Adrian’s body felt like a bag of broken glass as the elevator hummed its descent into the depths of Cadmus. The 52nd floor. He had heard whispers from other subjects about what lay below—the monsters, the ones they called genomorphs. Cadmus’ “artificial lifeforms.”
Art...
2024-11-21 00:32:40 +0000 UTC View PostAdrian wasn’t sure how long he’d been in Cadmus. Days bled into weeks, weeks into months. Maybe longer. Time didn’t matter in the hollow, sterile corridors of the facility, where the lights never dimmed, and the screams of the other subjects echoed endlessly. But Adrian remembered everythin...
2024-11-21 00:30:33 +0000 UTC View PostWinning was survival. And survival was the only thing Adrian knew how to do anymore.
The underground fighting ring wasn’t glamorous—it was barely legal, if you could even call it that—but it paid. Enough for food. Enough for a roach-infested motel room when he got lucky. Enough to ke...
“Why don’t you cheer, boy?” Mrs. Hightower’s scratchy voice startled him. Adrian blinked, looking up to see her staring down at him, her eyes sharp and knowing. “Don’t you feel better knowing they pushed that bastard Darkseid back where he came from?”
“No,” Adrian whispere...
2024-11-21 00:24:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe night dragged on. Adrian couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so small. His mom sat beside him on the couch, stroking his hair as she whispered, “It’s okay, baby. We’re safe. We’re safe.”
But Adrian wasn’t sure he believed her. The screams outside didn’t stop. Th...
Later that night, Adrian lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The apartment was quiet now, except for the sound of the TV in the living room. He could hear his dad’s voice, low and soft, as he talked to his mom. They weren’t fighting anymore, but they weren’t laughing either.
Adrian h...
Adrian sat cross-legged on the living room rug, his crayons spread across the floor in a messy rainbow. His little hand gripped a red crayon tightly as he focused on his masterpiece: a picture of his mom, dad, and himself standing in front of their apartment. He made sure to draw their apartment ...
2024-11-21 00:15:08 +0000 UTC View PostTysone had this odd feeling that he had just stumbled upon an important plot point. Maybe it was because he knew that, at its core, this world was an anime one, and meeting that old man seemed too convenient, like it was part of the plot. But the man was real. Flesh and bones.
He was clearl...
2024-11-19 01:04:48 +0000 UTC View PostThe soft hum of the bike’s engine filled the silence between them as Kozen drove, his grip on the handlebars tight. Saeko sat behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist, leaning into him as if she’d always belonged there. The city lights blurred past them, a kaleidoscope of neon and shadow...
2024-11-19 00:58:24 +0000 UTC View PostNow that the Rage Room took off, and new personnel was hired to properly manage the place in his absence, Tysone found himself with a lot more free time in his hands. Saya was skilled at the administrative part of the business, and Mai was a huge promotion banner that attracted customers left and...
2024-11-16 15:48:57 +0000 UTC View PostThe morning sunlight filtered through the sliding paper doors of Saeko’s bedroom, casting delicate patterns on the tatami mat. The room was as flawless as ever, everything meticulously in place: her folded futon, the polished wooden floors, the neatly arranged kendo trophies and certificates th...
2024-11-16 15:39:28 +0000 UTC View Post“Miku,” Kozen murmured between soft, lingering kisses. “I—“ Another kiss, deeper this time. “I need you—“ Kiss. “So—“ Kiss. “Much.”
She sighed, letting herself sink into his warmth, but then grinned and playfully shoved him off, so he rolled onto his back. Before h...
2024-11-16 15:36:37 +0000 UTC View PostWhat does success taste like?
Cigarettes, alcohol, and a warm, welcoming pair of breasts? Or is it something else entirely? Like, the scent of freshly printed cash that was still hot, and the feeling of it sliding against your fingers?
Who the fuck knows?
Still, Tysone felt like...
2024-11-14 02:18:46 +0000 UTC View PostMiku slumped over her desk, tapping her pen absently against her notebook as she tried, and failed, to focus on the lesson. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Kozen, and the way he’d turned her down so casually that morning. She couldn’t help feeling a pang of disappointment every time she re...
2024-11-14 02:11:56 +0000 UTC View PostKozen blinked his eyes open, squinting against the faint, dim glow of the single bulb hanging from the low ceiling. He looked at his watch and sighed. Exactly twenty minutes of morning sleep—done. Even though he’d been following this fragmented sleep schedule for months now, cycling through s...
2024-11-12 01:32:43 +0000 UTC View PostSaya sighed, her fierce gaze softening just a bit as she looked away, crossing her arms defensively. It was a begrudging acceptance, and honestly, Tysone was more than okay with it. "Fine. But don’t think I’ll just roll over and hand her everything. I’m not some pushover, Tysone.”
...
2024-11-12 01:16:24 +0000 UTC View PostTheir third date was a spontaneous picnic at the park. Kozen had texted her one morning, asking, “Feel like taking a break from homework?” She didn’t need to be asked twice.
They spread a blanket under a big cherry blossom tree, surrounded by petals that fell softly around them like p...
2024-11-09 02:47:37 +0000 UTC View PostMiku’s feet pounded against the pavement as she ran, her breaths coming in short, panicked bursts. Her mind whirled with a thousand questions, none of which she could answer. Who was that masked figure? Why were there bodies on the ground? And if Kozen was truly alright, he could get seriously ...
2024-11-09 02:45:47 +0000 UTC View Post“Listen up, folks. It’s simple.” Saya’s loud voice easily drew everyone's attention. Tysone had just come back when he stumbled upon her peddling like some obnoxious seller. “¥3000 for 15 minutes. You get to smash boring stuff. Yes, that’s all you get. ¥7000 for half an hour; and we...
2024-11-09 02:20:23 +0000 UTC View Post“Mai?” Tysone’s brow furrowed. “What are you doing here?”
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t mentioned his business to her, but he had never invited her to try it out. He couldn’t deny that it was a pleasant surprise—a public figure such as Mai could draw a lot of people...
2024-11-06 00:16:04 +0000 UTC View Post[ One Year Before Present Day ]
The evening air was thick and humid as Saeko walked through the empty courtyard of her family estate, the glow of paper lanterns casting faint, flickering shadows across the garden path. The scent of freshly trimmed pine and the delicate perfume of cher...
2024-11-05 23:16:32 +0000 UTC View PostFifteen days till the apocalypse. That’s what the letter had said.
Kozen still had the crumpled paper tucked into his pocket, the words etched into his mind even though he could recite them by heart: Take some rest, love you. Good luck. Rika.
It wasn’t the message itself that dist...
2024-11-05 23:13:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe bright lights of the arcade flashed around them in every direction, bathing Miku and Kozen in a kaleidoscope of neon colors. The sounds of beeping machines, blaring sound effects, and coins clinking filled the air as they maneuvered their way through the crowd of kids and teenagers. Kozen wal...
2024-11-03 00:10:57 +0000 UTC View PostThe soft hum of Miku’s alarm filled the room, vibrating lightly on her bedside table until she reached over, eyes barely open, and slapped it into silence. She lay there for a second, half-wrapped in her tangled blanket, staring up at the ceiling as her mind struggled to boot up. Another day. A...
2024-11-03 00:07:42 +0000 UTC View PostOf course, Tysone didn’t really mean those things. But Saya didn’t take his words for it, and continued to brood throughout the rest of their time together.
Saya looked pretty adorable when she was mildly distressed.
"Then again, with your personality, it's more likely you'll driv...
2024-11-03 00:00:45 +0000 UTC View PostTakashi glanced over at the empty desk, his eyes narrowing as if he could will her into appearing just by staring hard enough. It had been sixty-four days since Rei stopped coming to school. sixty-four days of hearing nothing from her, of watching her friends act like everything was fine, like sh...
2024-10-31 00:40:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe following days passed in a blur. Tysone got in contact with the owner of that abandoned store and managed to strike a fairly good deal, overall. Considering the condition of the building, it didn't take much haggling on his part. With a down payment and an official-looking purchase agreement ...
2024-10-28 01:34:12 +0000 UTC View PostYuriko and Souichirou stared at him with slightly widened eyes. Whether they were about to reply was irrelevant, Tysone continued, his tone calm. Almost placid. "In fact. I don't really need your help. Admittedly, it'd be beneficial and crucial, but not essential. If you think my idea ha...
2024-10-25 04:20:18 +0000 UTC View PostKozen and Rei sat on the front steps of the house, their clothes disheveled and stained dry blood, their expressions calm, though their appearance betrayed the chaos they’d just caused inside. Their hair was messy, and the occasional streak of blood on their hands that neither of them bothered ...
2024-10-25 04:16:45 +0000 UTC View PostThe moonlight shimmered across the surface of the lake, casting soft silver ripples that seemed to stretch endlessly into the night. Rika stared at the scene, unmoving, her thoughts swirling with the same unrelenting rhythm. Kozen’s words echoed in her mind, over and over, refusing to be silenc...
2024-10-23 03:15:46 +0000 UTC View Post