Chapter 8: Welcome to the Next Round

We went silent for a moment.

"Seriously? All this for a promotion? Can’t we just get a gold watch like normal people?"

Aubrey looked at me. "You think you can handle it?"

I gulped. "Probably not."

Aubrey gulped too. "Me neither."

No sooner had she spoken than lightning split our cave wide open.

The world went dark, clouds boiling, blue and purple lightning weaving a net overhead, ready to strike.

A thick purple bolt crashed down, and all I saw was deep purple.

All my senses vanished in an instant.

Except for the word "death," I couldn’t think of anything else.

It felt like only a moment, but also an eternity.

Hearing came back first.

In my ears was the distant, ghostly bell.

"Bong—"

"Bong—"

"Bong—"

"Bong—"

......

What’s that ringing?

Is it the Contest Bell?

Why won’t it stop?

My lashes fluttered as I struggled to open my eyes.

The sky was bright, and Aubrey and I were in a magnificent golden hall.

Thousands of immortals gathered from all directions, staring at us like we were rare animals.

After a while, someone recognized us.

"Aren’t these the two who jumped off the Gate of No Return over two thousand years ago…?"

Did we… actually ascend?

Wait—does this mean I have to see Caleb again?

I squeezed Aubrey’s hand, our palms clammy but together. Whatever came next, at least we’d face it as a team—just like we always had, from the foster system to the Celestial Court and back again. Welcome to the next round. And this time, we were done playing by anyone else’s rules.