The scrape of furniture across the floor downstairs snapped Lucien out of his thoughts. His body reacted before his mind caught up, and then his brain shifted into overdrive, running through options.
He didn't panic. Panic got you killed.
The manager's office was a death trap. They'd ...
2026-01-25 19:29:31 +0000 UTC View PostShane spun toward the door and yanked it open.
The smell hit him first. But this was concentrated. The yellow raincoat lay crumpled on the floor outside the office. Blood and chunks of flesh covered every inch of it, turning the bright color into something dark.
"Lucien..."
His ...
2026-01-25 17:52:25 +0000 UTC View PostBy the time evening rolled around, Shane was already dead to the world.
Lucien sat under the desk, watching the last traces of daylight fade from the windows. The moon was rising somewhere beyond the buildings.
Time to move.
He crawled out from under the desk, careful not to mak...
2026-01-25 17:06:28 +0000 UTC View PostLucien's dreams were formless. There was only darkness and the distant sound of moaning, which might have been walkers or might have come from his own subconscious. The magic drain had pulled him into a deep sleep, and he probably would have slept for hours longer if someone had not grabbed his s...
2026-01-25 16:49:35 +0000 UTC View PostLucien stared at his left hand for a long moment, building up his nerve. Then he scanned the floor until he found a wooden splinter. He picked it up, feeling the point dig into his thumb.
He took a breath and jabbed the splinter into his index finger.
Blood welled up and a fat droplet...
2026-01-25 16:48:47 +0000 UTC View PostThe backstory had been prepared in advance, naturally. Lucien wasn't stupid. An eleven-year-old kid lugging around a heavy trunk in the apocalypse was going to draw attention.
Until he learned the Extension Charm, if he ever did, the wand and cloak could stay hidden on his person, but the s...
2026-01-25 16:48:27 +0000 UTC View PostLucien's response killed whatever warmth had been building in the room.
Shane's attempted smile froze on his face. He stared at the kid, at those blue eyes that were still too clear, and found himself at a loss for words.
What the hell were you supposed to say to that?
Lucien lo...
2026-01-25 16:48:08 +0000 UTC View Post"Goddamn it!"
If Shane had been wrestling with his conscience a second ago, that question died the instant the stranger screamed, "I saw you!"
Every shred of compassion in his chest turned to ice.
Stupid fucking bastard.
This wasn't ignorance. The man knew what sh...
2026-01-25 16:47:30 +0000 UTC View PostIf someone had given Lucien a choice, trolls and Voldemort at Hogwarts versus flesh-eating corpses in an American apocalypse, he would've picked the castle without a second thought. At least at Hogwarts, people were trying to teach you how not to die.
Here you were just meat waiting to be e...
2026-01-25 16:47:08 +0000 UTC View Post"Bloody hell... my head's splitting open..."
The words came out slurred, barely coherent. Lucien's cheek was pressed against cold asphalt. His skull felt like someone had taken a cricket bat to it, then decided to have another go just to be thorough.
Sunlight stabbed through his eyeli...
2026-01-25 16:46:43 +0000 UTC View PostAfter some time, the door to Minato's private meeting room opened. Shisui emerged first. He offered a respectful nod to both the Hokage and Kenji before leaving the office.
Once the young Uchiha was gone, Minato walked over to where Kenji stood by the window. His brow furrowed slightly.
... 2026-01-24 00:34:39 +0000 UTC View PostLuffy had become a walking stat sheet, a bundle of game mechanics wrapped in rubber flesh. Every aspect of him screamed "video game bullshit" so loudly that even someone as powerful as Shiki was getting a migraine.
It wasn't that he couldn't win. The problem was that even when he landed a f...
2026-01-24 00:32:58 +0000 UTC View PostThe waystone had deposited them inside what Mephisto referred to as his "pillow." To the Hell Lord, this was just part of his true body. To Mario and his companions, it was a goddamn mountain with a cave carved into it.
The pitch-black cavern had only a sliver of light bleeding in from the ...
2026-01-24 00:31:04 +0000 UTC View PostMarco floored the accelerator and didn't let up for the next hundred kilometers.
The image of that middle-aged man chasing people down the street with shit-covered hands was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. Gotham had supervillains, sure. Gotham had terrorists and mob bosses and...
2026-01-24 00:29:16 +0000 UTC View Post---Third POV---
[Chronicles of Aeltia: Test Server v1.6 Update Announcement]
[Key Updates:
I. Special Event: City Lockdown
The magic tide is imminent.
To protect civilian safety and prevent t...
2026-01-24 00:27:28 +0000 UTC View PostAfter helping deal with the rods, the shadow clone still couldn't hold it in and shot a look of disdain at its own trashy original.
"Alright, hurry up and give yourself a shot to heal. Isshiki's reincarnation program should be finished by now. I'm afraid there's going to be another fierce b...
2026-01-24 00:25:15 +0000 UTC View PostJigen.
A monk.
Masashi committed that name to memory. But he had no impression of the name at all. There were countless people in the world eating off the monk profession. Who knew how many temples were tucked away in remote corners? Trying to find someone based on a possibly real or ...
2026-01-24 00:22:41 +0000 UTC View PostEarly morning the next day, Cipher picked a random conference room in The Last Drop's upper levels.
"Here's fine," he said, gesturing for Camille to make contact.
With Janna perched on his shoulder in bird form, he wasn't worried about security. If LeBlanc tried anything hostile, a li...
2026-01-24 00:19:57 +0000 UTC View Post"I don't care! You have to help me with special training!"
Izumi grabbed Homura's arm and shook it vigorously. The two tomoe spun in her eyes, responding to her emotional intensity.
"Relax," Homura said, finally deciding to put her out of her misery. "You won't have to wait long. A ne...
2026-01-23 02:07:14 +0000 UTC View PostLuffy's punches still weren't doing jack shit to Shiki.
The old pirate floated there like he was made of stone, his entire body coated in Haki that made Luffy's attacks bounce off like pebbles against steel. Below them, the massive lion continued to rise.
"Your time's running out." 2026-01-23 02:05:37 +0000 UTC View Post
"No, no, no... stay away from me!"
Harry's consciousness snapped back to reality like a rubber band stretched too far. But reality was the last place he wanted to be right now.
His father, the man he'd idolized his entire life, was the Green Goblin. A supercriminal who'd nearly killed...
2026-01-23 02:04:13 +0000 UTC View PostSo they were members of the Queen family.
Of course they were.
Marco had figured that out about halfway through Thea's declaration, right around the part where she'd mentioned "on behalf of Queen Consolidated." Rich kids really did just run wild through bars without any sense of class...
2026-01-23 02:01:57 +0000 UTC View Post---Third POV---
"The Federation?"
Hedgehog couldn't help letting out a whistle.
"Is that the name of our territory? What's the full name?"
He had long felt that the name Watchers was far too conspicuous, basically a built-in buff that turned every neutral NPC in the area h...
2026-01-23 02:00:30 +0000 UTC View PostThough the wording was a bit crude, it truly reflected Ryouma's most genuine state of mind at that moment. He'd made it so obvious, just short of writing "something's wrong" across his forehead, yet this Ōtsutsuki still thought he'd won.
He suddenly pulled a handful of explosive tags ...
2026-01-23 01:59:15 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the Fire Daimyō entered the central district, he was met by the villagers' enthusiastic gazes and loud cheers. Their joy was unrestrained. The villagers let their excitement pour out openly. He had personally come to Konoha, proof that the friendship between Konoha and the daimyō's court w...
2026-01-23 01:57:54 +0000 UTC View PostThe Clan Ferros estate at night was quiet. Inside the main building, Camille waited in one of the smaller reception rooms.
Water trickled from a decorative fountain in the corner. She found it useful for masking the sound of her systems running diagnostic scans.
She was preparing tea ...
2026-01-23 01:55:56 +0000 UTC View PostMeanwhile, on the bed...
Alexei sat up with a gasp, his sect robes gone, replaced by the clothes he'd been wearing when he first arrived in this world.
Right. He'd died.
The cause? He'd seized an opening to kill a second baby zombie that was trying to flank him, only to get imme...
2026-01-23 01:54:26 +0000 UTC View PostHomura walked through the Uchiha compound at an unhurried pace, wearing the standard clan attire like he'd been born to it. The puppet that had once been just another of Kenji's creations had lived under this identity for years now.
The streets of the compound were familiar territory. He kn...
2026-01-22 00:40:32 +0000 UTC View Post"Think Luffy can beat Shiki?"
Sanji asked, cigarette dangling from his lips as he surveyed the battlefield.
Zoro pulled off his bandana without even glancing in Sanji's direction. "Who knows."
"I believe Luffy can definitely do it!" Bon Kurei chimed in cheerfully, even though he...
2026-01-22 00:38:41 +0000 UTC View PostOtto's experiment had ended in complete disaster.
From his corner vantage point, Mario pocketed his phone and shook his head, thinking, When you really consider it, Tony building a functional arc reactor in a cave with a box of scraps... that's the truly insane part.
The powe...
2026-01-22 00:35:56 +0000 UTC View Post