Emmanuel Salvador Papa

45 - Dwarven Forge

The sound of hammer and anvil echoed like a heartbeat through the stone corridors. Each metallic strike sang with purpose—steady, rhythmic, alive.

Even before Luna stepped through the doorway, she could feel the pulse of mana thrumming faintly in the air, as though the forge itself breathed.

Heat rolled outward in gentle waves. The scent of smelted metal and burning coal mingled with the earthy tang of stone.

She paused at the threshold, the dim glow of molten steel flicke...

44 - Weight

Morning came softly to Tierra.

The faint hum of the crystal veins beneath the mountain resonated through the city, a rhythm as steady as a heartbeat.

The light of the artificial sun-crystals brightened gradually, washing the stone corridors and market streets in a soft, amber glow that mimicked dawn.

The air smelled faintly of forgefire and baked bread, and distant chatter echoed through the lower tunnels as the dwarves began their day.

Luna rubbed her eyes as she step...

43 - Reflection

The artificial sun-crystal that hung above the cavernous ceiling of Tierra had begun to dim, its golden light softening into hues of amber and rose.

Shadows lengthened across the stone streets, and the rhythmic hum of the city slowed as the dwarves began to close their workshops and forge. Evening was coming—the gentle kind that wrapped the mountain kingdom in a warm, amber glow.

Luna walked alone through one of the wider avenues, her boots making light taps against the smoothed...

42 - An Elf And A Merchant

The streets of Tierra glimmered with an almost celestial glow.

High above the cavernous city, embedded within the vast ceiling of stone and crystal, the radiant core of the artificial sun-crystal shone brighter than it had earlier that morning.

Its golden-white light poured down through the tiers of terraces and streets, chasing away the cool hues of night that lingered in the deeper caverns.

Luna paused at the edge of a bridge that arched between two bustling platforms of t...

ToR 1 - The Tower (Sample)

When Luna opened her eyes, she was already standing.

There was no fall, no awakening gasp, no confusion clawing at the edges of her mind. She was simply there—upright on a smooth, pale platform suspended in a sea of light.

For a heartbeat, she thought she had been dreaming, but dreams never felt this solid. Dreams didn’t hum under your feet like something alive.

Her first instinct wasn’t to speak or look around, but to lift her hands. They trembled faintly as she turne...

41 - Dwarven Sweets

Morning came softly to Tierra.

The mountain kingdom awoke not to the chirping of birds, but to the rhythm of hammers against anvils echoing faintly through the stone halls.

Luna stirred in her bed as the first shafts of artificial sun-crystal light filtered through the crystal-set window of her inn room, scattering fragments of color across the walls. For a moment she simply lay there, breathing in the cool air tinged faintly with iron and coal.

Her body still carried the pl...

New Book (Actually an old one…)

Um… just wondering guys, would you be interested in this book? It took inspiration from Sword art online, Log horizon, fate series (a little), and a few more adventure, action, and fantasy manga.

This book is already finished until the 5th floor meaning the 5th book. I wrote this when I rewatched SAO in the past. I found the anime fun but rushed, and I wanted to diverse myself in the world of SAO more so I decided to write my own story quite similar to it.

The story is quite sim...

40 - Tierra

The road had narrowed to stone and shadow by the time Luna reached the foot of the mountain.

All along the winding path, the crowd of travelers thickened—merchants with heavy wagons creaking beneath barrels of ore and timber, knights in gleaming armor guiding their steeds, and cloaked wanderers with faces hidden beneath hoods.

The road was alive with chatter and the soft clang of metal against metal, echoing off the high cliffs that framed the entrance to the Kingdom of Tierra.<...

Chapter 39 - Road To Tierra

The morning air was cool and fragrant with dew as Luna stepped back onto the open road.

Behind her lay the barony of Eldwin—its manor, its people, its laughter—all wrapped now in memory, faint and golden like sunlight behind clouds.

Before her stretched the dirt path leading north, where the great mountain of Tierra rose like a sleeping titan against the horizon.

Her satchel rested neatly against her hip, filled with the few things she owned, spare clothes, a pouch of co...

38 - Road Beyond (End of Book 1?)

The first light of dawn crept softly through the curtains, brushing over the room with a pale gold warmth.

The manor was still quiet—too early for the bustling steps of servants and the low chatter that usually filled the halls. Outside, the air was cool, mist clinging faintly to the edges of the windowpanes.

Luna stirred.

She hadn’t meant to wake up so soon, in fact, she’d promised herself she would sleep in after the long celebration the night before. But sleep, it s...

37 - Days In The Barony

Sarah had not expected the world to feel lighter overnight, but that was precisely what happened.

The air seemed gentler. The weight in her chest, that constant, gnawing doubt, had receded—if not gone entirely, then quieted, as though soothed by Luna’s certainty.

She had spent the first hours after their talk in disbelief, torn between fear and hope, but when she looked across her room and saw Luna—who had been sitting on the bed earlier but had since claimed a chair instead...

36 - Bonds

The clang of steel finally faded, leaving the training yard in silence broken only by the ragged breaths of the knights. Sweat dripped from brows, muscles trembled from overuse, and the scent of dust and iron hung thick in the afternoon air.

For a heartbeat, the yard was nothing but exhaustion. Then came the sound of light footsteps, so soft they almost seemed out of place among the grizzled warriors.

The men straightened as one, fatigue forgotten. It wasn’t Baron Eldwin they fe...

35 - New Friend

Luna stirred slowly awake, her small body curled on the edge of the couch where she had drifted off earlier.

The leather creaked softly under her weight as she stretched her arms high, spine arching until she felt the familiar pop of tension leaving her back. A yawn escaped her lips, unrestrained and utterly unrefined, before she let her arms fall back into her lap.

The dim haze of sleep clung stubbornly to her, fogging the edges of memory. Images and words fluttered at the edge o...

34 - Knowing

Sarah had thought exhaustion would claim her the moment she lay down.

The journey had worn her thin—dust clinging to her cloak, the endless weight of worry pressed against her chest, and then, the ordeal of facing Baron Eldwin.

That meeting replayed in her head over and over. His quiet gaze, the measured way he had spoken, the way Darren had stood so proudly, declaring what she herself had never dared to utter aloud.

She had been certain sleep would sweep her away. But tho...

33 - Terra

For a long time, Luna simply stared.

She had been expecting a scolding, perhaps a laugh, or even one of those “stern noble” speeches that made people like Baron Eldwin so difficult to predict. But she had not expected this.

The baron—lord of the estate, commander in war, a man with the weight of land and people on his shoulders—was kneeling on one knee before her. Cedric, his ever-dignified butler, looked as though someone had punched the breath out of him.

And then,...

32 - Midnight In The Manor

The manor of Baron Eldwin slept beneath the velvet cloak of midnight. The torches along its outer walls had long since been reduced to faint embers, glowing like tired watchmen fighting against the tide of night.

Inside, the grand hallways lay wrapped in silence, broken only by the occasional groan of old wood or the soft rush of wind against shuttered windows.

But not everyone was asleep.

In one of the guest chambers, Luna sat cross-legged atop her bed, wide awake. Her eyes...

31 - Barony

The forest road widened by degrees, the trees thinning until they gave way to rolling farmland quilted in late-summer green.

Low stone walls bordered fields of grain and vegetables, while the occasional shepherd guided their flock with the patient rhythm of bells. It was here, as the dust of their journey settled beneath their boots, that Darren Eldwin crossed into his father’s lands once more.

Luna, for her part, was incapable of walking in a straight line. She skipped from one...

30 - Resolve

The midday sun slanted across the streets, spilling gold through the open shutters of the inn.

Its warmth stretched across the wooden floorboards, catching the faint swirl of dust stirred by the movements of men preparing for departure. The steady sound of armor shifting and leather straps being buckled carried through the quiet, measured, almost ritual.

It was noon—time to leave.

Darren adjusted the last strap on his pack and drew in a slow breath. His knights, Aiden and ...

29 - Blessing

Morning broke over the village with a softness that seemed reluctant to disturb the rooftops. Pale gold light spilled through the shutters of the inn, painting the wooden beams in long strokes.

The hush of early dawn lingered, broken only by the distant clatter of someone tending animals outside and the muted crackle of a kitchen fire being coaxed to life.

Luna was already awake.

She had been awake for a while, lying on her back with her hands folded beneath her head, eyes f...

28 - Returning

The world was still when Luna opened her eyes.

Not silent—the forest never truly slept—but hushed, as though the trees and water alike were caught in the soft spell of dawn.

Birds stirred in the branches, calling faintly, their voices weaving into the gentle rush of the waterfall nearby. Mist hung low across the lake, curling like lazy smoke in the morning air.

Luna blinked at the scene and sat up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

Her gaze was pulled, in...

27 - Frozen Base

The camp was quiet now, save for the faint groan of timber shifting under the weight of ice. Luna stood at the center, boots crunching across frozen ground, hands buried in her pockets as she eyed the spoils.

The makeshift base wasn’t much to look at. Rough tents stitched together with mismatched cloth. A half-collapsed palisade of sharpened logs. Smoke-stained cookfires long snuffed by frost. But the crates—oh, the crates were another story.

She kicked one open with the heel ...

26 - Base

The forest was hushed again.

Luna walked slowly back to the place where she had dropped her things when she rushed headlong to Darren and Sarah’s rescue.

Frost still clung to the earth, crystalline and unyielding. Each breath tasted sharper than it should have, as if the air itself hadn’t yet forgotten the magic that had frozen it in the first place.

When she reached her makeshift camp, her bag lay exactly where she’d left it. She bent, brushing leaves off its surface,...

25 - Demon Worshippers

The forest swallowed sound.

For hours Darren and Sarah’s footsteps had been the only rhythm breaking the quiet, their boots tapping against roots, their laughter sometimes slipping through the canopy.

The path was narrow and winding, a trail more shaped by deer hooves and wandering hunters than by merchants or travelers.

Each step took them deeper into a pocket of wilderness that felt untouched, as though the world had forgotten this place.

And trailing behind them, ...

24 - Confession

The moment Luna pushed open the inn door and stepped inside with Darren and his two knights trailing behind, the air in the room shifted.

Conversations halted. A spoon clinked loudly against a bowl, louder than it should have. Heads turned—some curious, some wary.

The scent of roasted meat and fresh bread lingered in the air, but even that seemed secondary to the sight of Darren reappearing after his earlier storming departure.

And then there was Sarah.

She stood beh...

23 - Advice

It didn’t take long for Luna to find him.

The village was not large, and she had guessed rightly that Darren would not linger in its heart where people might press him with questions or stares.

He had gone outward, to the edge where tilled farmland met the wild sprawl of grass and brush. Beyond that, the land rolled gently toward distant hills, hazy in the afternoon light.

Luna spotted him even before she heard him.

Darren stood there with his back to the village, sh...

22 - Love

Luna awoke slowly, her eyes fluttering against the light that streamed through the narrow window of her rented room.

She shifted beneath the covers, stretching long like a cat before curling again, her arms wrapped around her pillow.

Her sleeping bag might have been comfortable, yes. Enchanted fabric, soft padding—it was a luxury for any traveler.

But nothing, Luna thought with a yawn, beat a real bed. A mattress that pushed back just right, a pillow that cradled her head,...

21 - Damp Forest

The forest swallowed her whole.

It had been two days since Luna crossed paths with the five knights in the rain, and the road had led her into the quiet shade of a woodland that stretched further than her eyes could see.

Even under the late morning sun, the canopy was so thick that the light fractured into ribbons of green and gold. Every breath tasted faintly of moss and rain-soaked bark.

The storm had passed, but its memory lingered. The earth still held dampness, soft and...

20 - Rain

The walls of Celestia were behind her.

Luna did not look back. She had said her goodbyes, hugged Anna so tightly the girl had squealed, and promised William she would return to visit. 

The bustling city, with its noise and order and watchful eyes, had grown too small for her restless heart. She wanted the horizon, the unknown path, the wandering freedom of roads unmeasured.

So she walked.

The main highway stretching from Celestia to the neighboring towns was broad...

19 - Leaving Celestia

The week following Anna’s successful admission into Celestial Academy passed in a blur of preparations.

For Anna, it was a mixture of excitement and nerves, for Luna, it was mostly annoyance—peppered with reluctant amusement.

The admission letter had arrived with all the pomp one might expect from the most prestigious academy in the world.

Neatly written, sealed with the academy’s crest, and delivered by an official courier—it had Anna nearly trembling as she opened ...

18 - Result

The week following Anna’s admission test—and Luna’s clandestine spar with the vice principal—unfolded like a patchwork quilt of small adventures, laughter, and fleeting worries.

For Anna, it was a reprieve from months of tireless preparation, for Luna, it was a strange mixture of indulgence and restraint, of rediscovering the joy of ordinary days while quietly hiding extraordinary truths.

But though the days seemed calm on the surface, ripples stirred beneath.

Evelin...