Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

The autumn wind has stopped moving, as have the bodies littering the ground, all still and silent, the stink of death and decay shrouding the plains of the Holy Land.

Not so holy anymore, not after their prime disciple, their future sect master, the only hope of their survival, had colluded with the abyssal nightmares and laid waste to each and every inch of the vast land of prosperity.

A name that once shook the giants of the planet was now gone, in ruins and smoke, in ashes and fire, unable to contain one human's ambition, and any who spoke of hope was but a liar.

Shi Xian, an ordinary disciple of the dragon sealing tomb, was watching the ensuing chaos and destruction with apparent indifference.

His master, old elder Zhen, had died not long ago, trying to defend the young disciples from the horde of nightmarish creatures that were running amok, and the way he had been torn up was a visage terrible enough to turn a man into a still piece of fleshy rock. But the ghastly sight made Shi Xian show no sign of unrest.

A faint voice, laced with poison and silk, had offered to him a choice, to escape his sealed fate and abandon his ilk, and Shi Xian considered the offer.

"Little snake, you are but a sealed creature yourself. How can you offer me hope of such help?"

The voice laughed in mockery of his words, the iron in that sound rang stronger than the clashing swords.

"Foolish human, consider it a boon, for you cannot survive the disasters that loom. Over, beneath, and around you the nightmares have reached. Any in your shoes would have bowed and beseeched. Choose what you will, death or life. One carries sweet relief and the other offers strife. But you know it in your heart, which you desire; for one's life is so precious, even when it is but crackling fire. I have spent a lifetime here, sealed beneath the ashes of my race. To me, death is nothing to fear, but life is a sweet embrace."

Shi Xian smiled, a derisive expression covering his face.

"Indeed, even now, I want to live. So, little snake, what do you want that I might give?"

Thus the snake and the man agreed upon a deal, signing with their souls and breaking the snake's seal.

"Break the circle of laws that hold me here, and I shall provide you with a way to live, do not fear. Do it fast. Look, they come! Our deal is just, the best outcome!"

Shi Xian pulled out a sword from the ground, it swished in the air, making grating sounds as it cut through the iron, carving a law, and breaking the circle of laws that had no flaw.

The snake hissed from freedom's taste, savored the air and emerged in haste. Not just a snake, but a dragon from tales, eyes like the sun, gigantic gleaming scales.

In awe, Shi Xian gasped, but he had none else to give his trust. So he stood his ground as he had kept his word.

Bound by the law, the dragon smiled, it breathed hellfire, corpses of nightmares piled, nowhere to hide, none too fast.

"Wise choice," the dragon said. The familiar voice made Shi Xian sigh.

"Keep your word, and don't let me die."

The Dragon nodded and its claws swiped down, tearing the ground, sending cracks running all around.

"Lie here in this tomb I've made, using laws that shall never fade, feeding on you in a cycle of qi, it is a fair trade," the dragon said.

"How long shall my slumber last?" Shi Xian asked, his heart beating fast, not knowing whether or not to trust it even now.

"Genesis of Dao. You shall be freed when your genesis is budding."

The dragon's answer was hardly assuring. But Shi Xian could only risk it and jump in, putting his faith in the laws binding the dragon and him.

The dragon kept his word and did nothing untoward. Its claws covered the soil, hiding Shi Xian's body, and left like the wind after activating the laws that kept Shi Xian alive therein.

Alas, freedom is hard to preserve, and few ever get the life they crave. The demons who had laid waste to the land, saw the dragon and screamed to their kin, their leaders rushing behind its tail, to kill, strip and decorate the skin.

The dragon was wise, it bowed its head, choosing slavery over the threat of death, and offered to help the colluder seal this land, where laws that shined once shall be laid as a wreath.

The colluder agreed, his plans unclear. The dragon carved laws that filled him with fear. A circle of laws from legends was born, wrought out of the dragon's scales, carved with the dragon's own nails and horn.

The traitor suddenly struck from back to kill the dragon once it was done. But the dragon was wise and expected such, a prisoner for life, it had trusted none.

The sword had struck empty air, the body of the dragon was no longer there.

Illusions broke and the dragon spoke, "fool, a dragon can not be ensnared once it has tasted shackles and its despair. Freedom has been my lifelong dream, I shall savor it while you rot here and scream."

The circle of laws it made was aglow, the dragon's blood on it started to flow, the traitor screamed in despair and fear, as familiar laws surrounded him, some distant, some near. The holy land of laws was now literally so, as a gargantuan formation of laws moved into motion.

But the traitor was no ordinary man. In his last moment he carved laws on his own, binding the dragon with his soul. Caught in a death trap, the dragon fell down, its soul breaking apart and creating something foul. One part of its soul still escaped the spell, as a horrifying breath fell in its wake, ringing like a death knell.

The fragmented soul knew it had to return. The fallen part had to be recovered or burned. Because the dragon understood what it had left in there– a disaster that brought absolute destruction and despair.