Chapter 445: Aspect of Eternal Ash

Stella felt a deep resonance between the ash spider cradling her soul and the sphere of ash that was Larry's Monarch Domain.

The aspect of eternal ash. What a fitting name for Larry's domain. Stella placed a hand on her chest. Something about the ash spider there filled her with a sense of safety. Even if Larry had never explained it to them, her soul seemed to understand its purpose. So long as I remain within this sphere of ash, I have nothing to fear. She looked up at the thundering wrath above. Not even the heavens.

"I have to say, I never expected such a somber event to turn into a bloodbath," Grand Elder Redclaw said with an amused smile. "But I'm hardly complaining. I was never one to attend funerals as I always thought the battlefield was where souls should be laid to rest. Though I suppose it's time to get to work."

Grand Elder Redclaw then rose into the air, unassisted by a flying sword or any technique. He simply willed himself to rise, and reality complied. That was one of the privileges granted to those at the Nascent Soul Realm.

"Let's go kill some monsters, shall we?" The Grand Elder unsheathed a sword, and it ignited with crimson flames.

Aiming upward, the fire gathered to an almost finite point on the sword's tip.

"I hope Ashlock doesn't mind them well cooked." The Grand Elder then twisted his sword as if turning a key, and the gathered tiny fireball exploded upwards like an erupting volcano. Moros's shield hissed as it blocked a shockwave of superheated air. But the roar of the fire was deafening, and the darkened sphere became illuminated in the attack's destruction.

Intense but brief howls of pain from the monsters followed as they were burned to a crisp.

As the eruption faded, Stella blinked away the light and took in the scene.

Hundreds of charred monster corpses were suspended in the air above, likely by Ash's telekinesis. A withering mass of black vines ending with spikes surged from Mytherion—skewering the suspended corpses and dragging them away to be devoured.

"What a show-off," Elder Mo chuckled as he shook his head.

"Can it really be called showing off when this is but a fragment of my power now?" Grand Elder Redclaw replied with a grin as he lowered his sword. "It turns out having two souls at once significantly boosts one's firepower and Qi reserves."

"And yet you still can't eat coriander," Elder Mo shrugged, "So much power, yet your face contorts at the mere sight of a leaf."

Grand Elder Redclaws' smile faded, and he glared at Elder Mo, "Are you the one who keeps putting it in my food?"

"Hey," Elder Mo raised his hands in surrender, "Don't shoot the messenger. I just heard that through the grapevine."

Grand Elder Redclaw pointed the tip of his sword at Elder Mo, "I think you could be a good test subject for the guardian's domain."

"Now is not the time for bickering," Stella snapped. "Elysia almost died moments ago, and we are facing the heavens. Just because we were given monster-killing duty doesn't make our role less important. Now get on with it."

"Yes, Princess." Grand Elder Redclaw and Elder Mo said in unison with the utmost respect. Without another word, the Grand Elder rocketed up into the sky, breaking the sound barrier and trailing fire as he went. Elder Margret, Brent, Mo, and Amber soon followed their Grand Elder on flying swords into battle.

"Shall we go?" Diana asked.

"You first," Stella replied, not taking her eyes off the chaos above. "Larry instructed me to watch over all of you, so I should go last."

Diana raised a brow. "You're seriously going to be on support duty over assisting the slaughter? Huh, I thought you were one of our best fighters. I wonder why Larry asked you to do that."

"Just go already," Stella huffed the hair out of her eyes. "Larry is one of, if not the strongest being in the sect. If he asks something of me, I shall see it through to the best of my ability."

"Mhm, fair enough." Diana shrugged, "I just didn't take you as someone who accepted orders like that. But yeah, you have the most mobility out of any of us with access to the aether, so it only makes sense for him to pick you for the role. If anything, it shows he trusts you with our lives."

"Do you trust me with yours?" Stella asked. The question hung in the air for a moment as if Diana was savoring the words.

"I do," she said before turning and walking over to the others. "Douglas and Elaine, you two are with me!"

Stella felt the rush of wind followed by a slight rumble through the ground as Diana shot up into the air with Douglas and Elaine in tow on their flying swords.

Now, what should I do? Watch from down here, or join in the fun while keeping tabs on everyone? Her index finger rhythmically tapped on the hilt of her sword, which she had unsheathed earlier. There was something about fighting and killing that got her blood pumping. Perhaps it was because she could let loose the power she had so desperately accumulated, and engaging in a slaughter helped reinforce the belief in her mind that she was strong now.

Waiting around on the sidelines was not really her jam. Elaine would love this role. Stella thought as she tracked the pink-haired girl's movements through the aether plane. Illusion Qi wreathed her form, making her near-invisible while a thin coating of void Qi empowered her sword, letting her slice through monsters with ease without them even knowing who killed them. Maybe I was wrong to be worried about her? She seems to be handling things fine.

Her focus switched to Elaine's boyfriend, Douglas. He was struggling way more. Despite his overwhelming cultivation compared to the mostly Soul Fire Realm monsters pouring out of the desolation rift, he had resorted to brute force, trying to punch holes through their heads.

I suppose being so far from the ground severely limits his options as an earth cultivator. Despite the distance, Stella reached out through the aether to deliver a message to Douglas's ear.

"Fall back, Douglas."

The man paused his brawl, backing away from a monster he had been entangled with and looked down at her with confusion.

"Don't look at me like that," Stella replied, crossing her arms. "Come down here."

The monster he had been brawling with tried to take advantage of his distracted state but was promptly executed from behind by Elaine.

"Doug, listen to Stella," Elaine said with a smile before disappearing into the background.

Douglas looked at the dead monster and sighed. Leaping off his sword, he fell back down to Moros like a meteor. The aether Qi shield surrounding Moros absorbed the impact, and he simply lept down the rest of the way.

"Yes, Princess? Did you need something from me?"

"You're too weak to be fighting monsters up there," Stella said as if stating a fact.

"I..." Douglas clenched his fist, a mixture of denial and irritation on his face.

"You're an earth cultivator—making you fight in the sky is silly," Stella added, "You should be on the ground protecting the mortals and killing any monsters that make it to the ground."

"The Mudcloaks and Redclaw youngsters can handle that," Douglas said dismissively. "I don't want to be on babysitting duty."

"Well, that makes two of us," Stella shrugged.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Douglas pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine, ugh, you're right. The ground is where I belong." Shaking his head, the mountain of a man stormed off and jumped off the side of Moros, disappearing to the ground below.

That's one less headache I have to watch over, Stella mused as she looked back to the sky. Larry had made it to the rift, and she could see pulses of immense force rippling through his enlarged body as he tried to decay the desolation rift that Tree had made. Watching the fight between the ash spider and the heavens was like someone throwing buckets of sand at the ocean waves. Initially dense, the force of the waves broke Larry apart and pushed him back. But the guardian of Ashfallen, who was ever determined, kept pressing on despite heaven's attempts to dissuade him.

However, his efforts weren't totally wasted. The immense hand constructed of souls stopped trying to crush Mytherion and switched targets to Larry. The fingers were cleaving through the spider's body, to little effect. Whatever damage the heavens managed to leave on Larry was replenished by the surrounding domain.

"He really is the eternal ash," Stella said under her breath. It was frankly awe-inspiring. Not only did she see Larry's power, which gave insight into the potential peak of cultivation—at least for this layer of creation—but it also demonstrated to her that it was possible to stand up to the heavens, if barely.

"Hey Princess, it's a pleasure to meet you again."

Stella briefly glanced to the side—a man with icy blue hair stood at a cautious distance from her. She looked him up and down before returning her attention to the sky.

"Do I know you?"

The man chuckled, "We have briefly met a few times. The name is Ivor Frostveil, if that rings a bell."

"Nope."

"I fought with Elysia in the arena at the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion. I believe you were watching that match? She summoned that giant green-eyed monster and utterly overwhelmed me."

"Oh," Stella paused as she recalled that event, "Yeah, I remember you. Do you need something from me?"

Ivor smiled, "Well, you see, we came at the summons of the Ashfallen Sect but are unsure what we are doing here."

"Fighting the heavens," Stella stated the obvious.

"Yes, I can see that," Ivor replied, "But what should we do. A fight with the heavens is reserved for gods, not cultivators like us."

Being reminded of her helplessness soured Stella's mood. She groaned in annoyance and returned her attention to the man. "What can you use again? Ice affinity?"

Ivor nodded.

Stella tapped her chin as she thought for a moment and then got a brilliant idea. "Ashlock likes his food to be kept as fresh as possible. You could freeze the monster corpses, right?"

Ivor raised a brow. "These monsters are food? I thought the beast tide had descended upon us."

Stella realized she had said a little too much and brushed it off, "Do you not see the tree in the middle dragging the monster corpses off to be eaten? It takes a lot to feed the guardian beast and other monsters in the sect."

"Oh, I see." Ivor nodded, "We could do that."

"Great, off you go." Stella returned to ignoring them. Why had she been given such an annoying role? This was unfair. Checking back on the battlefield, everything seemed to be going fine. Qi was flying around like it was free, and hundreds of monsters were dying every minute. Their bodies were then promptly impaled by vines and dragged off to be devoured by Ash, or was it Mytherion.

Either way, Tree needed to gather more monster souls to create this 'Blessed Land' thing so he could say a final fuck you to the heavens and seal them off, and it's my job to ensure that goes smoothly. However many he needs, I can't imagine it will take much longer.

"Oh, one last question, Princess. Should we just focus on freezing the corpses, or do you want us to join the fight too?"

Stella blinked at Ivor in disbelief. "You're still here?! Why are you asking me? Freeze them or not, I don't care. Just stop standing around and go be useful for once."

"Ah—okay," Ivor nodded and left to his family, who waited silently across the clearing. They were all watching her; their cold gazes felt like a freezing chill.

Stella narrowed her eyes.

He seemed weirdly friendly, considering we had never spoken before.

Watching Ivor's departing back reminded her of something.

Didn't my father work as a bounty hunter for the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion? I wonder if he ever encountered the Frostveil family as they resided in the Tainted Cloud Sect's capital, where the main pavilion was located.

Stella then recalled another detail. My father left for the Frozen Star Sect, whose ruler is known to have the ice affinity. But what could be there besides it being the only other sect listed as having Monarch Realm strength besides the Celestial Empire and us?

She shook her head, I wonder if the ice cultivators there are also this incompetent.

Stella sighed and checked on the battle again through the aether plane, and her eyes widened as she saw someone way too high up and close to the rifts. Cultivator battles always got messy, and this one was special as the surrounding sphere of ash was cutting off most of the light, and there was so much Qi flying around that spiritual senses would be overloaded.

But for seasoned cultivators, even through the chaos, they would still know how to keep their distance from the gods fighting high above.

"Ryker! Don't go up so high." Stella shouted, the aether carrying her voice.

Sebastian, who was far below, swiveled his head up and saw his young master enthralled with battle, flying high and punching holes through monsters as a living spear of metal. Corpses fell in his wake as he traveled with insane speed, but Stella had the bigger picture. She knew he was going the wrong way—toward Larry and the rifts heaven was attacking through.

Ryker was strong and a cultivating prodigy, reaching the Star Core Realm at only five years old. But that was also his biggest weakness. His young age meant he lacked life experience in every way—a bridge that couldn't be crossed by simply getting stronger.

Usually, the young were allowed to make mistakes and learn from them. But this wasn't such a situation.

"Shit," Stella stepped into the aether. The realm of nothing but whiteness blurred as she reemerged a moment later before Ryker. He was traveling at an insane speed, so she had to rotate her body to avoid being skewered and grabbed onto him.

"Big sister?!" He asked, his eyes wide with shock as they chaotically spiraled through the air. "What are you doing?"

"You dumb kid," Stella cursed. "Are you even watching where you are going?"

"No?" Ryker answered in confusion, "Does it matter? The monsters are all so weak—"

Stella forced his head to look up.

"It's not the monsters you should be afraid of, it's the heav—" she didn't finish her sentence as the ashen storm overhead in the vague shape of a spider was pushed aside by an invisible wave of power.

Stella instinctively pulled Ryker closer and swung him downward so she could use her own body to block the invisible attack that was coming. It slammed into her back with such force she felt her vision shake, and both the air in her lungs and the contents of her stomach were punched right out of her.

Grunting in pain, she felt blood pooling in her eyes, which she wiped off with her sleeve. "We have got to get out of here," she gasped. The Qi in her body was shaken from the impact, so she took a second to regain control. "Ryker? Can you still fly..."

That was when she noticed the weight in her arms.

A shocked face stared back at her—one frozen in time and made from ash. Ryker had turned into a statue, meaning that the shockwave of power from the heavens had been enough to completely wipe out his body and threaten soul death despite her efforts to block it.

Why am I alive, then? Our cultivation stages aren't that far apart?

That's when Stella remembered she had eaten a Void Protection fruit.

With one hand still wrapped around Ryker, her spatial ring flashed, and she began to eat another despite the taste of iron in her mouth. The chaotic Qi in her body was promptly absorbed, and a thin barrier of void once again coated her skin.

Let's get out of here. Stella phased into the aether and was surprised at how easy it was to bring Ryker with her. Usually, other cultivators offered great resistance to being brought into the aether, but it seemed that once they were turned into a statue, their Qi was sealed.

Stella returned to Moros and carefully set Ryker's statue beside Erebus, the void tree that dominated the center of the flagship. "Protect this statue, okay?"

Erebus answered by enveloping the central section of the Bastion with a void shield. So now there was the larger aether shield around the entire ship and a second void shield layer protecting the inner area.

"This will have to do," Stella nodded. I can't take Ryker's statue outside of Larry's domain. Otherwise, his body will crumble to nothing. It's only inside the domain of eternal ash that he won't die.

Stella wasn't sure if the statue was also eternal like Larry, who kept reforming no matter how the heavens tried to exterminate him, but she didn't plan to find out. Either way, Ryker was now out of the fight and useless until the battle concluded.

"Is Ryker okay?!" Sebastian said as he appeared through the shield and landed beside her.

"He should live thanks to Larry's domain," Stella said as reassuringly as she could while wiping the blood still leaking from her mouth.

"That's a relief," Sebastian paused, "But are you okay?"

"Huh?" Stella glanced at Sebastian. He was looking at her and seemed deeply concerned.

"Are you okay?" He repeated, "You're bleeding."

"I'm fine," Stella dismissed him. "I got to get back out there. Larry can only fight with his all, knowing I'm there to catch the ones who fall." She stepped through the aether, leaving Sebastian behind with Ryker, and reentered the battle.

The smell of burnt ash, charred meat, and death hung in the air.

Looking up, she was surprised to see moonlight.

Wait... moonlight?

Holes were forming in the ashen sphere as streams of ash flowed down from the sphere and fed Larry's battle with the heavens—meaning Larry's domain wasn't absolutely eternal.

Even gods could fall. It was only a matter of time until his domain could not sustain itself. And should it collapse...

Stella looked down at Moros below.

Ryker will die.

She couldn't just sit around and wait. She needed to do something.

"Ash, talk to me," She called out to Mytherion, "How many more do you need?"

"I'm still in the process of devouring man, but..." Ash trailed off. Every passing second felt like an eternity as she awaited his response. "I need at least a hundred more."

"I see."

Stella closed her eyes and let her bloodline take over. Raising her hand, her many spatial rings flashed, and a hundred swords materialized. Who said the babysitter had to sit back and couldn't spill a little blood?

"Give me five seconds—" she clicked her fingers, and all the swords became wreathed in soul flames, "—and the corpses will be yours."