Chapter 47: First Descent into the Cradle of Ash
The air shifted the moment Kael stepped onto the obsidian threshold.
Behind him, Evelyne remained at the mouth of the stairwell, wrapped in a soft robe of woven pearllight, her silver hair unbound and glowing faintly. Her eyes followed him like the moon tracking the tide—watchful, loyal, and silently proud.
The world before him stretched into a horizonless expanse of ash dunes and cracked black stone, illuminated by a sky that shimmered with false stars. A single breath in this place filled his lungs with dense mana—wild and ancient.
The Sacred Pearl dimension had accepted him.
But it would not coddle him.
[Entering: Cradle of Ash][Monster Ecosystem Active: Infinite Spawn Enabled][Energy Scaling — Synced with External Realm Hierarchy][Warning: Creatures May Exceed Host Realm Tier]
EXP Modifiers:• Enemy ≥ 1 Realm Above: 100%• Enemy = Realm: 50%• Enemy ≤ 1 Realm Below: 20%
Kael inhaled slowly, grounding himself. His body still ached from the sacred union, his muscles warm and heavy—but the power he'd gained was real. Refined. His realm may be only Tier 5 of the Starforged level, but his raw stats placed him far above any typical cultivator of equal standing.
Twice as strong, yet still not strong enough.
Nysera's prison still pulsed in the back of his mind. Valeria's sealed form haunted his dreams. If he wanted to reach them—if he wanted to stand beside his wives, not behind them—he had to ascend. Not recklessly. Not with shortcuts.
But through trial. Through fire.
He stepped into the ash.
The ground pulsed in response.
[Warning: Combat Zone Detected — Monsters Imminent]
From the cracked stone ahead, something rose—a quadruped beast with molten skin and six crimson eyes, smoke hissing from its jaws. Tier 5. Equal level.
Kael's blade whispered into his hand like an extension of thought. No system-fueled rage. No Overdrive. Just discipline and will.
The beast charged.
Kael dodged left, low, cutting its leg tendons with a sharp flick. The creature reared back, screaming, and he followed the motion with a vaulting strike—straight through its exposed throat.
Ash erupted as its body disintegrated mid-air.
[Enemy Defeated: Ashdrake Tier 5][EXP Gained: +11,000 (50% Modifier Applied)]
The number felt underwhelming. Kael tightened his grip on the blade. "I'll need thousands of kills to make a difference at this rate."
A shadow passed overhead. He looked up.
More monsters—humanoid, crawling, winged—emerged from cracks, cliffs, and shifting dunes.
Kael exhaled and readied himself. "Then thousands I'll deliver."
He moved like a storm.
Each encounter was precise, controlled. He didn't waste energy. His dodges were tight, counters lethal, and timing refined from hundreds of life-or-death encounters. And still—there were always more.
[Enemy Defeated: Ember Wyrm (Tier 6)][EXP Gained: +26,000 (100% Modifier Applied)]
That one stung—its talons had carved through his upper arm, leaving flesh burning even as he struck it down. But the reward was worth it.
As hours passed, blood caked his boots and sweat soaked through his training robes. Yet his movements never slowed. He wasn't pushing past his limits anymore—he was rebuilding them from scratch.
Meanwhile, Evelyne sat in the entry chamber, a glass orb of pearllight reflecting Kael's every movement. She watched him in silence, knees drawn to her chest.
"He learns differently," she whispered. "Not like us."
Unlike the others—Selene, whose cultivation surged like wildfire; Thalaria, who danced through dimensions with mind-breaking grace; even Nysera and Valeria, whose bloodlines pulsed with terrifying ancestral power—Kael didn't ascend on wings.
He climbed.
He broke.
He bled.
And with every shattered bone and narrowed breath, he became something more.
Evelyne's fingers traced the orb as Kael felled another elite-tier beast with sheer grit. Her voice was reverent. "That's why he'll never fall."
[Status Update: Kael Viren]
Level: 14EXP: 1,750,000 / 6,400,000Realm: Starforged Realm — Tier 5/9Time Elapsed: 9 hours inside (3.75 days outside)
Training Progress:• 7 Tier 4 Monsters Defeated (20% EXP)• 12 Tier 5 Monsters Defeated (50% EXP)• 3 Tier 6 Monsters Defeated (100% EXP)
Passive Stat Bonuses from Harem Bond (60%) Applied
Kael paused after a long string of kills, panting, blade planted in the ground. He looked to the horizon—unchanging, infinite, scorched.
Then he grinned.
"Again."