Sovereign of the Ashes

Inside the desolate hauler, the only active living being was the lone federal soldier standing there.

Maybe others were still alive somewhere on the ship, but he had no way of reaching them.

He could only wander a small section of the vessel like a lost soul. Beyond that, the collapsed decks blocked every path.

Most of his days were spent simply staring into the pitch-black starry void outside.

Because of the fierce clashes between two top-tier civilizations and the Gallant Federation’s early attempts to harvest the rare resource known as “Star Cores”, the Netherworld Star Domain had become a place almost without stars, with very few complete planes left.

The entire star domain was dark, empty, and vast.

Most creatures who entered would lose their sense of direction, and the longer they stayed, the more likely they were to lose their minds as well.

After staring out the window for who knew how long, the soldier finally felt the faint stir of hunger. Slowly, he dragged himself toward a nearby cabin.

A moment later, a small glob of thick, paste-like gel oozed out of a metal tube. This was his nutrient meal.

It tasted terrible, but it was the only thing he had to eat.

In his fragmented memories, there had once been several corpses of federal soldiers lying around.

Back then, he still followed the so-called federal soldier’s code, so he had disposed of the bodies rather than desecrating them.

Even the uniform he wore now had come from one of them.

The damage on it was minimal—just a long cut across the neck.

It looked as if, when the hauler was struck, the outer deck shattered and a metal fragment shot inward, slicing through a soldier’s throat in an instant.

Life was truly fragile.

The uniform bore no name, only a string of numbers that read 4700-1. It was probably the fallen soldier’s identification code in the federation’s database.

Having forgotten his own name, and after so long without speaking to another human being, that line of code gradually became the only identity he had left.

After finishing his routine “patrol”, the soldier lowered the electromagnetic railgun in his hands and slowly made his way back toward his resting area.

The railgun packed considerable destructive force. Once, he had used it to blow the head off an insectoid creature that tried to force its way into the hauler.

A clean headshot. The spray of blood and the splatter of brain matter still lingered in his memory. It remained the clearest image carved into his mind.

There were other weapons in the hauler, but the soldier found them awkward to use—or perhaps he simply was not skilled enough to handle them well.

He returned the electromagnetic railgun to its charging dock. The rest pod, glowing faintly with cold white light, slid out from the metal cabinet once more.

Without even taking off his uniform, the soldier climbed inside and lay down at an awkward diagonal angle.

He did not know what the purpose of his life was or what future awaited him.

He simply repeated the same motions, day after day, until his existence would eventually fade away.

However, this dull, monotonous life did not last too long.

A small Magus Alliance legion eventually stumbled upon this mostly intact hauler drifting among the metal wreckage.

This legion likely came from the Burning Sanoras Civilization.

Made entirely of pyro elemental beings, their presence made the surrounding starfield a little brighter.

The federal soldier noticed them as well.

This Sanoras group had come to “scavenge”.

Countless had perished on the Netherworld Star Domain battlefield, and beneath all that ruin lay equally vast war spoils waiting to be claimed.

In places where overlord-class fleets had been destroyed, the battlefield not only warped the surrounding laws but also hid astonishing wealth beneath the wreckage.

But such battlefield zones were far beyond the reach of ordinary allied creatures.

As a large-sized plane within the Magus Alliance, the Burning Sanoras Civilization could only scavenge along the outer edges of the battlefield, within areas covered by their remaining legion.

Even so, it was more than enough for them, leaving countless planes within the alliance envious of their prosperity.

“Boss, looks like a hauler. Damage isn’t too bad. There might still be combatants alive inside,” a Sanoras soldier reported.

Although they were pyro elemental beings, the Burning Sanoras creatures could solidify into humanoid forms.

Because of this, they were able to grow their population through both pyro-elemental fission and conventional sexual reproduction, making them an exceptionally unique species within the Magus Alliance.

Their genetic structure had drawn great interest from many powerhouses across Magus World.

The leader of this Sanoras squad was a Rank Two pyro elemental creature.

Who said elemental beings could not embrace technology?

Burning Sanoras was one of the few cultivation-based civilizations in the Magus Alliance that held a deep fascination with technological creations.

For example, the vehicle this squad was riding on was a flame-propelled craft personally manufactured by the Sanoras royal court and supplied exclusively to their military forces.

“Hang on, I’ll fire a few shots first. Then you guys can go in and take a look. If this hauler’s still packed with supplies, we’ve struck gold!” the Rank Two squad leader said, excitement bubbling in his voice.

Massive crimson-orange fireballs blasted out from the flame propellers, driving them toward the federal hauler drifting among the wreckage ahead.

The Sanoras knew federal vessels inside out. They deliberately avoided the equipment storage and energy core, directing their shots toward the weapon modules and the control room at the bow.

After receiving no response following several explosions, the Sanoras creatures eagerly rushed toward the battered vessel.

Flames crackled everywhere inside. With his right leg pinned beneath the wreckage, the federal soldier strained to raise his electromagnetic railgun.

When the first creature approached, he blew it apart with a single shot.

The second one proved tougher. He only managed to shear off one of its elemental arms.

More furious growls echoed outside the hull.

A fireball far brighter and hotter than the others suddenly filled his vision.

The electromagnetic beam from his railgun was mercilessly engulfed by the blazing sphere.

As the flames and red light consumed him entirely and the world faded into nothingness, the final thought that crossed his mind was...

What is the meaning of my life?