Oscar struggled to stay awake and tried to scream, but he drowned in the pure Ein of the Convergence. He sought solace in the deep recesses of his mind and found none. Retreating in his inner thoughts only replayed his biggest mistakes, the tragedies of the deaths and losses in his past. Rather than peace, it flared up his anger that swelled and...
2024-06-23 21:58:57 +0000 UTC View PostAvril felt the world shaking and heard a mournful wail, a desperate cry of pain and sadness shouting in the fierce winds. She didn't know why, but it disturbed her and filled her heart with grief. The feeling of triumph and confidence earlier almost seemed to be a lie compared to how her heart ached now. Around her, her sister, children…everyo...
2024-06-21 19:39:37 +0000 UTC View PostAfter so long, the moment finally arrived. Oscar had been worried the entire time while sitting in the farthest place from where the fighting reached its climax. His solace lay in the fact that Lelith was dead, consoling his disturbed mind that it was enough; he had done all he could. Now, everyone's efforts bore fruit, lending the time and aid ...
2024-06-21 04:38:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe nodes shone, the lines shimmering to and from every place. Auren took out three bottles and poured out their contents in the center. One contained the collected blood of everyone in their encampment, the loyal soldiers and followers of his Lord. The second dripped a single drop, the blood he collected from Lysander. The last bottle, given to...
2024-06-20 03:58:32 +0000 UTC View Post"Chances of success is 1 out of 13566. Merging two opposite bloodlines in one person will result in immediate death." His lips moved without his will, forced to speak out what his mind calculated based on the immense knowledge crammed into it. His head ached, and his heart was cold. Auren shifted his arms inside the metal casings and wanted ...
2024-06-18 03:33:14 +0000 UTC View PostSomething was happening. Kragg's ears perked up. The noises and screams of his captors outside incited his rage as he wondered who could have stolen his prey. For many years in this windowless room, he longed to tear his torturers, the New Dawn, apart limb by limb and gnaw on their bones. The hunger imposed on every thought he mustered, havi...
2024-06-14 20:45:27 +0000 UTC View PostWaiting in Metures's throne room, Oscar snapped his gaze up, still unable to see past the craggy ceiling of bumps and crevices, but he could sense the powerful Eins clashing far, far above, yet so clear all the way down here. He wiped off the sweat beading down his chin and suspected the two opposing Eins to be Gilbert and Lysander. Lysander's E...
2024-06-14 17:57:13 +0000 UTC View PostMarcus believed he had endured the worst of blows, most enemies unable to match the brute strength of his Lord's power, and took great pride in his half-dragon blood that granted him durability in scales and great violence in his claws and teeth. However, the sudden strike that shattered pieces of his scales off his shoulder proved his pride to ...
2024-06-14 15:33:32 +0000 UTC View Post"Lord Taradon. Don't hold back. My plan will work even better…if you tire him out. Don't mind any injuries." Auren managed to speak out in short gasps. The clash between Lysander's and Gilbert's Ein suppressed the entire area, a sudden weight pushing on his shoulders. He reeled and coughed from the pain of his organs being squeezed, enduring w...
2024-06-13 04:26:09 +0000 UTC View Post"Does it seem like I have a choice? Either I choose to let the Caerulumen invade and massacre the people or fight them and have a chance of winning." Oscar frowned, displeased, but his lips flattened and brow smoothened, resigned to the obvious choice. He stood up under Metures's blazing glare and dragged his weary self closer, brushing past Ign...
2024-06-12 22:08:27 +0000 UTC View PostOscar stared widely at Metures. He couldn't believe what he had just heard and stayed still in place, speechless at the sudden proclamation. He had no words, and all attempts to speak failed to part from his mouth. Metures's red glowing eyes looked back at him, slowly whirling in place, and the Ancient of Metal turned quiet, granting him time to...
2024-06-11 21:12:14 +0000 UTC View PostOscar peered below, saw no hint of reaching the bottom yet, and grumbled to himself at the loss of flight inside the pit. A lingering presence, denser than the depths of the ocean, constricted him, binding his feet to the stairs, one step at a time. The freedom he had enjoyed for several hours since arriving inside the dark tower was stripped aw...
2024-06-11 02:34:08 +0000 UTC View PostShortly after the outburst, the strange being of ash named Quinn leaped forward, swelling in size as ashes flowed like the sands of a desert. On the other hand, Isha and the Elves didn't seem worried, as if waiting for something. Maia doubted that foul creations could express emotions, but Isha's calmness caught her attention. Red flames jetted ...
2024-06-09 02:14:15 +0000 UTC View Post"Oscar…." Avril said, worry laden in her voice as she traced her fingers over his furrowed brow.
"Just give me a moment," Oscar blinked, regathering his thoughts, and glanced away. The light emanating from the false depiction of the two suns on the far ceiling, two floors away, dimmed near the bottom where he and the others rested, lazy ...
2024-06-08 04:21:44 +0000 UTC View PostGreen blood sprayed from Lelith's torn neck as her hand hung and dangled limply, unable to clamp on the severe injury, the slight leaks now flooding beneath her feet. As her mouth gurgled and spat out more of the strange blood, Oscar had to admit it looked very gruesome and unsettling since the color of her blood was abnormal, eerily inhuman. Bu...
2024-06-07 05:30:36 +0000 UTC View PostHer enraged roar echoed to his side of the battle, and Oscar couldn't help but smile, gladdened to hear her so lively and well. Surely, she suffered for far longer than he had under the influence of Lelith's spell, but her invigorated cry dispelled all of his unease. At last, the final piece toward their victory had been placed on the board. Lel...
2024-06-06 05:04:13 +0000 UTC View PostTo be truthful, he didn't have any confidence in his Integration. After decades of trying in Talos and Fallen Heaven, his Anima, the shape of his soul in the form of a deer, still failed to merge and permeate his flesh, bones, and blood. Oscar sensed the unwillingness of his Anima, the helpless groans echoing in his ears, but he no longer cared ...
2024-06-05 04:50:04 +0000 UTC View PostWas he drifting? No, the feeling of descending deeper and deeper was akin to drowning, reaching further below in the unfathomable darkness enveloping him. He remembered this place, the needling chill that pierced every pore in his skin, and the thick tangle of unseen elements that halted his limbs from moving. No one existed in this void except ...
2024-06-04 01:45:50 +0000 UTC View PostThey were making good progress. Auren thought so as he drew a circle on the face of a statue in his blood. He lost count of the number of marks he had planted in the expanse of this incredible dark tower, its structure surpassing any conventional knowledge of formations. The denser conduits funneled immense Ein upward through the tubes, nigh unb...
2024-06-02 02:07:08 +0000 UTC View PostAs Ignyres dropped his revelation, Oscar had no time to ponder or continue the conversation. In the distorted world of the Prinstyct, Lelith's true body was catching up to her future images, almost overlapping as she stepped in, almost akin to teleportation. The light glanced off her scythe into thin lines, the blade's edge glinting a few inches...
2024-05-30 21:42:47 +0000 UTC View PostFlames burned fiercely, incinerating the majestic robes of the statues, leaving them bare and wreathed in his fury. A mere breath from his lungs swelled the flames to higher peaks, turning the hall into a burning passage that sought to consume Lelith. But within the inferno, a mark shone brighter, bearing the symbol of a crown. Oscar's flames, d...
2024-05-30 16:00:22 +0000 UTC View Post"Small child. Are you alright?" Sharasn found him slumped on the wall. He set down his basket and placed a gentle palm on his chest. Not wanting to worry the old priest, Michael forced himself up and brushed the straws off his clothes. He sniffled and wiped the tears as Sharasn palmed his head and prayed. After ending his prayer, Sharasn asked a...
2024-05-29 23:55:03 +0000 UTC View PostMichael's life in the old church was boring. In the mornings, he woke up drenched in sweat and changed his bandages after wiping his body with a towel. The church didn't have a bath and had a simple hole for a toilet. He missed the clean, modern bathrooms of his world and lamented how well he had it before. During the afternoons, Sharasn had him...
2024-05-29 23:52:06 +0000 UTC View PostMichael gasped as he woke up, his breathing weak and rushed. An unfamiliar ceiling greeted his sight, made from old wooden planks, dust still covering nearly every inch. How long had it been since they were cleaned? He groaned and whimpered as a headache worsened, hammering his brain and skull. All of his senses and thoughts ended in pain, from ...
2024-05-29 23:47:12 +0000 UTC View PostAdam punched the doors and sent them crashing to the floor. Surrounded by rocks, crevices, and a flat terrain of smooth stone, he assumed this room to be one of the environment chambers that replicated any environment set. Similar to the halls, the room reached immense, absurd distances as if he were truly outside and striding along a lifeless w...
2024-05-29 04:37:58 +0000 UTC View PostKragg walked off the stairs and growled at the shut doors before him. In his long trek, he had encountered open archways and entrances, but never one that was shut. The door smelled of nothing, odorless and indecipherable, the contents of the mysterious room behind unknown to his acute nose. Kragg stepped forward and placed his palm on the azure...
2024-05-28 03:27:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe weight of her strike, amplified by the speed of her descent, sent Santen falling straight down, his knees trembling as he landed on his feet, breaking the splendid floor. He looked up and blocked the thick chain, now wide as a person with spikes that could skewer a man and split him in twine. Thinner chains protruded from the larger and coil...
2024-05-27 06:08:07 +0000 UTC View PostHundreds of thin, long needles poured like rainfall, darting through the air at great speeds that muted the sound of their travel. Santen's hands swept across and landed together in a clap, gathering all the needles and squeezing them between his palms. Letting go, he dropped a clump of metal that dissipated into nothingness as the Ein that form...
2024-05-26 04:51:02 +0000 UTC View Post'These stairs are endless.' Oscar griped as he kept rounding down the spiraling stairs, hearing nothing but the sounds of his own feet clacking on the smooth white stairs. Apparently, age did not affect them, not a single fracture or crease of time gnawing on their surfaces, and the gilded edges remained sharp and as dazzling as a fresh...
2024-05-24 17:07:50 +0000 UTC View PostOscar took a harsh step forward, intent on reaching Avril before the dark tower truly opened. But it was futile. A glint of light shone on the tower's black walls, small yet distinct to the naked eye. Following that, several more flashes of light glinted, and more and more, until the entire dark tower shimmered, replicating the stars in the nigh...
2024-05-23 02:44:40 +0000 UTC View Post