Joroboros

[KoJ] Chapter 17: Vertigo

We have spent many sleeps within this large cavern. Enough time to know that there aren’t any passages through the walls themselves.

The tall, vertical walls do eventually circle around to meet again, but even along all that length, they remain unnaturally flat. Sure, there are some rocky protrusions here and there, but never enough to provide a platform to climb.

I’d expected some form of cave along its length, but nothing of the kind appeared. Above, in the ceiling, there ar...

[KoJ] Chapter 16: Rejuvenation

When I wake again, the first thing I see is Scia. Her minuscule form rests leisurely on the flat top of my snout, both wings lifting a piece of mushroom to her mouth, where she takes the tiniest of nibbles.

The injured wing, while not yet healed, looks much better. She moves it without twinges of pain, which is better than can be said of her state before my rest.

It’s surprising to see her out from the safety within my coils. I never move in my sleep, so she shouldn’t have nee...

[KoJ] Chapter 15: Reticent

Despite going through with swallowing a creature double my weight, I never thought I’d actually be able to eat the Ōmukade. The centipede was at least twice my length. There’s no way it should have all fit.

But it did.

Somehow, I consumed the giant whole. I’d been expecting to tear the beast in half once I was full, but there was no need. It just kept going. I’m so gorged that I can’t eat a single more leg, but the urge to regurgitate thankfully doesn’t come.

Th...

Chapter 224: Ship Graveyard

We don’t stay long in the village. Despite their words of thanks for putting out the fire, it is clear our presence makes them uncomfortable. No words of insult are thrown our way, but they do not trust us.

As most of the village treks up and down the hill, stripping trees and carrying the long branches back to their homes, half a dozen do nothing but stand around, watching us. It’s almost as if they believe we’ll start the fire again the moment they look away.

In a way, I c...

Kin of Jörmungandr Cover

Another great piece of art from misty (@lil.mistake) This will be the cover for the new story once I figure out what sort of typography i'm using.

After talking with some other authors, I'm going back to misty to increase the contrast so that the snake pops out more at a smaller size. look out for the new version. Misty was nice enough to agree.

Edit: Misty made some changes to make the snake stand out a bit more (I was also recommended to flip it.) let me know what you guys think...

[KoJ] Chapter 14: Superiority

The Ōmukade is quick, but I am quicker.

It moves silently, cleaving through the swarm of hovering bugs with vicious intent. If it thought it could catch me off guard twice, it has another thing coming.

I strike. My tail and body crush earth beneath me as I push off. Unlike the centipede, I am not quiet. The pounce shakes the earth. Dust flakes from the ceiling far above. A roar of force rips off my side as the air shatters under my strength, shrieking out my rage for me.

My...

Chapter 223: Mrtyuñ Coast

After days of flight, the Floodplains finally break up into larger land formations. To the south, a dozen hills of gradually increasing might stretch to the east, hiding the Mrtyun Coast. They’ll eventually rise into a long mountain range that splits Mrtyuñ from Elear, but we’ll be crossing over long before then.

The Floodplains continue far to the north, eventually touching the sea that separates New Vetus from The Theocracy and Henosis.

I come in to land in the shade of the...

[KoJ] Chapter 13: Mortification

A million thoughts spin through my mind in the instant before the fangs tear through my scales. How could I not notice? Did I approach this new area with too much arrogance? Am I going to miss out on seeing beyond the borders? But there’s one thought that sticks out beyond the rest:

I’m going to die to a fucking centipede.

There is not a more shameful way to go out. The disgusting, many-limbed creatures are the worst. They are bugs, and have more legs than any other creature. ...

Chapter 222: Floodplains

The last night in Flehullen passed quickly. I said my goodbyes to my elders, my teacher, and the other grand elders. They all knew I planned to do my own thing for a while, so it wasn’t a surprise, but those closest to me still wanted to spend the night together.

It took a while to convince my elders to try some of the ursu’s spirits, but once they did, they might as well have become addicted. As unappealing as it looks, there’s no denying the warmth of the drink.

Saying goo...

Chapter 221: Too Good

Leal chokes out something halfway between a squeak and a gasp as she flails in my grasp. She never expected me to turn the tables on her like this. An array of markings light up along her body, and for a moment I flinch back, thinking that I’m about to be hit by her water. But it doesn’t come. Instead, a strong gust blows Leal out of my arms and twirls through the room. Something shatters in the next room over.

Those inscriptions aren’t the same colour they used to be. Once, they ...

[KoJ] Chapter 12: Arrogance

The second Nareau crashes on top of the first, slamming it into the ground and sending tremors through the earth. If ranked stone did not brace the tunnels down below, I’ve no doubt they’d be experiencing some rather severe cave-ins right now.

The arachnid below — the one with the shattered leg — screeches and tosses the other of its kin off. A couple of its front legs strike out, scratching deep grooves into the other’s head, right between the rows of eyes. Our new participan...

Chapter 220: Flehullen

We depart the train to far greater fanfare than Fisross. Rowdy crowds surround the train-station of Flehullen, cordoned off by a bunch of serious looking ursu in uniforms. My elders, to my immense amusement, cannot stop twisting their heads at all there is to see. They may be old, but they truly haven’t experienced the world.

A welcoming procession waits on the platform, but both mine and each of my elders’ sight falls on the giant of an ursu that stands well above any of the other ...

Chapter 219: Following Old Paths

Raetamen is nothing like I remember.

The small mining town that was my first introduction to the culture of the of New Vetus sits abandoned. The high-ceiling stone buildings are untouched. No different than they were years ago. But not a single ursu remains to give it the same life it had when I was here last.

The mine, empty of any coal it once had, is not nearly as sad as the forgotten saloon. The largest building in the town was a substitution for a continae, but now its open f...

[KoJ] Chapter 11: Excitement

I’ve seen plenty of strange creatures in my life. Some of them with strange abilities that make little sense. Some hardly distinguishable from the environment they live. But I don’t think I’ve ever come across such vast swarms of suicidal creatures as this. Bugs they may be, but even bugs have some level of self-preservation.

The higher we climb, the more bugs rush past us. Only in areas along my scales where the sticky substance isn’t too thick can the insects chew through it w...

Chapter 218: The Envoy

“Elder Cyrus,” I call. “Elder Enya.”

The two turn to watch me dive off the cliff. Instead of crashing into the earth, or spreading wings to slow my descent, I explode into a burst of fire before reforming myself along the surface and jog to my elders. Cyrus pulls his fire from his work and Enya jumps from the wagon where she’d been sitting in her standard form.

“Solvei.” Cyrus smiles as I stop before them. “How are things going with the envoy?”

I give them ...

Chapter 217: Quarry

Our first destination is unfortunately not the ursu homeland. We travel southeast, opposite the moon, heading to what might as well have become the new capital in the past months.

The agglomerate is cold and far too close to the dangerous loose rock of the fallen mountainside for many to risk returning there. Tribes still need to congregate, both for emergency resources and detailed maps for those that have lost their usual roaming land to the waters.

With the far west sands now r...

Chapter 216: Buried Agglomerate

Our world is fragile.

It is a difficult idea to conceptualise, but it is true. The world we walk and live is beholden to the overwhelming forces beyond our control. Titans can obliterate cliffs with a few steps. Anatla can take the minds of an entire advanced race and revert them to primal beasts. We reside on land susceptible to the whims of incomprehensible beings, only surviving because those existences do not move with frequency.

The Titan Alps has always been believed to be b...

[KoJ] Chapter 10: Amusement

If it were before the loss of my home, I’d be excited at the prospect of a challenging beast, but after that Titan, I find myself hesitating.

Such a reaction isn’t like me. I’ve been waiting for decent competition for so many hunts, but a single experience has me spooked? I’m tempted to dive right back into the depths of the creature’s nest to disprove this cowardice. No matter the beast, I’ll overcome it… as long as it isn’t the Titan.

You know what? No, I will no...

Wasteland Changes.

Wanted to show how much of the wasteland was consumed in the floods.

Mountains in the middle are the Agni Volcanos, and the dot to the bottom left is the Island. I forgot to put in a marker for the Agglomerate, but it is north of the Agni mountains, in the pocket where the alps curve.

Chapter 215: Answers, Never Enough

The days and weeks following the Island’s destruction and subsequent developments were less eventful than I’d expected.

As much as I want to run off and rejoin Leal and my team now that I’m no longer tied down by punishment, I can’t very well leave. Not when I’m the only one able to oppose the Anatla’s influence.

We don’t have enough information about what happened that day. Nothing explains why the Titan Alps collapsed the way they did. Obviously, it is linked to th...

[KoJ] Chapter 9: Fascination

An entire section of rock wall along the tunnel below collapses with a deafening crash. The little rodent on my back startles at the noise.

Oh? Did that scare you now? Nothing quite like the sheer might of a serpent to send chills down your spine, right? What? Why are you looking at me like that?

Unlike what I intended, Sciacylch doesn’t run terrified from the power of my tail crashing through stone, nor my larger size. Instead, after brushing off the surprise, it looks up at me...

Chapter 214: Praise the Anatla

With practised strokes, Leal sliced another series of lines through the thick hide of her neck. The numbing agent worked wonders, suppressing the small, involuntary muscle twitches that normally occurred when stabbing yourself with a blade. She’d long become comfortable carving away her skin — now not even needing to shave first — but there were some natural reactions that didn’t disappear no matter how often she redrew her Markings.

Beneath all Leal’s fur, she probably scarre...

Chapter 213: Kalma's Pit

The pact nations had undergone more extensive change than Grímr expected. It might have been his cynical mindset regarding the well-known corruption in the upper brass of the Mercenary Order and the ruling class that was supposed to keep them in check, but he was delighted to find the restructure progressing rapidly post-war.

Though, that might simply stem from their fear of coup d’état.

Despite winning the war, the nations did not suddenly bounce back from the strain on econo...

[KoJ] Chapter 8: Indignant

Without distortions to improve my sight, these tunnels are nothing but a confusing labyrinth. All I can see is what lies directly before me. Even the slight curve disrupts my vision, making it incredibly difficult to plan out my path.

For a moment, I consider if this is how creatures lacking true-sight feel in the distorted tunnels below. Are they concerned about whether their path will take them where they want, or trap them in an endless loop of tunnels with no escape? No. Such though...

Chapter 212: Terminus

As much as I should be flying away — what with the turbulent weather, rising waves and Nightfall Shroud still looming — I can’t tear my eyes from the whirlpool in the ocean behind us. Its spinning waves siphon down from horizon to horizon around what remains of the Island as Charybdis chews through the steel like a beast does meat.

The green eye remains, glaring hatefully, until the last section of corrupted metal disappears within the Titan’s gullet. Its mouth closes around the...

Chapter 211: Charybdis

The quiet isn’t absolute, but compared to previously, the difference is significant. The creaks and groans of a structure barely able to hold itself together are still there, but the roar of rushing water through piping and the strain of steel remain.

The water generation has stopped?

I’d jump for joy if I could, but under the intense gaze of the Monolith, my flames won’t so much as flicker.

I’ve experienced hate before — both my own, and that directed toward me �...

[KoJ] Chapter 7: Incredulous

I blink at the small creature, struggling to comprehend why it’s here after I left it behind.

My first thought is that it’s another of the same species. Possibly a direct relative to the bat that almost found itself in the stomach of a centipede. But no, the crippled wing leaves no doubt this is the one I left behind.

I hiss, trying to scare it off, but it doesn’t move. Claws — both those in its rear limbs and the single at the tip of its uninjured wing — cling tight to ...

Chapter 210: Monolith Anatla

With cube key in hand, I gingerly step out from the long abandoned home into the huge open space. I skip the steps, jumping a few metres down to the path that leads up the main bridge. Now at the bottom of the sloped walls, I really can’t shake the similarity to the canyons and gulches of the wasteland.

Far above, the sky — or metal ceiling — is a deep green. The influence is strong across the entire upper section of the island. The surrounding walls contain that window like tran...

Chapter 209: The Ancient Race

I wasn’t so confident in the Anatla’s inability to stop me to fully commit and enter the library-like chamber with the key. My body walks forward with a trail of fire connecting to most of me still hiding in the wall. It took a while to push my flames through the walls, but it’s only a hundred metres; my fire easily links to the outside for the — very likely — occasion that I’ll have to flee.

I’m willing to push forward and face this Anatla, but I’ll take what precaution...

[KoJ] Chapter 6: Doubt

The spatial hole neither led me beyond the border nor along it, but brought me back to densely woven space. It was hardly unexpected, but it is annoying to have to search for another path.

By the very nature of the areas with less spatial distortions, there are fewer paths into them. Within my sight, there are tens of thousands of bends, holes and rends. Amongst them, only a few lead anywhere close to what I would consider a low-density zone.

Of course, the vast majority are simpl...