Ad Astra

Savage Awakening 354. The Desolate Wilds (I)

 The first thing he heard was the clanging. The Plaza was alive with it—each of the forges lining the square boomed with the sounds of hammering, steel crushing steel. Smoke churned from their chimneys in thick rivers. Everywhere you looked you saw well-muscled folk banging up palms and breastplates—some were marked the silvers and greens of the World Tree, with tree emblems on top. Others were the blacks and purples of the Deep Earth Hall, emblazoned with gemstones. 

Stee...

Savage Awakening 353. The Man in the Straw Hat

“It went exactly as you said,” said the man in the straw hat. “The scan showed an unusual amount of aura activity in Zone 18—on our doorstep. I dropped by to check. And it was hiding right there, in plain sight.”

He took a sip of tea.  

“Strong senses, strong cloaking. It felt me coming, and decided it wanted to try me. We exchanged one move.” 

His scarred lips quirked a little, exposing the needle-blade. It flashed in the lamplight. 

 ...

Savage Awakening 352. Aegis of Infinity (II)

Three days into meditating, he made a breakthrough.

Level up!

Aegis of Infinity Level IX -> X

Skill evolved!

Aegis of Infinity [Mythic+ (H) -> Common (P)]

He examined his Pagoda and nodded. It was shaping up.

That was ten thick floors of gold-and-red, all done. It was well on its way to towering; he could see the behemoth in the Astral Plane it promised to be. It began to exude an aur...

Savage Awakening 351. Aegis of Infinity (I)

The murals on the sixth floor’s walls were sketched in simple gold lines. They depicted a pagoda towering into the clouds, out of sight.
The Skill this floor teaches, said the Spirit, Is the Aegis of Infinity. It’s the most powerful defensive soul Skill this Pagoda has to offer—and, once mastered, it can repel the attacks of even a peak True God!

It squinted at Zane, as though daring Zane to say something. 

“Nice,” he said. ...

Savage Awakening 350. The Concept of Radiation (III)

Hours later…

Zane sat cross-legged in the bone-white zone and meditated, feeling the war raging through his body. The uncanny ominous winds blasting him full-force, hour after hour.

He’d begun to enjoy it, strangely.

The fallen star core sat not a dozen steps away.

One heartbeat, two, three…

His eyes snapped open, and something in his dark eyes seemed to shine.

He was still swamped in radiation—but it flowed around him now, not thro...

Savage Awakening 349. The Concept of Radiation (II)

It was fairly unpleasant. Enough to make Zane’s face twitch.

Shocks of nausea rolled through him over and over like waves on an angry sea, and he felt it trying to tear his body apart—trying to break him on the tiniest of levels. To hollow out his bones, splinter his skin, and make micro-tears in his muscles.

He found it quite interesting.

Most attacks this brutal came at him head-on, direct. He knew when he got hit.

This subtle dissolving, this undermining, making...

Savage Awakening 348. The Concept of Radiation (I)

He bumped into little Prince Rei first thing on the planet—the boy was a little swaddle of yak furs, playing with a ball of pseudo-Stormfire near the lake under Zane’s house.
“Zane!” cried Rei.
“Hello there,” said Zane. “Have you seen your uncle?”
“He was over there.” Rei pointed at the horizon.

“Hmm,” said Zane.

A pause.  

“Zane!” 

“What’s up?” 

“Can I show you my Stormfire?” said Rei.

“Sure.�...

Savage Awakening 347. Muddled Fates

Zane was off to Sage Noughtfire’s home planet to claim his prize.

As he teleported into the main hub, he noticed the square was much sparser than usual—no crowds. There were a few worried-looking disciples off to the sides, inspecting a giant volcanic-rock bulletin board. It had notices like, “Gorgon King breaks loose! Second Tier-3 dungeon break in a week; Patriarch sends Ignite Team 6 to destroy.”

There were also the usual advertisements for volcanic ash and essence-pack...

Savage Awakening 346. Lessons Learned

Evan seemed a little woozy when he arrived. He’d come from a long way out and had to take three long-distance teleporters to get here. He’d also drunk a great deal of apple cider, Zane gathered, which left him quite buzzy. But he still lit up when he saw Zane.

First, he ran over and buried his face in Zane’s belly with a hug. Then—

“I did it!” cried Evan. “I finished my Signature Quest!”

Since they last spoke, he’d used the answer Reina had given him to pas...

Savage Awakening 345. The Third Planet (V)

Level up!
Essence Level 472 -> 473

Level up!
Essence Level 473 -> 474

Zane slept well that night. He woke up with Reina still fast asleep on his chest, a little smile on her face. A spread of sunlight peeked through the windows, brushing over her face.

He took a moment to blink at her. It hadn’t been all that long since they’d last met. He still got a bit stunned at times.

Sometimes he wondered if it was just him.

Savage Awakening 344. The Third Planet (IV)

A/N: Hey folks! Just a reminder I'll be off Nov 24th - 29th for Thanksgiving break. Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans out there! 

//

Zane woke, as seemed quite often these days, with his face planted firmly in the ground.

But he seemed healed—no pain anywhere. That boded well.

His head was still pounding quite a bit. As much in his soul as anywhere else. He rolled over, blinking, trying to get the fuzz out of his eyes.

A barrage of notif...

Savage Awakening 343. The Third Planet (III)

Haxorax couldn’t understand where Zane got the will.

He could barely keep himself up, yet he fought like he could still win this.

The Witch-King unleashed its domain, and the situation only grew more dire.

A glimmering insubstantial power blanketed the world—Laws of Stellar Dust, the stuff of dreams themselves. Only its Laws were unlike anything Zane had faced before.

Its Laws were at the great circle of Tier 6. Its domain met Zane’s own and began to wrestle it b...

Savage Awakening 342. The Third Planet (II)

The fifth wave rushed down the gorge and spilled more of Zane’s blood. It took another chunk of his essence with it.

If the mass of wounds crisscrossing his body bothered him, he didn’t show it.

Then came the sixth wave, and he stood just as firm as before, facing down the charge, bellowing in defiance—but it wasn’t a victor’s roar.

He just seemed determined to hold them off.

Haxorax stared down at the scene, unblinking, frowning slightly.

He saw Zane t...

Savage Awakening 341. The Third Planet (I)

Zane was plunged deep into smothering darkness. Dropping down, down, down—he landed in a crouch.

He was fighting from the first breath.

The air alone would've killed most Ascendants in seconds. Each breath went down burning. Zane didn’t mind much; after the Conclave it’d take some pretty serious toxins to bother him now. But it did eat up essence and energy—his Asura body was already working, tattoos swirling, fending it off.

He looked around, taking it all in.

Savage Awakening 340. The Second Planet (VI)

The Patriarch had been silent that whole time, watching it all unfold with a quiet intensity, much like his son. But where his son's face grew colder and colder, the Patriarch's grin grew fiercer and fiercer.

At last, he gave a booming laugh. "He just keeps going, doesn't he? I'll admit I wasn't sure how much of it was real at first. Now I see. Some have it, some don't. And he's got it. He's got damn near all of it!"

Haxorax was trembling; his rage was starting to leak out. "So Za...

Savage Awakening 339. The Second Planet (III)

Zane stood in a world of his own making.

A world of heat and searing gold and sheer destruction.

He gritted his teeth. He was already feeling the strain; torrents of essence poured out of him. He knew he couldn't hold this for long.

But he didn’t need to.

It was wrecking Minor Gods even as they spawned. He saw Monkeys howling as their fur, their bones, their skin vaporized, their red-cracked eyes clawing at melting ice, clawing at the skies, clawing for anything—dr...

Savage Awakening 338. The Second Planet (II)

Icebergs came barreling at him and went blinding bright, vaporizing mid-air with piercing hisses.

The Monkeys screeched and dashed back. But even those little moments stuck in Zane's Domain charred off clumps of fur, exposing raw flesh.

The Monkeys' own icy Tier 5 Domains raged out of them, wrestling against Zane's own—but those blue spheres could only dim the gold a little.

None could overcome him. Even ganging up, stacked atop one another.

That was the difference i...

Savage Awakening 337. The Second Planet (I)

Zane slashed down.

It was an arc of pure sunlight—an arc spanning the length of a continent, holding the weight of a world. Flaring that pure gold-white. Seen from space, it looked like a massive crescent moon making landfall.

Physical power and explosive power packed into one brutal blow.

And it split the planet in two.

The blast radiated out to Ragnos proper, lighting up the faces of the second and third planets out in deep space.

Planet One fell apart. Split...

Savage Awakening 336. Fifth Tier Breakthrough (IX)

It wasn't long before their surprise guests were at the door. Burnwater was still busily rearranging the seating mats, pouring out fresh cups, when it slammed open—no knock.

He jumped.

The Patriarch swept into the cabin as though he owned the place. An imposing man, thickly built—he barely cleared the ceiling. He had proud features and a mane of golden hair, and there wasn’t much joy in his smile. Just lots of teeth.

“Noughtfire!” he boomed. “How the hell are you...

Savage Awakening 335. The Fifth Tier Breakthrough (VIII)

Zane woke up with his face planted in a pile of quartz.

His head throbbed—a dull pounding. He rolled around, groaning, and propped himself up. Checked his body.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been out—but it was long enough now that he’d mostly healed. There were still some soreness—phantom pains throbbing down his chest, his legs, where the gold had carved through him.

But all told, he was rather alright, he thought.

His essence had replenished nearly fully—hi...

Savage Awakening 334. The Fifth Tier Breakthrough (VII)

It was as though the world knew it had to strike now—that this was its last chance. Like it could feel what Zane was becoming.

He gritted his teeth.

Solar Flare surged and writhed above him, a floating sea—a new superpower on the verge of forming. Just one mistake, and it’d all be lost. He knew that meant certain death.

But if he threw himself at the Law, the coming storm would finish him off before he completed it. That was death too.

Zane stood there, running n...

Savage Awakening 333. The Fifth Tier Breakthrough (VI)

Nothing had given Zane as strong an impression as back then, deep in the heart of the tornado. He needed that feeling.

He looked to the horizon and knew what he had to do.

It was just a matter of how much punishment he could take.

Nearly a week in this pocket dimension, fighting very air with every breath, had eaten away at his reserves. He was down to less than half now.

If he was to do this, he’d have just one try.

He cast his senses about, feeling things out...

Savage Awakening 332. The Fifth-Tier Breakthrough (V)

Zane plunged into the heart of the tornado back-first, clawing at the air as he went.

His skin—toughened and tempered under planet-shaping pressures, bolstered by the powers of the Asura—came into contact with a substance heated to temperatures that matched the surface of a sun.

That skin scorched off in an instant. A flash of pain slapping him all over the back, making him hiss.

Then he was submerged in the chaos.

It felt like he'd been plunged into a waterfall of...

Savage Awakening 331. Fifth Tier Breakthrough (IV)

Well, that was strange.

Eh.

Zane was not particularly interested in prying into other people's business. And Burnwater seemed to really rather avoid talking about it, which was just fine with him.

He moved on. Turned back toward the Gate.

"Oh! One moment," said Burnwater hastily. "You can’t bring any foreign magic items through the gate. That means no Interspatial Rings. It’d destabilize the rift, you see. It has trouble admitting folks as is. That’s part of its ...

Savage Awakening 330. Fifth Tier Breakthrough (III)

Zane streaked through space, swerving around rifts streaming with pale, dreamy colors. It was a weird place—no sound, no sense of direction. He followed his gut. Let his senses, his intuition, lead him along. 

He knew they seldom led him wrong.

He grew a little more eager as he got closer. Felt those whispers of gold-white power growing stronger…

Soon, he would make that power his own.

It’d been quite a while since he'd made a breakthrough like that. It was ...

Savage Awakening 329. Fifth Tier Breakthrough (II)

Noughtfire examined the painting, sharp eyes glinting.

"The purpose," he said without turning, "is to hone precision. Destruction is a very potent thing... but it is most potent when it is concentrated. And as Destruction grows, so must your control. A greater stallion needs a greater leash. The pursuit of ultimate control... it is a lifelong endeavor."

Zane nodded. Made sense to him.

"Would you like to give it a try?" said Noughtfire, holding out the brush to Zane.

"S...

Savage Awakening 328. Fifth Tier Breakthrough (I)

Zane spent a nice weekend with Reina back on Earth. They went on a beach date. She came in a little flower-print bikini which he found quite distracting; Zane didn’t need to change much—his daily outfit was pretty much beach-ready.

For a while, she lay on him as they sipped sweet fruit drinks and told him about a few of the goings-on in the World Tree Faction. The potion-making was going well, but a few troublesome things had been stressing her out lately. She’d had to put down a ...

Savage Awakening 327. The Champ

Zane stepped up to the task.

He knew everyone’s eyes were on him. Outer Sect disciples made up most of the crowd, lightly clad in leathers. But there were Inner Sect Minor Gods and a scattering of Core Disciples too, wearing ruby-studded lifting belts.

There was also a huddle of white-bearded and white-haired folk at the very front. They were like the Barbarian Sage—they had no aura at all.

But it all faded in Zane’s mind.

The only thing he heard as he stepped up...

Savage Awakening 326. The Festival of Might (V)

It felt like the fog in Zane's head was starting to burn away. His body was starting to feel good again too, tingling with pleasant, burning growing pains.

His body was nearing 100%—his muscles still full, pumping with blood, even though he was standing still. His wounds were healing well, leaving lines of phantom heat all over him.

He was ready to push himself again.

"This is your time, lad," said the Barbarian Sage, one hand on his shoulder. "It’s all about execution n...

Savage Awakening 325. The Festival of Might (IV)

It felt like the entire crowd was holding its breath. The only thing that moved was Zane—standing there, his whole body trembling, struggling to contain the force he had made.

They saw Zane's eyes go blank.

His aura exploded. And in that moment, they all felt his heartbeat—a single note in the Astral Plane...

A sound that would not be denied.

The Fourth Stone wobbled.

Choked gasps rippled through the crowd.

Then it began to shake ferociously, as if it w...