Of Fire, Blood, and Ash *Fully Uploaded*
In ages past, a calamity destroyed the world, reducing it to a volcanic landscape. In this wreckage, the survivors struggle to accomplish the basic tasks needed for life, like breathing poisoned air or cultivating crops in arid soil.
Amari Kasai is the bodyguard to the emperor of Hiyuki, who also happens to be his best friend. A firm believer in his society's devotion to strength, he struggles to balance that devotion with the signs of weakness he's recently seen in his friend. When a conspiracy against the emperor makes itself known, Kasai must make a difficult choice. Will he let the conspirators assassinate the emperor, thus removing weakness from the kingdom he loves, or will he save the only friend he's ever had?
Content Warnings
I've done my best to include as many content warnings as I can here, but I can't guarantee that I...
Chapter One
An empire only stands as strong as its leader. The one above the many, the god of the masses, he ...
Chapter Two
No one enjoyed policy meetings, but then, who could? Everyone in the room knew that these proceed...
Chapter Three
Returning to Takanai’s confines held a particular fascination for me. From this city came the dow...
Chapter Four
When we returned to the palace, Nokoribi requested that his dinner be brought to his room, but th...
Chapter Five
Screams disturbed my dreams, and groaning, I rolled over, pressing a pillow to my ear. The noise...
Chapter Six
I fought when they pulled me off of the body. I remembered that much. The rest of the night was a...
Chapter Seven
When they lowered a rope ladder for me, I climbed out of the pit, rolling over its edge to lie on...
Chapter Eight
I waited for what was coming, both needing to escape it and wonderfully, blissfully relieved that...
Chapter Nine
Voices fill the black, so disjointed and scattered, and I float among them. “The crown prince ha...
Chapter Ten
Wind whipped through my hair while strands of it lashed against my face. Heat swelled around me i...
Chapter Eleven
Zhao had done well for himself since retiring. His modest, two-story home reminded me of a mid-le...
Chapter Twelve
Brennan returned once light had faded from the world. After hours spent cooped in Zhao’s house, I...
Chapter Thirteen
Arita’s estate seemed modest for a guild’s chairman. It didn’t have a yard, not with its entrance...
Chapter Fourteen
In my dreams, two voices rattled, incessantly arguing. “He bears the whole’s touch. Can you feel...
Chapter Fifteen
After we’d reached Zhao’s home, I almost climbed to my room’s window, hoping to sneak into bed. I...
Chapter Sixteen
There was no security waiting for us at Taro’s estate. The modest building lay quiet beneath diff...
Chapter Seventeen
The wall buckled while a groan conveyed the threat of its collapse. Based on the howling in my fi...
Chapter Eighteen
Again, two antagonistic voices boomed in my dreams, continuing their never-ending argument. “Thi...
Chapter Nineteen
When we reached Zhao’s home, the old man pulled me to the side while Brennan led Himi deeper into...
Chapter Twenty
Because of the increased police presence I’d spawned across Takanai, making and preparing a plan ...
Chapter Twenty-One
I should be urging Himi toward the tunnel and the safety found there. I should tell her that we c...
Chapter Twenty-Two
When I eventually returned home, I stopped a frantic Zhao from making an unnecessary trip to find...
Chapter Twenty-Three
Himi didn’t seem to like how much attention we were paying her. Flinching, she drew her feet onto...
Chapter Twenty-Four
In our room, Brennan threw her satchel over her shoulder, crossing her arms as she watched me gat...
Chapter Twenty-Five
Disgorging from the earth today brought the same mixture of elation and relief as it had years be...
Chapter Twenty-Six: Brennan
Kasai vanished into thin air, taking the disturbing spread of new skin that had been bubbling fro...
Chapter Twenty-Seven
After striding through the Gateway, I’d thought I’d have a moment to prepare. Traveling between d...
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Brennan
After all of the effort I’d put into reaching this place promptly, I’d expected someone to greet ...
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Himi
Kasai had vanished into thin air, taking his ingenious layering of new skin atop the old with him...
Chapter Thirty: Alouin
For centuries, ushering essences to what lay beyond life had been my least favorite part of what ...
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To whomever receives this note, once it’s been smuggled across the boundary: As far as history st...