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 humor him for a few minutes.
“First of all, thank you for hearing me out. Your willingness to h...
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 going to be okay?” I asked.
Reina smirked and nodded. “I am sure. This is why I told you t...
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 with anything.
Reina’s smile got a touch broader and more smug with my admission. “There ...
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 the facility, and the blades bent away from it, the liquid producing bubbles with each movement.
... 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 inside, but once the doors locked open with a loud clunk, Reina waved at me to follow her. We enter...
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 terminals. A regular concrete booth with a screen doesn’t fit the aesthetic, sure, but we can’t ha...
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, what kind of armor do you-”
“You didn’t have to accept, you know.” Reina interrupted, 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?”
I stood up from the bath and grunted, patting myself dry with a towel. “Weirdly enough,...
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 scales, though.”
I hummed to myself in consternation. It was almost a guarantee that these ...
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 smirked, fun memories playing in my head. “Well, I was involved in a bit of a… hit-and-run type situ...
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 not be harmed further, provided, of course, you comply,” he said, his business-like countena...
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 would all be gone soon enough anyway. A tiny slot opened, and I placed my finger in. A second later, a g...
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 before I had a chance to read them. I felt heat surround me and looked down with horror, watching my ar...
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, driving my fear to new heights. I tried to escape, but every movement caused my restraints to grow...
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’t, and I should make use of the opportunity. Sure, I was on a timer for the mission, and I had wha...
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 collapsing. The priests never care about collateral, but there’s no way they would bring it down on their...
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]
[Raziel]: I’ll help you climb up to the third shelf in the corner. Use the em...
2025-06-02 18:14:01 +0000 UTC View PostAren’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 stretching.
“This is amazing,” Aren said, words I’m sure he had been holding back until now s...
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-up who is just passably good at fighting.”
His begging did not move me. “I apologize for di...
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 opened up my quest screen and looked at the timer. We had little over a day to steal and deliver the p...
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 flexible choice than a bo, a bat, or a whip. Easier to transport covertly, too."
Aren turned to me w...
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 the floor, the racks went from being full of guns to being full of everything except a gun. Every sing...
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 time. For me to get that much money together before Hob dies, I would have to either become the luckies...
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 each other with puzzled expressions. Why was the kid so on edge?
“What’s got you so worked...
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 had happened during an actual battle. Why in Terra’s name did you drink the entire thing? Didn’t ...
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.
Well, in this instance, some orange, I suppose.
"If you focused on the evaluation rathe...
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, flickering for a moment with surprise, and he gave me a small smile, barely visible behind his bushy...
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!]
Objective: Infiltrate the warehouse in Zone 31 and acquire the glass box before the S...
2025-06-02 18:03:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe 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 scarred Europa, was starting to rise on the horizon too. Under me, the houses gave way to a sprawling indu...
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 someone had stuffed a bucket of rusty iron bolts in there and hit it with a sledgehammer a couple of times...
2025-06-02 18:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post