Miguel could barely feel his legs. Sweat poured from his head, slicking his hair and burning his eyes. He’d long since given up on wiping it free. It just came back a few seconds later. Every step came with a heaving breath, and his stomach twisted into nauseous knots.
Yet, he pushed on, passing a group of illythiri trainees who’d long since given up.&nbs...
2025-03-20 15:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe city was astounding.
Crystalline structures stretched as far as Zeke could see, reaching high into the pristine sky and piercing the clouds. Of course, beneath that was a much more nightmarish scene. All it took was a brief pulse of [Primordial Mind], and Zeke saw the truth lurking beneath the surface.
Dark, ominous clouds laced with red lightning loomed overhead, wh...
2025-03-20 13:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostElijah lanced in, digging his beak into the leviathan’s blubbery side. Fat and blood spewed from the point of impact, and ethera rippled down its body like a rolling shockwave. Before he could turn his attack into a retreat, a dozen water blades slashed into his shell, cutting through the leathery surface, not stopping until they hit bone. His blood joined the leviathan’s ...
2025-03-19 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View PostA trail of bubbles followed Elijah as he swam through the frigid ocean waters. Up above was an enormous ice floe that covered as far as he could see in every direction. If he drew close enough to the surface, he could feel the leopard seals, polar bears, and walruses that made their homes in the area. Every now and then, he’d feel various birds as well.
How Morin...
2025-03-19 15:05:01 +0000 UTC View PostCarmen hung from the ceiling, the chains cutting into her wrists as her assistants slammed their hammers into her flesh. She felt the blows – of course she did – but she couldn’t let them affect her. Instead, she focused inward on her ethera, pushing outward with every fiber of her will.
It barely moved.
That was expected. She’d experienced it b...
2025-03-19 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“You want to do what, now?” asked the dwarf. He wore a pair of sturdy trousers that ended mid-calf and nothing else as he coiled a rope from elbow to palm. Elijah couldn’t miss that he was built like a bodybuilder, albeit an extremely short one.
“I just need to know where you spotted the leviathan,” Elijah said.
The dwarf narrowed his eyes. ...
2025-03-18 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Sorry. We don’t have any leads on anything like that,” said, Garret, the acting leader of the Hunter’s Guild. He was a human – which surprised Elijah – but he clearly had a few levels under his belt. More importantly, he didn’t look at Elijah like he was some sort of dangerous animal. He was wary, to be certain, but that was just good practice when dealing...
2025-03-18 15:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostEverything was wrong.
That fact was abundantly clear as the squad of demons drew closer. Of course, they didn’t look like demons. Instead, they resembled fairy tale knights, complete with silvery armor and majestic steeds. They have carried a large banner bearing some unrecognizable sigil.
But Zeke could see through all of that. Oberon’s warning echoed in...
2025-03-18 13:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostElijah sat at the tallest point on his island, his eyes closed and his hands on his knees. It wasn’t quite the lotus position, but it wasn’t far off, either. His entire body remained relaxed, and his breath came slow and even. Inside, though, everything was chaos.
Before embarking on the journey necessary to reach the next level of soul cultivation, he’d cons...
2025-03-17 15:10:00 +0000 UTC View PostBreeze hated his new home.
The whole planet was wild, with only a bare few bastions of civilization. Even the settlement he’d helped raise to some degree of prominence was little more than a backwater village, only on a slightly larger scale. When he’d left the Dawn Kingdom, he’d done so under some duress. Stealing from his Master was an expected part of his cultur...
2025-03-17 15:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostZeke awoke with his face buried in soft grass.
At first, he reveled in the feeling because, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he wasn’t in pain. The entire time he’d spent descending the circles of Hell, he’d been forced to endure some level of torment. At times, it was so subtle that he forgot it was even there, but at other times, it was far more overt....
2025-03-17 13:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post“You don’t ever just want to explore?” Elijah asked, sitting close to the hearth. He’d stopped wearing his Cloak of the Iron Bear, so he didn’t have the benefit of Temperate to keep the effects of the clammy weather at bay. He knew he was functionally immune to all but the worst cases of exposure, but that didn’t mean that he was comfortable in the damp cold. “Yo...
2025-03-16 15:10:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe metal glistened, glowing bright red inside the forge. It was ready. Carmen knew it. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to pull it free, largely because she still wasn’t certain how to proceed.
In the wake of the completion of the Forge of Creation, she had experienced a tidal wave of motivation. She’d spent the following weeks hammering out one ite...
2025-03-16 15:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostFlying was a distinctly visceral experience.
The way the wind passed over his scales, the knowledge that he was thousands of feet above the ground, and the sheer sense of freedom that came from defying gravity – it all combined into something almost indescribable. Still, of his two travel forms – as he liked to refer to Shape of the Sky and Shape of the Sea – he knew which one...
2025-03-15 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Draggin’ me out here like I don’t have nothin’ else to do,” grumbled Kurik, his short legs having no problem keeping up with Elijah’s pace. The dwarf had clearly gained a good deal of experience via his efforts in setting up Ironshore’s defenses – which made sense, based on what Elijah had seen of them. It also probably contributed to his friend’s insistence on st...
2025-03-15 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostGwenivere stared at the abandoned settlement, unsure what to think. She’d lived there, once, and not even that long ago. She had hunted those tunnels, killing flesh spiders and all manner of foul, mutated creatures. She’d lain awake, staring at the jagged shards protruding from the ceiling, wondering if they would suddenly fall and end her suffering.
Maybe hopi...
2025-03-14 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe smell of sizzling bacon reached Elijah’s nose well before he arrived at his destination. He still wasn’t particularly happy about his discovery concerning the other Primal Realm, but the aroma coming from his favorite greasy spoon style restaurant definitely helped. Anticipation and hunger clawing at him, he hurried down the street, eager to reach Mama Lou’s.
H...
2025-03-14 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostClass.
Zeke hadn’t really considered that word for quite some time. However, now that Oberon had mentioned it, he couldn’t deny that he was more than a little curious about what might be in store. After all, he’d been through so much since taking the Arcane Colossus class. He’d upgraded most of his skills, some more than once. And he’d gone through the im...
2025-03-14 13:00:22 +0000 UTC View PostDark clouds loomed on the horizon, a herald of the coming storm. Somewhere in the distance were twenty forts not unlike the one whose ramparts Sadie stood upon. Ten for ogres. Ten for hobgoblins. And then, between them all was the realm’s primary objective. She looked at the notification she’d received upon entering the Primal Realm:
You have ente...
2025-03-13 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View PostA gentle breeze rustled Elijah’s hair as he watched the last of the refugees being escorted down the dock and to their new lives. The evacuation had gone much like the first, though for entirely different reasons. Davika, Mako, and their people had gone willingly, mostly because they had been pushed to their limits and they trusted him. The second group went because they wer...
2025-03-13 15:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostGouts of lava exploded from the moat of lava surrounding the chamber. Something swam among the molten rock, but from the pressure it exerted on the environment, Zeke knew he didn’t want to challenge it.
In truth, the same could be said for the devil standing in the center of the platform that dominated the chamber. The floor was all black, with fire separating the onyx...
2025-03-13 13:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostIvin’s sword came in low, whistling through the air with such speed that Miguel questioned whether or not the shackles even affected the elf. His responding moves were slow. Sluggish. Like he had a thousand-pound weight strapped to his ankle. Still, he forced his leg back, narrowly dodging the oncoming blade.
It still clipped the loose fabric of his pants, ...
2025-03-12 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View PostElijah sat on the edge of the island, his legs dangling over the cliff as he looked out at the surf. Not too far away, he could see the top of the statue that marked the very first tower he’d ever conquered. He could feel it, too. His domain reached almost two miles out to sea, and it was growing with every passing day. By the end of the next year, it could very well e...
2025-03-12 15:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostCassius Flint gripped the railing bordering the quarterdeck, his eyes narrowing as he studied his prey. The seas were calm – he never would have acted otherwise – though the rate of their pursuit was so high that even the smallest waves sent a spray of saltwater onto the deck.
“You got it?” he demanded of the man beside him. He didn’t even need to look to know ...
2025-03-11 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View PostElijah sat crosslegged upon the surface of the desolate island, his eyes closed and entirely focused on the ground before him. The seed was down there, but he’d yet to prompt its growth. Indeed, with Nature’s Design, he held it in stasis until he could figure out how to get the results he needed.
And it was slow going, sorting through those subtly different threads of ethe...
2025-03-11 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostZeke ripped the wretch in half, showering himself with gore before tossing the ends aside. Wheeling around, he searched for other threats, but he saw nothing but a carpet of bodies. He looked down at his hands, which were covered in blood. Bits of flesh had gotten beneath his fingernails, and his arms bore the evidence of a thousand scratches. He pulsed [Hand of Divinity...
2025-03-11 13:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostMiguel felt like a prisoner.
He knew he wasn’t one. He and the others from Ironshore had been guaranteed safe passage, and according to Ektara, the rules governing diplomacy among the Illythiri were ironclad. However, he couldn’t be surrounded by so many people still considered enemies without feeling a little hemmed in.
“Relax, kid,” Colt said, striding be...
2025-03-10 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning, Elijah awoke with a start, leaping out of the bed and already casting Storm’s Fury. Only a second later, when his mind caught up to his senses and he realized that he was in an inn room – that he was safe and not back in the Primal Realm – he let the spell dissipate. But it took a while longer for his heartbeat to return to normal. He ran his hand throu...
2025-03-10 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostZeke shuffled to his left, and he ground his teeth together in frustration as he watched the figure move in the opposite direction. When he lifted his arm, its movements reflected his. It was like looking in a macabre mirror, and one Zeke found incredibly annoying.
“You supposed to be my dark reflection or something?” he growled, his shoulders hunched as he prepared to att...
2025-03-10 13:00:22 +0000 UTC View PostSomething had changed about Argos.
Elijah felt it the second he stepped through the gates. Part of it was the way people looked at him. The residents of the formerly Greek city had always treated him well, but they now gazed at him with a degree of reverence that made him distinctly uncomfortable. Certainly, the old women sitting on their balconies still gossiped – qui...
2025-03-09 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View Post