Ad Astra

288. The Chimera

“Find him,” breathed Jez. “And destroy him. Go!”

The Thunderfire Chimera raised an arm in mechanical salute. Then it rumbled into the sky, trailing fire and crackling lightning, and was gone through a tear in spacetime.

Leaving Jez to stand alone atop his parapet, staring silent at the somber skies of Hell. Starless,...

287. The Goddess of Light (X)

Xalaxia, Pure Jade Realm

Middle Realms

Weeks ago…

When Xinther, messenger of the Jade Emperor, felt the light on his face he thought he’d died and been reclaimed by the Heavens. The trek had been so long—braving three different climes, each perilous in its own nasty way; ...

286. The Goddess of Light (XIII)

Millennium Caverns - Middle Realms

Ancestral Home of the Orcs

Nothing grew in the Millennium Caverns. The soil was dry, void of nutrients, and vomited up deformed husks whenever anyone planted a seed and tried to coax anything green out of it. These seeds were imported from other realms, for there we...

285. The Goddess of Light (XII)

Before Dorian left, he cast a Blessing of Asclepius on Junior and the rest of his Empyreans, all of whom were still snoring. He left them a note—“Out for a walk. Be back soon!”

A tug of a Fate Thread later he was spat back into the dragonrealm, or at least what he hoped was the dragonrealm. Hard to tell; cosmic dizziness had made his...

284. The Goddess of Light (XI)

The Blessings and Curses of Yeshima were her signature weapons. With them she conquered the Realm of True Light; with them she was ranked among the most powerful Godkings in the Multiverse. At first other Godkings had a habit of underestimating her—she was rumored to have a great qi pool, but little in the way of Martial Techniques. She was al...

283. The Goddess of Light (X)

“How’s it going up there?” yelled Dorian. His stalwart troupe of healers couldn’t hear him at first, so he opened a tunnel through the air to shepherd the sound through.

“Can’t—hold—much—longer!” gritted Junior. “Please—finish! Soon!”

Dorian’s best guess was they had about 20% left. The tithes were slowing...

282. The Goddess of Light (IX)

It seemed to have punctured his heart, lungs and liver all at once. And probably a lot more, judging by the way his whole midsection seemed to shut down. There was the pain, of course—great shockwaves of it—but when something ran you through pain was usually a poor indication of the severity. Not all tissues were polite enough to let the min...

281. The Goddess of Light (VIII)

“Hello, Fate,” said the head of Nuwa, a whisper trickling out the gaping, toothless maw.

“And goodbye,” croaked the head of Auras.

“We must get you to a healer,” said Fate, his voice tight with desperation. “I’m good friends with the Celestial Physician—perhaps if I put in a word—”

“There is no healing u...

280. The Goddess of Light (VII)

It was easy to tell where Jez’s territory began. Just look to the sky—blue melting gradually into gold like some otherworldly sunset.

Dorian’s crew crash-landed into a hill so hard it became a valley. He landed nimbly amid a heap of groaning Enforcers still climbing out of human-shaped holes in the ground.

“Now where is this ...

279. The Goddess of Light (VI)

The thirteen ranked Godqueen in the Multiverse sat crosslegged atop a parapet, admiring her painting. In one hand she held a wooden brush whose tip smoldered with Laws of Necromancy. In the other she held a glass of wine. The sun was high, the air was crisp and cool, and the sky streaked with clouds. Flocks of gulls wheeled overhead, riding the ...

278. The Goddess of Light (V)

“Junior, you dare?!”

There was no qi nor Law in the air, but the hall was still choked with tension. You could see it on Junior’s face, which spasmed and twitched and trembled. It was as though he were wearing his brave face as a mask and cracks were splitting it down its length. You could see it in Junior’s body, the dragging hunc...

277. The Goddess of Light (IV)

“Halt!” cried the Enforcers as he ascended the staircase up to the Grand Basilica. It was so wide an army could’ve marched up it. Right now it was just him sauntering up the steps. Even so, the Enforcers brandished their scepters and ropes at him like he was an army unto himself.

“What is this nonsense?” said Dorian with a theatr...

276. The Goddess of Light (III)

A/N: edited this into last chapter

[“So… why are you here?” said Rin.

“Ehh. It’s a long story. Let’s just say I left some things on this Realm. I’m here to retrieve them.”

“What?”

“A while ago I founded this organization called the Church of True Light. It’s grown...

275. The Goddess of Light (II)

When the sun rose over Mystic Phoenix Village, the folk were already awake. Today began exactly like yesterday, and the day before that. Wake at dawn. Burn incense to Yeshima, Praise Be Her Name. Pray. Then gather in the village square to hear out Priest Xu’s sermon. Today’s was on the importance of piousness, even when times were tough. Xu ...

274. The Goddess of Light (I)

With one last punch the Infinity Heart ruptured. A gale of gold qi buffeted him, howling out the room, up the winding staircase, desperate to escape. Then there was silence.

One down! One of dozens, perhaps but Dorian savored it anyways. In his experience the first of anything was usually the hardest. He had a feeling the Infinity...

273. The Power of the Godking (III)

For so long Jez had seen the virtue of keeping a certain childlike innocence. A sense of wonder. A boundless kindness toward every living being.

He saw now why children grew up. It was a way of living out of step with the world. The world as it was now, at least.

Kindness was so tiring. Not physically, nor mentally, but emot...

272. The Power of the Godhunter (II)

When Dorian emerged from the Chamber he felt about the same, and looked about the same too. His aura was still that of his Black Hole. If he summoned qi, by default Eclipse qi of Eclipse Laws would answer.

Only now he could summon new powers too. And when he seemed a different man. His aura went from heavy and oppressive to light and sharp...

271. The Power of the Godhunter (I)

Gerard retrieved the core. In the end it was not with a hacksaw but with a surgeon’s scalpel, some softening acids, and enough gauze and ointment to stock a hospital. He insisted on spraying the core with a mysterious yellow liquid, then wiping it down, before letting Dorian take hold of it.

Dorian could barely hold it, even with both ha...

270. Mt. Tai (V)

Gerard was the first to his feet. He rushed over, shoving aside cringing, stunned soldiers, all propriety for once forgotten. He knelt by the charred husk on the ground, rolled it—him—over until Dorian was right-side-up. He felt for a pulse at the wrist.

Nothing.

No breathing. The organs were roasted. The heart was stopp...

269. Mt. Tai (IV)

There was a cannon built at the peak of Mt. Tai. It had been here long before the fortress was built, long before the dragons came to the dragonrealm. It was made by an ancient Godking of a foreign race. History had long brushed them away, scattering their traces to the wind. This was all that remained. It’d stood here, proud and solemn, since...

268. Mt. Tai (III)

The invader did not manage to bat all of the cannonballs out of the sky.

He knocked down the first with a wing. Whacked the second away. Then the third caught him in the face and sent him flat on his ass. A fourth hit struck him, throwing him head-over-heels in the air. Then the mountains’ massive gravity yanked him into the ground, thro...

267. Mt. Tai (II)

The battle had barely ended and they were already spinning up songs for Sun. Her soldiers bounced her between them as they flew a victory lap, cheering and hooting and spewing celebratory peals of fire. She cackled all the while. Beneath, Squashednose and the rest of the recruiters had scurried into Lockjaw Fortress. They set about dragging out ...

266. Mt Tai (I)

A/N:

Sorry for the late chap!

//

Mt. Tai’s courtyard garden was the envy of the dragonrealm. The soil was fine and loamy and so soft your feet sank into it, as into a wool carpet. But you could scarcely see it under all that greenery. It wasn’t all green, of course—there were sky blues, molten reds, sunny...

265. Black Hole (VI)

An hour later in real-time, Dorian was fully healed and so was Gerard. Before they set off Gerard insisted on burying Pliny. Even crowned him with a gravestone—something neat and poetic about returning a centaur whose life work was fossils to the earth, an apt resting place.

Dorian and Gerard Jr. stood by, incredulous. Dorian didn’t fe...

264. Black Hole (V)

For a few breaths, Pliny merely frowned at the axe-shaped hole in the mountain. His expression was blank. Then he let out a sigh that started from his belly, flowed up his chest, and where it passed he sagged with resignation.

“Quite a throw,” he said. “Quite a throw indeed.”

“Why, thank you,” said Dorian. “Though axe-t...

263. Black Hole (IV)

Dorian emerged to a slaughter. At first he couldn’t comprehend what he was looking at.

There was Gerard, in Midnight Roc form. Breathing heavy. Collapsed on the floor, glasses crushed at his feet. Bones jutted through his feathered skin. A tear exposed his crushed ribcage. Others carved up his arms. He was so bloody Dorian could scarcely...

262. Black Hole (III)

There was another reason Dorian found it hard to gauge his strength. For the first time his cultivation had gone from percentages to absolute numbers. It reflected his feeling of the Black Hole—like staring into the darkness an abyss. It gave an impression of fathomless depth. Which lent him an aura of mystique, but also meant even he 2023-06-14 18:09:50 +0000 UTC View Post