Sovereign of the Ashes

A blinding white pillar of elemental energy tore through the endless stillness of the starry sky.

Moments later, two figures—one red, one white—burst out of a portal.

It was Sein, battered and bloodied, and the heavily damaged Burning Flame Unit.

Both their bodies bore clear signs of space-time erosion, the result of being trapped too long inside the unstable space-time corridor.

Furthermore, time flowed differently within that portal compared to the Astral Realm, and Sein could not tell how much time had truly passed outside.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was that they had made it out.

“The elemental concentration in this star domain feels pretty low,” Sein said through the Faceless Mask as he scanned the area. “We should find a place to heal first.”

The Burning Flame Unit’s eyes flashed in response. Much of her frame was damaged and unresponsive, yet she still brought her metal palm to her chest, protecting Yuri in the cockpit as she followed Sein’s lead.

In the end, Sein chose the concave side of an asteroid as their temporary refuge.

Across the Astral Realm, the density and type of elemental energy could vary greatly from one star domain to another. This one was clearly on the weaker side.

Still, Sein noted that this particular region seemed rich in pyro and lumen elemental energies.

It gave the entire star domain a bright, open feeling—completely unlike the oppressive darkness of the Grand Eye Demon World, where countless complete planes had been shattered.

Once they had settled in, Sein downed another Golden Apple Potion.

Then, he opened the Burning Flame’s cockpit and gently lifted the unconscious engineer out. Bringing a vial of Golden Apple Potion to her lips, he carefully helped her drink it.

Top-tier restorative elixirs like this were never enough, and Sein’s supply was running low after all the life-or-death battles he had faced.

Glancing down at the two remaining Golden Apple Potions in his inventory, Sein let out a quiet sigh.

Beside him, the Burning Flame Unit entered self-repair mode.

The Magic Cube in her chest still gave off a faint glow, though its energy reserves had been nearly drained during the previous battle.

Fortunately, back when Sein was on a mission to the Grand Eye Demon World, he had discovered another function of the cube and stocked up on a fair number of Energy Amethysts.

When he pulled a large pile of the energy crystals from his space ring, the mecha’s lit up noticeably.

With top-tier potions and plenty of restorative items, both Sein and Yuri recovered quickly.

However, mental and spiritual exhaustion could not be healed by potions alone. Sein still felt the need to rest.

He returned Yuri to her spatial living device, then put away the Burning Flame Unit as well.

Afterward, he took a moment to scan his surroundings. He needed to confirm where exactly he had ended up.

“Judging by how short my time in the space-time corridor was, I shouldn’t be too far from the star domain where the Grand Eye Demon World is located. Hopefully, I’m still within the Magus Civilization’s territory,” he muttered.

“No way I ended up in Gallant Federation space again... right?” He shook his head with a faint, uneasy smile.

Casting one more look at the endless starlit expanse, Sein decided to fly toward the nearest star.

***

The Grand Eye Demon World was a large-sized plane that had only joined the Magus Alliance two conferences ago.

The short duration of its membership clearly showed that its star domain sat on the very edge of the alliance’s influence.

Luckily, the Grand Eye Demon World did not share a border with the Gallant Federation’s territory.

After exiting the space-time passage, the odds of Sein reentering the federation’s space were slim.

Still, the Astral Realm was three-dimensional.

The distance between the Grand Eye Demon World and the federation was not impossibly great, and with Sein’s luck lately, who could say he would not somehow drift into enemy territory again?

Even so, the chances of that happening were low.

He figured it was far more likely that he had ended up somewhere outside the territories of both the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation—or perhaps within the domain of another civilization that had yet to make open contact with either side.

At this point, any world near these two supreme civilizations would have already heard of the war raging between them.

In such a climate, the smartest thing for those weaker worlds to do was to stay quiet and pick their alliances carefully.

That being the case, even if Sein’s identity were exposed, the risk to him should be minimal.

Sein scanned the starry expanse around him but found no complete planes.

There were many pyro and lumen-attribute planes nearby, yet most were broken planes or demiplanes.

As someone whose lawful body was aligned with both pyro and lumen elements, Sein had little to worry about.

Upon reaching the nearest star, he dove straight into it without hesitation.

The moment he entered, a surge of thick, volatile pyro-elemental energy washed over him, filling his mind with a rare sense of ease.

It was a pyro-attribute demiplane.

After several months of resting in this world, Sein had mostly recovered. It was now time to decide his next move.

He could either leave now and try to find his way back to the Magus Civilization or... he could attempt to break through to Rank Five!

Although this star domain had a lower average elemental density, it was dotted with pyro and lumen-attribute demiplanes, making it a fairly suitable environment for attempting a breakthrough.

More importantly, Sein had already loosened the shackles of his life level during his last brush with death.

With his condition now stable, attempting a breakthrough was the wiser choice.

In an unfamiliar star domain like this, strength was the best protection he could have.

After all the close calls he had faced in recent years, Sein knew he needed to grow stronger—and fast. Only by doing so could he navigate the chaos of the Clash of Civilizations with confidence.

After a long moment of quiet reflection, Sein made up his mind. He would advance to Rank Five right here.

Even if he somehow returned to the Magus Civilization now, he would not be fit for battle immediately. He would still have to focus entirely on his breakthrough.

Since a breakthrough was inevitable, there was no point delaying it.

Moreover, with greater power, his return to Magus World would be much smoother.

“I have decided to make my breakthrough to Rank Five here,” Sein said at last. “During this period, the two of you will keep watch nearby. While you are at it, explore the region and see if you can find any intelligent life or complete planes. If you find any, do not make contact yet. Wait until after I’m done.”

“Master, how long do you think you will take?” Yuri asked.

“Three to five hundred years,” Sein replied.