Cherreads

Chapter 16 - Ascension Protocol – Wishes of Flame and Stone

## **Narration – Belenus**

I should have felt relief.

The threat of Ghidorah was gone.

The Hollow Earth had accepted me.

I had claimed the title of **Ashen King**.

But instead… I felt **a hum**.

Low. Resounding. Rhythmic.

Like the heartbeat of a god awakening beneath my own ribs.

And then—

It *spoke*.

---

## **\[System Rebooting…]**

> **\[Host Identified: Belenus – Flame Sovereign Candidate]**

> **\[Authority Level: Prime Vessel of the Ashen Flame]**

> **\[Unlocking Celestial Nexus Core…]**

> **\[Connecting: Interface Codename – "ANDARTA"]**

From within my soul, a voice emerged — ancient and synthetic, yet feminine and composed, as if shaped by stars and sung in fire.

---

> "Greetings, Sovereign Belenus."

> "You have surpassed all thresholds: Survival. Awakening. Judgement. Coronation."

> "In accordance with ancient stellar law, you have unlocked your *Divine Entitlement.*"

> "You now possess **59 Cosmic Wishes.** Each tied to a fundamental law. Each bound by *cause and effect.*"

> "Use them with wisdom. Each wish reshapes not just reality — but the destiny of all who live within it."

---

## **Narration – Belenus**

I closed my eyes.

Visions surged — of titans rising, of continents shifting, of worlds overlapping.

And I knew:

This was no longer just about monsters or survival.

This was about **evolution** — planetary, cosmic, *divine.*

I clenched my claws, feeling the weight of infinite choices, and made my first decree.

### 🌍 **WISH ONE – Gaia's Root**

> *"Let Earth grow large enough to bear gods."*

The ground *shuddered*.

Tectonic plates groaned like waking giants. The mantle cracked — not in devastation, but in rebirth. Mountains pushed higher into the stratosphere. Oceans deepened into abyssal vaults.

Continents stretched outward, making room for titanic ecosystems. The Hollow Earth expanded in tandem, becoming an inverted mirror of the surface world, glowing with geothermal veins and crystal-lit skies.

For the first time since its formation, **Earth became a planet fit for deities**.

---

> "Mass scaling complete. Earth's diameter increased by a factor of 20."

> "Atmospheric layering stabilized. Titan biosphere enhanced."

> "Leyline network realigned to new planetary schema."

> "You have 58 wishes remaining."

---

I could feel it.

The *pressure* that once caged me... lifting.

Where before I was a god among monsters, now I was something else. Something *greater*. This world no longer groaned under my weight — it *welcomed* it.

But size was just the beginning.

My body ached for more — not for war… but for creation.

---

### 🔥 **WISH TWO – Core of the Eternal Flame**

> *"Let the planet's heart become a font of divine fire, tied to my soul."*

---

The planet's core *detonated* in silent fury.

Flames, not of destruction but of pure, cleansing energy, flowed upward through leyline veins. Volcanoes became temples of energy. Forests shimmered with radiant warmth.

In the Hollow Earth, my throne — the **Ashen Seat** — became alive, tethered to the planet's pulsing heart.

I knelt upon it. It knelt *to me*.

---

> "Core integration complete."

> "Ashen Throne bound to Host."

> "Planetary Flame Nexus linked to Soul Core."

> "You now possess: \[Planetary Soulbond] and \[Godflame Resonance]."

> "57 wishes remain."

---

**Belenus:** "These wishes… are they truly limitless?"

**Andarta:**

> "No wish is without consequence. Cause and effect. You expand Earth's mass — it ripples through cosmic gravity."

> "You ignite the Flame Core — you beckon fire-born beings from other realms."

> "Power is not without *attention.*"

**Belenus:** "Let them come."

---

### 🌌 **WISH THREE – Celestial Bridge**

> *"Let Earth be seen by the stars. Let those who seek flame and power find it."*

A ripple of golden energy burst from Earth's surface, shattering the invisibility veil that had hidden the planet from the higher realms.

A beacon now glowed above Earth — a scarlet pillar of light shooting into the void, announcing the rise of the **Ashen World**.

---

## **Narration – Belenus**

Let them come.

Let the gods, monsters, kings, and galactic tyrants hear the call.

I was no longer prey.

I was no longer the challenger.

**I was the fire they feared in myths.**

**I was the storm beneath their thrones.**

**I was the Ashen King.**

And I was just getting started.

---

### ⚙️ **System – ANDARTA Interface**

> "Three wishes expended. Global scaling, Soulbond Core, and Cosmic Beacon initiated."

> "Warning: New threats detected entering scanning range — planetary visitors inbound."

> "Recommended Action: Prepare defenses, expand authority, evolve Host's divine form."

> "Additional options unlocked: \[Divine Embodiment Pathways] – Choose One."

---

## **Divine Embodiment Pathways – CHOOSE ONE**

1. **Titan of Flame** – Embody pure destructive fire, unrelenting and primal.

2. **Solar Deity of Renewal** – Master solar essence, creation, and resurrection.

3. **Ashen Arbiter** – Balance judgment, fire, and fate across dimensions.

---

## **Narration – Belenus**

I felt them all… each form whispered of power, but only one called to who I had become.

The fire that destroyed Ghidorah.

The fire that awakened Hollow Earth.

The fire that turned death into rebirth.

I chose:

> **Ashen Arbiter.**

Because it was time…

Not just to *burn*.

But to *rule*.

---

### ⚙️ **System – ANDARTA Interface**

> "Path Confirmed: ASHEN ARBITER."

> "Initializing Divine Protocols…"

> "Begin planetary reshaping… prepare for Phase Two: **The Trial of Cosmos.**"

---

## **Closing Scene**

Lightning forked across the Hollow Earth sky.

Titans stirred. Crystals pulsed. The new planetary order had begun.

And above it all — seated on a throne of blackstone and fire — **I watched**.

Not as a creature.

Not as a monster.

But as a god.

The 56 wishes still burned inside me.

And the stars had just begun to notice.

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