“So?” the girl in front of him said, leaving him with a raised eyebrow.
“This knowledge is beyond valuable,” Hadrian explained with a heavy gaze. “If you choose to go down this path, there’s no going back. People will suffer. You will suffer. Let me state in no uncertain terms: your death alone would be the most optimal outcome. What you are about to learn might endanger everyone here. Are you sure you want to continue?”
The [Libra...
2023-11-17 18:02:46 +0000 UTC View PostHadrian stared at Lily for what felt like an eternity. The silence stretched between them, punctuated only by the quiet rustling of the cape she wore. He yawned deliberately, scratching his unkempt beard, his disinterest evident. "Do you even understand what you're saying?" he grumbled. "I'm ready to die. That’s a heavy statement, you idiotic child."
Lily took a deep breath, adjusting her robes with a determined stare. "I've thought it through. Teach me, or I'll take matters ...
2023-11-16 19:45:52 +0000 UTC View PostThe only reason Lily rose from the bed was that she didn’t want to inconvenience Lucien and Marcus. Both had shown worry at her reaction to practicing [Meditation]—whatever had damaged her during the night when she tried to resurrect Elysium was still there, lurking beneath the surface of her soul.
Not only that, but Hadrian’s words had broken her spirit. She felt useless. She felt like she knew nothing about herself, about abilities, about anything. All those years she had spent ...
2023-11-15 19:38:52 +0000 UTC View PostBrother Hadrian was a rather skinny [Monk] with wiry limbs and sharp eyebrows. Among his most notable features were two deep blue eyes that stood out, as penetrating as harpoons ready to deflesh those in front of him.
But when he stood up from the chair with a closed book in his hand, his slightly scary appearance faded as he simply approached a kettle and made a cup of tea, whose spicy aroma quickly ran up to Lily’s nose.
Without commenting, he walked to the bed where she lay a...
2023-11-14 21:12:51 +0000 UTC View PostI will post another chapter later today 😼
The monastery library was situated in the highest, most defensible tower. It had been set up only recently, but it was already brimming with new books, many of which were currently being copied by [Monks], who had decided to work under Hadrian.
“You donkey,” Hadrian swore, looking at the smudge of fresh ink and then at the apologetic look on the [Monk]’s face.
“I’m sorry, my hands are too big an...
2023-11-14 07:49:53 +0000 UTC View PostLily woke up to the tolling of a distant bell. She rose silently in the dark, approaching the basin of water she had filled before sleep and splashing some cold water on her face. She was slapped by the icy water and shivered herself fully awake.
Some light came into her room from below the door, giving her enough visibility to get dressed in her robes.
I need to do something, she told herself after putting on the white and gold garment and draping herself in a black cloa...
2023-11-12 18:35:00 +0000 UTC View PostHello dears, I've been advised to prepare a schedule for releases... I will try my best to come up with a solution that fits everyone's needs. I might release a Poll later today or tomorrow to gather your opinions on the matter.
Have a wonderful weekend! 🐱🏍
“Where are we going now?” Lily squeezed out the muffled words between sobs. “Are you taking me away? Am I going to be left—"
“No,” Lucianus sighed, h...
2023-11-11 11:29:42 +0000 UTC View PostTwo chapters for the price of one today! 😼
Lucianus had barely recognized his daughter when he had found her in the church where Elysium’s body was resting. She had been clothed in the Gens Constantina robes, and it showed. Opulence and excesses were common in the [Pope]’s lineage—something that he had always held a deep contempt for. When he had seen his daughter reeling by her friend’s body, however, Lucianus knew that she had not changed one bit. ...
2023-11-11 11:27:35 +0000 UTC View PostSooner than expected! 🐱🏍
To say that the ritual she was looking at was heretical in nature would be an understatement. Her fingers trembled as they caressed the page of the tome while her eyes scanned the text and studied the mandala.
Thanks to [Divine Geometry], she could get a glimpse of what this mandala was for: it contained insights similar to those she had infused inside [Minor Healing], but these were about something darker, chthonic. 2023-11-09 18:35:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello dears, the forthcoming chapter is quite important and... I'm not sure about the final touches yet. It might not be available tomorrow, or the day after. But I promise, it'll be out as soon as it is ready. 😸
Lily climbed the steps of the same church where Elysium’s grandfather had been sent off into his next life. She still remembered that day and what Elysium had looked like when he came to ask her to go to the wake with him. Elysium had loved his grandfather...
2023-11-08 12:16:18 +0000 UTC View PostA Few Days Later
The [Cardinal]’s offer had been tantalizing. Once again, she had sunk into the soft mattress and the silken sheets at night, staring at the ceiling. The past few days after the [Cardinal]’s revelation and the fight with Elysium had passed quickly.
An [Angel]...
She giggled. There was something about imagining herself, the girl that everyone called Aurora Claudia, with blonde hair and deep blue eyes, as an [Angel]—that...
2023-11-07 10:39:29 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun shone brightly over the Citadel.
Elysium was in his room, reviewing the equipment on his bed before placing it in his backpack. He had two Everlasting Torches that he had stolen from his parents’ storage room—they would keep everything illuminated down in the sewer.
He also had some low-grade Health potions—not that he needed anything more than low-grade, since he didn’t even have a Class. The [Templar’s Constitution] he had gotten from training with his parents ...
2023-11-06 15:16:27 +0000 UTC View PostLily felt a tingle as she looked at [Cardinal] Atticus’s smile.
“Your Eminence, I—”
“Aurora,” the man stopped her with a raised hand, “let me finish. You understand how the Holy Flame makes Lumius a feared fighter, I gather?”
Lily nodded eagerly, feeling anticipation brew in her heart. She knew that the Holy Flame acted both as a tremendous buff for oneself and a pure destructive force that one could coat oneself in. In fact, if Lumius ever actually used any ...
2023-11-05 13:41:53 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor's Note: I'll have another chapter up probably around tomorrow at noon. 😼
“Do you know what it means to be Anointed?”
A pipe organ played in the background as [Cardinal] Atticus questioned the confused Lily inside the most majestic structure the Church had ever built—the Angelic Dome. Usually, entrance would be barred, save for special occasions. This, it appeared, was one of those.
[Cardinal] Atticus had spooked her to death. However, he had ...
2023-11-04 17:20:57 +0000 UTC View PostLumius stood tall, but his shifting posture betrayed the firestorm of emotions he wrestled with. The silvery aura of the [Holy Flame] danced at his fingertips, eager to unleash its wrath upon the insolent peon before him. As the [Pope]’s son, he would suffer virtually no consequences. Surely, his cunning brothers might have sought out ways to twist this to their advantage, but it was no large ammunition in their engineered family feud.
“Did you hear me?!” Elysium screamed, beside ...
2023-11-03 09:00:39 +0000 UTC View PostWhen [Cardinal] Atticus appeared at the door of Alexander and Ligea’s house, Elysium’s parents, both had been stunned. Neither was important at all in the military hierarchies and while they were good fighters, that certainly didn’t warrant a personal visit from one of the head figures of the state.
They had been even more surprised when they found out that the red-robed man hadn’t come because of them but because of their son.
…
“The Papal Estate is vast,” [Ca...
2023-11-01 08:42:27 +0000 UTC View PostA Few Days Later
[Pope] Ennius found himself seated at a vast mahogany table. The gentle chime of bells from a distant courtyard occasionally pierced the thick silence, harmonizing with the muted clinks of porcelain. From a delicate, gold-rimmed cup, he took measured sips of hot tea.
“Fascinating,” the [Pope] murmured, his voice tinged with a blend of weariness and intrigue. He gently placed the parchment report filled with ornate script on the table. The ink ...
2023-11-01 08:41:50 +0000 UTC View PostIn the tension-ridden atmosphere, the dagger cruelly approached the fragile librarian. With swift precision, Lily conjured a complex weave of [Light Shields] in urgent succession. Layer after layer appeared, each essentially stacked atop the previous. Even if layered, the shields had no chance of stopping the blow, but that was the least of Lily’s worries.
The [Executioner], whose level was above 160, possessed stats that dwarfed Lily’s current abilities by insurmountable proportion...
2023-11-01 08:41:11 +0000 UTC View PostUtter disbelief washed over Lumius. Throughout the his youth, under the vigilant tutelage and rigorous training of his uncle, [Cardinal] Atticus, Lumius had cultivated a sharp instinct for caution. He had learned to tread lightly through the intricate web of palace intrigues. He had navigated the treacherous waters with a wary eye, thinking that that would guarantee his survival.
But now, standing before him, was Aurora Claudia, the woman destined to be his future wife and seemingly thr...
2023-11-01 08:40:41 +0000 UTC View Post[Minor Healing – Level 99]
The gentle warmth of dawn's first rays brushed against Lily's face, a quiet herald of the coming day, an hour before the scheduled commencement of her rigorous training. She sat in thoughtful contemplation, pondering the nature of her most potent skill and considering the path ahead.
She had stayed up all night to finish studying the research she had found in the [Librarian]’s room. It was written in an undecipherable runic language ...
2023-11-01 08:40:06 +0000 UTC View PostLily coughed up dust as she used a [Light Orb] to illuminate the path in front of her. She had followed the instructions of the librarian. However, she had not expected the place to be this derelict; she had trouble breathing properly with all the dust and dirt that was caked onto everything in this wing of the building. And she had no idea why someone would let the Papal Estate fall into such a state.
But perhaps there was a reason.
She found herself in front of a rusty metal doo...
2023-11-01 08:39:36 +0000 UTC View PostThere was only one person who called her by her real name.
“Elysium!” The name slipped out from Lily’s lips, her blue eyes widening in surprise. She swiftly brought a hand to her mouth to cover it, her blonde locks catching the sunlight.
The young boy sprinted toward her, his legs moving like charged coils. But just as he was about to reach her, Lumius, with his polished shoes and a frown, placed himself between the two.
“Shadows!” Elysium muttered, his gaze turnin...
2023-11-01 07:37:20 +0000 UTC View PostLily was frozen in place as she gazed at the older boy, who had suddenly appeared beneath her window. She glanced back to where she had come from and then looked at the boy again, ensuring this wasn't a figment of her imagination.
“What are you doing here?” Lily asked, taking a step back.
“You are dumb,” Lumius said in his monotone. “And you are not the first person to think they can just run away from this place. One of my cousins was skinned alive for trying this.” 2023-11-01 07:34:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Adriana Claudia, with her piercing eyes and unwavering faith, was many things, but dim-witted was not one of them. She was zealous, embodying excess in every sense of the word, especially when it came to showcasing her devotion. Her fervor sometimes bordered on the extreme, but even those who met her couldn’t deny her intelligence and sharpness.
Years had gone by since the moment she had found herself lost in the shadow of her husband's reputation and stature. Lucianus, who had lived ...
2023-11-01 07:33:46 +0000 UTC View Post