EdgeCases

DRR Book 3, Epilogue 1 — Hopes and Dreams

Gheraa wasn't used to this.

Not the act of existing in realspace, though that was certainly strange in and of itself; the straight lines and square rooms of his home were nonexistent here, and the purity of Firmament he was used to was nowhere to be found. A part of him rebelled against it—yearned to apologize to Lhore and to be accepted back amongst the Integrators—but a much greater part of him reveled in it. Delighted in the thought of what they would think of him i...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 68 — Home Away From Home

There are a few more loose ends I need to tie up before risking a reset, which means I spend most of the trip interrogating Gheraa and trying to understand the intricacies of the loop. He's a lot more free with information now that he doesn't have to hide what he's doing from the rest of the Integrators, but it's also surprising to me how much he doesn't know.

"We have no idea what's causing the Anomaly," he confesses when I try asking about it. "It doesn't match any event...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 67 — The Sunken King

It takes only a few minutes for Gheraa to go through the magnitude of what he'd learned. Ahkelios, Guard and I all exchange glances as he describes the legend of the Sunken King and everything he was supposedly involved in. The more he speaks, the more things click into place.

A startling number of things, actually. I was hoping for some answers, but even painted as vaguely as it is, this single missing piece holds the answer to a dozen possible connections. Maybe more. 2025-01-23 13:46:07 +0000 UTC View Post

DRR Book 3, Chapter 66 — Showmanship

Gheraa wasn't entirely sure what had happened. One moment he was speeding toward what he assumed was Ethan and the others and the next the world had gone dark.

It was like he'd briefly died. Again! Which was insulting, first of all. Dying once was bad enough, but twice? While he was a paradox-sustained entity? Of all the...

Wait, no, Ethan was in trouble. He was getting distracted by his ego again. He darted off once again in the direction of that storm of Firmam...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 65 — Synchronization

The world around them changed, and He-Who-Guards watched.

He didn't recognize this space. It was a small workshop of some kind with a ceiling so low he had to bend over to avoid scraping his head against it; an assortment of technology, both legal and Integrator-derived sat, scattered around the workbench and shelves.

Miktik's workshop. A small part of him recognized it, but he'd never been inside himself—Whisper had been rather specific about making sure both he and his proxies...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 64 — A Pound of Core

The core of an Inspiration is that they alter the skills that pass through them in some fundamental way. The Knight is the strongest one I have, and the skills that pass through it usually emerge as some physical alteration to my form rather than the usual energy projections.

The Mirror Twice Shattered, on the other hand, is perhaps the most unpredictable. It's one of the reasons I haven't used it as much—the Mirror tends to lend an emotional tint of some sort to the skills it alters,...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 63 — An Ounce of Prevention

"Don't let that get to the Hand!" I call out.

I dash forward as I speak. Guard must have reached the same conclusion a second before I did, because he's already moving, determination blazing in his optic. He yanks on the chain, dragging the Hand toward us and away from that storm of incoming Firmament; at the same time, Ahkelios flies up into the air, his blade shining with another one of his sword skills.

He slashes, creating a rift in the air that barrels forward and slices thro...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 62 — Confrontation

It feels good to have my Firmament flowing through me again. I waste no time in kicking things off, activating the Knight Inspiration and feeling myself change; this time, the transformation is smoother than ever, and the pain that usually accompanies it is reduced to nothing more than a dull ache. Like my physical body itself is more malleable as a result of the changes to my core.

That's step one. I follow up by activating a secondary transformation—the Generator Form....

DRR Book 3, Chapter 61 — Changed

I sense them before I see them.

The pattern in the Firmament around me changes suddenly, and just like that, the rhythm of the battle is different. Even before Ahkelios's voice reaches me, I can feel the tide of Firmament moving in a new direction—the pulse of action and reaction turned on the Hand. I'm sure it can tell that something's wrong, too, because it swivels toward my friends with what I can only describe as alarm. Splayed fingers and all. It's almost impressive how ...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 60 — Overtime

Gheraa stared at the destruction before him.

There was a whole section of the dungeon that was just... obliterated. He could feel it like a physical pain in his chest. Which was unusual and deeply unpleasant in and of itself, but not quite as unusual or as unpleasant as the hands he saw dragging themselves through the rubble.

His hands.

Well, sort of. They were clearly meant to be his hands—they had the same pattern of golden Firmament sealed into the back, e...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 59 — Missed Opportunities

Rhythm. It's all about the rhythm.

It takes me a while to realize it. I don't know how long I try to fight while just bearing the pain of my cracked foundations, holding them together with sheer willpower while I stumble out of a blow or try to tear my way through another part of the Hand. The problem is that it's regenerating almost as fast as we can do damage to it—even with all the power Guard and Ahkelios has gained, we don't have enough. Not to kill something of this mag...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 58 — Duality

It's not exactly easy to fight while layering threads of Firmament into my core, but it's not impossible, either. I rely on Guard and Ahkelios for the bulk of it, thankful that the dungeon's challenges are—at least for the time being—restricted to something that isn't particularly dangerous.

Ahkelios's hand tightens on my shoulder. I feel the telltale flare of Firmament as he activates Distorted Crux, wrapping us both in its power. There's a distortion in the air as mo...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 57 — A Tale of Three Stars

It took Gheraa a while to piece it all together. Part of the problem, he thought, was that there was a part of him that didn't want to put it together. He understood now why the higher ranked Integrators kept it secret—there was something about the truth that was... uncomfortable, for lack of a better word. Trying to pry open this secret felt wrong.

He kept going anyway. If there was any chance that this was going to be important, then Gheraa felt he owed it to the peopl...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 56 — Wish You Were Here

It takes us longer than I'd like to get to the Intermediary. Without full access to my skills—at least insofar as it'd be incredibly unwise to use them—I'm forced to rely on Guard and Ahkelios to get us there.

In their defense, they're still fast. Ahkelios maintains his access to my skills, but his Firmament stores aren't the same as mine; he can't cover quite the same amount of distance in a single Warpstep. Guard makes up for this, carrying us both when Ahkelios exhausts ...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 55 — It Takes a Village

Before we leave, we check in again with the Cliffside Crows. There's a good chance this will be the last time we see any of them with their current set of memories, considering the dangers of the Intermediary. That we've escaped having to loop for as long as we have... well, it's a miracle in and of itself.

When we arrive, we find them waiting for us. Tarin, Mari, and Naru stand at the forefront of a large group of villagers, not all of whom I recognize. Virin and Rotar are there, thoug...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 54 — A Coming Collision

There's a bit of a problem. Not a huge one. Probably.

My core isn't recovering anywhere near quick enough to survive a trip into the Intermediary. Meditating helps, but the damage runs fairly deep—I can't just walk it off like I'd been hoping. All the improvements I've made so far is the only reason that dive into the past didn't just tear me apart, apparently.

"There is physical damage on top of spiritual damage," the Knight growls at me, annoyed. The Inspiration ...

DRR Book 2 epub

Might as well provide this ahead of Book 2's publication (that's off in March, though). Makes for an easier reading experience. Enjoy! I'll have to remove it like... late February or early March, probably.

Here's a link to the start of Book 3 on Patreon for the sake of convenience. After that the chapters should have 'next chapter' links, except maybe the most recent ones, depending on when I last upda...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 53 — Parallels

Coming out of the skill-induced trance of The Road Not Taken is a heady thing. Most of that, I think, is because I pushed myself to the limit and more. I hadn't really been planning to hold on to the skill for that long, but when I looked Miktik in the eyes—when she realized what was happening...

I hadn't expected or prepared for that. How could I?

I did the only thing I could. Not the smartest thing, perhaps. Not the most battle-efficient, certainly. I feel wrung out, like even...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 52 — Past Events

What I want to do now is something I considered doing from the moment I acquired The Road Not Taken. The only reason I haven't done it yet is because... well, because I couldn't. I've tried. The amount of Firmament it takes to go back and explore a different path increases almost exponentially the farther back I go; using the skill to try and retry Tarin and Naru's surgery was, moments ago, more or less my limit.

But things are a little different now. I've taken a half-step into the nex...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 51 — Call and Response

It had been a long time since He-Who-Guards had attempted a phase shift.

The first phase shift was usually something that occurred almost at random. When a practitioner's Firmament reached the right state—when they were sufficiently in tune with both themselves and their power—the base, foundational layer of their core would evolve. Any practitioner nearby, if they were willing, could donate samples of their own Firmament to help with this process, influencing that base layer of the...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 50 — Elsewhere, Elsewhen

In the streets of First Sky, a change sparked. It was a change that was set into motion years ago from the perspective of its citizens—a small, barely noticeable alteration to the materials the scirix used to build their homes.

A certain parasite thought that a larger change might have been too noticeable. That it might have sparked a response from the Interface. It was one thing to make changes to the challenge that a Trialgoer had to face and another thing entirely to alter the fund...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 49 — Trial Run

We've moved into the nearby forest. I'm alone, at least for now—Guard is hovering nearby in case something goes wrong, but that seems unlikely. I can feel how much cleaner my Firmament is, how much more easily it flows through my body.

More than that, every skill I own resonates clear in my mind. I'm almost certain I could use those Submerged skills if I wanted to, even. Now's not quite the time to risk that, though.

I flex my fingers, watching Amplified Gauntlet s...

DIE. RESPAWN. REPEAT. Book 1 now out on KU/Audible!

Hey all! I want to thank you all again for all the support since I started writing this series—it means the world to me. It’s now finally released on Amazon (KU/Audible) complete with a full professional editing pass and some sick cover art! If you want to help support it, you can check it out on KU and maybe give it a reread. A lot of those old details coming back up again in Book 3, especially with the dungeon arc! Ratings and reviews are also always helpful on Amazon and you don’t ev...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 48 — The Scion of Change

Kauku frowned. Something was wrong.

Several somethings, in fact. That in and of itself would not normally be enough to make him worry—things went wrong all the time, and it was usually no trouble for him to nudge them back into place or simply adapt his plans to accommodate them. He hadn't expected someone like Ethan to become his Heir, for instance. He'd expected someone a lot more pliable. Less wary, less intelligent.

More fool him, he supposed. Anyone who could inherit the ab...

DRR1 epub

Hey folks! Here's the mostly-edited epub for Book 1 ahead of the Amazon launch. (I'm mostly hoping it goes well so I can afford a surgery I probably need and also so I can pester my publisher about the webcomic they promised). I'll have to take down B1 in a couple days, but anyone who's a patron can always just ask for the epub and I'll get you sorted.

Quick update on writing: I'm going to rewrite what i have of 48 in preparation for the final arc of the book. It's still been kind of di...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 47 - The Four Pillars

There's one thing that's been on my mind ever since we encountered it with the Seedmother—one thing I've been ruminating on and trying to work out. The Interface is lying to me about the skill categories. Why? What's the point?

And more importantly, what are those categories, really?

It's not some arbitrary way to designate and separate skills. Considering the similarities in the way the skills in each category are constructed, there has to be something more fundamental to it th...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 46 - Thread of Insight

There are secrets within secrets hiding within this whole system of power. The Interface, Firmament, this whole idea of Threads, Concepts, and Talents. The boundaries between them are less distinct than the Interface would like me to believe.

It's telling that Ahkelios is surprised by what we've learned, despite possessing the Concept of the Sword—he stares at the Interface window for a bit, puzzled. "I don't think I ever got any notice about Threads of Sharpness," he mutters. "Or Thr...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 45 - Choices and Changes

To say that Ahkelios was a little disappointed in his selection would be an understatement, but to his credit, he gets over it pretty quickly. I sit back as he goes through a rapid series of choices and selections, mostly outlining the start of something that'll make him combat-capable even if he's not in my immediate presence.

"It's harder to share skills if we're further apart," Ahkelios says. "So I need to make sure I can still fight even if I don't have any of your skills."

"Y...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 44 - Rolls

I watch as Ahkelios paces back and forth, trying to decide what to roll first. Despite all his excitement, actually taking the first step and banking his credits is apparently something of a struggle for him.

For the fourth time in a row, he reaches out as if to select something, hesitates, then pulls his hand back again.

Can't blame him, I suppose. It's been a long time since he's had his connection to the Interface, and although he hasn't said it out loud, I can feel through our...

DRR Book 3, Chapter 43 - A New Era

I am, in all honesty, quite surprised when nothing actually goes wrong. I was half-expecting to wake up in a new loop, all activities in the last one erased from some terrible event in my sleep. Or an inconveniently timed heart attack. Maybe both.

But no. I wake up in bed—I don't even remember getting out from the tub and into a bed, and certainly not getting into dry clothes—refreshed and ready to go, and nothing goes wrong.

Not even during the surgery. It goes exactly as pla...