The Way of Etherforging

This is the way the world ends—not with a whimper, but a bang. It was the only thing running through Cedrick Jonkheer's mind when the alien pylons made landfall. The Intergalactic Imperium used their right of Eminent Domain to appropriate the planet to build a goddamned highway… and all Jonx got was a sarcastic AI and some superpowers. The end of times came, and mankind was not prepared. He watched his world burn, then hid himself away at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Rest and relaxation. That's all Jonx wanted after escaping from not one but two star systems on the brink of being taken over by an overpowered, psychopathic cyborg. Unfortunately, his friend, Zozka, had other plans. "Let's join a Sept," she said. "It's just one small tournament." "It'll be good for the both of us." How could he say no to someone who'd watched his back time and again as they slogged through one battlefield or riftworld after another?

After the events of Tat'us Black, Jonx must help his friend, Highburren, gain a new shell so that she can complete her reincarnation. All the while, he needs to balance the demands of an all-powerful August Celestial who has their own agenda. He will learn firsthand that the Dragon from Dusk till Dawn is an exacting taskmaster. Jonx will need to rise to the occasion to live up to the Celestial's uncompromising standards. If he can't, then he'll not only be letting down a friend who sacrificed themselves to save him, but he may just find himself vaporized in a feud between Celestials.