The Ascent of Wrath: ANOMALOUS GRAVITY AND THE GLOBAL COALITION’S EMBUSH

The air—if that word could even be applied to three such disparate planes of existence—had become a solid substance, a membrane on the verge of tearing under the weight of four wills that, without knowing it, were synchronizing their heartbeats for the beginning of the end.

"Whatever happens, happens!"

In that moment of absolute suspension, time was not an arrow, but a knot tightening around the neck of reality.

(A file like this cannot be allowed to exist...)

In the World of Ky'lar, the forest's silence was interrupted only by the rhythmic crackling of a campfire and the soft sighs of the priestesses serving as a living bed.

(If I win this PvP, I don't just gain a General for Raina; I restore the balance of an account that someone else profaned with their negligence. It's a risky bet, going in with a direct NTR is like jumping into a lion's den... but the prize is the team's perfection. I am not going to lose to a player who doesn't even know how to take care of his merchandise.)

There, Mireya held the console with a firmness that contrasted with his androgynous and delicate appearance. To him, what throbbed between his hands was not destiny, but a technical wager.

"Raina...? Is it you... or is it another illusion from this hell?"

In contrast, for Mayuri, the mud of the lower district felt colder than usual against her skin.

(It’s strange... My body tells me I should mock, that I should humiliate myself... but my heart feels a pressure it doesn't recognize.)

Inexplicably to herself, she, who had accepted defeat as a physical law, suddenly felt a crack in her submission.

(If she touches me now... will I simply be destroyed by the resentment I myself helped create...?)

The mechanical hum that always dictated her movements had grown erratic—an interference that made her tremble.

(I almost have you...)

On the other hand, suspended before her in an atmosphere that caught fire in her wake, Raina did not waver.

(... Tracking him is... more complex than I thought...)

She focused...

(... There is interference... some kind of barrier...?)

Her transcendental consciousness had expanded beyond comprehension, turning into a psionic sonar focused on a single objective.

(Master... very soon, there will be nothing left to separate us.)

But while these three wills prepared for the collision, in the world that gave birth to all these events, the only element holding the final trigger...

Kaelen Thorne...

"Haaah... Haaa... A-aah... Haa...!"

He was no longer the bored spectator playing with the remains of a life.

(That figure... That presence... And that power...!)

His pulse, usually slow and apathetic, had skyrocketed, turning into a war drum echoing in his ears.

"This is it! This is what was missing!"

He didn't wager, he didn't doubt, and he didn't focus.

"Is that glow even greater than before?!"

He... was exultant.

"Did someone raise a broken toy from the trash and make it shine even brighter than before...?"

What he was experiencing was a toxic euphoria, as an adrenaline he hadn't felt since the destruction of the Vances began to flood his nervous system.

"Oh... oh, yes... this is... this is Paradise!"

The air in Kaelen Thorne's room no longer smelled stale; it smelled of the static electricity of a psychosis that had finally found its muse.

"Look at you, Raina... You've returned as a goddess only so that I may have the pleasure of tearing off your wings again."

While in the other worlds the tension was a stretched rope, in Central City, that rope had snapped, releasing a lash of euphoria that deformed the young man's face into a grimace of almost unbearable delight.

"No, that would be a waste!!"

Kaelen wasn't just staring at a screen; he was having a carnal epiphany.

"An opportunity like this might never present itself to me again?!"

His hands, which had previously moved with the heaviness of the living dead, now trembled with electric energy, tracing the edges of the keyboard as if it were the body of a lover.

(I could make Mayuri feel heaven before the mud fills her mouth again... that will break what is left of her soul...)

In this way, his thoughts became a whirlwind of technical depravity.

(Or maybe I could make her attack her "old friend" right now!)

Inspiration struck him like a hammer, with each idea more twisted than the last.

(But I could also have her speak nonsense, ending her own life in the face of this unexpected reunion!)

Kaelen Thorne no longer felt the void; instead, in that moment, he felt like a god who had just found a new universe to burn.

"Oh, what choice should I make?!"

Raising both arms with a maniacal grin, his eyes shone with chromatic flashes as the cursor, heavy with the weight of his malice, slid toward the duel notification flashing in red.

(BOOOOOOOOM!!)

However, time—which until that microsecond felt like a rubber band stretched to its limit—finally snapped.

"What?!"

"Eh...?"

There was no smooth transition, no system warning; only a violent rupture that manifested simultaneously across all three realities, cutting through each individual's thoughts like an invisible scythe reaping the air.

"An explosion?!"

In the world of Ky'lar, the console in Mireya's hands vibrated with such intensity that his fingers went numb instantly.

"... Wait, now that I look... The event timer jumped forward?!"

His white eyes, previously fixed on a cold optimization strategy, widened, capturing the violet flash that emanated from the screen and illuminated the darkness.

(KRA-KOOOOM!!)

At the same time, in the Virtual Dimension, the slum alleyway ceased to exist as such. A column of black and crimson energy erupted from the ground, right between Raina and Mayuri, disintegrating physical matter and turning the bricks into stardust.

(... What a nuisance.)

But in response, Raina didn't even blink.

(If they are going to stand in my way... Then...)

Her hands opened and her crown began to spin with a speed that defied perception, while her red eyes shone with the certainty of one who has finally caught their prey.

(THEY WILL SUFFER!!)

And with that determination, she moved into a fighting stance.

(Why...? What is happening...?)

In parallel, by contrast, Mayuri, kneeling at the epicenter, felt her lungs collapse.

"A-ah...!"

Finally, as a last reaction at the very center of the origin, in Central City, Kaelen Thorne’s room was transformed into a chamber of depravity.

"Hnnng... a-ah..."

Leaning toward the cracked screen, Kaelen ran his tongue over his dry lips, savoring the metallic taste of ozone in the air.

(This is...! This is even better!)

His bloodshot eyes shone with increasing maniacal excitement as he began to chuckle—a raspy, broken laugh that echoed in the empty room.

"Yes... come, everyone! Show me how much more you can feed this Paradise!"

The detonation did not come from the will of the two opposing players, but from an external force that had been lurking in the shadows of the forums.

"This PvP... we will not tolerate it!"

At the same time, in the world of the Virtual Dimension, the smoke from the explosion had not yet dissipated when a voice heavy with authority and filtered hatred echoed through the speakers across the entire sector.

(Clack... clack... clack!! Fwoosh!)

Through the sparks and the rubble of the alleyway, the ones responsible for the attack began to emerge one by one. From the shadows, warriors in legendary armor, mages with staffs vibrating with forbidden energy, and assassins who melded with the smoke appeared.

"By order of the Global Coalition, your accounts are under technical arrest!"

It was the Player Coalition—those who, in the forums, had sworn to overthrow the reign of the empress and the optimized tyranny of the regime that Mireya had unconsciously imposed.

"Are they gathering for an ambush right now?!"

Surrounding them with surgical precision, the elite players unsheathed their weapons, aiming at both the [Goddess of Wrath] and the [Fallen Heroine].

"This expands the possibilities even further!!"

They had joined their forces, resources, and skills to execute this coordinated ambush at the exact moment the NTR link was activated, exploiting the vulnerability of the system's mechanics.

"What should I do...?"

And the unexpected turn of events led to a different reaction among the four present in the face of the critical situation.

However, amidst the rubble of the alleyway, Raina remained motionless, watching the intruders with a gaze that promised a carnage; while Mayuri trembled, trapped, Mireya wavered, and Kaelen grew excited, she, on the other hand...

"Attack now! Don't let her stabilize!"

... Was preparing herself.

(GRRRRR-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!!)

As a result, an unimaginable tremor—originating not from the bowels of the earth but from Raina’s own mind—unleashed itself with a simmering, pent-up fury.

(CRACK-OOOM-KRA-KOOOOM!!)

Immediately after, the entire structure of the slums, from the rotting stone foundations to the tin roofs, began to groan and twist under the psionic pressure. The Coalition players, caught within the area of effect, saw their user interfaces fill with warnings of [ANOMALOUS GRAVITY DETECTED].

(Fwoooooosh! Sssssshhhhhh!)

Instantly, a psionic hurricane formed around Raina.

"Do you want to die...?"

Her red eyes glowed with an intensity that eclipsed the mages' spells.

"Because if so... I shall grant you something much worse!"

She wasn't merely defending herself; she was rewriting the environment. With an upward sweep of her hands, a massive fragment of the city's composition, spanning several city blocks, began to rise toward the sky.

(Zzzzzzt! Bzzzzzt! VROOOOOM!!)

The buildings were lifted, now hanging from the base of an improvised floating island, with pipes and cables dangling like the entrails of a wounded beast.

(FRRRR-BOOOOOMSHHH!!)

In this way, the platform soared above the pollution and smog of the lower city, setting the stage for a pitched battle in the heights.