“What do you think about the other guys, Julian? I don’t like the bald one with a lot of cyberwares.”
“I’ve only known them for less than an hour. Ask me again after a week.”
“Hmn… are you really sure there aren’t any cameras here?”
“I don’t think it matters anymore, Ellie. We already did it.”
“Well, I couldn’t help it. Okay?”
Julian stood in front of a tinted window, completely still as he stared at the vibrant garden that stretch...
2024-11-29 14:48:17 +0000 UTC
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[We are about to enter through the Radiant Gate. Mr. Winters, Ms. Summers, please refrain from moving too much while we pass through the gate.]
“Isn’t this… quite exciting?”
Even with Victoria’s calm voice coming through the speakers, Julian could feel Ellie’s stammered breaths and the trembling grip of her fingers on his arm. She clung to him tightly, forcing herself to sound like she was having fun.
Ellie always tried to project strength, even in her darkest mo...
2024-11-28 17:09:56 +0000 UTC
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“This… feels so extra?”
When they were told they would be escorted, Ellie initially thought Victoria would simply guide them—but it turned out to be an entire convoy. Of course, that wasn’t even the most extravagant part.
A literal red carpet was rolled out, leading them to their vehicle.
“Doesn’t it feel like… we’re celebrities?” Ellie whispered, hesitating to even step on the carpet. “Well, I know you’re some kind of celebrity now… but if...
2024-11-27 16:44:12 +0000 UTC
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“Are you an Evil Spirit?”
“You’re an Evil Spirit.”
“Why are you an Evil Spirit?”
Julian sat in a cold, dimly lit prison cell. His arms were bound by heavy chains, he was drenched in a strange viscous substance that he truly hoped was just oil, and in front of him were people threatening to light him on fire.
They have been asking him the same questions over and over again for more than an hour now ever since he woke up in the world of Artemia, their voice...
2024-11-26 15:48:25 +0000 UTC
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Julian wanted to test his new abilities, but he didn’t actually think he would be testing them against people. And as he stared at the army of guards in front of him, he had two options.
He didn't have Searadyn's Veil with him, and creating a weapon inside the [Shadow Forge] was out of the question—his [Shadow Vault] should be empty. That left him with two real choices: vanish entirely using [Null Presence], or subdue them all by using [Shadow Sculpt] and [Shadow Festival]. Then aga...
2024-11-23 21:59:59 +0000 UTC
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“Huh…”
Julian had been staring at the words currently floating in front of him. He didn’t quite know what to feel at the moment. Even though the information was being directly injected into his mind, as if carved into his thoughts, he still felt extremely overwhelmed.
He was so used to the [Guidance of Artemis] only providing him with the basic information about himself, and so he wasn’t quite used to being bombarded by information.
Despite his confusion, one thing...
2024-11-23 19:38:36 +0000 UTC
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Julian had only seen the daemons from MEGAN recreating them inside The Between, but he was sure of it—the faces of the people who stepped out of the ship were eerily similar to the daemons.
No.
Perhaps not just similar at all.
“Hm…” Julian decided to move away from the boulder and approach the invaders, checking the way they moved and spoke. Of course, Julian couldn’t really understand what they were saying at all, but the fact they were speaking in the first place...
2024-11-21 19:02:35 +0000 UTC
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The world… or was it the universe?
Julian found himself in the middle of nowhere. A vast, endless desert that seemed to shimmer like night sky. But there were cracks everywhere, and beyond those cracks lay an infinite void of light, silvers twinkling at a distance beyond what Julian could comprehend.
But if there was something that Julian could comprehend, it was the violence.
Above, below, and to every horizon—there was war. A raging war that seemed to have no sides at ...
2024-11-20 18:31:21 +0000 UTC
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There was no confusion between the two.
As soon as Julian held his rapier sideways in front of the shadow—the woman—she immediately understood what Julian intended. It was barbaric, a method every blacksmith alive would scoff at as the most absurd way to test a weapon’s quality.
But they were going to do it.
Both understood what was about to happen, and each wore a smile as they prepared for it.
One smiled with utter confidence, her wrinkled face tightening as sh...
2024-11-19 19:16:53 +0000 UTC
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A Shadow Blacksmith.
It made sense.
What better way to end the quest than to fight the thing he might one day become? Most of what Julian had learned in Artemia came from Cyrus’s words and MEGAN’s research. But if there was one thing only Julian truly understood, it was how the gods treated them like playthings.
They were probably watching right now, clearly entertained. The people from Earth were watching too. And in the end, there was no difference bet...
2024-11-17 16:13:00 +0000 UTC
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<Kirisuk4: Bros. Transfer to Sword Junkie’s stream! He’s live!>
<Jackdaw: fr???>
<Aureus: its true. Sword Junkie’s alive!!!>
<iLuvUnicorn: bruh. hes in some creepy shit!>
“This… the Sword Junkie’s alive.”
A deep sigh of relief escaped Cyrus’s lips, enough to cause the air in his lungs to completely wit...
2024-11-15 17:17:02 +0000 UTC
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Everything happened so fast.
The silence fell over the large garden. Everyone just stared at where Julian disappeared, swallowed by a weird tidal wave of shadows. The remnants of that shadow still actually lingered, drifting like smoke—but Juliet and the party did not care about the ominous dancing darkness at all.
They just stood there, completely frozen and dumbfounded.
But soon, Juliet’s voice cracked the silence.
“Julian!?” She screamed, ...
2024-11-13 17:45:24 +0000 UTC
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He discussed this with Cyrus for a long time—they have already confirmed that all of this had something to do with his quest, but there was also a possibility that his quest would take a very long time to complete.
He said something about a linear quest, and in terms of video games, they were long storylines that one had to follow. And he said that the quest they were on right now, [Master of Shadows], checked all the boxes for a linear quest.
For one, they were being le...
2024-11-13 13:09:19 +0000 UTC
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"Old… naked people. This is not how I expected to end my day on Artemia, my dudes. Or maybe I’m not even here and still high on my bed.”
“Can you shut the fuck up?” Talia hissed, her voice a sharp whisper. “Anyway, I don’t think they care about those corpse puppets you guys eradicated at all… or maybe they don’t even know about them.”
The air was damp, clinging to their clothes and sinking into their skin as they crouched on the roof, watching the eerie...
2024-11-12 19:11:49 +0000 UTC
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“The sun’s getting colder.”
Titus stood outside the restaurant, leaning against the window near where Talia had her arms out, head resting on them as she yawned.
“Can’t you just say it’s getting dark, like normal people?” Talia murmured almost unintelligibly, her yawn lingering longer than it should, mirroring the stillness of the orange sea stretched before her.
And the sea wasn’t the only thing still; even the ships were frozen in place, with no...
2024-11-11 14:34:41 +0000 UTC
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Hello, hello! First of all, thank you for checking out my Patreon!
If you’re already a Paid Member, rest assured—you won’t be affected by this change. You’ll keep your current monthly early-access tier price (or until you decide to cancel your membership or change tiers after the change). Yay!
In 24 hours from this post, the new tier prices will be as follows:
“Ha…”
A long, deep breath whispered through the now silent confines of the saloon.
What was once a bar filled with life, now almost devoid of it aside from those still standing. Julian, Cyrus, and Juliet. But then again… perhaps it hadn’t been filled with life at all.
The corpses littering the floor were, as Julian had said, mere puppets of flesh. Once living, desecrated to be machines meant to kill. Well, not anymore as their bodies now sprawled ...
2024-11-09 22:13:59 +0000 UTC
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“So… how many do you think there are?”
“A lot.”
A small grunt whispered in the air as Cyrus joined Julian and Juliet behind a wall of large crates and barrels. They weren’t alone, however—the dead eyes of rotten fish, along with their maggot and fly companions, were also listening to their quiet conversation.
Julian was the only one who seemed bothered by the smell, trying his best not to cover his nose and instead concentrating on Cyr...
2024-11-09 17:12:00 +0000 UTC
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<iLuvUnicorns: Huh? Why is it live again?>
<PicklePirata: @everyone @everyone!!!>
<PepetheThragg: what time is it bruh. Its 9am i have to go to work>
<pigeonin: why are we in front of a mansion? shouldn’t the Sword Junkie let his clone sleep now>
Cyrus hadn’t planned on turning the chat back on, but since this might lead to clues about the Orpuk’s location, he wanted to share it with them...
2024-11-08 18:03:48 +0000 UTC
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“Woah, this feels so smooth. Where’d you even get these clothes?”
“Now you actually look like a hyum.”
“What did you say!?”
For the past few days, Cyrus and Juliet had grown comfortable enough with each other to bicker and banter freely. Unfortunately for Julian, his ears weren’t quite as enthusiastic about this newfound camaraderie.
Still, he enjoyed being around them. They were… funny.
There was, however, one thing he hadn...
2024-11-07 22:27:46 +0000 UTC
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“Uhm… excuse me?”
The noise surrounding the Clevesky Police Station was overwhelming. Police cars hummed steadily in the air as they came and went without pause. Suspects pleaded their innocence and begged to be let go, their desperate voices merging with the blare of sirens that drowned out everything else.
Yet, even amidst the noise, the only thing Ellie could truly hear was the pounding of her own heart as she stood in front of the station.
...
2024-11-06 20:39:06 +0000 UTC
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“Hm…”
Julian had completely forgotten when the last time was that he was just standing around with nothing to do… and it was making him anxious to the point that he kept on fidgeting with his new baby—Searadyn’s Veil.
He probably doesn’t even know that he was doing it; turning the twin rapiers into shields, and then back again as he stood in front of the window of an inn’s humble room. He was staring at all the people walking around the bustling street of C...
2024-11-06 15:32:19 +0000 UTC
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“Okay…”
This is not something Julian has ever done before, and probably never would if he did not discover Otherworld, if he didn’t discover Artemia. He was already learning about this world bit by bit through MEGAN and Cyrus, and yet nothing truly comes close to experiencing it firsthand.
Magic.
He might not have expressed his jubilance, shock, or joy at being able to manipulate flames with the flick of his fingers—but he was ...
2024-11-05 21:15:43 +0000 UTC
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“Are… you alright?”
Minutes have passed inside the domain of fire and ice, and what was once a violent torrent that seemed like it would shred Julian into pieces was now incredibly… tranquil.
The chill felt softer now, the frostfire dancing around the Avatar of Searadyn’s silhouette completely calm as her knees still touched the azure floor. Very soon, however, a deep breath escaped the avatar’s lips as she finally stood up.
She took a step back, and ...
2024-11-05 15:37:10 +0000 UTC
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“Your death will not even be enough to quench my wrath!”
The icy flame that gripped Julian’s neck grew tighter by the second, almost reflecting the wrath that was seeping out from the flame spirit’s lips. Her face which was veiled in a flickering frost, twisted into a deep scowl as she glared at Julian—the disgust in her deep eyes, almost drowning.
“You…” She hissed, her voice even colder than the flames dancing around her, “You foolish mortal.”
<...
2024-11-05 15:36:15 +0000 UTC
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“So… I guess you are all wondering why a place like this—a place once filled with life now looks like a forgotten tomb.”
“Hm, no. Not really.”
“Well… it started with a rumor.”
“Welp, okay then. Chat, I guess we’re going to get some backstory.”
“Hm…” The forge’s flames barely illuminated the old halls of the guild, flickering like ghosts dancing in the darkness.
Truly, to call it old and abandoned ...
2024-11-04 15:10:59 +0000 UTC
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“Kh!”
Julian’s feet slid back, heels digging into the ground as he blocked the force of a Fautyr charging straight at him.
The creature’s twisted horns pressed hard against Julian’s small shield, vibrating through his arm.
“Meehh!” He barely had any time to react as the Fautyr swung both of its arms, its dirty nails angling for his throat.
Julian abandoned the shield. There was no choice, as...
2024-11-03 14:14:38 +0000 UTC
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“So… you’ve never really ridden a seikrobos before?”
“Yes. I’ve never ridden animals before.”
“Even on… what do you call your planet again?”
“Earth.”
“Huh… feels like a short version of ours. And—Oh, hold on. It’s going to get bumpy!”
Contrary to what one might expect, the seikrobos do not bark, chirp, or growl—they clack. Their thick, blocky set of teeth drummed loudly each time they wanted to express somet...
2024-11-03 07:13:25 +0000 UTC
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“Are… you sure we’re in the right place?”
Julian was now standing in front of an old building. A building that seemed like it didn’t belong in Sky Net at all—granted, it was on the Ground Level, but the fact that it was tucked between two skyscrapers made its antique exterior even more obvious.
[Yes, Julian.] MEGAN softly chuckled, her words a little playful, [I am sure we are in the right place.]
“I’ve also checked the reviews of this place, it...
2024-11-02 20:23:02 +0000 UTC
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________________________________________
Earth. Sky Net. Julian’s Apartment. Year 94XX. 2 years before participating in the Otherworld Project.
________________________________________
“Trust me, Julian! This would look very good on you!”
[I agree. I wholeheartedly agree 1000%]
“Can the two of you at least tell me who I am dressing up as?”
“I already told you! You’re hot Dracula!”
2024-11-01 18:42:52 +0000 UTC
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