The Tower of Fate: Ascent is the second stage of the Tower of Fate. This level features a short underwater section, two platforming sections, and an extremely hard auto-scroll section, as well as reusing many of the hazards that appeared earlier in the game. Apart from the auto-scrolling area, it is considered to be slightly easier than the Entrance was.
Description[]
In Shovel of Hope, the first parts of this stage aren't too difficult, but as the level progresses the difficulty will ramp up significantly. First up is the brief underwater section, which is not very hard. The spikes make Shovel Drop attacks very risky to use, so the player must fend off underwater foes with simple slashes or Relics (although spamming the Phase Locket can make the section significantly easier, but players risk running out of magic sooner in the level). Following this is the first of two platforming sections. This first one features both stationary and moving platforms over a pit of lava, along with various random enemies including Goldarmors. After that is a small corridor with several Blorbs and some lava dripping from the ceiling, which then leads to a second, more difficult platforming section. In this section, the player must traverse a bottomless pit using a Rainbow Bridge while simultaneously contending with aerial enemies who will try to knock them off. Should the player make it past that, they will then pass through another small corridor, this time with some conveyor belts and spikes, that leads to the vertical autoscrolling section. The vertical autoscroll is by far the most difficult part of the stage. Not having any means of ascending vertically upwards, it is understandable what makes the auto-scrolling section very hard to finish successfully.
In Plague of Shadows, the level is significantly easier. The double jump or floating bursts can effectively thrust the player across the spike beds and lava pits, and special powders allow the player to access bonus sections from below. As for the auto-scroll part, using The Vat and floating bursts can be life-savers, literally.