“We, the newly established Order of the Ancient Ways, have come to collect a few items,” spoke Gareth from the base of the steps of Universitas Phantasia. “Sorin, this has nothing to do with you. Please vacate the premises as we retrieve artifacts that rightfully belong to us.”
“Gareth,” greeted Sorin as he lowered himself onto the university’s steps. “You don...
2024-11-25 03:38:36 +0000 UTC View PostThe air in Sorin’s cultivation chamber hummed with potential that gnawed away at the isolation runes sufficient to hold back a demigod’s power. It wriggled like a living organism, threatening to break fee from Sorin’s control.
Existence was pain. Only Death offered an easy escape.
The situation was as purposeful as it was untenable. To incorporate both Life and Death in...
2024-11-25 03:37:41 +0000 UTC View PostI only managed to finish three chapters. The weather has been terrible (over a foot of snow), and my renovation contractor left me with some unhappy surprises.
Wish me luck in writing four chapters this coming week.
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The Web of Strife in the city intensified as the Nighthawks, initially focused on exterminating demons and stamping out corruption, went on the offensive. ...
2024-11-25 03:37:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe night was especially dark in Olympia with the protection of their deities gone and Agents running rampant in the streets. Sporadically, the sky lightened as humanity’s defenders clashed against its seemingly endless aggressors.
From within, things weren’t much better; Sorin could feel corruption expanding like tumors despite the absence of their respective Evils.
And ...
2024-11-20 13:50:06 +0000 UTC View PostI've been super busy, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Here's two chapters from last week. I'll try to do another four this week.
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A familiar stench of dead flesh and treating chemicals hung around Sanderson’s Leather Outfitting, even more so in the original shop than any of its daughter locations.
It was still a small shop. Only a single counter could be seen...
2024-11-20 13:49:35 +0000 UTC View PostSorin considered Grand Elder Kepler’s words before firmly abridging his escapades in the Undercity. If his seniority was equal to a Grand Elder’s, there was no need to justify his actions or even incriminate himself.
“Around the time of the Undercity’s collapse, I happened to be present in the Styx Auction House,” Sorin explained to the assembled elders. “Specifically, ...
2024-11-15 13:58:49 +0000 UTC View PostI'm a little late this week because of adapting to the new job. Which is going well. 1/4 chapters this week. I'll catch up on the weekend if it comes to that.
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The Viper Pit was packed. Unfamiliar faces filled the upper seats, pushing mainstay elders of the clan down onto the floor, where they jostled elbow to elbow with elders of other clans and branch members of enemy facti...
2024-11-14 03:35:58 +0000 UTC View PostHello Everyone,
It's with mixed feelings that I announce that I'll be starting a full-time job next Monday after four years of full-time writing. As such, I won't be able to give writing the amount of attention I've been giving it. Releases will be less regular going forward, and there may be some weeks where I just can't write as much because spending time with my family is my top prior...
With Fenrig safe and sound and most of his immediate problems handled, Sorin found a cultivation room to seclude himself with and balance his internal energies.
Sorins’ body might be strong, but the ocean of Death mana raging inside him was eroding his vitality to the point that it was affecting his lifespan. Meanwhile, Death-aligned corruption had begun a hostile takeover an...
2024-11-09 03:14:14 +0000 UTC View PostA brief scan with Sorin’s potent spiritual senses confirmed that the deities of Pandora were well and truly gone. Only demigods remained alongside their demon equivalents, God Seeds, and Heralds. In just a few minutes, the power dynamic on Pandora had complexly shifted.
Our guardian deities are gone, and so are the evils. Wait… That’s not accurate.
Sorin had pe...
2024-11-07 16:45:21 +0000 UTC View PostSorin flitted speedily through the Undercity’s ruined streets, taking care to avoid the sparks and flames that floated about the melted buildings, tiny centuries for a similarly tiny canine.
They were the eyes of ‘Cerby’, the three-headed puppy that had emerged from the Gate of the Underworld at Ratten’s direction. Despite his small stature, the animal’s bite was vicious ...
2024-11-06 03:52:25 +0000 UTC View PostAaron Zeiss was a simple man with simple wants and simple needs. He had people he cared for. A job he hated. A boss that never took no for an answer.
Aaron was a very normal person, which was why he only accepted a stream of information from Lord Hope with great reluctance. Unsurprisingly, the missive asked Aaron to act against the five corrupted deities supervising t...
2024-11-05 03:22:05 +0000 UTC View PostDeath dispersed as five incompatible poisons were forced together using five compatible forms of corruption. A frightening amount of potential built up over five short seconds, causing nearby buildings in the Undercity to corrode and collapse.
Even Ratten was backed up while Sorin poured half of his impressive energy reserves into a single attack. “You’ve been the one attacking...
2024-11-04 02:10:25 +0000 UTC View PostIt shouldn’t have been possible. It shouldn’t have happened. One agonizing second after another passed, but even using Ophiuchan Simulation and what he could perceive of the mysterious poison, he couldn’t determine how they’d done it.
It’s not that the Gate of Death is difficult to open, thought Sorin. Instead, it’s difficult to survive. Opening t...
2024-11-02 03:57:33 +0000 UTC View PostSorin immediately placed a bid for the Shadow Cage Steel and was unsurprised when the price climbed up to 25 divine crystals. “How sure are you about this material, Lawrence?” asked Sorin as he placed a bid for 27 divine crystals.
“Very sure,” said Lawrence. “My blood bound weapon is practically screaming at me to buy this.”
Lawrence’s explanation made sense to ...
2024-10-31 02:31:58 +0000 UTC View PostThe Styx Auction House was a steel and glass building that towered over all other buildings in the Under City. According to Tiffany, the Agent of Jealousy, it was the only place on Pandora where anything could truly be bought and sold without fearing any repercussions.
Whereas the Undercity was characterized by its diverse population, its ad hoc agreements, and its non-lethal viole...
2024-10-30 03:48:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning, Tiffany paid a visit to their room and tossed them a black plate brimming with deathly energies onto the table. “This pass is required to attend the Golden Circle’s auction in five days. While it’s good for a group of five, I won’t be going. Feel free to fill up the remaining slots if you wish to risk your cover.
“I also wish to inform you that there’s...
2024-10-29 01:57:07 +0000 UTC View PostSorin considered Madeline’s warning and decided that the risk was worth it. For one, Nemesis still hadn’t warned him of any ill intent. For another, he was curious about these white threads and what they represented. They were different than normal karmic connections but similar to Strife threads in some respects.
His karmic vision activated and revealed the hundreds of thousan...
2024-10-26 00:27:45 +0000 UTC View Post
“So, give me the rundown,” Sorin said to Tiffany. “Who’s in the slave business in the Undercity. Where do they obtain their slaves? How do they make sure they aren’t tracked down?”
Tiffany let out a light laugh. “I doubt I could obtain most of that information, though I do know where the most recent batch of slaves was acquired.” She pointed up...
2024-10-26 00:26:51 +0000 UTC View PostAs the main city belonging to humanity, Olympia was a sprawling place with a plethora of rules and regulations. The taxes were especially heavy, which led to the natural emergence of dozens of black markets.
In these dark places, criminal elements brushed elbows legitimate organizations.
The authorities knew. The clans knew. Really, the was hardly anyone not in the know, it w...
2024-10-26 00:26:18 +0000 UTC View PostIt was like he'd spent his whole life blind. One second, the world was mired in darkness and uncertainty, and the next, it was filled with clashing colors and possibilities.
Strife was everywhere.
Strife could not be avoided.
"Sorin, what's happening?" came Gareth's voice. "How are you? Answer me now, or I'll have no choice but to take aggressive action! "
Sorin l...
2024-07-26 21:32:42 +0000 UTC View PostTime was short, so Sorin immediately called his companions back to the Governor's Manor to formulate a plan. As he waited for them to arrive, he reflected on his actions of late: his increasing recklessness with his patients and his erosion of the concept of consent. I really am becoming excessively prideful. Elder Calvin warned me, but I refused to listen.
While Sorin was...
2024-07-26 03:12:35 +0000 UTC View PostLocation four was at the intersection of Chancery Street and Hodge Trail located in the southeast corner of Mildred. The once-vibrant neighborhood was deserted, and the only human traffic that could be seen were carts laden with emergency goods and men and women in protective gear.
Most of the time, all they did was drop off food bundles, but occasionally, they identified hotspots ...
2024-07-24 23:07:02 +0000 UTC View PostAs the city's guardian demigod, Governor Loveless held unparalleled political clout. A few orders were all it took to shut the city down.
Though the situation was still developing, and classifying it as an epidemic would be premature, speed was the key to dealing with such situations. History books were littered with examples of small cities and outposts being wiped out due ...
2024-07-23 21:14:52 +0000 UTC View Post"Bertha Hopkins passed away over four minutes ago due to a rapid aggravation of her symptoms," explained Physician Gordon as he hurriedly led them to the basement. The hallways warped as they traveled as Governor Loveless, worried about the implications this might have for his daughter, actively manipulated the space around their group. "It's difficult to say exactly what went wron...
2024-07-22 22:56:47 +0000 UTC View Post"You've been here precisely six days and five hours," Sorin said to Astley. "We'd originally have left you for another half day, but the situation has changed."
The Myth-Binder was clearly out of sorts, but Sorin's words slowly reduced her immersion in the past and brought her back into the present.
Once he described the situation with the mysterious illness, he went on to de...
2024-07-19 13:30:14 +0000 UTC View Post"Impossible." Governor Loveless appeared beside Sorin and erupted with divine mine. His intrusive and powerful spirituality bore into the sickly mortal maid, causing her cells to begin undergoing large-scale collapse."
"Governor, you're killing her!" shouted Physician Olivander. She appeared beside the maid and poured her three-star life mana into the poor maid's body. Though power...
2024-07-19 13:27:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe door to the Governor's manor flew open just as Sorin and the Vice-Commander flew off the ship, leaving behind the rest of the entourage in favor of gaining a few seconds. A trio of maids scrambled out of the way as they made their way up a set of narrow stairs meant for servants to arrive at the second floor, where a second door opened to reveal a bed crowded with an assortment of li...
2024-07-17 12:24:50 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Sorin and friends returned to the Adventurers Rest, they found a sign on the door stating that Innkeeper Madeline would be taking a brief holiday. The kitchen would be closed, but existing patrons were welcome to keep their rooms free of charge.
"Typical behavior for a meddlesome witch," said Gareth. "But very suspicious given what just happened. Did she set us up to cause som...
2024-07-17 12:20:29 +0000 UTC View PostThe youngster's arrival was both sudden and unexpected, as was the shopkeeper's sudden change in demeanor the moment he saw the youngster.
"For you, young lord? Consider it a gift!" said the shopkeeper in a fawning tone. He'd suddenly turned from an opportunistic miser to a generous merchant who cared greatly about connections.
"Nonsense!" interrupted Fenrig. "I offered you t...
2024-07-15 21:35:36 +0000 UTC View Post