Chapter 26: Ashthane Descends
The sky tore open.
It wasn't dramatic or thunderous. No, it split quietly — like fabric giving way to a blade of silence — and from that wound, Ashthane descended.
His body was not one of flesh, nor fully of machine. It shimmered, warped, composed of blackened bone, arc-light armor, and veins of ancient rune circuitry. His face was hidden behind a twisted obsidian helm, and his eyes—there were no eyes—only a swirling galaxy of colorless void.
He hovered above the Whispering Plains, motionless, as if listening to the heartbeat of the world itself.
Then he moved.
---
The Crimson Bastion was in motion.
Rayden stood before the gathered Broken — nearly a hundred strong now, some still scarred from System burns, others tattooed with sigils of loyalty. All of them had tasted pain.
"Ashthane is not a man," Rayden said. "He is a reminder."
"Of what?" someone asked.
Rayden looked into the distance. "Of what happens when humanity becomes too weak to control its own weapons."
Kaelri stepped forward, holding up a crumbling page she had stolen from a High Seer vault long ago. "Ashthane was sealed during the War of Collapse. Back when the first Systems turned on their creators. He's not just an enforcer — he's a purifier."
Lyss added, "He doesn't kill to destroy. He kills to reset."
A shiver ran through the room.
Rayden turned to the table where a map of the region had been unrolled. "He'll come here. First to test us. Then to erase us."
He tapped the parchment. "We make our stand in the Hollow Spires. Choke points, broken terrain. He won't be able to maneuver well."
Kaelri blinked. "You want to fight him there?"
"No," Rayden said. "I want to wound him there."
---
Two nights later, the Hollow Spires became a fortress of traps and magic-infused explosives. Thorn and Jexa returned, bringing a squad of rogue elementalists. Nullbound scouts buried soul mines under the fractured earth. Kaelri wove illusion veils across the chasm.
Rayden stood at the edge, holding the Berserker's Blade.
The wind changed.
Ashthane appeared — not walking, not flying, but simply arriving, as if reality had accepted his presence.
The battlefield fell silent.
No roar. No challenge. No war cry.
Only one word echoed from Ashthane's helm, metallic and toneless:
"Unworthy."
He raised his hand, and a spiral of light erupted from the ground, vaporizing two of the mines instantly.
But Rayden was already moving.
---
[Skill: Unchained Fury Lv.3 – ACTIVATED]
[Trait: Soul-Linked Agility – +35% Evasion]
[Status Effect: System Overclock – 4 Minutes Remaining]
Rayden surged forward, slicing through the explosion shockwave like a blade through smoke. Behind him, Broken warriors unleashed chaos — elemental bursts, explosive traps, piercing spells.
Ashthane barely moved.
He twisted, absorbing fire through a void halo and redirecting it in a massive concussive beam.
Five fighters were incinerated.
But then came Lyss — leaping through smoke, her staff glowing with storm-blood. She slammed it down, and a cage of skyfire locked Ashthane in place for two seconds.
Rayden struck.
Blade met helm.
The sound was not metal on metal — it was a scream, like a dying star.
Ashthane reeled — not injured, but… surprised.
That was enough.
Kaelri unleashed the prism trap — a fractured mirror of reality, throwing Ashthane into a maze of false timelines. He froze, flickering.
"NOW!" Rayden shouted.
Every fighter attacked at once — energy, steel, spell, and rage converging.
For the first time, Ashthane staggered.
---
Then… he spoke again.
"Assessment complete. Threat level: Elevated. Target: Rayden Kael – Flagged."
He raised his hand.
A single pulse of inverted light swept the battlefield.
Half the fighters collapsed, Systems temporarily shut down. Lyss screamed as her storm connection was severed. Kaelri bled from the eyes.
Rayden stood, blade smoking.
Ashthane pointed at him.
"Berserk System: Forbidden Relic. Anomaly. Error. Must be contained."
Rayden grinned through the blood in his mouth.
"Then try."
They clashed again.
This time, it was not a battle.
It was a collision of legacies.