizing them.

Dao Child Maven allowed the authority that she had cultivated during her training to shine through her normal persona. This is still an unacceptable level of deviation. I will report it to the elders with the recommendation that your performance be more carefully scrutinized. Spy work is hard, yes, but I see the dates. This team was hired two years before the war declaration, so there is no reason it shouldnt have been in your other reports. Do not expect me to clean up your messes.

Standing, Maven looked out to the distance, deliberately not looking at the spymaster. Watch carefully to ensure that nothing goes awry. Especially with Lunas charges. I and my people will not be near them, let alone interact with them. That would be a flagrant violation of the treaties, and I will not throw my life away on a fool's errand. I hope there are no more surprises, or your head will roll.

Calling attacking someone under the care of a Tier 43 a fool's errand was an understatement, but she needed to make her stance clear as this spymaster seemed all too willing to force her into precarious situations.

Yes, she could handle a team of Tier 27s. She was a Dao Child, after all. Her blood, spirit, and Revelations had elevated her to greatness, and she had forged them into an unassailable weapon through her own determination and the hand of fate.

She might not be able to go toe to toe with someone like Master Waters, but even the Senior Elder had never seen such might in his immeasurably long life. Normal delvers, even with a small Tier advantage, were of no consequence. She was confident that she could at least match Light and Shadow, no matter what abilities they had withheld. She had prepared counters for all of their displayed capabilities, and counters for many things which could be in their arsenal. She was no mere footsoldier to be tricked by withheld information; she was a Dao Child, and was the embodiment of all that the title entailed.

The spymaster looked like she wanted to say something, but eventually, she lowered her head. As is your command, Dao Child.

With that taken care of, Maven broke the connection and returned to her body.

Once she was there, she immediately spoke out, I apologize for any brashness or rudeness of mine, Elder Luna. I hope that we might interact in accordance with the guidance of our elders, following their agreements and treaties to the letter.

Normally she would never have been willing to remind a Tier 43 like that, but she felt it was worth the risk, as an angry Elder was something she couldnt handle. An irritated one, she believed she could deal with.

She waited a polite minute before getting no response, then activated the necessary formations to tear through the veil of reality and return her to the main ship.

There she quickly rendezvoused with Captain Darok and Lieutenant Emily, where she filled them in on the complications.

Their reactions were as she expected, and while they might have emoted more than she would, they were expressing her own feelings.

When Captain Darok finished cursing, he looked through their plans and brought up one of the issues she had already seen.

The team is sitting directly on the vault of the moon. That's dead center. Our original plan was to infiltrate it quietly and then blow the vault free when the rifts start to break. That's no longer possible with the team guarding the vault. Do we have any ideas?

Maven had a few ideas, but she wasnt entirely set on any of them as they were uncertain at best. The spymaster wasnt completely incompetent, and had been able to get an inventory of the vault's contents, which were more plentiful than the elders' predictions.

Lieutenant Emily, on the other hand, had one readily available. What if you simply crack the moon? That should be within your described capabilities, and while going in loud is risky, we dont have many other options. Besides, being quiet is already shot since Luna would have quietly warned the security teams to be on guard after arriving on the moon. The only question is if we cross the line. Speaking of which, I suggest that I take over the exchange of goods and do it alone. Well need to dump the ship, as I can't move that many items myself, but it's safer than risking anyone else crossing a line. Its unlikely, but still too risky for my taste.

Maven nodded with Captain Darok even though she could see the hesitation in his eyes. He didnt want to send his second in command into that level of risk, and from the profile she had on him, she was sure he wanted to do it himself. He had always been one to volunteer to accept the riskiest missions, but as the captain, he was no longer able to do so.

Taking the risky missions was Lieutenant Emilys job now.

Maven knew the woman didnt need the reminder, but spoke up anyway. Remember, you are simply buying the keys to bypass the security codes from the Empire citizens. You need to be careful and not interact with any local law enforcement.

If Lieutenant Emily did interact with the local officials, she was dead, but that was why they were doing the exchange deep in space. Getting the payment back to Ventillyria was the spymaster's and her local stooges job, not theirs.

For all the woman's apparent lapses, Maven knew she wouldnt dare let the spatially expanded storage chests full of Tier 35 mana stones get intercepted.

That was the line they were walking. They were paying a terrorist network for critical information, but that was within the letter of the law, even if it was a known and accepted gray area. All the Great Powers used spies and local dissidents to funnel information, which was why they could pay the locals for the codes without breaking any of the non-interference rules that forbade active combatants from acting on inhabited planets during the war.

They just needed to be careful to not engage with the spy in a way that could be proven, so they could still claim those protections. Paying for items and goods was the loophole to supply the spies and underground organizations, but if they interacted with the spy, they would be crushed by Elder Luna. Yes it was risky, but Maven knew the sect elders didnt intend for the operatives they had built up in Ventillyria to last after this.

They only needed them long enough to take out the supply depot so the border regions would fall faster, which was why they were going out with a bang. The plan to take the supply depot was important, yes, but it was the best way the elders had to get Light and Shadow to the frontlines before they were ready. That would be the perfect time to try and capture them, even if the chance was remote. If that failed, they would still be able to take this entire region of space faster than predicted, and could hopefully use that advantage to snowball their lead.

Thankfully, Lieutenant Emily was able to complete the exchange of goods that got them the security codes to bypass the defenses around the moon. In the original plan, these codes would have allowed them to impersonate a shipment of raw materials and get them into the moon, but now they just needed to get close. Lieutenant Emily had brought up a good idea. It would be messy, but Maven was confident she could crack a Tier 12 moon in a single hit with a little preparation.

The two months it took for the spymaster's operatives to get the mana stone loads into the selected rifts was agonizing, but thankfully, nothing happened to derail the plan. Lunas two proteges crashed a few of their local strongholds, but the spymaster simply let them act with impunity and didnt retaliate. They didnt need those strongholds anymore, and it wasnt worth showing their hand to protect assets that would soon be burned. A few sect members they had planted next to their local operatives would get burned in the operation, but that was the fate of being too weak, and they weren't even important pawns that the spy master had been able to plant in other worlds. They would be uncovered no matter what after the coming attacks, so little was lost with their failure.

Maven was just happy that Luna didnt seem to be directing the kids or interfering. She wasnt sure she would be able to follow the Empire's stifling rules in Lunas place, but she was grateful the woman wasnt impulsive. Those even remotely related to terrorists could and should be called traitors, which should allow Luna to capture and kill them all, but the woman seemed too soft to go that far. It was a failing of the Empire as a whole. She knew that she would have rounded them up and use torture to find out who was guilty and who wasnt, but maybe the woman knew or suspected the attack was already a forgone conclusion.

In her introspections, she wondered if those who brought the latest bags of mana stones into the rifts would realize what they had done afterward. They only had a select number of Tier 17 local loyalists who were willing to enter the rifts and knowingly deposit the bag with a very precise mechanical timer. In the past decade, the spy master had been using the true loyalists to seed rifts, but with the last shipment being so large, they would need to use less trustworthy assets to fill the remaining rifts. She hoped none of those extras would think too hard about what was in the bags and back out. The items were disguised and shielded from casual probing, but there werent many uses outside of causing a rift break for a device designed to vent the entire contents of a mana stone into a rift at a very precise time.

Greed could be a powerful motivator, but she hoped none of them got too smart. Fifty thousand rifts needed to be seeded in total, and it wasnt an easy feat when each one that failed would mean one less rift for Luna to stop.

Contrary to her expectations, nothing seemed to go awry, and she was stationed with Lieutenant Emily and half the Cavalry division. The other half and the Juggernauts were with Captain Darok and were ready to attack the fortress to keep them penned in, splitting their forces between the fortress and the chaos below, and rendering them wholly incapable of reinforcing the supply depot.

Dao Child Maven stood in the hangar as they neared the moon, wishing she hadnt ordered the shield deactivated so she had an atmosphere to sigh in. Sighing in a vacuum just wasn't the same, and she loved moons. Part of it was her bloodline resonance, but they took her breath away.

Power welled within her blood as the Lunar Rabbit within her spirit bounded forth, sending shivers through her body and Revelations alike. She loosed her power, and light shone around her as her Anchor manifested, turning her into a living eclipse.

From there, three of the half-dozen techniques she had derived from [Awaken The Beast Within] activated, resonating with her Talent and First Revelation to empower her and transform her into a hybrid beast of unmatched ferocity, even as she threw herself at the lunar body below.

Most of her body was from a Steel Bull, empowering her strength and granting her their [The Unstoppable Charge of a Rampaging Bull] technique, perfect for accelerating her and growing her momentum. That momentum was further enhanced by the Grasslands Bears [I Am More Real Than Reality], enhancing her already-metal body and making it even more dense than it had been before.

Lastly, the Greater Firmament Tortoise not only made her metal body nigh-indestructible, but even a fraction of its damage reflection abilities would aid her immeasurably.

Her Second Revelation ensured that there was no fantastic crash when she struck the surface of the moon, and instead she simply passed through it into its mantle. Then, she released her intangibility and returned to reality. Pressure sought to crush her, and she pushed back. The moon was her birthright, and she would brook no disagreement.

It yielded to her will, and the moon cracked down the center, a fissure opening upon her and letting a ray of light strike her face.

Using [The Caress of the Fanged Moon], she shoved the two largest pieces of the moon apart, opening a larger hole even as the crafters and support personnel were trying to run from the unexpected attack.

They werent her target, so she didnt seek them out, but when five Tier 25 cultivators rushed her, she didnt hesitate to eviscerate them, her unbreakable claws rending them into pieces after just a few strikes.

Lieutenant Emily and the Cavalry division were close on her heels, and their rifles spat out concentrated spell projectiles at all the depot guards who tried to close in on them. It was a good thing that the guards were mostly reserves, and not the best fighters of their Tier, as it allowed her free reign.

Maven led the charge, allowing her unstoppable body to serve as the ultimate bulwark for her supporting troops.

For better mobility, she cast [To Race The Far Winds And Emerge Victorious], allowing the spell, in conjunction with her Tier 25 Talent, to lengthen her strides and turn her body from a lumbering bear into a bounding and unstoppable predator. Her shell and silver fur effortlessly shrugged off the surviving defensive formations embedded within the base, reflecting them back to where they came from.

A cloud of smoke temporarily clouded her vision, but she charged through. Fire and lightning lashed out, but in this form, she may as well have been invincible. Average Tier 27 attacks couldn't do anything to her unless she stood there without using any techniques while they attacked en masse.

With her enhancements, she was able to quickly reach the first group of guards, who seemed to have a level of cohesion, and once more cursed the spymaster who had failed to do her job properly. She should have been able to bypass all of this, but instead, she was forced to slow down and deal with the new obstacle.

Techniques flew, but she relied on her armored merged form to get in close and unleashed her own techniques. [Striking Claws of the Crescent Moon], her favored melee attack, lengthened her claws and lined them with ethereal light. Where they struck, blood ran, and the glittering motes of light they left matched the dust in the air, forming a wondrous tapestry of scarlet and silver.

She merely dispatched the guards, as confirming their deaths would be too costly in time, and she wished to reach the next group of guards before they finished forming up.

Lieutenant Emily and the Cavalry division kept up with her and broke through another two formations of guards, but in front of her was a nearly intact defensive station. In lieu of tearing it down, she transformed into a thunderbird, became intangible, and tore through the meager defenses against incorporeal enemies as though they were gossamer. She never fully re-manifested into reality, relying wholly on her claws and techniques as she tore the defenders apart.

Just as Lieutenant Emily and the Cavalry division arrived, Maven deactivated the shields and they progressed deeper into the moon, where they could finally see their prize. A massive vault the size of a small warship, defended by a dozen teams of guards in defensive positions, reinforced by a team of more elite fighters.

Maven transformed once more, primarily becoming an Earth Dragon with just a hint of Void Sparrow. The void would exact its toll, but the price was well spent empowering her claws and wings.

She crashed into their defenses, allowing her dragonscale to protect her from the mere Tier 27 foot soldiers until the real fighters joined the fray.

Three of their attacks all landed on the same spot of her armor, and one of them had a Revelation that tried to tear apart her defensive techniques. She responded with a flurry of void-enhanced feathers, her [Ten Thousand Feathers Which Are Mightier Than The Sword] enabling her to utilize her own wings as true weapons and ensure that the stone feathers cut through flesh and armor alike.

[The Hand Which Grasps Fire Fears No Spear] reinforced her wings and head as a second barrage of attacks struck her, and as she received covering fire from Lieutenant Emily and the Cavalry, she struck out once again. The armor of the Corporations truly was impressive, she had to admit to herself, and she mentally decided to investigate the feasibility of obtaining some for herself.

Captain Daroks band were elites, and even while outnumbered and out-Tiered, half the Cavalry division led by Lieutenant Emily cut through hundreds of Empire-reserved troops in just minutes.

The more elite team, on the other hand, was her problem. And even with her superior bloodline and techniques, it took her an unbearable amount of time before the last one fell.

Once the fighting ceased, Maven called out through her [Spiritual Self]. Let's get the vault free.

Letting her transformation fade, she joined the mercenaries in digging the vault out and then attaching it to cables that led back to the ship.

Maven and everyone else held on as their ship turned and ripped the vault out of the moon. Guards tried to chase them, but with the vault as cover, they were able to unleash a wave of techniques which prevented the guards from getting too close.

Maven took the opportunity to check her [Spiritual Self] and see the situation on Ventillyria.

She clenched her fist when she saw that in ten minutes, Luna had already cleared up the situation, and from the reports she was intercepting, the Elder had prevented thirty thousand rifts from even breaking. Or rather, she had simply vaporized most of the monsters around the thirty thousand rifts, leaving only twenty thousand to spew their monsters across the cities and create chaos. Even then, the woman had been able to annihilate every monster that had been rampaging in the cities in just ten minutes. She hadnt even had to destroy a city or two to do it, which Maven had hoped for. A high Tier obliterating civilians for any reason, no matter how justified, would have made for great propaganda, but they haven't even gotten that out of this attack.

Maven shook her head in a combination of shock and awe.

The attacks had still served their purpose, and allowed them to complete their mission, but she had wished the monsters had longer to rampage. It would have sent a better message.

Captain Darok reported not long after that he was disengaging, having dealt considerable damage to the garrison, which wouldnt be easy to repair without their supply depot. That would allow the sects attacking in this region to quickly sweep through the border and up to Ventillyria before using it as a staging ground.

It hadnt been a perfect mission, but they had done their job with only a few casualties on their side, meaning they were still combat capable for the next mission.

Maven and Lieutenant Emily had just put the vault in the ship's cargo bay and returned to the command station to meet up with Captain Darok. They were ready to celebrate a successful mission when she realized that Captain Darok was frozen next to the table.

Her spatial perception found nothing, but when she took a step to the left, she also froze, her body going stiff after seeing the woman standing in the room.

Luna stood there. In her ship.

At less than six feet tall, the woman had to look up to all of them, but Maven didnt feel like she towered over Luna. No, she felt like she was standing in front of a mountain, and it was glaring back at her.

She wanted to say something, but the hostility that radiated off the dark-haired woman was stifling.

Her rational mind wanted to say that this was clearly just her intimidating them, but Maven felt hostility. Actual killing intent. But that wasnt quite right; she realized this was more hollow than that, and if Luna had wanted to kill them, they would just be dead.

Her bloodline gave her another possible explanation.

Luna was a cat, and she had seen cats casually killing small animals before. It might be for food, but it also might just be because they were bored.

The Tier 43s spirit radiated something between the two, and it paralyzed her.

Her only hope was that when their ship ripped its way into Chaotic Space, the Luna in front of them would just be created with a First or Second Revelation. They weren't able to leave the universe the main body was in, but her hopes were dashed the moment she felt them tear through reality.

Luna was still there, which meant this was either a clone created by her Third Revelation, or her main body. Regardless, she could trivially kill everyone inside without leaving a trace, which made her wonder if Luna really was just a house cat toying with her prey before killing it.

It felt like hours, but her [Spiritual Self] told her it was only minutes when Luna finally spoke. I was tempted to just obliterate you all. Millions are dead because of your distraction. If you had stepped out of line, I would have, but you were careful. Maven was letting the breath she had been holding out, when Lunas next words caused it to stick halfway out. Im still tempted. There may be punishments for attacking you, but my patience has worn thin. But I wont. Stay alive when Light and Shadow come after you, because I want to watch you die when my charges come for their revenge. I wont take that from them. That is the only reason you are alive. Treasure your remaining time, for it won't be long.

Maven was sure that she should stay as an implied threat, but the Luna in front of her started to dissolve into purple motes of light from the feet up, moments after her final word was uttered. The last thing to vanish was her slitted eyes.

Eyes that contained barely restrained anger.

Eyes that Maven was sure would haunt her dreams for weeks to come.