Florence nodded.
"In exchange for a dispersal of your own moral codes?"
I scoffed.
"You think that's all I'm going to ask for?"
Florence frowned.
"It isn't?"
I steepled my hands.
"Oh, I'm taking everything I can."
Chapter Begin
Florence rolled his eyes.
<... 2025-03-07 02:24:51 +0000 UTC View PostThey dwarfed the size of skyscrapers. It was like a large metropolis floated over our heads. As the shadows covered our guild, Hybrids fought on the outer hulls, many having drilled their way inside. Behind the vessels, the void of space howled out, feasting on Earth's air. Helios reached up with his gauntlet, closing the warps. My runes flared ...
2025-03-06 00:39:29 +0000 UTC View PostI blinked, and everything returned to normal in an instant. My hands trembled, my guild's destruction leaving me hollowed out inside. Taking a deep breath, I sent another message to Shalahora. The shadow oozed from the ground, his eyes as clear as cyan glass.
He murmured.
"You wish to tread into the gloom once more?"
My eyes ha...
2025-03-04 22:00:36 +0000 UTC View PostShalahora tapped my forehead.
"How many minds do you have free at this moment?"
"About nine."
"And how many may die before you lose your sanity?"
I wanted to lie as I clenched my jaw.
"I can lose eight, and they come back quickly, too."
Shalahora lowered his arm.
"My last question is thus - how deep into...
2025-03-03 20:16:20 +0000 UTC View PostI raised a palm.
"Don't think for a second we're on amenable terms. You've got ground you need to gain before I consider you an effective subordinate. You slip up in any way, and we're done. Do you understand me?"
Neel gave me a two-fingered salute.
"Aye aye, sir. Loud and clear."
"Good. So, about learning about ...
2025-03-03 01:40:28 +0000 UTC View PostMy eyes narrowed.
"And what makes you so sure?"
Neel scoffed.
"Kiddo, I knew you before the system."
I leaned back. Neel stood tall.
"Daniel Hillside. Certified punk. A tough boxer. And someone who took beatings from his daddy before dishing one back. Good one, by the way. That prick deserved it."
Feeling vuln...
2025-03-02 01:42:25 +0000 UTC View PostStill groggy, Helios wiped the sleep out of his eyes before a bolt of dark lightning snapped into the ground beside him. The boom and thunder woke him up seconds before Helios tilted his head. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
"What have you done now? Running an experiment to see if you could collapse the fabric of reality?"
Plazia laughed aloud but thought in a whisper.
"At times, a man only needs a monster, and he will find his fury. And I have no alms with being a monster if that is what is needed."
I tapped my side.
"Ah. You're giving them something to fight for. Be careful with manipulating people like that. You lose people's trust."
Pla...
2025-02-28 00:31:46 +0000 UTC View PostFinding his cause of concern, Plazia rested on a basalt throne in the middle of the room, having moved a few bookshelves to do so. Torix rested on a leather couch like Diesel, and the lich's metal skeleton gleamed darkly in the lamplight. As he approached, he turned to me.
"Ah, Daniel. You mentioned issues with a number of projects."
It gestured to a circle made with mosaic stones on the ground. Everywhere else was beaten and bare earth. I sat cross-legged in the ring.
"Thanks. So, about Hod, what was he like before being eldritchified?"
The elders peered at one another, murmuring with guttural tones and noises. Making out what the others meant, the second elder ...
2025-02-26 01:08:16 +0000 UTC View PostHey everybody. I know that most of you have likely moved on after waiting for literal years between my posts. I can't blame any of you for having resentment or for despising how I've handled the story in general. I want you all to know I'm sorry for how I lacked the will, determination, or general emotional stability to manage my writing.
Hello everyone. I've finally accomplished a lifetime goal of publishing my work, and in a form I'm proud of. Getting it out there has been preying on my anxieties in many ways, but I've pushed through and handled it. I could never have done this without all of your support. It's genuinely made an enormous difference. You guys can continue to sup...
2023-05-09 13:18:39 +0000 UTC View PostIt gave me a salute before launching away once more. I ogled where it once stood, stunned by how it handled things I'd forgotten. Shaking out my surprise, I looked around, finding the guild coming to life. Architects built in the distance, the blue core's barrier sheened over the horizon, and my vanguards carried back useful eldritch.
It l...
2023-04-03 23:30:52 +0000 UTC View PostBefore moving on, I had my extra psyches inspect my different status screens further. I might be missing something they'd find. They handled that while I returned to my current task - making the amulets for everybody. This would ensure their safety while I left, letting them go anywhere without worry.
I pulled out a dozen blue cores, my li...
2023-04-01 00:45:20 +0000 UTC View PostBefore I fell into my work, a crash erupted in the distance. Trees fell as an architect golem sliced the forest apart with its bladed feet. Kessiah walked beside it, pointing it in different directions. Further out, a guardian golem inspected people, ensuring nothing happened here. The executive toiled away in the inner sanctum while the vanguar...
2023-03-30 01:47:40 +0000 UTC View PostShalahora grabbed the stone, holding it in front of Hod.
"Are you willing to leave Hod's wake, or will you linger in his gloom?"
Other Hod stood, his shadow looming over the Omega Strain.
"I am a parasite, feasting on a memory of what was."
Other Hod reached out, and his voice deepened. His claws sharpened, and his shadow...
2023-03-26 21:00:30 +0000 UTC View PostI raised a brow.
"Hod? Aren't you worried he'll be eroded?"
Shalahora wavered.
"It is the eldritch half that we must strengthen and quickly."
Torix's eyes flared.
"Not that I disagree with you, but I'd estimate that to be his dominant half."
Shalahora's form wavered.
"It is no longer."
He tapped th...
2023-03-25 00:26:13 +0000 UTC View PostAfter she fell asleep, I pulled myself out, feeling refreshed. I got back to work on mass-producing basic cored golems. I handled this in the golem creation facility I made a while back, though my new method of making the golems put out less residual heat than before. Halfway through making a batch of twenty, a pile of insects crawled up the wal...
2023-03-23 01:15:42 +0000 UTC View PostIt left a spike of fear in me.
If this was Lehesion's eclipse attack, could I save this place in time? I stretched out my arms, imagining a singularity storm over the stars. I'd destroy the entire mountain in my defense. At the very least, I'd turn this place from a small mountain to a broken hill. Before that could happen, I flowed throug...
2023-03-20 22:08:42 +0000 UTC View PostHelios frowned.
"Your lottery was vastly different than my own."
Torix pressed his fingertips together.
"What did Elysium do to your rulers?"
Helios crossed his arms.
"They ensured everyone's survival."
I gawked. Helios shrugged.
"494 survivors. I am the only reason any rulers died."
Chapte...
2023-03-18 03:21:53 +0000 UTC View Post"Seeing and knowing are distinct concepts. You should learn the difference."
A wall smiled.
"You speak of sight? Would the blind preach to the able?"
Helios inspected his hand.
"There is more than one way to see, and you shall soon know it."
Helios stared at me and clasped his armored hand into a fist.
"Listen...
2023-03-15 23:39:40 +0000 UTC View PostI shook my head at how insane the situation was, and seconds passed like eons. We all looked around before a flash of mana crossed over us. A muscled albony appeared, black stripes lining his furred body. He glanced around, his eyes pale and blind from birth. He stared at his hands.
"And here I imagined you'd all be too stupid to figure it...
2023-03-14 01:35:26 +0000 UTC View PostAt the same time, I pulled out my grimoire and handed it to Obolis.
"Use this to make the counter enchantment. At the very least, we'll need any cipheric effects voided in this space."
Above us, several screams echoed out. I turned to Shalahora.
"What's happening?"
Shalahora raised a hand.
"The Hybrids are consolida...
2023-03-11 19:14:50 +0000 UTC View PostI rolled my eyes and picked her up with a gravity well. I pointed at the vessel.
"Can they warp us there?"
"We need a main drive. There's one at Saphigia's center."
I pulled us out of the area before one of the soldiers pointed at the body I had left behind. They shouted.
"What are we going to do with this?"
I waved...
2023-03-09 18:54:02 +0000 UTC View PostGazing at the notification, a wave of calm passed over me. Enormous amounts of mana radiated in. My psyches crystallized, becoming rigid and dense. I swallowed back down a wave of nausea, and my trembling lessened to shaking. Clarity coursed, and motivation surged.
That's right. I wasn't alone. After taking a breath, I said the word.
I flooded them, and they burst, the telepathic control of Lehesion weakening. I darted towards him, smashing his body apart once more. Taking out a few runic plates, I detonated them, deforming the area. Lehesion's body devolved into a collection of talking organs and speaking skin. The remnants controlling him scattered, unable to tolerate the ...
2023-03-05 15:40:54 +0000 UTC View PostLehesion pulled himself from the void, and his eyes met mine. A grin grew over his face.
"Ah. It is you yet again. I thought we'd called a truce of sorts? Perhaps you wished for another thrashing."
Energy plumed from me, ascendant mana billowing out like blood. The ocean ran red.
"I'm not the same Daniel you fought before."
... 2023-03-04 00:17:49 +0000 UTC View PostPlazia laughed.
"Don't tempt him, child."
I cracked my neck, and the echo sounded like steel cables tearing in the ocean.
"Eh, I'll take good care of him either way."
Amara pointed at me.
"What of you then?"
I squeezed my hands.
"I've got a status to attend to."
I opened it.
"Now, everyone, l...
2023-03-02 04:40:29 +0000 UTC View PostMy throat burned, but I kept it together. Althea sobbed beside me while several others broke down. On my shoulder, a group of flies landed. Plazia whispered through them.
"Remember their pain, for it may become your own."
Even if he was rough as sandpaper, Plazia was right. I collected my thoughts over the next few minutes, waiting u...
2023-02-27 23:36:33 +0000 UTC View PostThe remnant coughed.
"Ahem. I would hope so, yes."
I pulled out Valgus's shackles. I wrapped a chain around the remnant and gave it some mana, enough to psionically isolate. The diplomat screamed before I put my hand over his mouth.
Torix's fiery eyes flared white.
"What madness has overcome you? They are only a messenger...
2023-02-25 21:54:43 +0000 UTC View Post