Chapter 29 - Embers Beneath the Sky

Chapter 29: Embers Beneath the Sky

The Furnace Ruins vanished behind Ashen Aras and Keyven as they soared over the windswept cliffs, heading east toward the jagged horizon. Below them, the old-world terrain split into fractured valleys and ghost towns reclaimed by ash and vine. Though the night sky shimmered with planetary auroras, Ashen's eyes were elsewhere—inward, tracing the thrum of power coursing through him since the resonance.

"You feel it too, don't you?" Keyven asked, his voice crisp against the wind.

Ashen nodded. "It's like... I'm no longer walking on the earth. I'm part of it. I can feel the field beneath my skin."

"That magnetic resonance," Keyven said, admiring Ashen's ease in adjusting. "It's the hallmark of the Planet Realm. We don't fly because we defy gravity. We fly because we belong here now."

Ashen's gaze sharpened. "Then we're ready."

Keyven chuckled. "No, we've only begun. You've crossed into something great, Ashen, but Seric? He's Early Planet level, and that's only a gateway to a much deeper abyss."

Ashen narrowed his eyes. "I know. That's why we need allies. Information. Strategy."

They descended toward a weathered plateau near the edge of a broken city—once a thriving cultivation hub before the Fall. Ashen raised his hand. His essence rippled through the area, scanning. No immediate threats.

"We'll rest here for now," Ashen said.

They entered a collapsed watchtower. Its shattered dome allowed moonlight to pool inside, bathing cracked stone and rusted steel in silver. Ashen sat cross-legged, while Keyven pulled a half-working communicator from his pouch.

"This used to reach the Verdant Hold," Keyven muttered. "Might still ping their satellite if it's not been scavenged."

Ashen closed his eyes. The soul-merged knowledge from the dragon egg—ancient and scattered—slowly coalesced. The patterns of energy flow, the breath of battle formations, the forgotten beast languages. He was still far from mastery, but even fragments gave him an edge.

In the distance, someone approached. Two figures, silent and cloaked, stepping over debris with deliberate grace.

Ashen stood instantly. Energy hummed through him. "Keyven."

Keyven nodded. "I sense them too."

The first figure stepped into the light. A tall woman with storm-gray eyes and an insignia burned across her shoulder—embers over an iron tower. Behind her stood a shorter man cloaked in shadow, his aura wrapped tight like a blade.

"Didn't expect to find you this soon," the woman said. "Ashen Aras, child of the storm."

"Who are you?" Ashen asked, steady.

She inclined her head. "My name is Kaelis. Starborn Watch. Your name's been moving through the ruins faster than wind. The one who walked into the Furnace and came out flying."

The man beside her remained silent but nodded with respect.

Ashen didn't lower his guard. "And what do you want?"

"To help you stay alive," Kaelis said. "Seric knows. He's already sending others—hunters, not scouts. He wants what's in you, or he wants you gone."

Ashen's jaw tensed. "Then let him come."

Kaelis smiled faintly. "You'll need more than courage. The Starborn Watch can offer you paths—safe zones, hidden allies, caches untouched by Empire spies."

Keyven leaned forward. "Why help him?"

Kaelis didn't flinch. "Because we've seen what happens when tyrants reach beyond their fate. And because… we've been waiting for someone who could challenge the order."

Ashen looked at her for a long moment before stepping back. "Alright. Talk."

---

That night, maps were drawn across the stone floor, showing border fortresses, faction enclaves, and high-threat zones. Kaelis marked areas of Empire control in red and highlighted three major routes of interest.

"Here," she tapped the eastern cliffs. "The Sanctuary of Wyrmglass. It's a forgotten site, but rumor says it holds the Skeleton of a Star-Beast. Essence-rich marrow stones, ancient glyphs, and more importantly—inscriptions left by a Chaos Cult survivor."

Ashen's attention sharpened. "Chaos Cult?"

Kaelis nodded. "Before the Chaos Ascendants vanished, a few fell into madness. One of them bled memories into the stones before his death. It could reveal how to control the elemental nullification you've already begun to touch."

Keyven whistled low. "That's a suicide zone. Even Planet-level beasts guard that area."

Kaelis smirked. "Then it's lucky you're not alone."

She looked toward the silent man, who finally spoke. "Revyn. Late Martial Realm. I'll escort you as far as the outer vaults."

Ashen raised an eyebrow. "Late Martial? You held back your aura well."

Revyn gave a curt nod. "Practice. I'm not here to shine. I'm here to survive and make sure others do too."

Keyven chuckled. "I like him."

---

By dawn, they set off again—Ashen in the lead, his body adapting to the Planet Realm's pressure with each breath. The group carved a path east, avoiding skybeasts and collapsed teleport arrays. Along the way, Ashen tested his new control—hovering above rivers, manipulating terrain through energy pressure, learning to deflect attacks using magnetic pulse bursts.

A day later, the sanctuary emerged from the mist.

Wyrmglass.

A skeleton of a massive serpent-like being coiled across the valley. Its bones shimmered with crystalized essence, and the ground trembled with latent force.

Ashen's eyes narrowed. "This isn't just marrow stone. It's alive... in memory."

Kaelis placed a hand on the ivory ribcage. "We step with care. The runes react to willpower."

Revyn unsheathed dual shortblades. "I'll take rear. Let me know if anything breathes funny."

As they stepped inside, whispers rose.

Ashen felt them claw into his soul—not words, but emotions. Despair. Rage. Purpose.

The voice of something ancient, waiting to be remembered.

He moved toward the heart of the sanctuary, where the essence grew thickest. A glyphstone pulsed with chaos-touched symbols. He placed his palm on it.

Fzzzt.

A surge tore through him. Energy unfamiliar and wild, bearing neither light nor darkness. The very concept of opposition collapsed.

"Chaos..." Ashen whispered. "This is what it feels like."

His mind burned with possibilities—and then something clicked.

A phrase.

Not in any language he knew, but in one the egg had whispered once. A name.

A promise.

And with it, a path forward through the storm Seric was stirring.

---

Ashen Aras: Peak Martial Realm → Early Planet Realm (after resonance) Keyven: Mid Martial Realm Kaelis: Late Planet Realm (disguised aura) Revyn: Late Martial Realm Seric: Early Planet Realm

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