The Sanctum shuddered violently as the three champions converged, each unleashing their ultimate forms. Shadows and violet energy rippled outward, twisting the air, warping the walls, and bending the fissures of the floor into jagged arcs. The Rift behind them pulsed, hungry, impatient, its black-violet maelstrom reaching toward reality like the gaping maw of some incomprehensible predator.
Sarah staggered slightly, Proto-Ascension straining under the demand. Her muscles quivered, Lust Engine thrumming at the edge of her control. Desire surged uncontrollably, fracturing the lattice in microbursts. Every frôlement, every glance from her harem now served double duty: stabilizer and amplifier.
Sarah PV: 430 / Lv: 56 / Force: 230 / Desire: 3800 / Intelligence: 70 / Agility: 85
Rias pressed against her side, grounding her pulse. "It's too much. You can't hold this alone. Not like this."
Akeno's hand traced along Sarah's forearm, lips near her ear. "Let it flow into us. Synchronize completely. Don't fight it—use it."
Koneko anchored her to the floor, stabilizing the oscillations of Proto-Ascension. Rossweisse's runes flared brighter, creating temporary nodes of energy to absorb overloads. Xenovia's blade hummed in resonance with Sarah's heartbeat, and Lilith Fragment's consciousness pressed closer, insistent, weaving herself into the lattice more fully than ever.
"I can't control it… not alone," Sarah admitted, voice tight. Her eyes flickered between crimson and lilac as the Proto-Ascension threatened to consume her.
Lilith's whisper threaded directly through her mind. Surrender. Trust me. Merge. Only then can you contain this phase.
Rias's voice cut sharply: "Do it, Sarah. Or we all fall."
Sarah closed her eyes. One deep inhale. One shared heartbeat with her harem. One brush of palms, one press of hands, one pulse aligned in perfect synchrony. The Proto-Ascension pulsed outward in waves, destabilizing and surging simultaneously.
The shadow-champion roared, swinging its blade like a falling comet. Sarah met it mid-arc, flanking with Xenovia, Koneko stabilizing, Rias and Akeno feeding precise vectors. Proto-Ascension flared like molten fire along every point of contact. Shadows shattered under the compounded lattice output, sparks of violet colliding with crimson Desire waves.
The glyph-caster's sigils spiraled into a lethal helix. Sarah's breath caught. Proto-Ascension nearly tore itself apart inside her. Lilith's voice pressed: Now. Merge fully. Before it destroys you.
Sarah opened her eyes, a trembling smile forming. "Then we do it… together."
A sudden surge of energy cascaded outward, the harem's bodies, their touches, glances, and heartbeats amplifying the fusion. Proto-Ascension folded into Lilith's consciousness and back into Sarah, fractalizing her aura into a multi-layered lattice of power. The chamber itself seemed to bend under the resonance, walls flexing, cracks glowing like veins of molten Desire.
Temporary Skill Triggered: Ascendant Fusion – Lilith Integration
Effect: Proto-Ascension stabilizes into higher-tier control; emotional and tactile vectors fully merged with Lilith; output amplified exponentially; Charm Domain becomes semi-sentient; reflexes exceed human thresholds; battlefield influence spreads passively.
Bonuses: +800 Desire / +400 Force / +200 Agility / +100 Intelligence
The champions faltered at the sudden, overwhelming burst. The shadow-crystal blade shattered mid-swing, purple energy dispersing against a wall of synchronized crimson light. The metal-fluid form recoiled, unable to maintain cohesion against the lattice's amplified output. The glyph-caster's sigils unraveled under the emotional resonance pouring from Sarah and her harem.
Rias's voice, steady yet proud: "You're doing it. You're holding the threshold!"
Akeno's whisper tickled Sarah's ear: "Every heartbeat is ours now… every pulse, every frôlement. Nothing can break this."
The Rift behind the champions wavered violently, unstable, flickering. Dark energies attempted to surge forth, but Proto-Ascension now acted as a counter-lattice, feeding off Lilith's stabilizing presence. Each pulse of Desire redirected, each glance, each touch of the harem became an anchor for reality itself.
Sarah's lips curved, her voice low but carrying through the chamber: "We end this… before it consumes everything."
The champions launched one final coordinated attack—a triad of devastating force meant to pierce both Proto-Ascension and the Sanctum itself. Sarah inhaled deeply, every nerve aligned with her harem. Lust Engine, Heart Synchrony, Veil Synchrony, Charm Domain—all activated in unison.
The Proto-Ascension flared to an almost unbearable brilliance. Light collided with shadow, metal, and glyphs in a cataclysmic explosion of energy and emotion. The champions screamed—not in pain, but in the recognition that their assault had been met by an equal and opposite force, infinitely amplified by intimacy, trust, and unity.
And then… silence.
Smoke drifted through fissures. The Rift quivered, then began to collapse in on itself. The champions lay incapacitated, their forms fractured, energy spent, but alive. The Sanctum shuddered, settling around Sarah, her harem, and the slowly dimming lattice of fused power.
Sarah staggered, breath heavy, limbs trembling—but a glow lingered in her eyes, a new layer of crimson-lilac light: the proof of Proto-Ascension's stabilization and Lilith's full integration.
Rias pressed a hand to her waist. "You've done it… you controlled it."
Akeno leaned close, teasing a hand along her forearm. "Not just controlled… you became unstoppable."
Koneko's grounding presence radiated calm, stabilizing the residual energy. Rossweisse adjusted runes to seal remaining fissures. Xenovia's blade hummed softly, synchronized to the new lattice. Lilith's voice whispered clearly within Sarah's mind: We are one. We are ready.
Sarah exhaled, looking toward the sealed Rift. "The Outer Faction's final wave… they'll come. But now we can face them. Fully. Together."
And the Sanctum, scarred but alive, pulsed faintly in rhythm with her stabilized Proto-Ascension—a warning and a promise that the Vessel of Desire had reached a new, unshakable threshold.