Within my guest chambers, I grip the shard of black rock I brought away in my left hand. With my right, I rub my index finger along the length of a shattered rib bone.
The black rock resists affinities. Elementalists can control water, air, fire, and earth, but the elements themselves arenâ...
2022-12-30 22:09:00 +0000 UTC View PostTwo Days Later
Forming the tiger construct is easier the second time, taking less than an hour. I think I can get the number down to a fraction of that, given time to practice.
What started as an interesting idea, something to pass away the time while waiting for the black fa...
2022-12-15 20:11:52 +0000 UTC View PostI thought that Sindragos might leave me alone after the meal, that he’d gotten the information he came for; how naïve of me. The man is likeable–at least he seems that way around me. But I’ve grown tired of spending every moment outside of my chambers in his presence.
After Lucinda a...
2022-12-09 21:02:55 +0000 UTC View PostMaria watched, listened, and contemplated. She found that stepping back and assuming the role of an observer allowed her to gain novel insights.
She spoke less. Listened more. But it also… disturbed her. Sometimes she worried that she was becoming less than she used to be, a phantom, slow...
2022-12-04 02:51:44 +0000 UTC View PostMirror Scale Sindragos
A necklace hidden under my shirt activates, strengthening my mental defenses. Against a peak Remorse practitioner, my own defenses and the artifact wouldn’t be enough for a prolonged engagement. However, Black’s newest affinity is Remorse. With the suppre...
2022-11-29 06:53:31 +0000 UTC View PostI don’t really understand what Sindragos is getting at. How would the black faction know if they failed to understand me? Moreover, why would I ever trust what the black faction shows me? Already I have heard of their plot against Achemiss, to whom they publicly provide protection. I understand...
2022-11-25 23:50:55 +0000 UTC View Post“Show me?” the man with the deep voice, Sindragos, says. “Go on, then.”
The room descends into silence; presumably, Lucinda shares her memories of the competition with those gathered. Where a peak Remorse practitioner would normally be able to rapidly impart memories, the black rock...
2022-11-15 04:47:30 +0000 UTC View PostI pull at the transformative energy of the dagger and Maria appears before me. She reaches out her arms to steady me, anticipating sudden weakness.
I stare blankly at my hands and bare wrists. I feel fine. Meeting Maria’s concerned gaze, I say, “It worked.”
“For now,” she sa...
2022-11-11 23:04:21 +0000 UTC View PostComposed of the same black rock as the waterfalls, the fist is a midnight bastion, stark against the azure sky and the eddying clouds. The light of the false sun limns the fist’s contours, emphasizing the curve of each digit and the arc of its knuckles and palm. The light concentrates on the sl...
2022-11-08 06:10:45 +0000 UTC View PostThe field is no more.
All that remains is the classroom and the gnarled root-like branches that surround it. I have no idea what the wood is made from, but it’s more resilient than I ever guessed. Even blasting it with Death energy fails to significantly harm it, my power unable to penetr...
2022-11-05 20:50:59 +0000 UTC View PostI am blind and deaf. I have severed my sense of pain, blocking the screaming nociceptors that warn me of my body’s devastation. Vital vision only permits me to see the physical surroundings, so I fail to sense as Ascendant Meng’s blossom of annihilating darkness falls over me for the second t...
2022-10-31 23:18:58 +0000 UTC View PostEbon Pearl
Ebon Pearl knew what was coming, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it.
The tension in the stands and classroom was palpable. When Ancient Black laughed, his cold composure cracking, Ebon Pearl knew that the time for posturing was over.
Violence was i...
2022-10-29 03:08:26 +0000 UTC View PostWith the pronouncement spoken and confirmed openly, over a hundred disapproving eyes meet Holiday’s unflinching gaze.
This is all wrong. Holiday wants something. He wants me to do something and I don’t know what.
I think back to the moment I agreed to participate in Holid...
2022-10-23 22:11:37 +0000 UTC View Post“My paper has no name written on it,” one competitor voices out loud, his serious demeanor betrayed by the slight upturn of his lips.
“Neither does mine,” a lanky man adds, a cheeky grin stretching across his face. He holds his paper up. “I don’t think this paper is mine; there ...
2022-10-21 22:12:54 +0000 UTC View PostRed and I return to reality with a jolt. I take a deep breath in as I reorient myself, taking note of all living things in the vicinity through both my vital perception and my Remorse affinity.
Two of the formerly occupied chairs are now vacant, suggesting that we’re the third pair to awa...
2022-10-18 04:42:44 +0000 UTC View Post
“You come for me,” Bresnir continues. “It is an unwanted summons, though I suppose most would say as much. Imagine my surprise when not one, but two come for my soul.” Her demeanor is icy, resigned, but there is a roiling current beneath the surface. An unwillingness to give up.
“...
2022-10-15 04:14:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe energy in my body dims as I suck my own life force to form the soul gem. The gem in my hand is only half-formed. A sense of dread fills me. Is this really my limit?
“Take my energy,” Red insists as the time left dwindles to fifteen seconds.
I don’t second-guess his ...
2022-10-14 23:46:03 +0000 UTC View Post[ i wrote 3 menocht chapters today, god bless finally getting restful sleep for the first time in soooo looooong ahhhhhh. expect more chapters later today to finish off the discardia arc! ]
I cross the sand dunes and once more find myself on the beach. The ocean smashes into far-off cliffs,...
2022-10-14 21:41:34 +0000 UTC View PostMy shoulders scream from the strain of controlling the wings. With Red out of range, I have no idea how many missiles are left. All I have are my reflexes and the arrowhead hovering over the impact point–where Red and I will meet, if we’re still alive.
Seconds pass with no new missiles....
2022-10-07 21:23:02 +0000 UTC View PostWhen we enter the next round, we aren’t immediately transported to Bresnir’s world. Instead, we find ourselves in the Hall of Ascension. Holiday–or a version of him–leans against one of the pillars in the main hall, his arms crossed against his chest.
“When you descend for your fi...
2022-09-30 18:28:35 +0000 UTC View PostHoliday isn’t waiting for us when we awaken this time. I can just barely make out his form on the viewing platform, where he and other Hall of Ascension practitioners speak with a handful of competitors.
I sense Red’s distress immediately. His body is shuddering very subtly; even with B...
2022-09-23 23:40:00 +0000 UTC View PostI let Red navigate us. His expression is impassive as he runs scenarios and plunders the minds of sheltering civilians–and Bresnir’s agents, wherever they lurk below.
“Maria,” I ask. “What does your fatesight tell you?”
I see that if we kill Bresnirâ€...
2022-09-18 21:35:20 +0000 UTC View Post[ note – I retconned the name of ian’s special dagger in book 5, since I never actually gave it a proper name and always just referred to it as the blade / dagger / knife. oops. it's called “the blade of revelation” – which happens to be the title of book 5, which is already complete. b...
2022-09-18 00:02:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe second round is somewhat similar to the first.
The half-step ascendant is the same woman as before, though part of her backstory is slightly different. She isn’t based in one city, but rather lives on a yacht that navigates the world. Even if we knew the ship’s planned schedule, we ...
2022-09-12 16:12:59 +0000 UTC View PostAscendant Crimson Teeth
“You knew people would be frustrated by the new format,” Ebon Pearl remarks.
I mean, yes, obviously, but I didn’t think they’d just…
“Storm off?”
Essentially. Change is hard, I know that, bu...
2022-09-09 20:49:19 +0000 UTC View PostRed and I travel through the dry grasslands until we reach the first signs of civilization. We slow our approach, Red scouting ahead with his Regret affinity and relaying the memories to me with Remorse.
When we ripped through the air, the wind of our passage offset the heat. While moving a...
2022-09-05 20:05:29 +0000 UTC View PostLol, I was curious how an AI would predict this chapter would start.
Ending of the last chapter:
In the end, there’s really only one choice.
I rotate the button to the left. The icon of the skull glows in my vision. I press the butto... 2022-09-01 20:10:55 +0000 UTC View Post
If it’s proof Holiday wants, he’ll get it. The promise of a favor is too valuable to pass up.
“Ascendant energy is necessary to use the artifact we’ve discussed,” I point out. “I may need to use it during the competition.”
Holiday waves his hand dismissively. “Not a pr...
2022-08-29 01:52:06 +0000 UTC View PostAccording to Chowicz, if Euryphel introduced himself as an ascendant, Holiday would assume he was helping Ancient Black as a favor. Euryphel didn’t like lying so blatantly–the most believable untruths were half-truths and lies by omission–but he didn’t have another choice. Pretending to b...
2022-08-27 04:36:49 +0000 UTC View PostEuryphel struggled to keep his heart rate under control. Ian’s gaze was piercing enough to bore a hole through Holiday. He was pissed, and that was the last thing they needed. Ian was playing the unflappable Ancient Black–why would he care if he couldn’t use ascendant energy or artifacts? 2022-08-21 23:50:24 +0000 UTC View Post