Bastards Ascension: A Playground of Gods
Chapter 57: Beast Elves

Chapter 57: Beast Elves

Kieran didn’t understand why Alexa sounded so panicked.

But as he looked around, he could tell—this definitely wasn’t Nebulas.

From their vantage point on the hill, the landscape unfolded before them.

And then he saw it.

A massive castle stood in the distance, its highest spire piercing the sky like a spear.

It was nothing short of majestic. The towering stone walls exuded an ancient power, their weathered surface hinting at centuries of history.

Its sheer presence dominated the horizon.

This place was old—timeless—and undeniably foreign.

’I thought I escaped... I thought I’d never see this place again,’ Alexa whispered inwardly, her hands trembling as she stared at the massive castle—no, it wasn’t the castle she was seeing.

Her eyes were locked on it, but her mind was trapped in a memory.

She wasn’t seeing stone and spires. She was seeing him.

The being who had haunted her for years.

Inside the grand palace, atop a throne carved from obsidian and gold, he sat.

His long golden hair flowed over his shoulders, a silken crown of light. Draped in a shimmering robe that seemed to ripple with life, he looked every inch a ruler—divine, cruel, untouchable.

One hand supported his head as he reclined, eyes closed, as if asleep.

But then—

As if awakened by some unseen thread of fate, his head slowly turned toward the window.

He opened his eyes.

And his gaze pierced across distance and time, locking onto the mountain peak where Kieran now stood.

His long, pointed ears twitched.

And then, he smiled.

A slow, wicked grin curled on his lips. "Is this fate... or something more?" he murmured, voice like velvet wrapped around steel. "Looks like my little pet has finally come home."

He rose from his throne.

But just as he took a step forward, the grand double doors of the throne room burst open with a heavy clang.

A feminine figure entered, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor. She walked briskly but respectfully, before dropping to one knee in a deep bow.

"Prince Castan, we bring news," she announced, her voice steady, though her head remained lowered. She didn’t dare raise her gaze—doing so was a risk she knew better than to take.

"Speak," Castan said coolly, irritation edging into his tone.

"Lord Castan, the elves near the mountain reported that they saw the ancient gate open—but only for a brief moment. A few people made it through before it closed."

Castan’s expression sharpened.

’Could it be? Did she manage to open the gate again?’ he thought, eyes drifting back toward the window overlooking the vast landscape beyond.

"Wait here. I’ll return shortly," he muttered.

Without another word, the shadows beneath his feet twisted violently. With a hiss of power, they split open—and he sank into them, vanishing from sight.

—

Back on the mountain, Alexa’s senses flared.

"Kieran, hide!" she cried out in sudden alarm.

Kieran didn’t hesitate.

If Alexa was afraid—truly afraid—then he knew whatever was coming was beyond anything he could handle.

He spun toward the forest.

Without warning, he grabbed Stan’s arm. "Come on!" he snapped, dragging the confused boy behind him.

"W-what’s going on?!" Stan stumbled as he was pulled along, barely keeping his footing.

"Just move!" Kieran barked, Alexa’s voice guiding his every step through the tangled woods.

Now that she recognized where they were, Alexa navigated with fierce precision.

"Left! Now—go left!" she commanded, her voice laced with urgency.

Kieran veered sharply to the side. Ahead, a massive tree loomed into view—its trunk wide and ancient, roots gnarled like twisted limbs.

At the base of the trunk, hidden in shadow, was a small opening.

Kieran didn’t think twice.

He dove into it, dragging Stan behind him.

They squeezed into the tight, earthy space, pressing themselves against the hollow interior, breath held.

Then—just as they settled—

A shadow fell across the forest canopy.

This wasn’t the kind cast by passing clouds.

It was vast. Heavy. Suffocating.

Something had arrived—and it was searching.

From within the darkness, a young man stepped forward, regal and composed, draped in a flowing, gold-threaded robe that shimmered with an unnatural life. His feet didn’t disturb a single leaf as he hovered just above the treetops.

Prince Castan.

His sharp, golden eyes scanned the forest below, his presence alone warping the very air around him.

The moment Castan emerged, Kieran felt it.

A powerful surge of Aetheris swept through the air like a crashing wave—dense, oppressive, and suffocating.

He staggered slightly, the weight of it pressing against his lungs.

’What the hell is that?’

Even the instinct to peek—to just catch a glimpse—evaporated from his mind.

Something primal screamed at him not to look.

Not to move.

Not to breathe.

It felt like even making eye contact with this presence would be the end of him.

’No one should have this much Aetheris... I just hope it’s not what I think—’

{God Candidate Detected!}

The system’s voice cut through his thoughts like a dagger.

Kieran’s chest tightened. His heartbeat pounded against his ribs like a war drum.

’I’m supposed to kill this person?’

The absurdity of it almost made him laugh—but nothing about this moment felt funny.

Above the treetops, Castan remained still, but not alone.

The shadow beneath him writhed and shifted, growing and warping like ink in water. Then it took form—rising onto four legs, massive and spectral.

A beast of pure darkness.

Its body rippled like liquid smoke, and yet it moved with the grace of a predator.

Silent. Eerie. Terrifyingly alive.

The creature’s sapphire eyes glowed like cold fire as it, too, began to search.

Castan’s gaze narrowed.

’It was faint... but I felt it.

That sneaky phoenix. I’d never mistake her presence, not after all these years.’

His eyes glinted with something cruel.

"Amaya," he said quietly.

Instantly, the shadow beast raised its head, sapphire gaze snapping toward him.

"Yes, master," came the reply—soft and melodic, almost childlike, yet layered with an unnatural sweetness that made the skin crawl.

A voice that did not belong to something so monstrous.

"I can sense many presences on this hill," Castan said, sweeping his gaze across the dense forest canopy. "Find them. Bring them all to the castle."

’You can hide, but we both know it won’t be for long,’ he thought coldly.

"Understood, Master!" Amaya replied. Her smoky, shadowy form rippled outward, shaping itself into a swirling gateway.

Castan stepped through it and reappeared in his throne room.

The female elf was still there, kneeling, her forehead bowed low to the marble floor.

"I’ve ordered my beast to remain on the hill. Any outsider she captures will be brought to you for questioning. If they fail to give useful answers—kill them," Castan said flatly, his voice devoid of emotion.

To him, life held no sanctity—it was simply something to use or discard.

"Understood, my lord," the elf answered. She rose slowly, her head still bowed as she silently exited the grand throne room.

Castan sank back into his throne, his golden robes settling like silk against the carved obsidian.

His eyes narrowed, casting a cold glance in the direction of the distant hill.

’Alexa... if I catch you this time, there will be no escape.

As the thought echoed in his mind, a soft chime interrupted him.

{God Candidate Detected!}

The golden notification hovered before him.

At first, Castan stared at it in confusion—then, slowly, a knowing smile crept across his face.

’So... after all these years... the opportunity has finally come.’

His eyes glinted.

’I can finally ascend my throne.’

---

Meanwhile, back in the hills—after Castan vanished into shadow—Amaya remained.

She stood silently for a moment, her sapphire eyes narrowing as she inhaled the cool, humid air.

Then, without a sound, she melted into the darkness, vanishing completely.

It was only once the suffocating pressure in the air lifted that Kieran dared peek from the hollow beneath the massive tree.

The sky was clear.

No one was there.

"W-what... what was that?" Stan whispered, drenched in sweat. His entire body trembled, his eyes wide with panic.

He hadn’t seen the figure—but the sheer weight of that presence had turned his instincts primal. He felt like prey hiding from a predator.

Kieran didn’t blame him.

He felt exactly the same.

"I don’t know what it was... but I hope we don’t run into it again," Kieran said, keeping his voice low.

’Alexa... you know what that was, don’t you?’ he asked silently.

There was a pause before Alexa’s voice echoed in his mind, quieter than usual.

"Kieran... I don’t know how you got here, but whatever your purpose is, you need to do it—fast—and get out of here."

Her voice trembled, a rare crack of fear bleeding through.

"Where you are now... is a place even beasts fear to tread. Myself included."

She paused for a long moment.

"This is the land of the Beast Elves... the Althea Realm."

Another pause.

And then the words she clearly didn’t want to say, but did.

"The land of my second master."