The Thorne of Destiny-Chapter 142: Newas 8

Adrian sat alone beside a stone marker, fingers tracing faded carvings. Names long dead.

Elder Laen approached quietly. "They’re asleep. Even Bella."

Adrian nodded.

"You should rest."

"I can’t."

"Because of the Bound Star?"

Adrian looked up. "Because of what comes next."

Laen sat beside him. "You’ve done what most would consider impossible. You revived a sect. You uncovered corruption. You survived the Raven Chain and the demonic cults. You’ve made enemies of people who don’t fear death."

Adrian’s voice was low. "And they’ll chase us to the edge of the empire."

"Let them."

He turned.

Laen met his gaze with tired, ancient eyes. "You are not alone, Adrian. Not anymore."

Adrian exhaled.

The mist around the shrine stirred faintly.

"Then we begin again," he said. "We find the remnants. We restore what was broken. Not just Mistshroud—but all those who were scattered."

Laen smiled. "Then I’ll teach them. The children, the exiles, the forgotten ones. If you give me time, I’ll make them whole again."

Adrian finally nodded.

"Then we have work to do."

Far to the north, within a ravine carved by ancient spiritual storms, the masked figure from before knelt before a monolithic altar of bone and starlight.

He wasn’t alone.

A dozen other figures circled the shrine—faceless, nameless, robed in silence.

The masked figure raised his hand.

"The Shroud rises. The Star awakens."

The others did not speak.

But their power surged.

"Let the boy run. Let him dream. Let him gather his precious exiles."

He stood.

"Then we extinguish them."

The altar cracked.

And far across the empire, shadows began to move.

The wind howled through the narrow canyon.

Steep cliffs jutted like broken fangs on either side, their faces marked by ancient carvings and time-worn crests—faint echoes of fallen clans and sects that once stood here. Now, the Irontooth Pass was little more than a forgotten trade route used by smugglers and scavengers.

Adrian rode at the front, eyes fixed ahead.

Storm padded alongside him, wings tucked tight against his silver-striped flanks. The tiger cub moved with growing grace, no longer stumbling like a newborn.

Behind them, the three carts wound through the canyon floor, flanked by Bella, Elder Laen, and half a dozen cultivators loyal to the Mistshroud name. Jayson and Olivia rode in the middle cart, their heads bent over scrolls and maps. Olivia traced routes with her finger while muttering formation arrays under her breath. Jayson, ever restless, kept glancing toward the cliffs above.

"You feel it too?" he asked quietly.

Adrian didn’t turn. "We’re being watched."

Laen’s voice drifted from behind. "There’s a shrine near here. Hidden just off the path. One of our outer branch sanctuaries—if the records are true."

Adrian halted his mount. "Then we go on foot from here."

He dismounted and leapt lightly to the canyon floor.

Bella followed. "You think this is where the ambush will come?"

"I think," Adrian said, unsheathing his sword, "it already has."

Moments Later – The Ambush 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The wind shifted.

Without warning, five figures appeared atop the canyon walls—robes tattered, faces half-covered in masks of bone and rusted gold. Their spiritual presence was heavy. Unnatural.

"Dust Order," Bella spat, already drawing her spear.

Behind them, the three carts wound through the canyon floor, flanked by Bella, Elder Laen, and half a dozen cultivators loyal to the Mistshroud name. Jayson and Olivia rode in the middle cart, their heads bent over scrolls and maps. Olivia traced routes with her finger while muttering formation arrays under her breath. Jayson, ever restless, kept glancing toward the cliffs above.

"You feel it too?" he asked quietly.

Adrian didn’t turn. "We’re being watched."

Laen’s voice drifted from behind. "There’s a shrine near here. Hidden just off the path. One of our outer branch sanctuaries—if the records are true."

Adrian halted his mount. "Then we go on foot from here."

He dismounted and leapt lightly to the canyon floor.

Bella followed. "You think this is where the ambush will come?"

"I think," Adrian said, unsheathing his sword, "it already has."

Moments Later – The Ambush

The wind shifted.

Without warning, five figures appeared atop the canyon walls—robes tattered, faces half-covered in masks of bone and rusted gold. Their spiritual presence was heavy. Unnatural.

"Dust Order," Bella spat, already drawing her spear.

The lead figure raised his hand. "Adrian Thorne. In the name of silence, you are marked."

No more words.

Just slaughter.

Twin bolts of demonic energy screamed down from the cliffs—corrupt and seething. Adrian threw up his left hand, and the Bound Star’s light surged to life. A shield of rippling mist and pale starlight formed instantly, catching the blasts with a thunderclap that cracked the canyon floor.

win bolts of demonic energy screamed down from the cliffs—corrupt and seething. Adrian threw up his left hand, and the Bound Star’s light surged to life. A shield of rippling mist and pale starlight formed instantly, catching the blasts with a thunderclap that cracked the canyon floor.

Bella launched herself into the air, spear spinning. She struck the nearest assassin mid-leap, sending him crashing into the rocks below.

Jayson and Olivia jumped from the cart.

"Protect the others!" Adrian shouted, then vanished in a burst of mist.

He reappeared behind the leader—sword already mid-swing.

The cloaked man blocked with a gauntlet wreathed in black flames, but Adrian’s blade sang with power. It cleaved through the spiritual corruption like fire through frost.

"Who sent you?" Adrian demanded.

The masked figure laughed—a horrible, echoing sound. "The ones you forgot. The ones your sect left behind."

Then his body exploded in a burst of corrosive Qi.

Adrian blurred back just in time, the edge of his robes dissolving into smoke.

From the other side of the pass, Storm roared—a deep, reverberating cry that no longer belonged to a cub. A streak of silver blurred past Olivia as Storm pounced on a second assassin, tearing through flesh and armor in a single swipe.

Laen drew a formation plate from his sleeve and slammed it to the ground. "Barrier!"

A dome of glowing blue symbols shimmered into place around the caravan, shielding the non-combatants.

Bella landed hard beside Adrian, blood trickling down her arm. "Two down. One fled."

"Let him," Adrian muttered, eyes narrowed.

The last figure—wounded but alive—vanished into the rocks, trailing demonic Qi like a wound in the air.

Later That Night – Camp beside the Shrouded Shrine

The outer shrine was hidden behind layers of illusions and weather-worn stones. Moss-covered statues guarded its broken archway, and mist clung thick to the air like a memory.

Inside, only dust remained. The sanctum had been defiled long ago—graffiti carved into its walls, blood dried where sacred scripts once hung. But the foundation stone still stood.

Adrian knelt before it and pressed his palm against the surface.

A pulse.

Then another.

The stone responded with a soft thrum of ancient recognition.

Mist stirred.

The faint outline of a robed woman appeared, flickering like a candle’s final flame.

"Welcome, heir of the Bound Star," the voice whispered. "This sanctum is yours."

Then it faded, leaving only silence.

Adrian stood slowly. "We clean this place. We make it whole again."

Jayson stepped forward. "You think more Dust Order assassins will come?"

Adrian’s gaze was hard. "I’m counting on it."

Bella raised a brow. "Why?"

"Because," Adrian said, turning toward the entrance, "it means we’re close to something they fear."

Meanwhile – Western Borderlands

In a blood-drenched cavern lit by crimson torches, the surviving Dust Order assassin knelt before a hunched figure cloaked in layers of shadow.

"They’ve awakened a sanctum."

The figure rasped, "And the Bound Star?"

"Grows stronger. We failed."

The shadowy figure extended a hand—and the assassin screamed as black tendrils wrapped around his neck and dragged him into the darkness.

"You did not fail," the voice said calmly. "You delivered a message."

The chamber rippled with dark Qi.

"And now... I’ll answer."

Two Days Later – A Village in the Mist

Adrian stood at the edge of a forgotten village—half-swallowed by nature, its houses collapsing under vines and silence. Once, it had been a settlement of Mistshroud cultivators.

Now, it was a graveyard.

Or so he thought.

A door creaked open.

From it emerged a young woman, eyes bright but wary, sword calluses on her hands, a pendant around her neck—etched with the Mistshroud sigil.

She paused at the sight of Adrian.

"You wear the mist," she whispered.

He nodded. "We’re gathering again. The Sect rises."

She swallowed hard. "Then I... I want to come."

Behind her, others stepped out. Not many. Less than a dozen.

But they were alive.

And they remembered.

Adrian turned to them all.

"Then prepare yourselves. The road ahead leads through fire."

Final Scene – Unknown Depths

In a hidden chamber beneath the empire’s capital, three ancient cultivators sat in silence around a floating orb of mist and starlight.

One spoke, voice brittle with age. "He’s begun the path."

Another nodded. "Too soon. Or perhaps... not soon enough."

The third leaned forward. "Shall we act?"

A pause.

Then:

"No. Let the boy gather his ashes. Let him build his pyre."

The orb pulsed brighter.

"When he burns, the world will burn with him."