Read Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren) Novel by Only For You Updated 2025 -26 - Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren) Chapter 3322

Andrew let out a cold shout, his presence exploding outward—arrogant, commanding, untouchable.

The timing couldn’t have been better.

Ever since stepping into the Beyond Mortal realm, he hadn’t met a single opponent who forced him to fight without restraint. Byron, however, had clearly been hiding his strength. Only after crossing paths with Andrew had he finally revealed it.

With power like this, there was no way Byron was merely a senior member of the Umbral Peak Sect. He was very likely the true power behind the entire sect.

Monty’s expression confirmed it.

The shock on his face was unmistakable. Byron had always been stronger than him, yes—but not by such a terrifying margin. And technically, Monty was the senior.

A colossal pillar of sword energy crashed down from the sky.

Monty choked out a grunt as he was blasted backward, tearing through a wide stretch of withered forest before slamming into the ground. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Byron’s fury erupted.

Five enormous phantom beasts, formed entirely of dark energy, charged in succession—relentless, violent, all aimed straight at Andrew.

Andrew planted his feet and swung his greatsword in a wide, sweeping arc.

Sword light roared outward like a rotating barrage, shredding the phantom beasts one after another.

But not all of them vanished in time.

Several slammed directly into his body.

For a split second, Andrew felt a violent jolt strike his mind. His grip on the sword trembled ever so slightly.

Byron burst into laughter.

“You’re strong. Truly strong. Even I have to admit—you’re a once-in-a-generation genius. Anyone born in the same era as you would be crushed.”

His smile widened.

“But raw strength won’t break my Demon Waltz. My attacks don’t target the body. They go for the mind. They go for the soul.”

His voice dropped into something dark and taunting.

“So tell me… are you starting to see things? Warm things? Tempting things?”

Another wave of dark phantoms surged forward.

But these were no longer beasts.

The shapes twisted into writhing silhouettes—entwined figures, arching bodies, suggestive forms meant to ignite desire and shatter focus. Seductive. Corrupting.

Andrew felt only danger.

He knew instantly that if those phantoms wrapped around him, the consequences would be catastrophic. It wasn’t about physical harm—it was about cracking the mind open and dragging it into chaos.

He hardened his will.

His sword carved through the phantoms relentlessly as he stepped backward, widening the distance between himself and Byron.

Below, Valerie and Rowan made the mistake of glancing up.

Their eyes locked onto the drifting shapes—

And their bodies froze.

Nyx reacted immediately. Sharper and far more experienced, she understood the technique at once.

That old monster’s art was designed to awaken the most primal urges buried deep within the body. Once those urges took hold, focus would shatter. And death would follow before you even realized it.

“Valerie! Rowan! Don’t look!” Nyx’s voice cracked like a whip.

Both women flinched hard, snapping out of it, their faces draining of color.

“Don’t look. Don’t listen to the sounds either,” Nyx said rapidly. “Seal your minds. Lock everything down.”

Eric was struggling the worst.

Even caught only at the edge of Byron’s assault, something inside him had twisted violently.

Jerome, though not the strongest fighter present, possessed decades of hardened mental discipline. Without hesitation, he stepped forward.

“Eric, stop circulating your energy. Hold your breath. Shut down your senses!” he barked.

Before Eric could respond, Jerome struck two precise pressure points at the base of his skull, severing the technique’s influence.

Eric had changed. He wasn’t the same person he used to be.

But the past didn’t disappear just because you outgrew it.

When Byron’s technique brushed his mind, a vision had surfaced—uninvited and devastating.

A broad-shouldered man. Perfectly built. Pressing him down.

And that man—

Was Andrew.

The image shocked him to his core. Those were thoughts he had never shared with another living soul.

With Jerome’s intervention, Eric shut down his senses immediately. He sat cross-legged on the ground, desperately resisting the lingering influence.

But inside, his mind was in turmoil.

Had he once harbored improper thoughts about Andrew?

Shame washed over him so intensely he wanted to vanish.

He wasn’t that person anymore.

Under Brielle and Jerome’s guidance—and their genuine belief in him—he had rebuilt himself. He had become someone respectable, someone who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the finest heirs of the Chetvine family. His future was bright, wide open.

Still, the past did not erase itself simply because you moved forward.

In that moment, Eric made a silent, ironclad vow.

That secret would go with him to his grave.

No matter what.