Ad Astra

89. The Parts of a Heart (II)

After Eudora left the room was utterly silent.

Then Feiyang let out a bestial roar. One of the crates exploded, scattering a plume of tangy dust onto the floor.

One part of him wanted t...

88. The Parts of a Heart (I)

A/N: have you ever thought ‘screw that adastra fellow, I hate his dumb face and I hope he never writes another chapter again?

Well today’s your unlucky day! Bc here’s t...

87. An Old Nemesis

Dorian was at the open market, a smattering of stalls in a marble-floored plaza which seemed to stretch endlessly, its loose rows wrapping around itself like the lively intestines of some massive b...

86. Borrowed Power (IV)

A/N: This chapter was 2300 words, but then I added a scene in the middle. You’ll know exactly which scene I’m talking about when you get to it. It is the sort of scene which 2022-03-17 05:08:33 +0000 UTC View Post

85. Borrowed Power (III)

A/N: Sry this chapter’s late—it took quite a bit of finagling, but I’m pretty happy with how it ended up! Next chap is back to regularly scheduled Dorian programming

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84. Borrowed Power (II)

A/N: this is not an incest story, peeps!

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Kaya woke two hours before the sun rose. She donned her new loose gray robes and snuck outside. Lights still dotted the wall...

83. Borrowed Power

She rushed into a standoff.

On one side were the bronze-skinned fighters of the Narong Tribe, dressed in dark-brown smocks; Young Master Narong stood at their front. His forearm was slicked w...

82. Drifting

The air seemed fresher as Dorian strolled out of the doors of the Guild. Humming to himself, he took stock of the sun in the sky. That whole jaunt had gone faster than he’d expected—there was s...

81. Artifice (VIII)

A/N: Last artifice chapter! 

//

Kal mulled it over. There were a few possibilities.

One. His longer career as a prize-fighter had finally caught up with him....

80. Artifice (VII)

A/N: Slight delay to this chap bc it turns out I had 2 more midterms (yesterday + today) that I just found out existed! … Im not an exemplary student, as you might guess

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79. Artifice (VI)

The testing room was spare. Blank sandstone walls. A workbench, with a small box of assorted screws and hammers. Blocks of raw material. A furnace. A bookshelf stacked with reference materials. An ...

78. Artifice (V)

A/N: Midterms are over, huzzah! I can go back to rapid-firing chapters!! Don’t know if I can promise dailies, but I’ll sure try for it.

//

“Will you behave?” said Dorian, frowni...

77. Artifice (IV)

What was this girl about to do to him? Dorian was a little perturbed.

She seemed a normal sort when he first saw her. Then she’d gotten steadily more unhinged.

His eyes trailed to the...

76. Artifice (III)

So this is the part where she gently crushes my dreams.

Dorian fought to keep himself from snorting. “This,” said the girl, sweeping her arms out like a bad actress, “...

75. Artifice (II)

“Call me Io,” said Dorian softly. He blinked fast, watering his eyes a smidge as he looked up at her.

“Io,” she repeated, and her voice made the syllable a song. She smiled a...

Chapter 74. Artificing

Pebble chose a direction. It was the wrong direction.

Half an hour and much scampering later, they came to a stop before a gold-domed basilica, easily the most impressive structure in its blo...

73. An Energetic Tour

Very quickly they found out two things about Pebble. He knew his way around here with such familiarity it was like he was following a sixth sense—and he wouldn’t shut up. He seemed an excitable...

72. Rats

Kaya was stupefied—by the stench or the sights, Dorian didn’t know. He grabbed her wrist. “Hold on,” he warned. “And don’t let go.”

“Ah?” was all Kaya got out before he drag...

71. Azcan

Time Elapsed: 1 Month, 1 week.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” said Kaya, panting.

“Not at all,” said Dorian. He smiled at her. “Not this time, nor...

Interlude 2. The Ones Left Behind

Another Plane, Another Time…

Dorian ascended. He was a rapture of light and blistering fire, a newly-born star rising to take its place in the firmament. He was the only li...

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70. Breaking Point

“What did he say, child?” To stand in the presence of a peak-Profound Realm master like Patriarch Yalta would’ve wobbled the knees of most Vigor fighters. Dorian bore the pressure with a grim...

69. Red Solstice (V)

“I…” Kono appeared to wrack his mind. “Maybe it isn’t under control.”

Dorian glanced back, frowning mightily. “What?”

“Look.” He gestured to the Dr...

68. Red Solstice (IV)

What was this All-Seeing eye? A few explanations had been swirling in Dorian’s mind. One was that it was a trite metaphor for a celestial body—the sun and the moons might be all-seeing eyes, al...

67. Red Solstice (III)

Beasts crowded in from all sides, snapping off stragglers at the edges. The mass of humanity contracted as hundreds of men and women fled inward. But they couldn’t flee very far—the Frost Drago...

66. Red Solstice (II)

At first it was a low, slow rumble, lost in the roar of the geyser. Dorian, on the border of sleep, didn’t register it, not at first. Only when he heard the click-click-clicking of jostled glass ...

65. Red Solstice (I)

The Festival was sound asleep. It was that time of night, so deep and so late and so silent that the ambiance felt like a physical thing, a thick wool blanket lain atop all the tents and huts and s...

64. Fate

“Finally finished!” Hu sagged back against a pillow. “Thank heavens!”

“Shouldn’t you be upset?” said Dorian as he trussed up some canvas. The elixirs had been put away, the shel...

63. A Killing

Two hours ‘till the Markets open and Dorian had run out of bodily fluids to sweat out. He’d been given a rib-crushing celebration hug by Kaya, a thorough interrogation about what’d just happe...

62. Trial of the Soul

The Golden Roc reached godhood in maturity. After a century-cycle each Roc ascended to a higher plane, but not before leaving offspring behind. Zhang was not wrong to call it a creature loved by th...