Home / Urban / From Janitor To God: The System Chose Me / Ashes of Authority

Ashes of Authority

2025-08-29 18:03:51

The council chamber burned.

The once-imposing tribunal hall, carved deep into the earth beneath the Ghost Network’s sanctum, was now nothing but smoke, charred pillars, and ash. Ethan staggered forward, his body shaking, ears ringing from the explosion that had torn through the stone like it was paper. Rubble crunched beneath his boots, and the scent of burning flesh clung stubbornly to the air.

“Host Cole!” one of the surviving guards shouted, dragging himself out from the debris with half his face blackened. His voice trembled with a mixture of fear and rage. “What did you do?! You brought them here!”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. He wanted to deny it immediately, but dozens of accusing eyes were already turning toward him. Survivors of the Tribunal—scarred Hosts, bruised adjudicators—were glaring as if the fire had been lit by his hands.

“I didn’t—” Ethan started, his voice hoarse.

“Save your excuses!” another Host snapped, blood running down his temple. “The Council was compromised the m

Continue to read this book for free

Scan the code to download the app

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Host Against Host
The fortress walls groaned as stormlight and System energy collided, each strike carving craters into the throne chamber. Nathan’s blade, forged by the System itself, crackled with threads of digital lightning, each swing accompanied by the sound of breaking worlds. Ethan met him blow for blow, his own storm surging with new force, fueled by Ada’s release and the Seed’s whispers echoing in his veins.Steel met storm. Shockwaves rattled through stone and steel, tearing banners from the walls and shattering obsidian columns. Sparks flew, dust swirled, and the throne itself pulsed with power, feeding Nathan’s every strike.Nathan’s smirk never wavered. “You feel it now, don’t you? The storm tearing at your flesh, the fire eating your veins. You can’t control it, Ethan — not like me.” His sword clanged against Ethan’s gauntlet, forcing him back step by step. “This is what you were meant for. Not to resist — to submit.”Ethan snarled, his voice raw, storm crackling through his teeth. “I do
The Mother’s Gambit
The blade pressed closer. Sparks hissed as Nathan’s sword threatened to pierce Ethan’s chest. His stormlight flickered like a dying flame, his arms trembling, his will unraveling.The System’s voice echoed again, merciless and cold:“Host Zero — termination authorized.”Maya’s chains rattled as she screamed, her voice breaking. “Ethan! Fight it! Don’t let him—”But then the throne room shuddered. A pulse rolled through the air, deep and resonant, like the heartbeat of the earth itself. Stone cracked. The stormlight dimmed as if bowing to something older, something stronger.The great doors of the chamber groaned open, their metal frames warped and scorched. Out of the smoke and ruin stepped a figure cloaked in light and shadow. Her clothes were torn, her body scarred, her face lined with the memory of battles endured — yet her eyes burned with unyielding fire.Ada Cole.In her hands blazed the Seed of Origin, pulsing with raw, living energy, older than the System, older than the thron
Chains and Crowns
The chamber shook with the roar of colliding power. Ethan’s stormblade cracked against Nathan’s System-forged sword, arcs of light spraying like lightning meeting steel. The impact rattled the throne room’s walls, shattering panels, sending shards of molten glass raining from the ceiling. Every strike echoed like thunder, the floor splitting beneath their boots.Ethan snarled, muscles trembling as he forced his weight into the clash. Sparks burned his arms, his chest heaving, his stormlight pulsing erratically.“You think this power makes you king?” His voice tore from his throat. “You’re nothing but a parasite feeding on the System!”Nathan’s lips curved into a smirk, his voice calm even in the storm’s fury. “Parasite? No, Ethan. I’m the evolution. You fight the System. I command it. That’s why you’re weak. That’s why you’ll lose.”With a savage twist, Nathan pushed Ethan back, slamming his shoulder into the wall. The System blade flared, slicing a groove through the stormlight, and
Throne of Blades
The chamber was a cathedral of power—steel walls humming with the pulse of the System, towering screens casting pale light across the obsidian floor. At its center sat Nathan, draped across a throne of blades welded from broken host armor and jagged tech, his smugness filling the air like smoke. Behind him, the System pulsed in perfect rhythm, as though bowing to his will.Ethan stood at the foot of the throne, shoulders squared, stormlight flickering along the veins in his neck and arms. Chains of restraint, woven from System-forged energy, clung to him, glowing hot against his skin. Yet his eyes burned brighter still. Maya hung bound to the wall, bruised but unbroken, her chains biting into her wrists. Lena leaned against the throne like royalty in exile, her lips curved in mockery, every word she had prepared poised to cut.Nathan’s voice rolled out like a sermon.“You came here thinking you were the hero. The savior of the Hosts. The avenger of your mother. But tell me, Ethan… how
The Shadow Throne
The fortress loomed like a wound in the earth, a citadel of steel and black glass carved into Ragnar’s heart. Ethan’s stormlight flared against its obsidian walls as he crossed the broken drawbridge, every step echoing with thunder. The gates yawned open without resistance, as if the fortress itself wanted him inside.The air was different here — heavy, electric, thick with the pulse of something alive. The System. He felt it pressing against his skull, whispering in alien tones, a thousand commands not meant for him. His fists clenched, every instinct screaming trap, but his voice whispered hoarse and raw.“Maya…”The inner sanctum swallowed him.It was vast and circular, the walls crawling with streams of light that converged into a colossal holographic core — the System itself. At the center, elevated above the chamber, sat a throne-like command chair carved from black alloy, cables snaking into it like veins feeding a heart.And on that throne sat Nathan.He looked nothing like th
Into the Maw
The ruins still smoldered when the storm fell silent. Ash drifted through the plaza like snow, glowing faintly with embers. Ethan stood there, chest heaving, lightning crackling in his veins, his eyes locked on the shadows where Maya had been dragged.His voice was raw when he spoke. “We’re going after her.”Ada stepped into his path, hand raised, her scarred face stern. “No. Not yet.”He turned on her, storm flickering violently. “Not yet? He took her! They have Maya!”Ada didn’t flinch. Her eyes, sharp and unyielding, held his storm without fear. “And that’s exactly what Ragnar wants. Don’t you understand? She is bait. If you run now, you won’t save her—you’ll lose everything.”Ethan’s teeth clenched, rage shaking his voice. “She’s not bait. She’s—” He cut himself short, but the word slipped anyway. “She’s the only reason I’m still standing.”Ada’s gaze softened for just a breath. “I know.” Then it hardened again. “But if you save her now, Ragnar wins. He drains you, he breaks you,

You may also like

Unknowingly The Billionaire's Heir

My Aloof Sisters Asked for My Forgiveness

The Gilded Man With A Thousand Lives

Rise Of The Sole Heir

The Hidden Ace: Empire Of Ash & Gold

Nolan Lancaster: Rejected, Revenged, And Richer Than Ever

Rejected Trillionaire Comeback

The Heir

Latest Chapter

Host Against Host

The Mother’s Gambit

Chains and Crowns

Throne of Blades

The Shadow Throne

Into the Maw