For a moment—an irrational flash of disbelief—Terry didn’t quite comprehend what he was seeing.
Terraform stepped through the new portal, his aura spreading wide to embrace his element, like a king entering his throne room.
But that wasn’t what had struck Terry’s mind blank.
Behind him strode Hunter, Marco, Juliette, and Louisa. Inexplicably, there had been no casualties.
Then, a voice called out, somehow echoing past their shoulders and over the cacophony of...
2024-09-03 17:49:11 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Hey all, sorry for the slow posts. Started up at a new job and it's tricky balancing writing and work. I'm also traveling this weekend but will try and get you all the next chapter before then.
Thanks for reading, really appreciate your support!
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Midmark Quest Given: [Summons]
More details provided after summons. Do you accept Summons?
Reward: C-rank
That notification made his stomac...
2024-08-27 19:49:47 +0000 UTC
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Something pinged in the back of Terry’s mind. A thought worming its way through the fog and the phantom screams echoing in his ears.
I’m alive…
Then, the sound of blood rushing in his head faded and he realized suddenly that the screams he heard weren’t phantom screams.
His head shot up, taking in the panicking crowd in an instant.
The mass of refugees rippled, recoiling from some unseen thing, like a herd fleeing the wolves in their midst.
A pul...
2024-08-21 17:37:50 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Sorry for the delay, still feeling the covid fog. Enjoy!
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The plan was clear, precise, and absolutely insane.
Qui Shen was the ultimate target—that much was obvious. If they could take him off the board, Sol and the refugees had a chance should it come down to a fight. So their formation was angled like a dagger, designed to pierce the outer skin of the army and penetrate to the core.
Terraform’s senses couldn’t range fully across the moving force—n...
2024-08-18 21:08:53 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: We're back! Sorry about the delay everyone...last week was rough. I'm still not feeling great, but I'm excited to be back to posting. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm not 100% on the next post date, but shooting for Wednesday.
Thanks for reading!
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It was difficult not to feel like a failure.
Twenty years clawing for respect, scrapping for resources, bargaining for alliances—all dashed to the dirt by the machinations of a single megalomaniac.
N...
2024-08-12 17:30:50 +0000 UTC
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Sorry all, whole family has covid with 102+ fevers. Next chapter is half done but can't get it done right now. Thanks for your patience, will do my best to have at least two chapters come out this week regardless.
2024-08-06 22:52:55 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Enjoy!
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Marlon stood in the center of the Pit, the heart of the Market, his aura pulsing with newfound power. He took a deep breath, centering himself, flexing his control over space like a nervous tic. The air around him bent with his will, his senses attuned to every subtle shift in the fabric of space.
As he exhaled slowly, his awareness extended outward, feeling the intricate web of spatial connections that made up the Market. Each alleyway, each shop, each...
2024-08-01 21:22:42 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: We're back. Sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoy!
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Bloodhound’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the crowd of obvious refugees. His heightened senses, honed through years of training and experience, picked up on subtle cues that others might miss. The desperate set of their shoulders, the nervous twitches, the auras flaring in terror, the frantic whites of their eyes showing in fear and submission, and the way they huddled together like a herd surrounded by wolves. In his m...
2024-07-29 22:46:47 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: The cat from last chapter has now been dubbed...Eleanor! I'll retcon the previous chapter to reflect as such!
Shorter chapter today, but Monday's was beefy, so it's a balance. Friday's should be longer.
Enjoy!
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Terry and Tania exchanged a nervous glance as they prepared to test their handiwork. Tania gently set Eleanor down on the stone floor, her fingers lingering for a moment in its soft fur.
“Ready?” Terry asked, his voice barely above a whispe...
2024-07-24 20:47:16 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Happy Monday :D! Quick question for you all. Would you be interested in reading my other WIP? I know for me and many readers, we typically subscribe for a specific story, but if there's interest, I could drip in chapters from another story on non-post days?
Let me know in the comments!
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Waves of power rolled into Marlon, drowning his senses, filling him until he felt fit to burst.
He heard voices but the words wouldn’t matriculate in his brain, dull sound...
2024-07-22 22:44:17 +0000 UTC
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“I’m telling you, they’ve shifted eight degrees that way!”
The Elementalist gritted his teeth, reaching out with his aura once more to confirm. After a moment, he turned back with a smug expression that wasn’t entirely unwarranted—Bloodhound had been pestering him for the better part of an hour.
“Sir, I understand you have powers beyond me. I’m under no delusions on that front. But I know stone and this is the path they too...
2024-07-18 17:42:27 +0000 UTC
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The platform shuddered violently, pulling Terry from his melancholy. He glanced up to see Terraform on a second platform made of pure glass, rising high above the Pit. There were a handful of others with Terraform, among them Katie’s grandmother and Madame Juliette. The sight tightened his chest, but he forced himself to stand up, wiping his face as he looked toward Katie. Her eyes tracked Terraform’s platform, her own tears slipping down her cheeks like silent prayers.
Tania, who h...
2024-07-16 22:24:27 +0000 UTC
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Wasn't happy with today's chapter. Needs a rewrite.
Sorry about the delay and thanks for the patience 🙏
2024-07-15 22:24:25 +0000 UTC
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Before the shouts could even begin, Katie’s grandmother, Louisa, began to pull the aura into herself once more.
Everyone got the message loud and clear.
Terraform eyed the group as if waiting for the brave—or idiotic—soul willing to challenge the older woman’s stance. A full ten seconds passed before the man seemed satisfied.
“Every moment we waste is another opportunity for a bomb or raiding party to bypass Marlon. I’ll give three minutes for relevant&n...
2024-07-12 22:22:16 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Hey all, I'm back! Sorry about leaving you on a cliffy! We will be returning to our usual schedule, so expect the next chapter Friday :D.
Enjoy!
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When space was forced open against its will, it often carried ripples along its length—tears that fissured out from the epicenter like post-quake tremors.
A series of those tremors smashed into Marlon’s senses with the subtlety of a brick to the face.
He burst to his feet, cursing vividly as Duke burst...
2024-07-10 15:45:11 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Shoot, forgot to tell you all. I decided to retcon Tania not Awakening. She fails the first time. Sorry if that confused anyone.
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Marlon Ockers wove his considerable bulk through the labyrinth of shelves. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t agile, but he eventually made it to the front of his shop.
More than a few tugs on his aura were indicative of his passage, vases and mugs and pots knocked down by his gut, then returned to their rightful positions through sm...
2024-07-03 01:18:30 +0000 UTC
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Sorry, about today's chapter, still working on it. Plan is to get it out tomorrow.
As far as scheduling goes, I'll be taking off July 4th from writing, so this week will probably be one chapter tomorrow, one on Wednesday.
I'm also going camping with the family next week, Sunday to Wednesday and I won't have service (or my computer). Expect one chapter next week (probably Friday).
Sorry, I know that sucks. Gonna do my best to make it up to you all :D.
Feels bad not pro...
2024-07-01 23:03:26 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Hey all, update from Book 1 - Chapter 64. There was a reward for unlocking all the roses that I deferred. Well, it's relevant in this chapter, so here it is!
New Skill Affixed: Aura Snapshot (D — Upgradeable)
Activate to take a snapshot of the target’s aura. This snapshot can be used in conjunction with [Metaphysical Analysis] to catalog a power.
Note: This is an upgradeable Skill. As caster’s ...
2024-06-28 21:23:02 +0000 UTC
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Terraform paced the dimly lit office, the ambient glow from the Singularity casting erratic shadows on the stone walls. He paused as Terry’s voice cut through the silence.
“Which one is it?” His tone carried a mix of curiosity and trepidation, the weight of the Singularity seeming to press down on his shoulders. He knew Silver had the Material and Physical, while Qui Shen had the Elemental, and Dancer had the Presence and Mental—according to his grandfather’s. But the Metaphys...
2024-06-26 22:27:08 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Sorry about missing Friday's chapter! Hope you all had a good weekend!
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Somewhere in East Topeka, a hundred feet underground, sat Tinker in his makeshift lair. When he had first been assigned to East Topeka over a year ago, he knew he had drawn the short stick. At his core, he was a scientist—not a fighter, a general, or even a leader. The thought of subjugating these people and vying for control of the city against the Emperor’s forces turned his stomach. B...
2024-06-24 21:54:48 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Sorry I'm a day late. Juggling edits for B1, plotting for B2, and actually writing lol! Thanks all for your patience and support!
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When they left their makeshift lair deep underneath the wall, they were forced to squish together on the stone platform Klein had created. Despite their pleas for a wider platform, it quickly became apparent that there were limitations to Klein’s powers. Though he was a C-ranker, just as Vlad had been, Terry began to realize that ...
2024-06-20 21:56:27 +0000 UTC
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The portal snapped shut behind him with a whoosh of air. He found himself in the familiar tunnels of the Black Wall. The interior structure of the wall was uniform in makeup, though its tunnels made a dizzying array of arteries that shifted and turned daily. Drones and nanobots modulated the placement of the tunnels on a 24-hour cycle, making it impossible to know exactly where he was in relation to their base. Fortunately, the map they had procured earlier that morning gave his...
2024-06-17 22:28:38 +0000 UTC
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When Terry broke from the alleyway onto the open field, it was with a dozen instances of his Master of Light arrayed on either side of him. It strained his aura to turn each of them invisible, both on the visible and infrared wavelengths. More than that, he had created false trails—another five barely visible distortions in the air, each racing across the muddy field at different speeds.
Terraform’s man, Klein, used his earth affinity to mask their footsteps, all the while creating ...
2024-06-14 22:27:58 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Woot! Book 2, let's go! Shooting for another chapter tomorrow, but please bare with me as I get my footing on book 2's start.
Appreciate you all!
Please enjoy :D
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HeroWatch Entry
(last updated Year 57:12:03 08:01 local time)
Tinker <Damien Alcantar>
Summary
Damien Alcantar (chosen super moniker: Tinker), ...
2024-06-13 18:07:26 +0000 UTC
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Hey all! Sorry I don't have a chapter today, but I did have some questions I wanted your input on. As my patrons, I value your opinions and want to give you an opportunity to guide my approach (for Book 1 edits and going into Book 2).
I'll have some seed questions, but feel free to simply throw out any comment, thing you loved, thing you disliked, or things you want to see more/less of!
Seed Questions:
[A/N]: I hope you guys enjoy :D!
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He ejected from his mother’s rose, unwilling—or possibly unable—to witness anymore of the pain. Anymore of the lies.
He was done with secrets.
As his senses came back into focus, notifications swarmed into view, bouncing excitedly to grab his attention.
-
Reward calculated
New Skill Affixed: Aura Snapshot (D — Upgradeable)
Activate to take a snapshot of the target...
2024-06-07 22:00:07 +0000 UTC
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He forced himself to continue watching the memory, but knew distantly that he wasn’t paying attention. A haze seemed to settle over his thoughts, like they were trudging through mud.
Even though that hadn’t been him screaming—not exactly—it still dug into his heart to witness the raw trauma in his younger self. For the first time since he’d begun decoding memories within the roses, he could maybe, possibly, understand the need to hide away this spec...
2024-06-06 20:47:35 +0000 UTC
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Dang, sorry about this! I'm wrapping up the end of Part Three and need some extra time to make it flow as smooth as I envisioned.
New plan is to have today's chapter come out tomorrow afternoon PST, then Friday's chapter as usual.
Thanks for your patience!
2024-06-05 20:58:48 +0000 UTC
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[A/N]: Damn...
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Tania, Katie, Tristan, Peter, and Alan spoke in low voices as they waited at the Keeper of the Plains plaza for Terry to return. Terry’s three ghoul bodyguards were present as well, though they ranged around in the fog, scouting for errant sanguine who might have survived the raid.
Dalton was also present, though he was sitting in the idling armored vehicle on the nearby road. Terry had portaled both the man and the vehicle to their location t...
2024-06-03 20:03:25 +0000 UTC
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With a flick of his aura, he parted space, connecting this warehouse to his own.
Whipvine gave him an incredulous look.
“You still haven’t explained to me how you’re able to do that.”
Terry just winked and stepped through the portal into the warehouse office. He immediately recognized the sounds of a commotion on the warehouse floor. As the others streamed through his portal, the pull on his aura was a distant thought.
Down on the floor below, a hundred people ...
2024-05-31 19:43:47 +0000 UTC
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