Ashes of the star forge

Chapter 85: Aftermath of Gods

Lian stood frozen for several long seconds, staring at the impossible sight before him. The planet had been split cleanly in two. A colossal wound stretched across the horizon, exposing glowing magma and raw planetary core that burned like hellfire in the darkness. The two halves were slowly drifting apart, creating a growing chasm of empty space filled with floating debris, ruined buildings, and bodies. The sky itself looked fractured, stars visible through the massive gap. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

The sheer scale of destruction left him breathless.

Elara gripped his arm tighter, her alloy fingers digging in slightly. Even she, usually so composed, looked shaken. The cool night wind carried the scent of smoke, blood, and melted metal. Distant screams and collapsing structures echoed from far away.

Lian’s shock slowly melted into cold pragmatism.

This was a battlefield now. A graveyard filled with the dead and the valuable. Opportunity had presented itself in the most brutal way possible.

He stood there for a long moment, letting the reality sink in. The wind howled through the massive chasm, carrying ash and the faint cries of survivors. Fires raged in what remained of the city below, painting the fractured sky in orange and red. Entire districts had been erased. The once-bustling streets of Vorthex Prime were now a wasteland of rubble, twisted metal, and corpses.

Lian finally spoke, his voice low and steady.

“We can’t stay here staring. This is a gift.”

Elara turned to him, her blue cyber eyes still wide with disbelief. “A gift?” she repeated, voice hoarse. “Lian... half the planet is gone. Thousands — maybe tens of thousands — are dead. This isn’t a gift. This is... horror.”

He looked at her calmly, his void eyes reflecting the distant fires.

“Horror for the weak,” he said. “Opportunity for us. Look around. Storage rings, weapons, rare artifacts, credits, cultivation resources — all of it is lying there on dead bodies. The people who owned them don’t need them anymore. We do.”

Elara pulled her arm back slightly, frowning. “You want us to loot the dead?”

“Yes,” Lian replied without hesitation. “Not just loot. Survive. Grow. This is how the strong move forward. The weak die and leave their treasures behind. The strong take them and become stronger. That’s the rule of this world. We’ve seen it again and again tonight.”

He gestured toward the ruined streets below them.

“Look at them. Merchants with full storage rings. Cultivators carrying high-grade pills and manuals. Syndicate enforcers with expensive equipment. All of it wasted on corpses. If we walk away now, someone else will take it. Or it will be lost forever when the planet fully splits. We need resources, Elara. For the rift in six years. For training. For survival. This is the fastest way to get them.”

Elara was silent for a long moment. She stared at the devastation — the bisected buildings, the bodies half-buried in rubble, the fires consuming what remained. Her alloy hand clenched and unclenched at her side.

“It feels... wrong,” she said quietly. “Like we’re no better than scavengers picking at bones.”

“We aren’t better,” Lian said, his tone cold but honest. “We’re smarter. The strong don’t feel shame for taking what they need. The representative and Zephyr Kane didn’t hesitate to destroy half a city for their pride. Why should we hesitate to take what they left behind? Those people down there are already dead. Their treasures can’t help them now. But they can help us become strong enough to never end up like them.” free𝑤ebnovel.com

He stepped closer to her, his voice dropping even lower.

“Think about it. Every storage ring we claim could contain cultivation manuals, rare herbs, or credits worth more than we’ve seen in our entire lives. Weapons. Defensive artifacts. Information. We need all of it. Six years until the rift opens. We can’t afford to be sentimental. Sentiment gets you killed. Greed... calculated greed... keeps you alive.”

Elara looked down at the ruins again. Another building collapsed in the distance with a thunderous crash, sending up a new cloud of dust. She was quiet for nearly a full minute, wrestling with herself.

Finally, she let out a long, tired breath.

“...Alright,” she said softly. “You’re right. We need every advantage we can get. I don’t like it... but I’ll do it.”

Lian gave a single, firm nod. No triumph in his expression — just cold acceptance.

“Good. We move quickly and quietly. Take only what’s valuable. Storage rings first. Then anything that looks useful. We leave before survivors or enforcers arrive.”

Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)

Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.

Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.

Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.

Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.

Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc.

Power Scale Reminder

Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1.

Elara Voss: Core Condensation Middle

The Mindweaver Crown: special one capable of connecting to the Eternal Archive, allowing one to fight masters and inherit legacies. It is not your regular type that you can buy and fight other wearers.

Keep it as reminders