All Chapters of Crimson Bloomed: Ascend: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Chapter 32: When Her Light Started to BurnThe sky wasn't just split anymore — it was bleeding.A long red seam stretched across the horizon like a vein too full, pulsing with light that didn't belong to this world. It vibrated through the air, down into the cracked pavement, into Aria's bones. She couldn't breathe. She wasn't sure she needed to."Aria," Selene said, voice sharp but calm, crouched in front of her, fingers brushing her shoulders. "Look at me."Aria looked — but not with her usual eyes. Her irises were gold now. No, not just gold — glowing. Radiant. Almost metallic. Her pupils dilated wide, catching light that didn't exist. Her skin shimmered faintly, veins glowing beneath the surface like living circuitry.Selene's breath caught.It was beautiful. Too beautiful. And that was the problem.Aria was beginning to glow from the inside out. Her power had started to surface, not in slow waves, but like it had been bottled too long and finally cracked through the seal. Her bod

Chapter 34: Mine, Even in DreamsThe night pressed heavy and quiet over the abandoned store where Selene and Aria had sought shelter. Outside, the city's distant murmurs dimmed beneath the stillness, but inside, the air throbbed with something unspoken — an electric tension weaving through the spaces between breaths and dreams.Aria lay curled on the faded mattress, her chest rising and falling unevenly. Her lips parted in soft, trembling moans. Selene's eyes fluttered open, drawn by the sound. At first, the words escaped her, blurred and low — then they became clearer, soaked in heat and longing."Eris…" Aria murmured, voice thick and heavy with need.Selene's gaze sharpened, her heart tightening. Eris? The name was unfamiliar, but the way Aria spoke it felt intimate — intense and raw."Your tongue licks so well, Eris… don't stop, Riri…" The next breath was a whispered plea.Riri. That cold - blooded serpent Aria had once kept in another life. Obsessive, possessive, more consuming th

Chapter 36: When Desire Breathes, the Gods Wake Too The night wrapped around Aria like satin, but it no longer brought rest. Sleep had become a portal — soft, sensual, strange — and every time she closed her eyes, she knew something would be waiting. Her body sank into the mattress, limbs relaxed, breath slowing. But beneath the surface, her power shimmered. It pulsed softly in her veins, whispering secrets her waking mind didn't fully understand. She had matured — not just physically, not just emotionally — but psychically, sensually. Her dreamwalker instincts were sharpening. Intimacy and trust were her catalysts, and her succubus bloodline was finally catching up, blooming like forbidden fruit in her chest. Tonight, it wasn't Eris who found her first. No, it was Athena. The dream didn't rush her — it never did when Athena came. It unfolded like silk on skin, slow and deliberate. The world turned golden, touched by light that had no source. Aria stood barefoot in a field wh

Chapter 38: The World Starts Folding WrongThey found the market by accident.It sat behind a half - collapsed laundromat and a faded chain pharmacy with cracked windows. The painted "Grocery" sign above the door looked like a ghost — its letters peeling away, like the word itself was trying to vanish.No footsteps. No wind. Just that strange pressure again, thick and unmoving — like the city had stopped breathing."I don't like this," Aria muttered, slowing her pace. Her fingers brushed the hilt of the knife Jules had given her before everything fell apart. Just touching it helped.Selene stepped ahead and waved her hand in front of the door. The sensor hesitated, stuttered halfway open, then stopped completely. She pushed the rest of the way through with her shoulder.Inside, the air smelled like old sugar and something sour trying to stay hidden.Aria followed cautiously. Her boots crunched over crushed wrappers and coupons melted into the tile. Overhead, the lights flickered too e

Chapter 40: Soaking Wet and OverpoweredThey barely made it ten steps into the grocery store before all hell broke loose.A low, guttural growl curled out from the back, vibrating in the air like a warning. It wasn't human. Not quite animal either. Something in between, something worse. Selene was already moving, stepping in front of Aria as her knife reappeared in her hand like it had been waiting."What the hell is that?" Aria whispered, her breath hitching in her throat."Roamers," Selene said, eyes narrowing at the flickering shadows ahead. "Stage two. They're faster. Smarter. Hungrier."A sharp screech echoed through the aisles — metal dragging across linoleum tile. Then came the scream, high - pitched and wrong. It wasn't fear. It was hunger.Aria turned, heart hammering.The woman they'd saved earlier — the one with the braid and dried blood crusted down the side of her face — was standing just behind them.No limp. No gratitude.Just rage.Her eyes locked onto Aria like she'd