Bastards Ascension: A Playground of Gods
Chapter 56: A different realm.

Chapter 56: A different realm.

{God Candidate Detected!}

Kieran snapped to high alert the moment the system notification echoed in his mind.

He spun around, eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of Aetheris.

That’s when it hit him.

’Where am I? Is this... the lobby?’ Kieran looked around, confused.

But this didn’t look like any waiting lobby.

It was worse—there was no one else here.

Just him, alone, in an empty void cloaked in darkness.

---

Meanwhile, outside the tower—unaware of the strange events unfolding within—members of various factions began to enter.

As the last of the recruits vanished into the swirling portal, Kim turned to face the captains and vice-captains gathered nearby.

"I trust you warned your recruits to conduct themselves properly inside the realm?" he asked, his gaze sweeping across them.

Each nodded silently in acknowledgment.

Then a voice came from the side.

"What does it matter?" the speaker said, a smug grin on his lips. "If the kids get into scuffles, let them. It’s part of being awakened—learning that there’s always someone stronger above you."

The man, young and cocky, wore a red battle suit and stood with confidence, his eyes fixed on the spiraling blue gateway.

All heads turned toward him.

Who else could it be but someone from the Nelkon family?

A few sighed in exasperation. Others looked away, their expressions tinged with disappointment.

Kim’s brows furrowed deeply at the remark.

"With all due respect, Mr. Nelkon," Kim said, his voice cold and steady, "if anything happens within that tower and the Nelkon family is implicated, we will be forced to take legal action."

The young man chuckled darkly, tilting his head toward Kim.

Their eyes locked.

Defiance gleamed in the Nelkon’s gaze.

"Sir Kim," he said mockingly, "since when did our Nelkon family start fearing the AFO?"

His tone carried no respect—just arrogance, as though Kim wasn’t even worth his attention.

"And besides," he continued, running a hand through his silver hair, "since you refused to reveal who assaulted the recruiter we stationed outside the AFO headquarters, I think we’re within our rights to take matters into our own hands."

Kim’s jaw clenched. He could barely suppress the fury rising in his chest.

A captain—just a captain—daring to look down on him?

But Kim didn’t lash out.

His fists tightened by his sides, veins straining beneath his skin.

He knew exactly what this was about.

Just a day earlier, a member of the Nelkon family had been severely burned. The culprit remained unidentified.

The Nelkons wanted a scapegoat—and Kim hadn’t given them one.

Now they were baiting him. Testing him. Looking to create chaos.

’These arrogant brats have always hated the order and peace the AFO built. Now they want to drag us into their mess.’

Kim saw through the ploy.

They wanted him rattled.

They wanted a reaction.

Any misstep now could ignite war between two of the most powerful factions in the world.

The Nelkons had never tolerated following rules set by others.

But Kim wasn’t about to back down either.

His pride—and the reputation of the AFO—were on the line.

"This is not a threat," Kim said, voice low and firm, "but a promise. If the Nelkon family crosses any lines... the AFO will not hesitate to bring them down."

His words echoed with restrained fury.

They didn’t come from just anyone—they came from Kim.

And everyone there felt their weight.

Then, just as tension gripped the air between the factions—

The portal behind them shattered.

The gateway that once led into the tower vanished completely.

All that remained was a hollow, gaping void.

---

Kim spun around the moment he sensed the sudden drop in spatial energy.

He wasn’t the only one. Every captain and vice-captain turned toward the entrance—now sealed.

"What’s going on?" someone muttered.

"This has never happened before..."

The gateway was gone—just like that. Panic spread across the faces of the gathered leaders.

It was worse for the captains from the origin families. Their successors had just entered the tower. If anything happened to them, returning home could mean death.

They scrambled to check the recruits’ life trackers.

Anita moved first, quickly pulling up the system on her tablet. "They’re all alive," she said before Jacob could even ask.

"Can you access the hidden cameras?" he asked sharply. "We need to know what’s happening inside."

Anita’s eyes narrowed as she tapped through the interface. Something wasn’t right.

I double-checked everything before they went in... it was working then, she thought, frantically scanning the logs.

After several tense moments, she looked up.

"No luck. All camera feeds are down. The connection’s been completely severed."

Jacob turned to the others.

They all reported the same—no access to the cameras they had embedded in the recruits’ suits.

"What do we do?" one of the captains asked, voice tight with fear, eyes on Kim.

Kim hesitated. For the first time, he had no clear answer.

He could only come up with mere assumptions.

"I don’t know," he said slowly. "If this has never happened before, then someone inside the tower must have triggered something. Hopefully I’m wrong... but if I’m not—"

He paused, his face grim.

"—then the only way out... is to clear every realm in the tower."

The silence that followed was heavy.

Every realm?

They all knew one thing:

The tower’s realms had no end.

---

Kieran looked around, but there was nothing—no light, no walls, no sound. Just emptiness.

Then, out of nowhere, a golden notification panel blinked into existence in front of him.

It wasn’t his system.

And it definitely wasn’t the AFO’s.

This one was different—sleek, golden, almost divine.

{Candidate Detected!}

{Secret Realm Unlocked.}

{Transferring All Participants to Realm...}

"What the—" Kieran barely had time to react before spatial energy surged around him, wrapping him in a tight cocoon.

And then he vanished.

Similarly, in all the other places.... They had all received the same notification, before vanishing into thin air.

No idea what realm they were being transported to.

---

Somewhere far away, a rift tore open in the sky, and a figure shot out like a ragdoll.

Thud!

Kieran hit the ground face-first, groaning as dirt filled his mouth.

He slowly sat up, disoriented. "Where the hell...?"

Looking around, he blinked. Trees stretched endlessly around him. The sun was warm on his skin. The grass beneath him felt like velvet.

"This looks like... Nebula?" he muttered, brushing dirt from his clothes.

He leaned back against a wide boulder and took a deep breath. The air was crisp and clean—too clean.

It looked familiar. It felt familiar. But...

"Is this a megacity sector?" he asked aloud, scanning the forest. There were no buildings in sight.

Only one way to find out.

"Alexa, your senses are sharp. Can you detect anyone nearby?"

"Yes," her voice replied smoothly in his mind. "There’s someone not far from here. And there’s a city beyond that."

’Could be one of my teammates,’ Kieran thought.

"Lead the way," he said aloud.

"Understood."

With Alexa’s guidance, Kieran moved quickly through the forest. Her directions were clear, and he moved as if he’d walked the path before.

It wasn’t long before he saw a short boy in a battle suit, pacing nervously and mumbling to himself.

Kieran recognized him immediately.

Stan, he recalled. The first person called in his group.

The boy hadn’t noticed him yet, too busy muttering.

"How come I’m alone? Where is everyone? Weren’t we supposed to arrive in the lobby?"

Kieran stepped forward.

Stan jumped when he saw him, eyes wide as if he’d seen a ghost. But then his expression eased.

"Oh! You’re my teammate! Sorry—I guess I got lost or something," he said, scratching his head nervously.

"You didn’t get lost. I appeared here too," Kieran explained. "Something happened. I think we were... teleported into our own realm."

"Our realm?" Stan blinked. "Wait, the tower can do that?"

"I don’t know," Kieran replied honestly. He turned toward the distant horizon. "But we’ll find out soon enough. First, we need to get out of this forest."

’Alexa, can you lead us to that city?’

"Of course," she said confidently. "It’s not far now."

They moved through the trees quickly. Stan struggled to keep up, glancing around nervously while Kieran led with sharp precision.

"You walk like you’ve been here before," Stan muttered in awe.

They finally broke through the forest’s edge—and that’s when Alexa spoke again.

But this time, her voice was different. Panicked.

"Kieran! This... this isn’t your world! How did you get here?!"

Kieran froze.

It was the first time he’d ever heard Alexa—his proud, composed Phoenix—sound afraid.

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