All seemed peaceful in the von Hohenheim estate. The rustling of leaves, combined with the pleasant warmth of the early afternoon sun, made for an idyllic scene. Kids could be heard running around in the distance, chasing each other as part of some game. Their loud giggles served as a testament t...
2023-06-18 17:24:28 +0000 UTC View PostZeke froze. This was the worst possible scenario. If he couldn’t salvage this situation, then he might very well end up not selling anything today. His mind spun, conjuring up and discarding one possible strategy after the other. However, before he could even settle on a course of action, Messe...
2023-06-16 19:22:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Zeke and Lara exchanged a glance as the horseless carriage came to a stop in front of them. Even she, as a decorated veteran of countless battles, was visibly tense. Zeke couldn’t say if it was from excitement or nerves, but the casual ease Lara usually projected was absent now.
As per us...
2023-06-14 21:34:35 +0000 UTC View Post
“When are they due?” Zeke asked.
“Any moment now, young Lord,” David responded.
The pair was observing the gate from the second floor. Zeke had been productive all day, supervising the last of the preparations. Only now that he had nothing more to do, did his nerves start to s...
2023-06-13 21:24:19 +0000 UTC View Post
When Zeke arrived at the foyer, he immediately noticed that a crowd had gathered. Evidently, word had gotten around that Leo was looking for him. Nobody seemed willing to miss the show.
With Margret and David behind him, Zeke descended the stairway. Upon noticing his arrival, the room went ...
2023-06-12 13:59:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Three people were gathered around a small table in a study on the second floor. After Margret’s announcement, Zeke immediately sent somebody to inform David. This issue was too important to delay.
“Tell me everything,” Zeke demanded with eager eyes when they were all seated.
Mar...
2023-06-11 13:37:26 +0000 UTC View Post
It only took about an hour to install the Enchantments. The fast progress could mostly be attributed to meticulous planning. It had been a significant challenge to design the internal structure of the vessel in a way that maximized the effect of every single Enchantment.
Jettero had been un...
2023-06-09 13:11:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Now that Zeke was aware of the danger of using his Puppet mode, a few things had to change. He didn’t dare use Soul Magic inside his office anymore. Instead, he constructed a private workshop below the mansion.
As always, the efficiency of Earth Mages was astonishing. They managed to exca...
2023-06-06 20:04:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Zeke was back in his room. He was curled up in his bed, the covers draped over him. Even though the incident had happened over an hour ago, he couldn’t get his hands to stop shaking. It wasn’t even the fact that he killed the man that bothered him. No, he had been prepared to do so.
Wha...
2023-06-04 13:59:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Zeke examined the unprotected Soul in front of him. This was his first time ever seeing one. In his excitement, he hadn’t even taken a closer look.
Soul perception was incredibly strange. It was like a mixture of seeing, hearing, and feeling. Even though there was no visual component invo...
2023-06-02 19:47:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Over the past week, Zeke had fallen into a routine. He would spend most of the day practicing his Engraving skills. For the success of the Gondola project, it was of paramount importance that he became good enough to create High-level enchantments. By now, he had gotten incredibly close to that g...
2023-05-31 21:31:54 +0000 UTC View Post
“What’s your name?” Zeke asked the chained man in front of him.
He and David were currently in the holding cell of the von Hohenheim estate, questioning the prisoner who had regained consciousness moments ago. The man was tied to a metal chair. His hands and feet were completely bound...
2023-05-29 19:08:16 +0000 UTC View Post
“So there was nothing suspicious at all?” Zeke asked for the second or third time.
“No, sir!” the guards answered in the same way they had last time. Zeke was getting frustrated. They hadn’t seen anybody suspicious, hadn’t heard anything out of place, and hadn’t left their pos...
2023-05-29 07:23:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Zeke and David had returned home hours ago and the sun had long since traded places with the moon. At this time of night, almost nobody was awake anymore. Despite the late hour, a bright light could still be seen coming from the central room on the second floor. This was Zeke’s study, where he ...
2023-05-28 08:54:23 +0000 UTC View Post
Zeke took out one of the square metal disks from the cabinet and inspected it. Despite being made from a much cheaper material, the practice plate had almost the same weight as the Voidiron. As he walked over to the clamps, Zeke rubbed the smooth surface of the material with his thumbs, trying to...
2023-05-25 16:22:54 +0000 UTC View Post
After stepping into the building, Zeke was greeted by the sight of an old lady behind a simple wooden counter. Compared to the Hermann Company on the third layer, the decor appeared downright shabby.
Confused, Zeke studied his surroundings in further detail. But even on closer inspection, w...
2023-05-24 20:49:37 +0000 UTC View Post
The next few days passed in the blink of an eye. The construction of the Gondola began with only some minor hiccups. Three identical keels had been built simultaneously in the dry docks, each of them around a dozen steps in length. This had only been possible thanks to the toil of the two Nature ...
2023-05-21 15:01:48 +0000 UTC View Post
Zeke followed his mother through the long hallway on the first floor. Soon, he could make out the figure of David standing next to the door of the conference room. His body was visibly tense, and his usually relaxed features had a tinge of nervousness now.
“Who is our mysterious guest?”...
2023-05-20 07:49:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The first rays of the morning sun had just begun to bathe the world in a scarlet hue. In stark contrast, a certain workshop was already operating at full blast. Yelling and hammering could be heard from the third layer of Tradespire. The usually quiet von Hohenheim estate was in an uproar this mo...
2023-05-19 12:57:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Zeke swept his eyes over the group surrounding the table. These were the people he trusted most — his inner circle. With dismay, he noticed that Leo was absent again. He was really beginning to worry about his adopted brother. Not once over the past weeks had Leo sought him out. He hoped that L...
2023-05-17 22:17:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Ezekiel watched with bated breath as the old man went over the designs spread out over the conference table. This had been going on for the better part of an hour already. The occasional humming and hawing were the only sound the engineer had uttered all this time.
His eyes flitted from lef...
2023-05-16 16:40:52 +0000 UTC View Post
“Who are you people, and what are you doing here?” the stranger demanded to know.
He had short gray hair and a thick beard. His broad shoulders and powerful arms spoke of a strong physique in his younger days. However, his body had started to give in to age long ago. His rough, callouse...
2023-05-11 19:35:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Zeke and David were back on the street. The place they were heading to was somewhere in the fourth Layer, so they had quite a ways to go.
“You’re quite the actor, young lord.”
At the unexpected comment, Zeke glanced at his guard as the two made their way down the street. The rem...
2023-05-09 16:07:27 +0000 UTC View Post
A mountain of crumpled paper had formed in the corner of the study. Meanwhile, a crimson-haired boy scribbled furiously on a fresh sheet. Minutes passed in silence before the rattling of paper could be heard and the mountain rose once more.
“Shit,” Zeke exclaimed while messing up his ow...
2023-05-07 13:53:16 +0000 UTC View Post
When David, Margret, and Kerim had declared their support for Zeke’s plan, the atmosphere lightened considerably. Zeke nodded at each of them in turn. This had been a very crucial part of his strategy, and he was glad that it had worked out.
“So what are we doing, bossman?” Kerim aske...
2023-05-04 20:25:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Zeke was pacing the room for the hundredth time this morning. He was once again going over all his preparations. He had called a meeting for just after sunrise and that time had finally come. Any minute now, his core followers would enter this very room and it would be his mission to convince the...
2023-05-02 13:30:45 +0000 UTC View Post
“This is our dining area. As you can see, we only serve the best. No matter how refined a taste, the young lady is sure to find something she likes,” the man explained.
Zeke and Maya followed the man into a lavish room. It didn’t look like any school dining area Zeke had ever seen. Th...
2023-05-01 20:53:24 +0000 UTC View Post
“How many more?” Margret asked in a tired voice.
“Three, I think,” Zeke replied.
The two had just stepped out of another library. They had spent all afternoon going from place to place. Zeke had grossly underestimated the amount of knowledge Tradespire provided to the public.<...
2023-04-29 06:31:11 +0000 UTC View Post
Despite several minutes having passed, Zeke wasn’t able to restore his inner peace. He felt like he was surrounded by enemies on all sides and he had nobody left to turn to.
With a deep sigh, he finally sat up straight. Laying down hadn’t helped calm his mind. He swept his gaze across t...
2023-04-28 06:17:31 +0000 UTC View Post
While everyone else was unloading the airship, Zeke, David, and Margret had retreated to a conference room. Margret had held herself back from asking anything up to this point; the moment the door was locked, however, she burst out with her question.
“What was that?” she challenged.
... 2023-04-26 16:24:45 +0000 UTC View Post