On the outskirts of Roothaven, where the meager illusion of civilization faded and the swamp seeped, I perched above in a canopy meant for birds larger than human. Moss every branch such that any wrong step could be fatal.
Fatal for the regular climber, that was.
My clone was one of m...
2022-05-26 05:49:58 +0000 UTC View PostA crowd had formed as people elbowed their way forward, pushing and shoving to get a better view. I took my places among the crowd, watching from different vantages. A group of armed men, swords, clubs, and other crude weaponry in hand.
A large man with scarred arms climbed above the roots,...
2022-05-11 05:14:33 +0000 UTC View PostA single step was enough to say goodbye to that twilight sky. We wasted no time in leaving the [Sleepywood], taking our rewards, Items, and anything else before pushing through that prismatic portal. There was a subtle sense of displacement before the world reass...
2022-05-02 06:10:40 +0000 UTC View PostI was a survivor.
The apocalypse had killed me countless times, it had taken… things from me. My peace of mind, my ignorance of hardship. It stole my illusion of potential happiness. It had stripped every layer of my morals, my mind, and my body. Challenged me with unbearable torment, pai...
2022-04-23 21:30:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe howl was piercing. It shook bone and rattled the twilight sky. A shimmering of light in the air, a blanket of something falling over the forest. The woods became altogether more dim, deeper into that equilibrium of light and shadow.
Suddenly… awake.
Th...
2022-04-15 02:27:45 +0000 UTC View PostI faded in and out of consciousness. General weakness and the natural desire of the body to recover forced me to sleep, to rest. When my original conscious slept, everything else seemed like a dream. Stark points of realism, lucid dreaming with the vague awareness everything I did was somehow rea...
2022-04-08 23:41:39 +0000 UTC View Post[Solo’s Instinct] warned me just a moment before the ground exploded and the world was thrown to dust. My head snapped back and something ripped at my flesh, tearing a scream from my throat.
I heard shouting faintly, as my head lolled. It took me two seconds to realize my...
2022-04-06 04:34:10 +0000 UTC View Post“From what I’ve gathered, most Skills are affected in some way by the attributes.” Rickson was telling us, looking out the building’s windows. The group had taken to speculating about the system and theorizing how it might function in our free time.
The structure us...
2022-04-02 11:56:32 +0000 UTC View PostMy eyes glided across an otherworldly scene of modern man in the close spaces of a ruin framed by a forest tinged blue. A space removed and alien, washed with moonlight.
Sixth’s [Twilight Saber] glinted in the twilight, sleek with scarlet blood. A stark contrast against t...
2022-03-30 20:08:42 +0000 UTC View Post“Is this not ever strange to you?” Rose asked me—asked Ninth.
Ninth shifted. “Honestly, this is the first I’ve done this.” He said. “Believe me when I tell you it’s pretty disorienting.”
My original self was testing the [Twilight Saber], fac...
2022-03-27 02:37:54 +0000 UTC View PostIn the end, enough people decided to leave the [Sleepywood] that it passed some invisible threshold whereupon the rest decided as well. I watched them leave. They stepped through the prismordial sheen framed by the stone portals and, on the other side, I watched them in return. 2022-03-24 11:36:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Thank you for supporting!
2022-03-22 14:47:48 +0000 UTC View PostWe fell into a rhythm. My clones acted as forward scouts, accompanying both Jack and Rickson, as we made our way back to the exit.
“If we run into trouble, don’t hesitate to leave me behind,” Ninth told Rickson.
“You said you feel everything your other selves do… are you sur...
2022-03-22 14:41:51 +0000 UTC View PostI sat as Ninth dug into my backpack. He wordlessly handed me a water flask which I drank from voraciously. It tasted like plastic. Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth were leaning on trees around the camp, staring out into the dusk. A few people were checking their shadows, flickering around the campfire....
2022-03-20 09:13:35 +0000 UTC View PostIt was a prickling across my skin, a shiver up my neck and down my arms. My frantic eyes were drawn to everyone else, moving unaware. I twisted, unable to locate what was wrong when I found Rose and Jack staring at me with wide eyes.
No, behind me. Screams broke out.
In a sin...
2022-03-19 05:48:45 +0000 UTC View PostFirst of all, thank you to everyone who miraculously decided to pledge to me. It's a little baffling truthfully.
I've added additional support tiers for anyone interested in reading the story in advance, ahead of my regular posts on RoyalRoad. Currently, I've prepared only a sin...
2022-03-19 05:47:53 +0000 UTC View Post