I looked at Yusuke in confusion. Had he lost his mind? “What do you mean your dead body?”
Yusuke got up from his knees with a grunt of effort and sat back down on his throne. He waved at a nearby seat, knitting his fingers together with a thoughtful look, and I sat down, deciding to hum...
2025-07-02 18:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post“You’re scary,” I told Reina as she dismissed her bow and smiled sweetly at me.
“Thank you,” she said, bowing slightly and walking closer.
I turned to the head with its tongue lolling out, and then at the forcefield that was flickering back to life. “Are you sure that’s ...
2025-06-30 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Ready?” Reina asked me, and I reluctantly nodded.
“Yeah. But for the record, this plan sucks.” I said, grumbling.
Reina smirked at me. “For you, maybe. Can you think of a better plan?”
I opened my mouth and hesitated. “No…” I said eventually, unable to come up...
2025-06-27 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe airlock doors opened with a hiss, and Reina and I entered the Environmental Control Facility. Or, at least, I assumed it was since our view was blocked by a forest of long blades of flexiglass three meters high, filled with liquids of innumerable shades of green. A gentle breeze went through ...
2025-06-25 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostIt took me a moment to gather my wits, but I stood up, joining her in looking outside the window.
The Lava Walker approached one of the chamber's walls and rose on the tip of its legs until it faced a pair of slowly opening hangar doors. I stood there, wondering how it would manage to crawl...
2025-06-23 18:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostReina and I took the elevator down, and as we approached the reception area, I heard Dinos talking to the receptionist.
“Look, just send a message to Elder Fernando.” Dinos was saying, sounding frustrated. “Please send him a request to stop changing the design of the transportation te...
2025-06-20 18:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostOur first stop after Yusuke’s chamber was the armory. Although the outfit they had given me was stylish, it had no defensive capabilities. Reina and I walked in awkward silence the whole way.
We stood in the armory, pretending to examine the armor. I decided to break the silence. “So, w...
2025-06-18 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post"This is such fucking bullshit,” I muttered as I furiously scrubbed myself clean.
“I did want to ask, Sir,” Hob said, “I don’t mean to sound accusatory, but you haven’t exactly been in a hurry despite Aren being captured. Is that the wisest course of action?”...
2025-06-16 18:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostWith my body aches all but forgotten, I hopped up and turned to the dead Lava Pangolin, frowning slightly. “I mean, we said loot, but there’s neither the time nor do I have the tools necessary to butcher this thing before the recycling swarms dissolve it. I do have time to pry off a couple of...
2025-06-13 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“...Probably not?” Hob asked as I walked past a tall, black, unadorned obelisk towards the fortress, keeping a wide berth from the molten lava or the metal. With my lack of equipment, getting too close to those would be enough to set me on fire. Not a pleasant way to go.
I smir...
2025-06-11 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostI stood in the living room, rage building in my chest. The bastard had Aren. Heedless of my anger, the video kept playing.
“Don’t think me a brute. I do not shed blood or cause pain needlessly. It took a bit of elbow grease, but now that he has answered our questions, the child will...
2025-06-09 18:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Hold on, before that, let me get some food. I’m too hungry to think.” I cut him off before he went on a rant.
I put the [NutriBloc] in my domestic fabricator, pressed the optimize option on the screen, and splurged for the three-course-meal flavoring. My credits woul...
2025-06-06 18:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostMy entire body seized up as waves of pain emanating from my stump assaulted me. I could barely breathe. I clutched at the ruins of my arm. The metal fused to my flesh started to bubble like it was boiling. An innumerable number of warning notifications started flashing before me, disappearing bef...
2025-06-06 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostI woke up with a start, expecting to find myself chained up in the torture room of a cloister. My eyes snapped open, but I saw nothing. Had the priests blinded me? Did they take my eyes? What were they going to do to me? Panic rose in my chest, and I started flailing. Something tangled up my legs...
2025-06-04 18:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostI heaved a sigh of relief when I saw that the elevator out of the Orphanage had deposited me near the Otherside Market. Luck seemed to be on my side. In my current state, if the elevator took me to the Onyx Track Clan’s territory, I wasn’t sure I would make it out of there alive. But it hadn...
2025-06-04 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAren chuckled nervously. “What are you on about? The cube dissolved on its own. There’s no way I’m a Solver.”
He was a shit liar.
“And the fence melting away at your touch? And don’t think just because I was half-dead, I didn’t notice the entire fucking warehouse collaps...
2025-06-02 18:15:01 +0000 UTC View PostI saw the priests starting to turn to face me, so before I got caught, I moved back to where Aren was waiting.
[Message]
[Aren:] What now?
I looked around, seeing some gaps in the upper shelves. I had an idea.
[Message] 2025-06-02 18:14:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Aren’s sounds of amazement roused me from my sleep. Opening my eyes, I saw a gigantic, swirling orange-red eye staring back at me. Seems like the kid got tired of playing with the display and chose to show our surroundings.
“Hello to you, too, Jupiter,” I grunted, getting up and stret...
2025-06-02 18:13:01 +0000 UTC View Post“That’s not the reaction I was hoping for,” I said, my shoulders sagging at the mix of disappointment, disgust, and pity on his face. I told my mask to disappear.
“What did you expect? You’re supposed to be a legend!” Aren said, almost pleadingly. “Not some weird, drunk fuck-u...
2025-06-02 18:12:01 +0000 UTC View PostI massaged my shoulder as Aren and I exited the shooting range that Silver provided us. “I didn’t expect this damned thing to have such a kick to it, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Silver shrugged. “I warned you about it.”
I chuckled dryly, “Yes, you did.” I op...
2025-06-02 18:11:01 +0000 UTC View PostI turned to Silver. “We’ll take this one,” I said, easing off of Aren and helping him up.
“You don’t want to test the others?” Silver replied, looking at me with one eyebrow raised.
“Nah, we’re okay,” I nodded. "This weapon is his passion, and it's a much more flexib...
2025-06-02 18:10:01 +0000 UTC View Post“First, let’s start with Aren,” said Silver once we walked up the stairs to the second floor.
“Why him first?” I said in a very dignified manner.
“Because I said so, now come on.” Silver said in a clipped tone. I silently followed.
As we reached the mid-point of th...
2025-06-02 18:09:00 +0000 UTC View PostSilver heaved a sigh from her plush armchair, rubbing the bridge of her nose while staring at the ceiling. I just sat across from her, Aren beside me, waiting for her to regain her composure.
“Don’t you have any alternatives?” she said.
I shrugged. “I don’t have a lot of tim...
2025-06-02 18:08:01 +0000 UTC View PostWe spent the rest of the elevator ride in complete silence, Aren constantly fidgeting with his shirt. I might have started twitching, too, if I had less self-control, but I did my best to retain my composure.
When the elevator went “Ding!” both Aren and I visibly flinched. We looked at ...
2025-06-02 18:07:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe alarm rang far too soon for my liking, but with a groan, I got up and called Aren’s name a couple of times.
That seemed enough to stir him, and he sat up, blinking at me in confusion.
“Woah, I feel great!”
“Maybe so, but you would have been dead if this h...
2025-06-02 18:06:00 +0000 UTC View Post“I hate you.” Aren was lying down on the floor, wheezing. I sat on a couch in the far corner of the room, relaxing, sipping on an orange soda, and reading the news. I hate orange soda, but that’s the only kind currently available on the menu, and I wanted to sprinkle some salt on the wound....
2025-06-02 18:05:00 +0000 UTC View PostA man’s raucous laughter all but shook the room. We both turned towards the front desk, where the loud sound came from. There, Thoron sat, slapping his knee, trying and failing to contain his mirth. As his guffaws slowly petered out, he wiped a tear away and looked up at us. His eyes met mine, ...
2025-06-02 18:04:01 +0000 UTC View PostAn uncomfortable and awkward silence hung over the elevator ride back to the lobby, Aren occasionally glancing at me with suspicion and hostility as I read through the notification window in my vision over and over again.
[MISSION ADDED TO LOG] - [The mystery box!]
The hum of my motorcycle’s engine eased some of my nerves as I flew above the houses of Sector 16, heading towards the outskirts. From up here, I could see the edge of the ring and the void of space beyond in all its terrifying and beautiful glory. The second biggest moon of Jupiter, the scarre...
2025-06-02 18:02:01 +0000 UTC View PostTWO YEARS LATER
The taste of metal and ash covered my tongue as I stumbled out of the swillhouse that held me captive last night in a storm of alcohol, fighting, crying, and laughing. The sun’s light beat down on me, making me feel twice as heavy. My head felt like someon...
2025-06-02 18:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post