Rising god
Chapter 49: Dawnless

Chapter 49: Dawnless

Within the purple veil of Ashenfall’s dominion, a seismic shift had unfolded.

Minutes ago, the air had trembled with violent pulses, as if the realm itself were a living entity venting its fury. The ground shuddered, sending ripples of dark purple energy cascading beyond its borders, a raw display of Ashenfall’s wrath.

Scattered across the desolate landscape were relics of war, shields etched with arcane runes, spears glinting with latent malice, swords half-buried in the ashen soil, and armors that seemed to whisper of battles long past. Each object quivered in sync with the dominion’s unrest, their surfaces reflecting the eerie glow of the purple moon overhead.

Above, ten creatures soared through the sky, their sleek forms cutting through the haze. Each was a meter long, their black scales shimmering with purple patterns that pulsed beneath their leathery wings. Reptilian eyes burned with primal power, and jagged white teeth gleamed in silent hunger.

These were baby dragons, born of Ashenfall’s essence, circling the moon like sentinels of a new era.

...

Baines awoke to a surge of awareness, his core thrumming with a larger reserve of aura.

The sensation was intoxicating, like a river of energy coursing through him, unshackled and potent. He had ascended to the rank of Aura Master, the sixth star in the aura hierarchy, a realm where aura began to take tangible form.

They were also known as true masters.

Sixth-star warriors could wield their aura with unparalleled versatility. Baines could now project aura pressure, a force capable of stunning weaker beings with his mere presence. For example, he could infuse his aura with decay, and a corrosive will hang around him, or channel his intent to cut, and a destructive force would form around him.

His aura could now shape physical constructs—shields, armors, weapons—molded by his will. He could regenerate wounds by redirecting aura flow, though at the cost of temporarily depleting his reserves.

The transformation was profound, elevating him beyond the Grand Aura Warriors of the fifth star. But the aura was only part of the change.

His bones, now fused with the death bones of the slave god, felt indestructible, as if forged from the void itself. They thrummed with latent power, capable of withstanding aura-based attacks that would shatter ordinary skeletons. Baines had always intended to wear the death bones eventually; their premature fusion was merely a matter of timing.

He also noticed. His store of Dark Sun mana was halved. The loss was inconsequential; he hadn’t tapped it yet, and the remaining mana was still substantial.

His focus was on the present, on consolidating his newfound strength.

"Wick," Baines called, his voice steady, restored after the ordeal.

"Yes, Master," Wick’s ethereal voice replied, tinged with relief.

"Thank you," Baines said, a rare note of gratitude softening his tone.

"M-aster?" Wick’s purple eyeball, hovering in the air, widened in surprise. He knew Baines’s life, and maybe for the first time in years, he had said such words.

Baines stepped forward, his body cloaked anew in Wick’s purple mantle, the fabric shimmering like liquid shadow.

The surviving members of the Dawnless organization stood before him, their faces a mix of fear, resentment, and resignation. The ethereal slave chains bound them so their wills were subjugated to his command.

Baines’s gaze swept over them, unflinching.

"Yes, I killed your leader. Yes, I killed sixty percent of you," he declared, his voice cold as the grave. "Yes, you’re powerless under the slave chain, and I don’t care." His decay aura flared, a dark purple miasma laced with bloodlust that pressed down on the crowd like a physical weight.

"One misstep, and I’ll yank out your soul for experiments."

He paused, daring defiance.

The members were silent, their instincts screaming submission. The slave chains’ restraint was palpable, a metaphysical leash they couldn’t break. How could they challenge the man who’d slain their seventh-star leader, a grandmaster?

The reality was unthinkable, yet undeniable.

"You, you, and you, follow me," Baines pointed at three sixth-star warriors, their faces pale but compliant. "Wick, stay behind to repair this place."

The place was a sprawling complex of stone and steel, bearing the scars of Baines’s rampage, cracked walls, shattered pillars, and a courtyard littered with debris. Wick nodded, its eyeball bobbing as it set to work, weaving spells to mend the damage.

...

Baines led the three to the former leader’s office, a chamber of dark oak and iron, its walls adorned with trophies of past conquests, skulls, blades, and tattered banners.

He sat in the leader’s chair, its leather creaking under his weight, and fixed the executives with a steely gaze.

"First off, I don’t care what you think," he said, his voice devoid of warmth. "I’m your leader now. So, give me what I want, and I will see what I can do about what you want."

The three nodded, their expressions guarded. One, a wiry man with a scar across his cheek, spoke up, his voice cautious. "May I ask what you want?"

"I’m looking for people," Baines replied, unconcerned about secrecy; the slave seal ensured their silence. "And once I find them, I will release you, deal."

The executives exchanged glances, a flicker of hope in their eyes.

A simple task, they thought—how hard could it be? They nodded in unison.

"Now, tell me everything about this organization," Baines commanded.

The wiry man, who introduced himself as Kael, began.

The Dawnless, he explained, were among Darkan’s top fifteen underground organizations, a status now jeopardized by their leader’s death. They numbered 305 members: three sixth-stars, over a hundred fifth-stars, and the rest split between fourth and third-stars. No one below third-star was admitted, marking them as an elite force.

Their income stemmed from gambling dens and illegal fight rings, and their ambition was to dominate Darkan’s underworld.

Kael then clarified a misconception.

Baines hadn’t killed sixty percent of the organization, as he’d assumed, but about thirty percent. The rest had gone into hiding, fleeing the branch family and the church’s relentless purge.

Baines listened, a flicker of surprise crossing his mind.

The truth was, he never considered their point of view. He just wanted to use them, but hearing them say it was different.

What he understood by this was, any other organization would have tried to kidnap Baines and use him for his skills, just like them; it wasn’t personal.

They then detailed the Dawnless’s operations: networks of informants, safehouses, and alliances with minor factions.

Baines absorbed it all, his mind cataloging weaknesses and opportunities.

When they finished, he stood before the former leader’s secret vault, a massive steel door etched with protective runes.

None of the executives knew the passcode, but Baines didn’t need it.

He pressed his hand to the door, and Eye’s interface flared, decoding the wards in seconds. The vault swung open, revealing a treasure trove under the executives’ wide-eyed stares.

Shelves lined the walls, each holding a different bounty.

One had the documents of various deals they had undertaken, documents for blackmail, secret deals, and even some secret dealings with some of Darkan’s executives.

Baines scanned them with Eye, storing the data for future leverage.

Another shelf had the stolen techniques they had gathered since its founding.

’Tri-steps’, ’Flowing water steps’, ’Heavy descent palm’, ’Ravage claw’... he read out various techniques from palm techniques, to fist, to swords, foot techniques.

None were at the level of his collections, but that made them more important. If he had to say, the biggest factor in his current strength was the Absolute cut and destruction’s will to cut.

Currently, his skills and insights are lacking.

He had a strong foundation thanks to Martos, but then he went straight to learning techniques way beyond him. There was no middle ground for him to build up before he began using skills he couldn’t handle.

Maybe it was due to the influence of the silent staff, but he decided to take it calmly. He understood that if he continued the way he was going, he could reach the level he wanted, but he might not even be as strong as that level.

Knowing his revenge would take a while, he had to go through the normal process.

’I should focus on this for now.’ After scanning a few, he left them for the organization to learn and took the rest.

Another long shelf had rare treasures, armors, and weapons.

Well, maybe it was due to his ancestors’ collections, none of them caught his eye.

The next shelf contained plants and pills, and he took them without hesitation.

Then there was the last section, wealth.

More gold and jewelry than he had seen in his life, even as the son of a wealthy merchant. He took half of it and turned to face the executives.

Turning to the executives as he had begun to call them, he said, "I’m searching for my family. Wick will share details, but in the meantime, use this wealth to recruit more members. I expect growth by my return. Distribute weapons to loyal members, teach the techniques, and ensure they’re mastered." He strode out, their shocked expressions trailing him.

The death of their leader aside, this was a windfall they hadn’t dared imagine.

Outside, Baines’s thoughts churned. This was a perfect chance.

He could finally leave the shackles of the Darkan family.

He could find his way back to the ruins of Ashenfall, or even stay in this organization and find his family in the underground. But then again, the masters of the land were the Darkans. No one knew the place better than them, eventually, he would be found.

And then again, his goals aligned with what he was already doing.

Searching for them in the open and the shadows.

In the end, he decided against leaving.

He had reached where Wick was waiting.

"Can you build a teleportation station to Darkan?" Baines asked.

"I’ll need materials capable of handling that energy," Wick replied.

"Then go to the vault, but before that, let’s act a bit."