“Wait,” said Nolan, who had been absentmindedly staring down at the ring of well-cultivated farmland that surrounded the city. “Delia, take us back to the outskirts of the forest for a bit.”
Nyla raised an eyebrow. “What are you thinking?”
“Well, I want to avoid any unne...
2022-01-22 03:17:10 +0000 UTC View Post“There’re a lot of demonic beasts down there.” Nyla’s spiritual sense was the most developed after Delia and May’s, which gave her a clear sense of the layout below as well as the different sorts of life forms that dwelt beneath the needled upper canopy that was virtually invisible to e...
2022-01-22 03:15:09 +0000 UTC View PostIt better not be more than a thousand for a ticket. Nolan led the way over to the cave mouth, where everyone was gathering with cups in hand. He was nervous about closing in on the last leg of this part of the journey, which had technically taken him several years. This is a nation o...
2022-01-22 03:12:15 +0000 UTC View Post“Ah,” said Nolan, giving a sore man’s stretch as he followed Nyla out of the mausoleum. “It’s dark out, already?”
She shot him a flush-faced smile as she combed at her long, dark hair with well-trimmed fingernails. “Time passes quickly when you’re—”
“When you’r...
2022-01-22 03:08:52 +0000 UTC View PostThe only man that had ever shown her love in this world turned out to be that old geezer that’d saved her life on that fateful day, and he’d done so for the entire three years that he’d raised her. What a strange turn of fortune, she thought, that she had gone from being beaten in the slums...
2022-01-14 21:22:02 +0000 UTC View PostDelia’s mother had been a beautiful woman, the most dazzling of any that she had ever seen. This beauty had resulted in her death, for although she had possessed an angelic appearance that was rarely seen in this world, she was hardly gifted in cultivation and so had always had a difficult time...
2022-01-08 02:59:30 +0000 UTC View Post“And how’d you manage that?”
“Easily. All I had to do was make an arrayment that lets me see farther, and picks up on different temperatures. Living creatures tend to have different body temperatures than the environments they’re in, so…”
Nolan was genuinely impressed as...
2022-01-02 00:37:02 +0000 UTC View PostSean and Esteban both reached the peak of Profound Entry during this time, which resulted in them experiencing the same thing within their spiritual spaces. After investigating the subtle changes to their inner essence channels along with the strange sensations that had racked their bodies in the...
2021-12-25 04:34:43 +0000 UTC View PostThinking back to how forward May had been when she had been disguised as her younger self, things suddenly made sense in his mind. The unexplained up-skirt view back in Elmer, the surprise shaft-grab when he was peeing that one time outside of the same town, the weird tumble they’d taken on the...
2021-12-18 00:29:16 +0000 UTC View Post“What, you guys talked for a while and got to know each other, too?” Nolan nearly laughed. “This is the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had.”
Something seemed to click in Delia’s mind as she kept sending momentary glances this way and that. “Where is he?”
“Long gone....
2021-12-11 04:15:55 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, his eyes growing wet as he made to blink away the moisture. He collected himself almost immediately, though the guilt within his heart remained just as strong. “This was my fault. I…I really am sorry.” To himself, he continued, “Not that that means anyt...
2021-12-04 00:21:05 +0000 UTC View Post"Truly astonishing," said May, who clasped her hands in front of her and bowed out of respect. "This disciple greets her master for the first time."
As the others began to fawn over their teacher's awe-inspiring skill, Nolan put on an awkward smile and brushed them off with a wave of his ha...
2021-11-26 23:48:04 +0000 UTC View PostWhoa, what the—Uncle Grey, who the hell's this guy?
How would I know? Before he could ask any other questions, Nolan was urged by his teacher. Quickly, make sure to put the fruit away safely.
The man's eyes narrowed when he made to stow away the fruit, whi...
2021-11-23 00:34:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Am I the only one who was expecting…not this?” Ian poked at a burlap pillow that sat atop a rough bed of flax and broad leaves. “Is this really the den of that monster?”
A large cave had been carved into the rockface behind the waterfall, which led to an open cavern with a sizeab...
2021-11-15 03:29:11 +0000 UTC View Post“I should be saying that to you.” He ran a hand through his short hair, which was dripping-wet from all of the clouds that he’d been thrown through. “How many times would I have died by now if you hadn’t been around?”
He stood up and glanced in the direction where he supposed th...
2021-11-15 02:53:35 +0000 UTC View PostAt this altitude, the sun was completely unobscured by the clouds below, the air cold and thin. A few cumulonimbuses towered above the rest, like great mountains presiding over a bright seascape. The only time Nolan had ever seen a view like this was when he had been mid-flight on an airplane bac...
2021-11-15 02:49:22 +0000 UTC View Post“What the fuck is this thing?” he muttered to himself, his mind going blank as he realized that the tip of its tail had likely reached into the troposphere. Most of it had disappeared into one of the many clouds that still hovered high up in the sky, almost immediately after it had l...
2021-11-15 02:45:38 +0000 UTC View PostUncle Grey’s warning felt like an icicle being nailed into his heart. Why? What’s going on? Most of the other ships had also run aground, so none of them would be coming after him and the others anytime soon. Once the white-haired woman regained control over her inner energies, he co...
2021-11-15 02:41:30 +0000 UTC View PostNolan thought back to his early days in Venara, of wandering through the forests of the Northern Plains region, of living in Redfox Village and constantly venturing out into the surrounding grasslands. His memory traced his journey through those towering forests and into the beautiful fields of F...
2021-11-15 02:39:21 +0000 UTC View PostMay also maintained her position behind the wheel, though she seemed greatly irritated every time an arrow hit her in this place or that. Most of the enemies were aiming for her, specifically her face. In anger, she picked up one of the spirit stones that were currently powering the ship and hurl...
2021-11-15 02:36:04 +0000 UTC View Post“What are our chances of running into that thing?” said Nolan. The thought of fighting a creature at the Genesis stage was already daunting enough, not to mention one that had demonized and abnormally retained its consciousness. “What does it look like?”
“Well, it’s always shrou...
2021-11-15 02:32:40 +0000 UTC View PostKaiden couldn't keep Katelyn out of his thoughts as he waited patiently for the police to finish phoning social services, who would apparently set him up with everything that he needed in order to live an independent life. He hadn't had any form of identification on him, but this wasn't an issue ...
2021-11-13 05:23:34 +0000 UTC View Post“So those ships were all essence fusion objects?” asked Nyla, who was inspecting the vessel with curious eyes.
“I guess so. Anyhow, a ship this big requires about ten thousand spirit stones to make it to the other side of the lake, and I’ve lost enough wealth today. I’ve already a...
2021-11-13 04:28:21 +0000 UTC View PostNolan was also shocked. Judging from the look that she’d sent him, he felt as if the woman had killed all of those people just to vent some of her frustration. What kind of person had he added to his group of companions, to do something so drastic even when the situation demanded that they flee...
2021-11-13 04:04:22 +0000 UTC View PostWhy were the people of this world so hypocritical? Nolan stared at the thin, ratty-haired woman that was charging toward him with bloodshot eyes, who was clearly intent on taking revenge for her fallen family members. They had literally tracked down his friends for the sole purpose of killing the...
2021-11-13 03:35:43 +0000 UTC View PostThe five bills he'd taken from Penelope's dresser were all fifties, which would be enough to rent out a room at a cheap motel for a few nights. Unfortunately, Kaiden was barely sixteen and thus not old enough to legally rent a room.
It was now a few hours after midnight, and the air seemed...
"How is that fair?" said Kaiden, whose voice had unsuspectingly gained heat. "I didn't ask for any of this!"
"You're right. It's not fair, but it's life. And you need to make a decision."
"What decision? What choice do I even have?"
"You have three choices. You can stay here,...
"I—I heard y—you were in town so I w—was h—hoping to t—talk to you." The weather had flushed Kaiden's face and caused his eyes to tear up, his nose running as his thighs burned from the nighttime chill. All liquids that left his face froze almost immediately. "It's r—really important....
2021-10-22 06:35:36 +0000 UTC View PostThe beating from the night before had been his breaking point. From now on, if he was insulted by somebody then he wouldn't simply take it sitting down. If Brent or any of his other meathead cousins tried to jump him around the house like they usually did, then he would fight back with all he had...
2021-10-22 06:19:17 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Kaiden finally awoke, he immediately noticed the absence of the nightly chill that usually crept into his body and seeped down to his bones whenever he spent a set amount of time in his bedroom. The realization lost its pleasantness as he recalled the lead up to his present state, the bed an...
2021-10-22 05:34:02 +0000 UTC View Post