Arcane Exfil - Chapter 29: Nothing but Ashes

It’s the age of superhumans!Genetic modifications, Cybernetic enhancements, magic enchantments- the choice is yours! For the right price, you can rise above the masses and gain power only ever seen in myths!For the right price!No matter how far humanity advances, power will always fall in the hands of the wealthy few. It was a truth Dante learned at a very young age and with it came a burning hatred for those who look down on everyone from their ivory towers.The flames grew stronger once he found himself faced with the cruelty of those who rule from above. He swore revenge on each and every one of them, but true power couldn’t be fought with hatred alone.In his search for a weapon that could help him take his revenge, Dante crosses paths with a certain Artifact, his fate taking a turn he could never have anticipated.

It was started with a harmless request, “Jessica, clear out a room for Zoey, she'll be moving in with us for the time being.”Jessica's marriage soon ended when that 'guest' climbed up the ladder, from a guest room downstairs, to Jessica's bedroom, and then, her husband's bed.After losing in the fight for her husband's attention and love, Jessica realized it was time to wear back her garment of dignity and respect. She signed the divorce papers and left the country.Two years later, she returned as the heiress to a conglomerate, but her husband was at the airport, waiting to welcome her home.“When did I say I didn't love you, Jessica?” he asked.

Anton is a great-grandfather. He is living quite a happy life, despite his advanced age and declining health… until a group of cultivator bandits moves into the area. The nearby guardians of the area, the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars, are unable to track them down as they continue to ravage nearby towns. During one desperate winter Anton is out on a hunt when his family- his entire village- is killed or taken as slaves by the bandits. He lacks the strength to fight them, and he wasn’t even present for their arrival to die with his loved ones. At the pit of his despair, he wonders if he ever had any chance to change things. What could he even do? He cannot even pull his best bow, and his eyesight is failing. If he had been a cultivator… perhaps there might have been a chance, but he was decades- perhaps even most of his life- too late.Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge (2022)Notes on cultivation levels:There are five general stages of cultivation, though the fifth is extremely rare. Each cultivation style might have their own name for the stages.1. Body Tempering2. Spirit Building/ occasionally System Creation (Ninety-Nine Stars)3. Constellation Formation (Ninety-Nine Stars)4. Life Transformation/Galaxy Construction (Ninety-Nine Stars)5. Ascension

One will to create oceans. One will to summon the mulberry fields.

One will to slaughter countless devils. One will to eradicate innumerable immortals.

Only my will… is eternal.