Haylock

67 - Attack

A high-pitched whistle rang over the battlefield, growing louder by the second as it cut through the dying flames still crackling on the mountainside. The trees there were blackened and charred, their fibers having long been burned away. 

Something deep within Barry’s mind wanted to retreat from the approach of something large enoug...

66 - The Heavens Descend

What Barry had first assumed was a giant fireball unraveled as it flowed down the slope, the thin ropes of burning flame that comprised it lashing out to destroy every bit of life they could touch. Though the surrounding trees were green and lush, that did nothing to stop them from combusting. Before the first fragment of shattered mountain hit ...

65 - Trust and Doubt

From the rear of the procession, Solomon watched as the king knelt down and gathered power. Augustus Reginalrd Gormona had said he had a warning for Fischer and the rest of the traitors. When the king unleashed an uppercut faster than even Solomon’s enhanced eyes could track, he cringed back from the flames, singed by even that small exposure....

64 - Dark Clouds

Beneath a sky of pale blue and surrounded by verdant forest, a wave of nausea washed over me. I stumbled, the sensation so strong that it felt like a physical blow. I let go of the cart, and as I took another step forward, Maria caught me. Though she supported my weight, her face told me that whatever had come was affecting her too.

I shoo...

63 - Preordained

Though there had been much to consider, it didn’t take Solomon long to reach a decision. After less than an hour beneath the ground, filled with direction and determination, he raised a hand to the compacted earth. He’d thought the strength of his enhanced body was impressive when he created the cavern, but it didn’t hold a candle to his p...

62 - Radiation

I furrowed my brow as I continued feeling the world with my chi, focusing it right on the spot where the shack had been.

All that remained of it now was a divot in the earth, covered by remnant... were they ashes? Rotten fibers? I rubbed some of the decaying material between my fingers, the texture gritty, porous, and... oily...

61 - Cleanse

The forest sailed by below us, countless colors blurring into a single blanket of green. Over mountains and across valleys, Borks and I flew, never once changing direction. I destroyed more than a few trees in my passage. Each time I landed, I carved through swaths of them like a scythe through so many stalks of wheat. I didn’t spare them a se...

60 - Acidic

Within the dark confines of a wooden hovel, a lone man toiled.

Though Solomon had practiced his profession for tens of thousands of hours over his decades-long life, he had never undertaken a task so grand. It was the last concoction that the mortal known as Solomon would ever create. After he consumed it, he would become Solomon, the asce...

59 - Downhill

As I sailed through the late afternoon air, a frigid wind raced over me, biting deep into my skin. Before becoming a cultivator, it would have chilled me to the bone. Now, it just made me smile. I held my arms wide, enjoying the potent sensations that washed over my body.

Still skybound, I glanced back, spotting everyone else between the t...

58 - Frozen

Light slowly bled from the sky as the sun set further to the west. It shone its orange rays over us, the trees on the other side of the lake casting long shadows that made the water appear almost black. Despite how beautiful a sight it was, all three of the people present were staring at me.

Teddy and Borks, perhaps sensing the danger thro...

57 - Monster

“I trusted you!” Deklan yelled, his arms outstretched so the jungle mudminnow was as far from his body as possible. He pinched the crime-against-nature of a fish between his thumb and forefinger, all four of its legs undulating as they tried to find purchase.

Beside him, Dom stared down at his cupped hands. Not wasting the opp...

56 - Mischief

Unlike the last time we made our way from Tropica to Gormona, we didn’t travel along the road for long. After less than a half hour, we approached the first village. Veering off the road and into the forest, the temperature immediately dropped by a few degrees, some of the frosty night air remaining trapped beneath the canopy.

Without ne...

55 - Adventure

When I woke the following morning, I could feel one of my animal pals nuzzling up against my chest. I smiled, taking a deep breath and stretching my arms.

“Good morning,” I said, not particularly worried about which of them it was. Whoever they were, I was glad they were here.

There was no response, and when I opened my eyes a mo...

54 - Bear Hug

High in the mountains to the northwest, a lone alchemist was trapped in his thoughts. If he had a friend present, perhaps they could have helped him challenge his internal narrative and break out of the downward spiral he was currently engaged in.

Alas, Solomon was alone.

The echo of a long-departed god had destroyed his place of pow...

53 - Expansion

When I opened my eyes, I found our spiritual forms still high above the clouds. Though the susurration had disappeared all at once, our connection to one another remained. I peered around the circle, and as my thoughts ran through my companions’ minds, they felt as if they were my own. There was a moment where we instinctively raised our menta...

52 - Becoming One

It was a beautiful afternoon in the forest surrounding Tropica. The sun shone down from above, the celestial body on its inexorable path toward the western mountains. I was surrounded by my animal pals, including Teddy, a bear who’d only awakened just minutes ago. Maria was at my side, her happiness as infectious as always. 

And, al...

51 - Names

“Gods above,” Maria said from beside me, shaking her head and rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Save us.”

I barked a laugh. “Come on—you can’t dread my names that much.”

Maria looked up at the bear. “Sorry in advance.”

As he glanced between us, our newest pal’s brow furrowed.

“She’s ...

50 - Misconceptions

My core radiated joy as I stared down at Kallis’s newest spirit beast.

“Is...” Maria trailed off, searching for the right words. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah. Why?”

She smirked, raising an eyebrow at me. “Because he looks like he’s having an existential crisis.”

“It does look that way... Pretty adorable, thou...

49 - Loyalty

I felt myself falling to the floor, but couldn’t do anything to stop it. My entire body was numb, and I only barely registered my back striking the floor. Claws reached me first, clasping my arm. Snips and Maria were there a moment later, fussing over me.

“I’m fine,” I tried to say, but I had no idea if the words actually made it o...

48 - The World Itself

 “Okay, Snips,” I said. “When you’re ready.”

No response came, so I tore my eyes from the barbecue before me, casting a glance her way. “... Snips? You right?”

She shook her head, returning to the present and blowing apologetic bubbles.

“No need to apologize,” Maria said from my side. “No harm, no foul....

47 - First Contact

When Rocky awoke in what must be the afterlife, he let out a content sigh. Though he was now in a different realm to his beloved mistress and the rest of Tropica, his body had a weightlessness he hadn’t experienced since being a regular crab.

Gone was the influence of the parasitic man, his poisonous guidance nowhere to be seen.

Ro...

46 - Birds on the Wind

“Well, good morning!” Sue called across the square. She had at least a dozen people waiting for coffees, yet she took a moment to give Maria and me a scandalous eyebrow wiggle. “Did you two have a pleasant evening?”

Heat rose to my face, and when I glanced Maria’s way for assistance, I saw a furious blush climbing to her cheeks.<...

45 - Pyre

From the very moment his body made contact with the molten rock, all Rocky knew was pain.

Though the volcano contained the same essence as his explosive chi, it showed him no mercy, doing its very best to burn him away. But if even the world itself thought Rocky would allow himself to be so easily snuffed, it had another thing coming.

44 - Ambush Predators

Deep within the forest to the west of my property, light streamed down through the canopy. A pleasant breeze flowed past the trees, bringing with it the scents of wet grass, pollen, and something indescribably sweet. I had spent the waking hours with my girlfriend, and we were currently doing a little side quest before going to Tropica and getti...

43 - Intoxication

I woke the next morning to a floral fragrance permeating the room.

It reminded me of Maria and the scents that always drifted up from her hair, never quite the same as the day before. I breathed deep, the thoughts of her making a smile come to my face.

Someone moved on the bed beside me, so I reached over, reaching to try find Borks ...

42 - Echoes of the Past

With sweat peppering his brow, a lone alchemist trudged up a grassy hill. If not for the exhaustion lingering throughout his entire body, he would be fairly skipping up the slope. He had left his shack yesterday at the crack of dawn, heading deep into the mountains in search of his final ingredient. He glanced down at the thick roots held in his...

41 - Training

It had been almost two weeks since George, Geraldine, and the Church of Carcinization had joined our ranks.

After my repeated reassurance that I didn’t mind if they continued worshiping crabs as the Church of Carcinization—as long as it did not run in opposition to our goals, of course—Joel had taken to running their daily crab medit...

40 - Return

The days bled into one another on the road to Theogonia, each just as bothersome as the rest.

After weeks and weeks of traveling, the surrounding forests had grown dull. The monotony of brown trunks, green leaves, and the overgrown road grated on Augustus, bothering him to no end. He was a king. His position earned him a life of opulence a...

39 - Affinity

I was waiting for a fish to bite when two pulses of chi came from many newly awakened cultivators. Maria and I shared a grin. We dashed along the rockwall, over the sand, and through the open front door, our rods discarded.

George and Geraldine sat on the floor of my living room with their backs to the wall. They were staring at each other...

38 - Redemption

I smiled up at the first rays of sunshine, enjoying the warmth it lent my skin.

“Should we rescue them soon?” Maria asked, also facing the blazing orb as it peeked over the distant horizon.

I glanced to the side, checking up on George and Geraldine. After they’d had a few hours’ rest, we finally let Ellis out of his metaphori...