Lukas landed on the damp, uneven ground, his boots sinking slightly into the muck as he scanned the tunnel. The glow from the surrounding Meca units and the beam of his rifle lit the way, revealing more than just what the EM waves picked up. The air smelled of rust and rot, thick with humidity.
All around them lay dozens—no, hundreds—of Xok’al eggs. Most were long-abandoned, their cracked carapaces dull with age, yet some still pulsed faintly, slow and rhythmic, like a dying heart...
2025-08-15 00:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Ayu knew this was it—the Warden’s special ability.
She’d seen flashes of it in the visuals, enough to recognize the signs. Its flashy version of Fury, or something close. Stronger. Faster. Fully unleashed. Its final card.
But she didn’t flinch.
Maybe, if she’d been alone. Just a little.
Not now. Not with him behind her.
So she focused.
Her mind was already stretched thin under Overdrive, her body burning under the full s...
2025-08-13 00:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Alonso and Ayu moved quickly through the underground maze. The stench thickened the deeper they went—a sharp mix of rot, acid, and iron that clung to the air.
“Are they avoiding us?” Ayu asked.
Alonso scanned the surroundings, eyes and waves flicking between walls and tunnels for a path that led further down. “They lost over a dozen Commanders. Maybe they’ve retreated.”
“But if they were retreating, wouldn’t it be upwards? The others haven’t seen them.”
2025-08-11 00:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Alonso moved swiftly across the familiar terrain.
The air here was colder, drier—tainted by the lingering scent of char and old blood. The ground was fractured and uneven, littered with windblown ash and slivers of darkened bone.
He remembered the marks carved into the stone by their claws that day. He remembered the blood. The screams in the night as he ran for his life—Kahul, Tziib, Kinam, vice-leader Xam, and Captain Tohol.
He remembered the crash of Tohol’s final s...
2025-08-08 00:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The ground rumbled as the three MRVs made their way across the barren lands of the Ajnal region, the reinforced suspensions keeping the vehicles relatively stable over the uneven terrain while the soft hum of the magnetised motors echoed beneath them.
“So these Xayen ruins,” Chiara asked, her gaze fixed ahead. “You think they hold the key to passing this stage?”
“I’m not sure,” Lukas replied. “Based on what Alonso just told us—and what we already know—it’s cl...
2025-08-06 00:00:22 +0000 UTC
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Climbers — Status Screens (Simplified Version)
*Values in SHU (Standard Houston Units)
Alonso Shemson
Stage Progress: 17.252%
Body State: 2
Pillar State: 2
Awakening: Independent Minds (Houston and Darius)
Skills: No-Strike (12.564%)
Weapon: Dual Miaodao-mod...
2025-08-04 01:00:19 +0000 UTC
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Chiara opened her eyes, slowly adjusting to the light around her. She was lying on her bed inside the MRV. Her third mind had already begun relaying everything that had happened around her during her rest, including the exact amount of time that had passed.
“Lukas?”
“Oh, awake already? That was faster than I expected. May I come in?”
“Yes.”
The door slid open as Lukas stepped inside, his face lit up with excitement, though his eye...
2025-08-04 00:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Jack sat slouched on the plush leather sofa, eyes glued to the massive screen that took up half the wall.
The battle had ended nearly twenty minutes ago, but the commentary kept going—tactical breakdowns, frame-by-frame replays, speculation on unit formations, energy output readings, and even body language analysis. It was overkill. The whole thing felt more like a high-budget sci-fi film than footage from The Tower.
An all-out war? Aliens versus what… some kind of Aztec f...
2025-08-01 00:00:04 +0000 UTC
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“We are indebted to you for your assistance,” General Noh said, lowering his head slightly as he pressed a closed fist to his heart—a solemn Ajnal gesture of deep respect.
Lukas returned the bow with calm composure, lifting his index finger to the centre of his chest in the Azcoyatl fashion. “It was the least we could do. The Xok’al are enemies to all of us. In standing together, we honour both our dead and our duty. We acted as we must.”
He straightened and met Noh’...
2025-07-30 00:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Lukas' gaze locked on the creature. He was receiving precise feedback from Chiara, who was processing visuals relayed by Mei and Jun’s squad, comparing its performance against their earlier estimations.
The Xok’al in question was markedly different from the rest. Beyond its five tails, it had an additional upper set of limbs sprouting from its shoulders. The upper arms ended in axe-like blades, while the lower appendages curved into scimitar shapes. Its body maintained the signature...
2025-07-28 00:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Arjun narrowed his eyes as he looked through the scope.
The battle raged on, fierce—blood hung in the air, limbs torn from bodies and flung across the snowy field, staining the fortress walls and ground below in splashes of red.
And yet... all of it moved slower to him.
Even the sound, when it finally reached, felt stretched—drawn out in unnatural echoes. Vibrations lingered longer than they should. But it had already been weeks. Maybe months.
This… this was his ...
2025-07-25 00:00:05 +0000 UTC
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A sharp knock echoed through the forge’s stone arch.
Imani exhaled slowly, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his forearm before setting the forging hammer down beside the half-shaped alloy blade.
“Enter.”
The heavy door creaked open, and a warrior stepped inside, clad in the scaled bronze and obsidian weave of a Lord of Sparks adjutant. He carried himself with precision, eyes down, posture straight.
Imani recognized him—a Priest's second, one of t...
2025-07-23 00:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Ayu’s eyes widened in amazement.
The structure before her was unlike anything she'd expected—tucked deep in a narrow crevice at the heart of the mountain range, far above the forested ground and well below the jagged peaks. Hidden beside a quiet creek, veiled by overgrowth and rock, it would’ve been impossible to find without Makoh guiding them. The entrance was barely a crack in the stone—narrow enough they’d had to slide through sideways, scraping their shoulders against the...
2025-07-21 00:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Corpses littered the slope, strewn like discarded offerings to a bloodthirsty god. Dismembered limbs jutted from fractured earth, some twitching still, nerves firing in post-mortem spasms.
Ribcages had been ripped open like fruit split by bare hands. Entrail...
2025-07-18 00:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Alonso felt it all.
The beating of his heart. The blood pulsing through his veins. The sweat trailing down his body. The iron taste in his mouth. The pain in his gut. The sting of every open wound, flashing through his nerves.
The burn in his muscles. The weight in his legs. The blur at the edge of his vision. The tension in his fingers. The throb in his bones.
The strain in each breath. The pressure in his chest. The heat rising from his skin. The wounds, the marks, the blo...
2025-07-16 00:00:04 +0000 UTC
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CLANG!
An echo rang through the air as metal collided with polished bone.
Eryx’s eyes widened—what!? His thrust had been clean. A perfect opening—and yet, it was deflected!
Alonso’s eyes stayed locked on him, steady and unreadable.
And then the blade came.
Fast. Too fast.
He barely brought his trident up in time, both hands gripping the shaft to absorb the impact. The strike sent a jolt throug...
2025-07-14 00:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Ayu’s head snapped around, eyes darting—she didn’t need long.
There he was. Standing still, back straight, posture calm.
The White Wolf of the West. Makoh.
Not a sound passed through the crowd. Every beastman present bowed low, heads lowered with reverence burning in their eyes. Even Eryx—lips tight—dipped his head without a word.
Grahn’s eyes widened, his jaw clenched tight. “Mako… there is no—”
“It’s been a long time since I shared the f...
2025-07-11 00:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Ayu’s eyes widened as she saw Jhura stagger off the ring, her body full of bloody holes. She was like a sort of aunty to Ayu during her time here—someone she respected, trained with. Seeing her torn open like that twisted her gut.
But she was still alive. Ayu could sense it. Barely. The sheer vitality of the Third Body Stage was the only thing keeping her going.
Grahn stepped forward, silent and grim, and helped carry Jhura away. Ayu moved aside to give space, fists clenched.<...
2025-07-09 00:00:07 +0000 UTC
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The atmosphere tensed from Eryx’s words, the eyes of many beastmen narrowing.
Grahn let out a long breath. “Cubs these days.”
He locked eyes with one of the older warriors and both stepped forward to begin the ritual. This time, the ring drawn was larger, deeper. The clearing in the village’s heart widened as bodies moved back, feet thudding against packed earth. Large horns dipped in blood traced the lines—once, twice, again—the scent sharp and metallic in the cool ni...
2025-07-07 00:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Alonso suddenly found himself sitting on a wooden chair.
In front of him was a table with three cups. Two were filled with tea—one gave off the scent of mint, the other of black tea with a hint of honey—while the one before him remained empty. The table was covered with a patterned cloth that matched the style of a traditional wooden European house from the 1800s.
Alonso was surprised by the detail and quality of it all. If not for the two sitting in front of him, he might hav...
2025-07-04 00:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Imani gritted his teeth as the Xok’al’s EM domain pressed down on his hammer, the force almost buckling his stance. His muscles bulged as he forced it upward, catching and holding the strike from the creature’s blade.
Another limb swept in, aiming for his ribs—but a sword intercepted it with a sharp, clean clang.
Wang’s foot barely seemed to touch the ground as his armor’s mechanisms fired, vents hissing as stored energy discharged. His suit pulsed with light, and in a...
2025-07-02 00:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Jack sat back on his fancy futuristic chair, reclined just enough, hovering in the virtual void.
Earth glowed below, the Milky Way a river of stars behind him. Holo-displays floated all around—match replays, live feeds, forum threads stacked like cards. His fingers brushed the controls built into the armrests as he scrolled.
Jack smirked and dove into the latest comment war. The Shadows’ last screening had set the forums on fire.
He hadn’t planned on getting dragged in...
2025-06-30 00:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Alonso took a shallow breath as the soft breeze touched his face. He was barefoot, dressed in light clothing, seated on a patch of grass that stretched endlessly in all directions, with no one else in sight.
From the pores of his skin rose faint wisps of smoke, carrying the sharp stench of burnt flesh.
His mind stayed locked on the feedback from his body—was it right, was it wrong, should he shift focus, follow a new path, or had the last dozen steps been a mistake that needed t...
2025-06-27 00:00:05 +0000 UTC
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“What the…” Jack’s eyes widened as he stared at the massive cinema-style display ahead.
The image showed a giant salamander tearing through the swamp, locked in brutal combat with a huge black lobster that darted between pools of muck and shattered trees.
“We’re still trying to figure out what’s going on here,” the commentator’s voice came in, smooth but filled with excitement. “But it looks like The Shadows somehow befriended—or gained control of—a creatur...
2025-06-25 00:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Alonso ducked under the spear thrust with a grin, shifted sideways, and pulsed his waves through his armor, driving his motion faster.
He shot forward, one sword stabbing straight.
The beastman twisted, dodging the thrust with a smooth pivot, already winding up a counter—
But Alonso was ahead of him.
He surged forward with his knee, crashing it into the beastman’s gut before the strike could land.
A sharp grunt.
Then came the follow-through—he pivoted...
2025-06-23 00:00:08 +0000 UTC
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As they reached the village, the sun was already down.
Flickering bonfires lit the winding paths, casting dancing shadows over the uneven stone and dirt. Warm hues rippled across fur, scale, and hide as the beastmen gathered in circles—laughing, eating, and drinking from large, polished horns.
As they passed through, Ayu received wave after wave from the locals.
Alonso, meanwhile, found himself slowing down, curiously studying the life unfolding around them.
The beas...
2025-06-20 00:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Ayu rested her head on Alonso’s shoulder as they stared at the setting sun on the horizon, the sky a wash of orange and pink, cascading over the vast green plains.
“I’m glad you’ve been enjoying your time here with the beastmen,” Alonso said, his back against a lone tree on a small hill, his arm resting lightly around Ayu’s back.
“Yeah… Makoh and the others have been really nice to me. I’ve been even a bit spoiled, I’d say.” She chuckled softly, but then her ...
2025-06-18 00:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Hope crouched low and held his breath as he studied the Grathen ahead.
Now he just needed to—
🔻Sharpwatch (Level 1➤2)
When unseen, you see more. Your senses heighten in silence and shadow.
➤ 10% increase in perception while observing unaware targets.
Oh… ok.
But the distraction only lasted a second.
He burst forward, spear in hand. The beast noticed him, but too late.
Hope thrust wit...
2025-06-16 01:35:01 +0000 UTC
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Hope stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders with a small grunt. He twisted his torso left, then right, joints popping faintly as he shook out the tension.
He exhaled through his nose, giving each leg a short shake before bouncing lightly on his toes.
"Alright… back at it."
Recovery was certainly much quicker than he expected. Probably due to all the boosts. Heck, the last one had been rather significant.
But it proved his point: the harder the challenge, the b...
2025-06-16 01:34:01 +0000 UTC
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Hope stared at his weapon. The edge had started to blunt, and it was no longer penetrating cleanly.
It had also bent more than a bit in the last few encounters.
It was time to change.
Over the course of the last two hours, he had encountered several dozen of the four-legged beasts and hunted them one after another. He felt his thrusting technique had improved, and one of the boost-causing prompts along the way had definitely made the weapon feel much lighter in his ...
2025-06-16 01:33:00 +0000 UTC
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