The hell is degrading at a different speed than it was before. I observe it carefully as I blitz back towards Sierra, and I conclude that overall, the stronghold I eliminated is degrading slower than the area around it. It’s not by much—killing the angels seems to have accelerated the process...
2023-09-16 21:57:27 +0000 UTC View PostThere are a scant few heroes that were famous from their first day—most of those who achieve S-rank on their initial evaluation are household names immediately. For the supermajority of superhumans, however, this is not the case. Contingency and Miracle, currently widely considered to be th...
2023-09-15 06:58:33 +0000 UTC View PostAngelic Tower — Root: The 24th Floor
“The twenty-fifth floor is different,” Kirin explains as they walk up the steps. “While the tenth and twentieth floors both individually represent paradigm shifts, the twenty-fifth is the first of what we call challenge floors....
2023-09-13 06:51:31 +0000 UTC View PostSupers never stop. They may change sides or disappear or die—and many do—but you will never see a superhuman retire.
- Foreword of On the Nature of Superhumans by Vincent Hyde et al., published 2017
#
Hypothermia occurred when the human body dipped below 95...
2023-09-11 02:48:05 +0000 UTC View PostEvery minute of heroism you see is the result of a hundred hours of hard work.
- Promotional material for the United States Guardian Agency
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The time was 7:02 AM Tuesday morning and Vivian’s alarm wouldn’t shut up.
Step one of Rachel’s fitness routine was c...
2023-09-09 05:59:43 +0000 UTC View PostNinth Circle
To be honest, I’m surprised I haven’t unlocked a proper coercion skill of some sort by now. With the way the system works, I should have gained Interrogation or something similar through the process of extracting information from those who ...
2023-09-09 05:58:19 +0000 UTC View PostYeah, so the thing about villains is that they’re like weeds. You pull one out, there’s always two more [expletive] to take their place. I’m think [sic] of them as like—alright. Back before supers, we had regular crime, right? Mafia ’n mob ’n and all ‘at. It took six years to ge...
2023-09-08 06:16:38 +0000 UTC View PostCasualties are to be expected in the course of superhuman activities. Recently, our foremost statisticians found that in only a year and a half, an estimated four million people have perished either directly or indirectly thanks to superhuman actions, overtaking stroke as the second-most comm...
2023-09-08 06:16:07 +0000 UTC View PostAngelic Tower — Root
“To do the impossible,” Kirin muses. “I don’t know how much of that you’ll find from me, Adrian.”
“You’re Category 3,” Adrian replies. “That’s further than I can manage.”
The sixteenth floor was trivially easy with ...
2023-09-08 06:15:17 +0000 UTC View PostCHAPTER FIVE: The Plan
The distribution of power rankings by the Guardian standard is a slightly skewed bell curve. The numbers (determined last in the 2023 superhuman census) in the United States currently stand at the following, rounded to the nearest percentage....
2023-09-05 04:51:59 +0000 UTC View PostDictionary definition of a Washer, as provided by the USA’s Guardian Agency: “The abbreviated name of the official class ‘Brainwasher’; A super whose power includes the ability to influence the minds of others.
Recent studies have supported the fear that Washers are the...
2023-09-05 04:51:34 +0000 UTC View PostThe necessity of the London Superhuman Accords is obvious when you examine any of Earth’s mightiest heroes in the context of pre-super law. The original seven Guardians would’ve been charged for so many counts of manslaughter that none of them would’ve seen the sun ever again.
<... 2023-09-03 19:48:51 +0000 UTC View PostSeventy-five percent of new supers are between the ages of 14 and 24. Although it is not yet known why vials tend to present themselves towards this age range, the most common theory is that the fragments of the Pacific alien seek those who are less emotionally stable.
This has...
2023-09-02 04:09:27 +0000 UTC View PostIn 1971, the first and only alien humanity has ever seen died over the Pacific Ocean.
We’ve been dealing with the consequences since.
- Excerpt from a public statement by Vincent Hyde, current director of the Superhuman Response Unit
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Vivian accidental...
2023-08-31 03:56:57 +0000 UTC View PostUCC Site 9 - “Diving Point 1”
“What a beautiful day,” Marie says, stretching indulgently. “Is anybody not ready?”
She has long since progressed past the point where that sort of gesture affects her body on a level beyond the aesthetic, but when she has tim...
2023-08-31 03:53:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi everyone! I’m happy to announce that book 1 of Demonic Devourer is now available on Kindle Unlimited! If you can spare a download or a rating, I'd be eternally grateful.
Cover commissioned from FuyuDust by MelasDelta :D
For those few of you who aren't familiar with the premise: 2023-08-24 17:37:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Angelic Tower — Root
“You can’t just drop a bomb like that and walk away!” Adrian protests.
“Yes, I can,” Kirin replies. “Watch me.”
At least he isn’t very fast. Kirin clearly still needs Adrian, because he’s not running away. Adrian...
2023-08-24 03:49:33 +0000 UTC View PostAngelic Tower — Root
Kirin arrives as Adrian is grinding his way through a nest of spiders. It’s an irritating region, and he needs to use all his focus to ensure that their nearly-invisible webs don’t trap him. On one occasion, he does actually get stuck, and he’s ...
2023-08-13 16:19:14 +0000 UTC View PostTwo hours pass before the Communication Stone activates again. Two long, harrowing hours, where Adrian has nothing to do but gather souls and wonder if the person on the other end of the Communication Stone is alive.
Operator Kirin Uten, he thinks—and contrary to Sierra’s opini...
2023-08-10 15:15:52 +0000 UTC View PostName: Evelyn Carnelian
Age: 19
Race: ???
Class: Divine Demon/Proto-Titan
Level: 119/29
Kill Count: 2015
Available Stat Points: 0
Witness. Us.
The message ripples throughout the worlds, imbued by the undying bond between two dying proto-Titans.
Sapphire is halfway through dismantling a minor autocracy when she catches a glimpse of the words.
By the time it’s reached her, the sig...
2023-08-06 15:05:20 +0000 UTC View Post“Evelyn,” Adrian says. “We have a problem.”
I stare at him. “A problem.”
I was expecting some sardonic comment about this, given the fact that over half the people within a mile of us were dead, their homes collapsing in on themselves. It’s a wonder that the circle is in...
2023-08-05 09:40:20 +0000 UTC View PostAlexander Callen knows what he’s getting into. His mimicry of Sapphire’s Sight Beyond Sight is growing dim, but its power remains sufficient for him to observe what’s happening.
Someone is puppeting an operator, telling his targets what’s coming for them. Giving the...
2023-08-03 09:06:58 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m still not convinced that this is going to help me at all,” I say, gently removing the latest dress Sierra’s had me try. It joins an increasingly large stack of clothes that she’s determined are insufficient in a corner of the changing room.
“I told you to cover yourself up ...
2023-08-01 12:23:50 +0000 UTC View PostOur target location is a small, temporary settlement built around a cave that’s marked with “Root Dungeon System 771 - Potential Value HIGH” in Common. There’s a few other lines of text below that, but I can’t read them.
Well, I assume this was a settlement. It’s in sha...
2023-07-31 14:28:24 +0000 UTC View Post“Wow,” Sierra says, looking over the mercifully-intact Death Prayer in her hands. “Wow.”
She’s recovered from her passed-out-exhausted state remarkably quickly, which was almost certainly because she now has Adapt as a permanent skill.
“I’d hope...
2023-07-30 09:13:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe sudden surge of power isn’t unexpected, but it is terrible.
For an instant that stretches out into a breathless eternity, everything stops. At first, I think it’s my incredible Mind (Speed) stat applying itself again, but the world is still. Far too still to simply ...
2023-07-29 10:32:28 +0000 UTC View PostAntimemetic Cloak is growing stronger, I realize. With the skill in its original form, Sierra would be able to see through it without even trying. Right now, of course, she’s distracted, but even then, she didn’t even process Adrian or I existing until I turned it down.
“Sierra,” I say, activating the Communication Stone. “Sierra, can you hear me?”
No response.
I’ve been trying to connect to her item for a solid ten minutes now to no avail. That could mean one of three things: capture, death, or simply being out of range.
I hope it’...
2023-07-25 10:03:55 +0000 UTC View PostSierra reacts immediately, but she’s too slow. Of course she’s too slow. She knows little about Sapphire, but she remembers that Aunt Marie has worked with Sapphire before as a subordinate. Marie already vastly outclasses Sierra; her superior is out of the question.
Still, she ...
2023-07-22 08:29:45 +0000 UTC View Post