Ashes of the star forge

Chapter 128: Forged in Death

Lirien watched with quiet joy.

Her small face remained perfectly calm, a gentle, doll-like expression that revealed nothing of the deep satisfaction blooming inside her. She was turning her Master into a monster — a being beyond fear, beyond pain, beyond the weaknesses that plagued ordinary cultivators. She would make him immune to suffering. No amount of agony would ever touch him again. He would become empty, a void that could swallow the galaxy itself. And she would be the one to guide him there.

Lian had lost count of how many times he had died.

Each resurrection brought the same cycle of horror. He would open his eyes, gasping for air, only to feel the cold bite of death again — a blade through the neck, his heart torn from his chest, bones shattered under overwhelming force, meridians ripped apart from the inside. The pain was excruciating, every nerve screaming as his body was destroyed in new and terrible ways. His mind fractured further with each death, the trauma stacking like layers of broken glass. He could feel everything — the wet tear of flesh, the crunch of bone, the sudden emptiness as life left him. The agonizing finality of death never lessened. It only grew heavier.

He wanted it to end.

When he opened his eyes once more, expecting the next killing blow, nothing came. The representative stood motionless in the center of the training room, empty and doll-like, exactly as he had appeared at the beginning. Lian stared at the figure for a long moment, his body trembling. Then his vision blurred. His legs gave out, and he collapsed straight to the ground, unconscious.

Elara ran to him immediately.

“Lian! Lian! Lian!” she cried, her voice breaking as she dropped to her knees beside him. She reached out, her hands shaking as she touched his face, checking for signs of life. “Wake up, Lian. Can you hear me?”

He didn’t respond.

Tears streamed down her face. She had watched him die over and over again, each death more brutal than the last. When he had first fallen, her instinct had been to draw her thunder blade and charge at Lirien. She had wanted to cut the little girl down, to end the nightmare. But she had stopped herself, remembering Lirien’s power. The ancient being could kill her in the blink of an eye if she wished. Elara had felt helpless, her heart nearly bursting with fear and grief. What would she do without him? He was the only constant in her chaotic life, the one person she had chosen to follow. Seeing him broken like this tore something deep inside her.

Lirien stood nearby, watching the scene with calm detachment. She stepped closer, her small feet silent on the white floor.

Elara looked up at her, eyes filled with fury and pain. “Why? Why won’t he wake up?”

Lirien smiled gently, her violet eyes soft.

“His mind and body have been under immeasurable pressure,” she explained in her childlike voice. “He has died more times than he can count. He has felt every moment of pain, every second of death. His spirit is traumatized, broken. Don’t you think he deserves a little rest?”

Elara lashed out, her voice raw with emotion. “Who put him in this condition? You demon.”

Lirien stared at her for a long moment, her expression unchanging.

“You won’t understand, little child,” she said softly. “You are still corrupted by emotion.”

Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)

Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.

Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.

Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.

Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.

Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc

Power Scale Reminder

Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1.

Elara Voss: Core Condensation Middle

Keep it as reminders