Alignment Archive: Embers of the Afterlife (Astral Alignment Book 10) by Randall Sharpe

Author:Randall Sharpe [Sharpe, Randall]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2023-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Blackstone archways and basalt pillars were illuminated by an orange-gold glow. Cinder’s soulfire was blindingly bright, but the megalithic monument still seemed dark thanks to its massive size. Rightly afraid of the darkness, Cinder threw up a breadcrumb trail of will-o’-wisps that hovered in the air, but she always kept one close to her for warmth. Manifesting the fire was easy, much easier than other elements, although she did try making different things appear. Orbs of pure light were doable, but they disappeared quickly, and trying to throw a lightning bolt just tired her out. In the end, she always gave up and stuck to her specialty.

“It can’t be just because of my name,” Cinder mused while walking up a long flight of stairs. It was wider than a house, and she could see the vague outlines of statues looming on either side. “Hmm, maybe it’s like that show? Fire, water, air and… Wait, Quoranir did say something about the four elements!”

Cinder recalled it clearly. Advanced souls who practiced in the sandboxes could create complex structures, chemical and nuclear reactions, or even life by manipulating energy. At the time it hadn’t made much sense, but Cinder now knew that a world of creation wasn’t necessary for all of what they were doing. It just made things easier, and a master guide could still, through careful study, learn to affect something as complex as DNA by pushing around energy. Cinder shivered at that thought, but refocused. Something on that level was beyond her anyway, but she had also learned that the four classical elements were the most basic energies a soul could manipulate. If they really were the basis of all things, in a spiritual if not scientific sense, then it made sense why using them came so naturally. Or at least why using one of them did.

“Maybe it’s just an affinity or something. Or… Hmm, maybe it’s about personality? I do tend to burn bridges…” Cinder kept talking to herself, afraid that she’d attract monsters again but unable to stop. This castle was huge, and terribly empty, which was not what Cinder had hoped for. Still, none of the shadows were following her inside. They’d stopped at the first archway, recoiling from a cubelike symbol etched into its masonry. A few had gotten Cinder though, and she felt diminished in a way that was hard to describe.

“I won’t survive another fight with those things. Or if I do, I’ll wish I hadn’t. I may be dead, but… Damn, I think I can still die here.”

She shivered, and embers began swirling around her as the dead girl waved a hand. They helped reinvigorate Cinder, which enabled her to finally summit the staircase. She emerged onto an open dais, pretending to pant from exhaustion. The specter sat down for a moment, relaxing, but then she gathered energy from the chamber and ignited it in her hand, illuminating some kind of a throne room. Cinder froze, staring at a blackstone chair that

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.