Inertia: Beneath The Starlit Veil Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Read chapter 24 of Inertia: Beneath The Starlit Veil by Ken Kaizen on NovelPedia.

Chapter 24 Theron POV Walking in the great expanse of the astral realm, I couldn't help but ponder the new implications of our hunt on the remaining members of the Solaris Clan, along with the task of mastering my new fate constellation. Mastering one fate constellation is hard enough, but mastering two and ensuring they remain balanced is far more difficult than I anticipated. My original fate constellation wasn't something I chose; it was an honorable birthright in my father's eyes. But all I saw were puppets doing the bidding of others. The Lux Tenebris is my new clan now, and I'm destined to be its heir. I'm the only one Master has allowed to connect with his fate constellation, the devastating Eclipse Serpent. It's a constellation unknown to many, one that feels on par with the Solaris constellation in terms of raw power—something I believe could turn the tide in a fight against Ezra. Even though he's a full stage ahead of me, I have the means and the ability to even the score. I just need more practice before embarking on the battle. Since the rift near my base has been cleared, astral behemoths sightings have become few and far between in the physical world in my jurisdiction. Lately, I've had to dive deeper into their territory in the astral realm to find worthy opponents to test my new powers. After walking the equivalent of several kilometers, I finally found a den worthy of my practice—a group of fifty moonhowler wolves feasting on several carcasses they appeared to have just caught. Extending my hand outward, I activated the second rune of my new fate constellation. A dark crimson glow began to brim with life as my astral tattoo grew on my left arm and a portal to the Astral Forge appeared. I reached through the portal and grabbed my soul weapon, pulling out a long black bow with crimson markings that matched the design of the Eclipse Serpent constellation. With the bow in my right hand, I activated the first rune of my new constellation and formed five arrows made of a fusion of decaying and cosmic energy. With all five arrows notched in my soul weapon, I pulled the string back as far as I could, with my thumb's knuckle firmly pressed against my cheek and aimed the bow into the sky. With a deep exhale, I released the tension in the string, firing the arrows causing a loud sonic boom to reverberate through the astral realm's sky. The arrows fell like hellfire, cracking the surface beneath the moonhowler wolves. Only a few wolves were hit, but that was the plan. My decaying energy would spread from the slaughtered wolves, affecting the environment around them. Moonhowler wolves are intelligent astral behemoths, capable of assessing threats and reacting quickly. They moved with great speed, dodging the spread of my decaying ability. It wasn't long before they noticed my presence in the distance. A few barked at each other, rallying the entire pack to charge straight at me. "Perfect. Yes, face me—all of you. Let's see who the true apex predator is," I yelled. I let my soul weapon dissolve back into the portal of my Astral Forge as I gauged the celestial cores of the oncoming astral behemoths. They were all second-rank Voidborn astral behemoths. "Nothing special," I thought, disappointed, until I noticed the leader in the background. A hulking moonhowler towering several meters above the rest, standing about five meters tall on all fours. Its silvery fur glowed under the starlight, enhancing its ferocity. "So, you're the Alpha," I thought. Peering into its core, I determined it was at the Stellar Fiend stage, equal to me in celestial core rank—but I am an exception to the rule. Activating my first rune, I manifested five constructs in the shape of snakes. The cosmic energy snakes, imbued with the same decaying essence as my arrows, shined brightly as they lunged forward toward the oncoming pack. "That should be enough for them," I thought as I circulated cosmic energy into my legs, propelling myself past the wolves and