Ascendance

“Confront Ignotus one last time and reclaim the Nexus.”

―Mission Briefing

Ascendance is the third map of The Final Chapter saga, created by RoachTheIntelCollector.

Overview[]

Ascendance is set within a visually stunning world created by Ignotus at the heart of the Nexus. The map is essentially a large circle that wraps around a circular island filled with buildings and otherworldly scenery. Players will start on a small pier, which leads into the town square, the main hub of the island. There are three teleporters, one at each end of the island, that will become linked with one another once each of them are activated individually, allowing for easy fast travel. Upon linking all three teleporters, the player can access the Pack-a-Punch Machine, which will rise from the ground in a secret compartment within the town square.

Story[]

As the light glistens away, the heroes find themselves on a dock in front of a large mountain containing numerous white and golden buildings in a sunny and clear world surrounded by water. Taking in the sights as they spot more mountain towns across the water, O’Ryan admires the place’s beauty, though The Son says that “looks can be deceiving”. Roach questions where they ended up, to which The Son explains that they have arrived at the heart of the Nexus, where Ignotus reigns complete control over the Nexus, explaining that their current location was created as a realm contained within the Nexus itself. The group soon converges onto the town’s main gate until they are suddenly ambushed by multiple Unversed. As they ready their spare sidearms, with the exception of The Son materializing The Return, Mac theorizes that the Unversed would be in greater numbers here than any other place as they make their stand to protect their master from the intruders.

After clearing the wave of Unversed, the group enters the town. Upon reaching a blue and golden compass created out of tiles on the ground, Gary notices a surging dark particle effect emerging from the adjacent staircase to the north. Suddenly, the surging materializes into a robed figure, to which The Son immediately recognizes as a Heretic Apparition. When asked what that was by Doc, The Son explains that the Nexus Apparitions overall were created by The Father to safeguard the Nexus in The Son’s absence, remarking that Ignotus must have manipulated a majority of them to serve him. Suddenly, more Heretic Apparitions materialize around the group, making a total of twelve as they levitate above the group in a circle formation. Before the heroes can ask the apparitions on Ignotus’s whereabouts, they individually warp away, though one remains to engage the group in a small battle. After the heroes emerge triumphant in the battle, the apparition collapses to the ground as darkness begins to emerge from its body, though nothing else happens. Chris asks what their next course of action should be, to which The Son responds that they should look for the other eleven apparitions, suggesting that by defeating them all will the path to Ignotus be revealed. Agreeing, the group begin traversing around the entire mountain, fighting off the Unversed and the apparitions once they revealed themselves. Meanwhile on the citadel on the top of the mountain, Ignotus materializes, pondering on what the sudden commotion was. Looking down towards the town below, he realizes that the heroes have found their way into the Nexus as they defeat his minions. Horrified that his position as ruler of the Nexus might not last, Ignotus begins to scheme a way to defeat the heroes before having to fight them himself as a last resort. Noticing the apparitions were not fading away after being defeated, Ignotus hatches an idea.

After defeating the last of the apparitions, the heroes regroup back at the compass at the front side of the mountain, where they spot that the darkness leaking from the defeated apparitions were materializing into an Unversed orb at the center of the compass. Knowing that by doing this they would summon a powerful Unversed to combat, the heroes prepare themselves before touching the orb together. Interestingly, the orb disappears without teleporting the group anywhere, though the gates leading to the other parts of the town suddenly close. Wondering what was happening, Ignotus materializes before the heroes, encased in a protective barrier. Ignotus mocks the heroes for entering the Nexus with the knowledge of the limitless power he possesses, though the heroes call him out as a coward for not fighting against them directly. Ignotus simply scoffs, saying that there can’t be a game without pawns before snapping his fingers. Suddenly, the apparitions around the town are lifted into the air as they dissolve into white and black orbs of darkness, which shoot up to the top of the citadel. As the orbs combine, the skies above darken as a red ring of energy materializes above the main mountain town. The heroes question what was going on, though Ignotus merely chuckles before warping away. As the orb enlarges, it suddenly explodes, revealing a massive Unversed known as the Trinity Armor, which soon warps in front of the heroes. The heroes soon engage the Trinity Armor in a vicious battle around the main part of the town, which results in major damage to the town from the fighting. Despite the Trinity Armor’s best attempts to destroy the heroes, it is ultimately defeated as it rises into the air and explodes in a surge of dark energy as the red ring vanishes. Ignotus soon angrily yells from the top of the citadel, furious over the constant interference from the heroes. Ignotus swears retaliation, explaining that he will use his powers to purge the entire Arc 1 universe from existence, and all other universes they hold dear to them as punishment for their attempts to stop him as he uses Roach’s stolen Harbinger to form a yellow portal leading to the Arc 1 universe above the citadel.

Knowing they have to stop Ignotus before he could enact his plan, the heroes soon spot an opening leading up to the previously inaccessible gondola station as a result of the carnage from their battle with the Trinity Armor. Fighting through the last remnants of the Unversed in the town, the heroes enter the station and activate a gondola, using it to ride it to the base of the citadel. As the gondola ascended to the citadel station, Roach remarks that if they were to fall, he was honored to have been fighting with his friends and allies that helped start this entire journey. Once the gondola reaches its stop, the heroes exit it and enter the citadel, where they spot an Unversed orb bearing the Harbinger’s symbol on it instead. Knowing the final battle awaited them, the group nod to one another before touching the orb, resulting in them being warped to the roof of the citadel, where Ignotus stood before them. Ignotus remarks that in another place, another time, he beared no soul, and when he finally got one, he never did anything with its power as he underestimated it as nothing more than a distraction. As he holds one hand out while placing the other on his chest, he remarks that things are different now, telling the heroes to see his soul’s power for themselves. In his other hand, he summons an orb of darkness, continuing that they will feel, know and accept his soul as he proceeds to slam his hand with the orb into the ground, causing a surge of darkness to surround him that summons an army of Unversed. As the heroes prepare to fight them, Ignotus merely chuckles as he begins to emit a dark aura, proceeding to create a large gravitational pull that begins to suck everything towards him. While the heroes struggle to maintain a foothold, all of the Unversed are absorbed into Ignotus, who proceeds to rise into the air as he begins to pulse with dark energy. As Ignotus clenches his fists and curls up, he releases a massive dark shockwave, sending the heroes backwards as he is encased by a large orb of darkness. As the heroes get up, a large Unversed symbol appears near the top of the orb as a pillar of darkness connects the orb to the ground and two dark wings sprout out from the sides of the orb. As Peterson nervously asks what was happening, two Unversed eyes appear on the front of the orb, followed by a mouth as it lets out a terrifying shriek. Knowing what must be done, the heroes engage the Unversed in a massive fight as it encases the area in a sphere of darkness.

After defeating the Unversed, it begins to form purple cracks around it. As the glow in the cracks brighten, the Unversed explodes, causing the dark sphere encasing the arena to explode and cleanse it of darkness, turning the dark sky into that of a beautiful night sky. As the light of the portal overhead shines down onto the citadel roof, Ignotus, having survived, gets up from the ground and angrily remarks that it was far from over. As he attempts to open a dark corridor to escape, he discovers that nothing has happened. Realizing that there was no escape and that he had lost the power to conjure the Unversed as a result of all of his darkness being purged, Ignotus screams in anger as the heroes bask in their victory. The Son orders Ignotus to stand down and accept defeat, though the latter refuses, stating that he doesn’t need darkness in order to destroy them before summoning the stolen Harbinger. Ignotus explains that once he destroys them once and for all, he will erase every universe connected to the Nexus that he could, and create perfect new ones in his image in their place as everyone prepares for the final battle. As the battle raged, the heroes give their best to defeat Ignotus, though despite weakening him greatly, Ignotus is able to overwhelm the heroes by unleashing a powerful blast of energy from within him, scattering everyone around the arena. As Rook weakly gets up, Ignotus loomed overhead, kicking him back down as he prepared to kill him. Simultaneously, The Son leans up from the ground, where he sees Roach nodding to him, mouthing that it was time he stepped up. Nodding back, The Son yells for Ignotus to stop. Complying, Ignotus questions if they were going to surrender, though The Son remarks that it was him he wanted to destroy, asking for Ignotus to spare the others in exchange for killing him. Horrified, the others beg for The Son to turn down the deal, though Ignotus eagerly accepts, saying that they will have his word. As The Son stands up, ready to take the fatal blow, Ignotus readies the stolen Harbinger and charges at him. However, The Son grins, and summons Ignotus’s former Harbinger, resulting in a massive clash between the two swords. A shocked Ignotus tries to break through, though The Son stood his ground. As the words of his former hosts echoed back to him, The Son begins to overpower Ignotus. However, the clash had weakened both of the Harbingers immensely, and as the struggle continued, both of the swords ultimately gave in and crumbled to pieces, resulting in an explosion that sends the two backwards. As a battered Ignotus attempts to cope with what just happened, The Son begins to charge at him as his arms start to surge with white energy. Desperate to stop the incoming assault, Ignotus summons No Name and attempts to slash at him, though The Son ducks under his attack and proceeds to punch Ignotus, the force and power within his hands are enough to completely shatter Ignotus’s synthetic body into pieces.

As No Name fell to the ground, The Son stood over the remains of Ignotus’s body, which began to glow white and fade away into the light emitting from the portal overhead; with Ignotus’s defeat, The Son reclaimed the discarded No Name, and in the process regained his rightful place as the Nexus’s ruler. The Son looks up towards the portal as he puts both his hands together on No Name before sending out a beam of cosmic energy from its head into the portal, which causes it to dissipate; the resulting closure causes Ignotus’s former realm to fade away, returning everyone to the Nexus. As the others celebrated their victory, the apparition of The Father appears before The Son, congratulating him for triumphing over Ignotus and restoring the Nexus back to its former glory. The Son asks the apparition what he intended to do next, though the apparition explains that now that his duties have been fulfilled, he would ultimately fade away. Knowing time with him was short, The Son thanks the apparition for everything he’s done, and the two share an awkward air hug. As he begins to fade away, the apparition smiles and cryptically remarks that “she’s still around” before winking and fading away completely, leaving The Son to be baffled by his remark. Thinking to himself for a moment, The Son realizes that he could have fully meant Sophia, and instead of cursing the apparition for lying to him, he thanks him, saying that with the Nexus back in his control, he would now begin a new mission; a search for his long-lost daughter. The others, having seen everything, ask if this meant he would be doing this alone, to which The Son explains that he would prefer that very much, saying that his search would be too confusing for them to comprehend before sharing a hearty laugh with his allies. Manifesting an exit portal for them, he tells the heroes that they are more than welcome to use the Nexus, though jokingly tells them to avoid some “certain places” before thanking them all for everything they’ve done. As the heroes of the Arc 1 universe say their goodbyes and depart for their own universe, The Son closes the portal, but soon takes note of the barren remains of the Arc 3 universe’s portal nearby. Sensing a faint Nexu presence within the portal, The Son tells himself that his search begins there before using No Name to send a beam of energy into the portal.

Weapons[]

Starting Loadout[]

Strife
Combat Knife
4 Fragmentation Grenades

Off-Wall Weapons[]

Strife - 500 points
10/22 - 500 points
RK 7 Garrison - 700 points
Saug 9mm - 750 points
Escargot - 1000 points
MOG 12 - 1000 points
Swordfish - 1200 points
Mozu - 1250 points
MX9 - 1250 points
Spitfire - 1400 points
M1897 Trebuchet - 1400 points
Maddox RFB - 1400 points
KN-57 - 1400 points
ICR-7 - 1550 points
Vapr-XKG - 1550 points
Peacekeeper - 1600 points
Auger DMR - 1600 points
Titan - 3750 points
Galvaknuckles - 6000 points

Mystery Box[]

ICR-7
Rampart 17
KN-57
Vapr-XKG
Maddox RFB
Swat RFT
Grav
Peacekeeper
Hitchcock M9
MX9
GKS
Spitfire
Cordite
Saug 9mm
Daemon 3XB
Switchblade X9
Escargot
M1927
Titan
Hades
VKM 750
Tigershark
Zweihänder
MOG 12
SG12
The Return
Rampage
10/22
Auger DMR
ABR 223
Swordfish
S6 Stingray
Essex Model 07
Paladin HB50
Outlaw
SDM
Koshka
Vendetta
Locus
Strife
RK 7 Garrison
Mozu
KAP 45
Welling
Ballistic Knife
Ray Gun
Ray Gun Mark II
Cymbal Monkey

Power Perks[]

Human Shield - Withstand more damage, 2500 points.
Helping Hand - Revive faster, 500/1500 points.
Speed Loader - Reload guns faster, 3000 points.
Marathon Runner - Sprint faster and longer, 2000 points.
Stopping Power - Shoot faster and gives more damage, 2000 points.
Fallout Enhancement - Grants the player the ability to receive no splash damage and created a nuke effect when diving to prone, 2000 points.
Sugar Rush - ADS faster, faster mobility when aiming down the sights and increased hipfire accuracy on all weapons, 3000 points.
Blade Master - Melee faster and longer, 2000 points.
Proximity Ping - Highlights nearby zombies within close proximity of the player, 2500 points.
Der Wunderfizz - Grants the player a random perk, 1500 points.

Trivia[]

The map is a complete expansion of the world Scala ad Caelum from Kingdom Hearts III, which only featured the pier and town square as accessible areas.