Ashes of the star forge

Chapter 91: A Dying Message

Lian was panicking hard.

His heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum as he moved through the devastated ruins, eyes darting desperately in every direction. The thick dust and smoke made visibility a nightmare, but he pushed forward anyway, leaping over broken beams and shattered concrete with frantic speed. Elara was gone. One moment she had been near him, helping pull survivors from rubble, and the next she had vanished into the chaos. He couldn’t find her anywhere.

The Eternal Veil Syndicate representative’s killing intent still pressed down on the entire area like an invisible mountain, making every step feel like wading through molten lead. Lian’s legs burned. His lungs screamed for air. Every breath was a battle. Sweat poured down his face, mixing with dust and grime. Yet he kept moving, dragging himself forward even as his Core Condensation Late Stage foundation strained under the suffocating pressure.

“Elara...” he whispered hoarsely, voice barely audible.

He searched everywhere — behind collapsed walls, under piles of rubble, inside half-destroyed buildings. His movements grew more frantic, less careful. He was getting tired. The constant resistance against the representative’s killing intent was draining him rapidly. His muscles ached. His vision occasionally blurred. Frustration boiled inside him, hot and sharp. Where was she? Had she been caught in a secondary collapse? Had the representative already found her?

He couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not after everything they had survived together.

He leaped onto another pile of rubble, scanning the area again. The ground trembled faintly under another aftershock. Fires crackled nearby. Bodies lay scattered like broken dolls. The massive wound splitting the planet loomed in the distance, a constant horrifying reminder of the power that had been unleashed. Lian’s frustration mounted with every empty spot he checked. He clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms.

Then he felt a weak tap on his leg.

Lian’s instincts exploded. He spun around instantly, drawing his dagger in one fluid motion, ready to attack or defend. The blade stopped inches from a little girl’s neck.

She was a cyborg, much like Elara — mostly machine, with only faint traces of human features remaining. Her body was small and frail, missing both legs from the knees down. Wires and broken circuits spilled from the stumps, sparking weakly. One of her eyes was gone, replaced by exposed wiring and a cracked lens. The other eye, a dull blue, looked up at him with fading consciousness. Blood trickled from her mouth and multiple wounds across her torso. She was already dying. freewebnovёl.ƈom

Lian froze, dagger hovering just above her throat. His breath came in short, sharp bursts. For a split second, he had thought it was danger. But it was just a dying child — a broken machine with a human soul trapped inside.

He slowly drew the dagger back, eyes narrowing. The girl coughed weakly, more blood spilling from her lips. She was too weak to move, barely clinging to life. Lian turned to leave, ready to continue his search for Elara.

Then he felt the tap again — weaker this time, but insistent — on his leg.

He turned back, frowning. The girl was pointing with a trembling, alloy finger toward a direction deeper into the ruins. Her eye was wide with urgency, even as her body failed.

Lian traced the direction she was pointing.

It led straight toward where the representative’s

He looked back at the girl, confusion and suspicion mixing in his gaze.

“What?” he whispered harshly.

She couldn’t answer. Her voice was gone. But she kept pointing, her finger shaking with the last of her strength. Her single eye pleaded with him silently.

Lian stared at her for a long moment, then understanding dawned on his face.

Elara was there.

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 freёwebnoѵel.com

Keep it as reminders