Inertia: Beneath The Starlit Veil Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Read chapter 3 of Inertia: Beneath The Starlit Veil by Ken Kaizen on NovelPedia.

Chapter 3 (Cyrus Pov) The last thing I remembered before passing out was Solaris ripping out my core and replacing it with something else. I was no longer in the temples of the past; I had returned to the astral realm, lying in the same spot as before. But this time, the Solaris constellation was gone. In its place was a dark celestial body, a void that swallowed the light around it. I felt an invisible force pulling me toward it, an irresistible force that brought me face-to-face with the ominous entity. The celestial body loomed before me, its presence immense and oppressive. Its surface seemed like a bottomless pit of darkness, unyielding and uncaring. It destroyed and consumed without thought or purpose—chaos and power incarnate. Yet, as terrifying as it was, I found myself resonating with it. It embodied everything I had ever desired: raw, uncontrollable strength. I placed my hand on the celestial body, forging a tether to its mysterious source of power. As soon as the connection was made, a surge of cosmic energy coursed through me, flowing into my new core and spreading throughout my body. Unlike before, the sensation wasn't painful—it was comforting. I felt my very essence rewriting itself. My bones grew denser, my muscles surged with explosive strength, and I felt reborn in every sense of the word. When the connection was complete, the dark celestial body shifted. Its form dissolved and reassembled into a pattern of concentric circles, each made of smaller celestial bodies. The structure glowed with a purplish-pink hue and projected itself toward me, stopping at my chest. Then, it shrank and shot directly into my core. A burning sensation flared from my chest, accompanied by the same glowing hue. I tore off my shirt to reveal an astral tattoo that had formed on my skin. It was intricate, its patterns embedded with runes. As I gazed at it, the phrase "Even in death, a star is dangerous" echoed in my mind. It hit me then: this was no ordinary constellation. This was a fate constellation composed entirely of dead stars. Excitement surged within me—I had obtained an extraordinary new power. But the excitement was tempered by frustration. Years of grueling training had prepared me to inherit the power of Solaris, and now I was starting over. "This is going to be tedious," I muttered. After my revelation, I studied the runes embedded in the astral tattoo. My father had taught me that the paths of insight typically unlock runes after each astral trial. But the rune on my tattoo was unlike anything I'd seen before. Though I couldn't read it, I instinctively understood its meaning: gravity. "So, this is tied to my new constellation," I said aloud, though frustration colored my voice. "But how am I supposed to use this? It's not like it came with an instruction manual." Then, an idea struck. Recalling how my father wielded his abilities, I channeled cosmic energy into the astral tattoo. The inner circle lit up with a purplish-pink hue. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Nearby celestial bodies in the astral realm were slowly being drawn toward me. The closer they were, the stronger the pull. "Oh, I can have some fun with this," I said with a grin. "But I should probably head back and fill Father in on what happened." I settled into a meditative position, focusing on the tether that would guide me back to my physical body. (Ezra's POV) The Stellar fiend chimera that appeared in our camp was a surprising case of events. These creatures are drawn by strong cosmic energy signatures. Which would be the case if i activated ten percent of my power, but i only activated maybe 5 percent of what i was capable of. I also did not sense any other strong enough signatures to warrant its presence. "I wonder if it was drawn by Cyrus's energy," i thought to myself. When I took another glance at Cyrus in the barrier I noticed he position was lower than before. There was little crater wher