Cherreads

ash and bones

jelly_Rig21
7
chs / week
The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 7 chs / week.
--
NOT RATINGS
377
Views
Synopsis
Framed for a murder he didn’t commit, Nanami Xao is betrayed by his own blood and executed like a common criminal. But death isn’t the end it’s the beginning. Nanami awakens in a strange, radiant realm teeming with creatures of light and ancient power. He quickly learns he’s not the only one pulled from his world. dimension. One such enemy a deadly woman from a clan Nanami once sought to destroy crosses his path. Their clash is interrupted by a mysterious figure who delivers a harsh truth: None of them can return home unless they follow his command. Now forced into an uneasy alliance, Nanami and the woman must battle mythical beasts, collect powerful relics, and survive brutal trials across shifting dimensions. The path home is soaked in blood, secrets, and the ashes of betrayal. But in a world where trust is scarce and power reigns supreme, how far is Nanami willing to go to rewrite his fate?
VIEW MORE

Chapter 1 - death and re birth

"Nanami Xao, first son of the Xao Dynasty—"

A booming voice echoed across the courtyard, laced with authority and condemnation. "—you have been sentenced to death by the Hollow Flame for the murder of your father, Emperor Tanaka Xao of the Xao Dynasty!"

The verdict was final.

Nanami stood tied to a blackened wooden stake, arms bound tightly in iron.

A crowd of nobles, dressed in lavish robes and gleaming jewels, surrounded him like vultures. Their polished masks could not hide the venom in their voices.

"Murderer!"

"Traitor to your own blood!"

"You disgrace the name of Xao! I always knew you were a good-for-nothing!"

Nanami clenched his teeth, fury burning behind his crimson eyes. He roared, straining against his restraints.

"All of you—scheming bastards! You know damn well what really happened!"

But his voice was met only with gasps and murmurs, masked by feigned shock and disappointment.

Behind the elegant masks of the nobility lay smirks, smug and victorious. They knew the truth. Every single one of them.

They were all complicit in the lie.

The real murderer was Gin Xao—Nanami's uncle—and his own younger brother, Sai.

It was they who plotted the Emperor's death.

It was they who struck from the shadows.

And Nanami? He was simply the perfect scapegoat.

He was next in line for the throne, a threat to their ambitions. But more than that, he was known as the Shogun of Cinder—one of the most feared fire mages in the entire dynasty. Killing him outright would be a gamble.

So they did the next best thing: they framed him.

Two birds. One stone. One betrayal.

Now, bound and humiliated before the very court he once served, Nanami's power was sealed, and his name dragged through ash and filth.

The executioner stepped forward, his face hidden beneath a ceremonial mask of bone-white porcelain. In his hand, he held a small obsidian crystal with a golden Chinese dragon coiled around its surface like it was alive, glinting ominously in the sunlight.

With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the crystal at Nanami's feet.

It struck the stone platform—

CRACK!

—and shattered on impact.

A violent gust of wind swept across the execution grounds as thick black smoke exploded from the fragments. The smoke twisted unnaturally, forming a dark flame laced with gold that curled hungrily toward Nanami's body.

"HHHAAAAAAGGHHHH!!"

Nanami screamed in agony as the cursed fire engulfed him. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt—searing, unnatural, like it burned not just his flesh, but his very soul.

"Damn you... all of you!" he roared, tears and blood mixing on his face. "You betrayed my father! You betrayed me!"

Instinctively, he tried to summon his power, to control the flames as he always had. But nothing answered.

His mana was sealed.

His strength—drained.

The flame was hollow-born, a cursed execution spell that devoured even magic itself.

Far above, inside the Imperial Palace, behind a pane of jade-tinted glass, two figures watched in horror.

A young girl clutched at her mother's robe, her small hands trembling.

"Mom... please," she sobbed. "He didn't kill Dad... he couldn't have! He's not a killer!"

Her mother—Nanami's stepmother—wrapped an arm tightly around her daughter, unable to speak. Her face, usually composed and serene, was now pale and streaked with silent tears.

They both knew the truth.

They both knew Nanami was innocent.

And yet, they could do nothing but watch as the flames consumed the last ember of hope.

The courtyard fell silent as the cursed fire reached its climax, swallowing Nanami whole. No remains. No ashes. Only the mark of black scorch left behind.

Everything went dark.

Pitch black.

There was no pain now, only emptiness.

> "Is this... death?"

Nanami's voice echoed into the void, though he could not feel his lips.

> "Am I dead? Is this... the afterlife?"

A cold silence answered him. The world around him was a weightless abyss, endless and silent. Floating in nothing, he felt the lingering warmth of betrayal in his chest far more than any physical wound.

> "This isn't fair…"

"I wasn't the killer..."

"I was the one who should've brought the real traitors to justice..."

His thoughts grew faint, his mind drifting.

But somewhere—deep in the ink-black emptiness—a single spark glowed.

Faint. Golden. Alive.

Nanami's eyes fluttered open.

He gasped softly, the air here strangely sweet and heavy with mana.

All around him stretched a vast ravine glowing with ethereal light—towering cliffs of smooth, blue stone surrounded a strange biome unlike anything in the physical world. Bioluminescent plants swayed gently, their leaves pulsing with soft blues and purples. Crystal-coated trees glistened beneath floating insects made of pure white light. Even the wildlife—deer, birds, lizards—seemed like ghostly silhouettes, formed from translucent light.

> "What... is this place?" Nanami whispered, sitting up slowly. "And how did I get here?"

He scanned the area. It looked unfamiliar—unlike any place he'd seen once before.

As he rose to his feet, something caught his eye in the distance. A figure lying motionless near the edge of a glowing pond.

He rushed toward it.

It was a woman—dark-skinned, with short white hair. She wore a short white kimono embroidered with delicate blue sakura petals, stained faintly with dust.

Nanami knelt beside her and gently turned her over.

"Ma'am? Are you alright?" he asked, shaking her shoulder lightly.

As her body shifted, a glint of gold flashed on her cheek—a tattoo of a sun.

Nanami's eyes widened.

> "Wait... that crest—"

It was unmistakable. The mark of Sol-Amar, the sun-blessed clan sworn as enemies of the Xao Dynasty.

His expression hardened instantly.

> "Sol-Amar filth..."

Without thinking, he reached for the dagger at his waist. His fire magic still wouldn't respond. He cursed under his breath and gripped the blade tighter, preparing to end the threat before she could wake.

But just as he raised the knife—her hand snapped up.

With blinding speed, she grabbed his wrist and slammed him backward into the dirt with surprising force.

"Ugh!"

Nanami grunted as the wind left his lungs.

The woman stood, brushing off her kimono, her violet eyes narrowing with disgust. "What a pathetic little man," she scoffed, "trying to stab a defenseless woman in her sleep."

She raised her hands, focusing for a spell—but nothing happened.

Her smugness drained immediately.

"...Oh. Oh no."

She stared at her hands, panicked. Her mana was gone too.

And now, a six-foot-tall man built like a war statue was back on his feet, dagger in hand, rage in his eyes.

> "I really should've gone to those jujitsu classes instead of skipping them for snacks..." she thought, eyes wide.

Nanami dashed forward and grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her and pressing the cold blade against her throat.

"Move again," he warned, "and I'll make sure Sol-Amar never sees your body again."

She raised both hands nervously. "Okay okay, let's not do anything too murder-y. I mean, you seem like a reasonable psychopath—I mean, man! Reasonable man!"

Nanami's eyes narrowed. "Sol-Amar scum."

Her lip trembled, but her sarcasm returned.

"Ah. I see. So... you're a racist."

His brow twitched. "I'm not—"

Before he could finish, she kneed him directly between the legs.

"HHHAAAAAA—!"

Nanami fell, curling into the fetal position in agony.

The woman took her chance and bolted.

"Later, fire boy—"

—but didn't make it far.

Nanami, through sheer rage and instinct, grabbed her ankle and yanked hard, sending her crashing face-first into the ground with a loud smack.

"Ow! Okay, that was a jerk move," she groaned, spitting out dirt.

"And kicking me in the balls wasn't?!" Nanami shouted through gritted teeth.

The two scrambled to their feet, ready to go at each other again—

Until something sharp thunked into the earth between them.

A black card etched with glowing golden runes stood upright, vibrating with energy.

A voice echoed across the ravine—deep, commanding, and very, very annoyed.

> "Will you two bumbling idiots shut up for a second?"

Nanami and the girl froze.

The tension in the air had shifted.

The duo of would-be murderers froze as they looked up into the glowing sky.

There, above the ravine,they saw a man floating... no not floating standing. he was standing on the air.

His presence felt... wrong.

He wore a tall black top hat tilted slightly to the side and a perfectly tailored Victorian-era tuxedo, dark as obsidian with golden filigree along the cuffs. His hair was messy, ash-white, falling over his brow like he'd just crawled out of a crypt.

But what truly disturbed them were his eyes.

The sclera—what should have been white—was pitch black, and his irises shimmered with a hypnotic pattern: a swirling gold and onyx design resembling the of an ancient Victorian clock.

He twirled a slender black cane between his gloved fingers, his tone casual, amused.

"Well, well. Trying to kill each other already, and neither of you has even asked where you are," he said with a lilt, like he was both mocking and entertained.

The white-haired girl quickly pointed. "He started it!"

Without missing a beat, Nanami threw his dagger at her with lethal intent.

Whip!

But the Victorian man flicked another black card from his sleeve with impossible speed. It spun through the air and struck the dagger mid-flight, deflecting it with a metallic clang.

"Now, now," the man said, his cane resting on his shoulder. "Such venom for someone you've only just met. Tell me, dear girl, what could you have possibly done to make him hate you so passionately?"

The girl huffed, exasperated. "I didn't do anything! I just woke up here and this psycho tried to stab me. My guess? He's racist."

The Victorian man chuckled darkly. "Ahh, good old-fashioned prejudice. Charming."

Nanami growled, "Don't mock me. If she's from Sol-Amar, I don't need a reason."

The man tilted his head, that grin still stretching across his pale face. "Oh? So eager to spill blood in a place you don't understand. But I warn you…" He leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering to a whisper. "If you kill her here, you'll regret it more than anything in your short, miserable life."

Nanami narrowed his eyes. "And why is that?"

The man's grin widened into something grotesque.

"Because," he said slowly, undoing the buttons of his tuxedo one by one, "everything in this forest will tear your body apart."

He flung his coat open.

Nanami and the girl both stepped back in horror.

Beneath the tuxedo, the man's chest was completely mangled—his ribs shattered and pried apart like broken branches. His organs were fully visible, pulsing and twitching as if alive on their own. His heart beat openly, veins black with thick tar-like blood.

And yet... he smiled, alive and well.

"You won't die here," he whispered, voice suddenly sharp like a blade. "You'll just feel everything. Every. Single. Second. And who ever draws blood first will be the first victim of this forest wrath "