Dark Ascendant: Bearer Of Death-Chapter 34 Gareth’s Soul And Body Awakening

Kaiden looked at Gareth and said quietly, "Well, we should probably go in and see what’s next for us to do."

Gareth nodded without saying anything. They both took one last look at the giant statue before walking toward the big doors. The thing looked heavier up close, like it had been built to stop an army. Kaiden pushed it gently and to his surprise, it moved easily. The doors swung open with a deep creak, and the moment they stepped inside, they closed behind them on their own with a loud thud.

The sound echoed through the empty hall.

Kaiden stopped for a second and looked around. The place was huge but empty. No people, no chairs, no decorations. Just walls that stretched up so high you could barely see the ceiling. And at the far end, two raised altars stood side by side, each glowing faintly like something was glowing inside them.

Gareth walked beside him and whispered, "Where is everybody?"

Kaiden shrugged. "I don’t know. Maybe this is part of the exam or something."

They started walking slowly toward the two altars. The floor beneath them was polished smooth, reflecting their movements like a mirror. Kaiden looked around for any sign of life but found none. The silence in the hall was heavy, like even their footsteps were too loud for this place.

Then a voice spoke out.

It wasn’t loud, but it filled the whole hall. Calm and deep, almost too calm.

"You should have awakened your soul ability by now," the voice said.

Kaiden froze. He didn’t see anyone, couldn’t even tell where the voice came from. It just echoed from every direction at once. He swallowed hard before answering. "Yes, I’ve tried," he said slowly, "but I don’t have one."

He tried to sound casual, but his heart was beating faster. He hoped whoever this was would believe him.

He still remembered what the goddess told him before she left — that no one must ever know what his soul ability was. Not a teacher, not a friend, not even family. If anyone found out he had the Void Soul, it would mean death.

The hall went quiet again. So quiet Kaiden could hear his own heartbeat.

Then suddenly, he felt something.

It was like cold air brushing through his skin and bones, but it wasn’t really air. It was heavier, sharper. He felt it crawling through his mind, digging into every corner of him. In that moment, it felt like he was naked and completely exposed. Like every secret, every thought, every part of him was laid open for someone else to see.

He wanted to move, to look around, but he couldn’t.

The feeling lasted only a few seconds before it faded away, and then the voice spoke again.

"You are right. You have no soul ability."

Kaiden exhaled slowly, forcing himself not to react.

Then the voice added coldly, "Your path on this cultivation journey will be a very short one."

Kaiden clenched his fist slightly, keeping his face blank. Inside though, he was smiling.

He could hear the disgust in the man’s tone. Whoever this was clearly looked down on him already. But if only this idiot knew the truth. If only he knew that Kaiden’s soul wasn’t empty but something far worse and more powerful than any other — the Void Soul, the kind that could erase existence itself.

The silence came back again, and then the voice shifted, now focusing on Gareth.

"I see you haven’t attempted to awaken yours," it said.

Gareth looked around nervously. "Yes sir, that’s true," he replied. His tone was calm but a little uncertain.

"Step onto the altar," the voice commanded. "The one on the right."

Gareth hesitated only for a second before nodding. "Alright."

He bent down to untie his boots, pulling them off quickly. His bare feet touched the cold ground as he stepped forward. The air around the altar looked strange, like small sparks of light were dancing around it.

Kaiden watched him closely, curious about what was going to happen. He wanted to say something, maybe wish him luck, but he stayed quiet.

He still didn’t know who was watching them, and after that strange feeling earlier, he didn’t want to draw more attention to himself.

Gareth took another step closer, then another, until he was standing right before the altar.

Kaiden’s eyes followed him silently.

As Gareth placed his right foot on the glowing altar, the faint golden light around it flickered slightly.

For a full minute, nothing happened.

Kaiden stood there waiting, his eyes darting between Gareth and the glowing altar. The air was quiet, not even the faint hum from earlier was there. Gareth stood still, eyes closed, face calm like he was just standing under the sun.

But then—

A sudden burst of light swallowed him whole.

Kaiden flinched and turned away as his whole vision went white. The light wasn’t just bright; it was blinding. It filled every inch of the hall until it was almost painful to look at. He threw his arm up to shield his face while the glow spread like fire across the floor.

The entire room shook.

Kaiden forced his eyes open just a little, and what he saw made his chest tighten. The space around Gareth began to twist like the air itself was bending. The air shimmered and warped as if the world was folding in on him.

Then, just as quickly as it started, the light died down.

The glow faded into small streaks that drifted off into the air and disappeared. Gareth was now kneeling on the altar, head bowed, eyes closed. His breathing was calm, but sweat ran down his neck.

The voice spoke again, but it wasn’t the same as before. The arrogance from earlier was gone. Now, there was excitement — even respect.

"Bless the gods," the voice said, almost trembling with joy. "You are a rare one... a spatial soul. Ahahahahaha! The gods have decided to bless our continent with one more genius!"

Kaiden’s eyes widened a little.

Spatial soul?

The voice continued, "Good, kid, good... now it’s time to awaken your body ability."

Gareth finally opened his eyes and stood up slowly. Kaiden expected him to look shocked or overjoyed or at least surprised. But no — the guy was calm, too calm.

He just nodded slightly, like it was all part of a normal routine, and began walking toward the other altar.

Kaiden frowned. Every other person he had seen would’ve been jumping around or shouting from excitement if they awakened something like that. But Gareth? He acted like it was no big deal.

That was when Kaiden realized something — this guy wasn’t normal.

Gareth stepped onto the second altar. He moved to the center and sat down cross-legged. His eyes closed again. The faint glow from the altar started pulsing, slow and steady.

This time the light wasn’t blinding like before. It was gentle, soft, almost warm. It spread across Gareth’s body like sunlight over water. Kaiden could feel a strange calmness coming from it.

Then the air in the hall shifted.

Kaiden felt a breeze brush past his face. It grew stronger with each second, and soon the air started to swirl. Dust lifted from the floor and began spinning around Gareth. The wind tightened around him like a small tornado, wrapping him in a cocoon of rushing air.

Gareth sat perfectly still, his eyes still closed, his body not moving an inch.

Kaiden let out a quiet sigh. "Very unlucky," he muttered to himself.

He knew enough about soul and body abilities to understand what was happening. Gareth had awakened a high-tier spatial soul — which was already insane — but the body ability forming around him looked like wind.

Wind was a low-tier body ability.

"Damn," Kaiden whispered. "Guy’s got a strong soul but a weak body. Balance is off."

Even with that, Gareth would still be stronger than most kids his age. Having a high-tier soul ability alone already set him apart from ninety percent of people.

Kaiden started to relax, thinking the awakening was over. But then something changed.

He felt it before he saw it — a faint spark that brushed against his skin. It wasn’t the wind; it was something sharp, electric.

At first, he thought maybe it was his imagination, just static in the air. But then his eyes caught it — a flash of light.

Tiny streaks of lightning began dancing inside the swirling wind around Gareth.

Kaiden blinked. "What the..."

The lightning cracked and hissed inside the wind like it was alive, flickering brighter and faster. The storm around Gareth was no longer just air — it was glowing with raw, wild energy.

Kaiden took a step back. His heart started to pound. He knew what this meant.

Wind was a low-tier ability. Lightning was mid-tier. But when the two combined, it became something else entirely — something far more dangerous.

Storm.

A high-tier body ability.

Kaiden’s jaw tightened as he watched the lightning coil tighter around Gareth like chains of white fire. The wind screamed through the hall before dying down suddenly, leaving only silence behind.

Gareth opened his eyes slowly, blue sparks flickering faintly in them before fading away.

Kaiden could only stare.

"This fucker," he muttered under his breath, "actually awakened a high-tier body and a high-tier soul ability. What the fuck is this luck?"

He almost laughed at the absurdity. Some people spend their whole lives trying to awaken one high-tier ability — and this guy just walked in here and did both like it was nothing.

Kaiden rubbed his head, half frustrated, half impressed.

There was no doubt about it now. Gareth wasn’t normal. Not even close.