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Chapter 33: Beetle Juices.  

Chapter 33: Beetle Juices.

“You better start explaining yourself right now, kid. This isn’t my idea of a joke.”

“I assure you I’m not joking Mrs. Fletcher. I can see the future and I know where your kids are. I even know how to get back to our worlds in time to save them.”

Which was a slightly liberal interpretation of the truth, all things considered. Why, other, less informed individuals might even accuse me of lying. Thankfully, Moniq...

  Chapter 32: Looking for Group.  

Chapter 32: Looking for Group.

30 minutes.

I spent 30 minutes in that spot, fighting myself. Losing against my nightmares. Pushing them downwards with every ounce of willpower I had left. Trying and trying to forget about the pain. The helplessness.

Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.

Ability Gained: [Inspiration] 1 has been added to the Status.

Ability Evolving: 2024-07-15 12:56:55 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 31: Dusty and Slab.

Chapter 31: Dusty and Slab.

A deluge of teeth and tongues shot towards us. Towards both of me.

“YoU! wIlL! nOt! DO! tHiSS! TO! ME!” It roared from a dozen different salivating gashes. 

Sarcophagus Solomon exercised the slightest vestige of willpower. In doing so, he sealed the transforming abomination. Suppressing the entirety of its Psy and pushing further, deeper, from all sides. Applying pressure in these immaterial halls until all he wa...

Chapter 30: Monique.

Chapter 30: Monique.

“Wah! I didn’t do that! I didn’t enjoy that! I didn’t kill anyone! I’m a good person! I’m a good person! Happy thoughts Solomon! Positive thoughts!”

“Quiet fool. That was obviously the future. You knew what cords I used. You saw the strings. Focus on the lessons I’ve imparted. Charlie’s desires are simple. He wants to right the wrongs he’s seen without suffering the consequences. He wouldn’t have gotten his lov...

Chapter 29: Charlie.

Chapter 29: Charlie.

Sarcophagus Solomon was a stranger to me.

His demeanor was that of a petty socialite, constantly annoyed at how his surroundings defied his every whim and fancy. He was someone who’d long ago discarded any pretenses of goodness or compassion. Opting instead to treasure his sheer psychic might above all else.

His own strings were longer. Brighter. Woven into patterns much like those I’d birthed when confronting Granny Golden....

Chapter 28: Distant Storms Foretold.

Chapter 28: Distant Storms Foretold.

I see beauty and horror walking side by side.

Images of people, friends, enemies, battles, struggles, traps, food, community, weapons, conflict, war. 

I bear witness to my death, then another one, then another one.

They rush past me before I can comprehend them, each vision acting like a single still frame in a movie.

My eyes hurt.

My ears hurt.

My tongue hurts.

My nose hurts. 2024-07-15 12:52:46 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 27: Envy.  

Chapter 27: Envy.

“I’m so happy to see you again, Bunny Man.” I said with exaggerated glee.

In truth, I would’ve been happy to have just about anyone join me. Even Randall and his hyenas, treacherous and pox-ridden as they were. Every person was another anchor. A reminder that I was on the right side, fighting for a noble cause.

“Borislav. My name is Borislav.” He said warily. His thin spindly arms trying and failing to wave without it l...

Chapter 26: Penitent Crusade.

Chapter 26: Penitent Crusade.

I re-entered the labyrinth feeling better than I had in weeks. My heart swelled with self-acceptance. Knowing full well that I was on the path to redemption. At the end of this road, I would be a hero, or I would be dead. Both options had their own appeal.

Talking to Buddy had helped me, back when I was still blind. Before I truly understood the weight of my own sins.

This was a different sort of contentment. I was no l...

Chapter 25: Gaslighting.

Chapter 25: Gaslighting.

The system lies. Of course, it does. Why wouldn’t it?

It was created by whomever had thrown a thousand people here to die. Like they were beneath even the dignity afforded to animals.

What else did I expect?

My knuckles were tightened to the point that my nails were digging into my palms. Pure, unfiltered rage pumping through my arteries with all the might of a waterfall.

I thought back to all those times I alm...

Chapter 24: Granny’s Tea Party.  

Chapter 24: Granny’s Tea Party.

I came out of the tunnels and into a large open space. It was similar in size to the clearing where Pete and Walder made their camp, but this place was brighter.

More alive.

There was a false sun in the sky, giving light without heat and illuminating the entire meadow.

Thanks to this, the house was completely visible, without a shred of shadow to take away from its lovely exterior.

In a sentence, the cab...

Chapter 23: Hunted.

Chapter 23: Hunted.

If someone more naïve asked me what the most heroic thing I’d ever done was, they might be surprised to find out that gutting a gnome like a fish was number one. They might also be a little put off that disembowelling all his friends was a close second.

Which was, admittedly, very odd. Unless you saw how many ears the little creeps had collected.

87 Pairs by my counting. All of which were tied in ornate cords around their neck...

Chapter 22: The Power of Friendship.

Chapter 22: The Power of Friendship.

My new world was one big toilet. Turbulent waters shearing down fanged plants, armored snails, hidden pumas, treacherous penguins and spiteful shrews together. Crushing and smashing them into paste against the stronger inner layers of tunnel walls.

The current rushed past me for hours and hours on end. Refusing to end despite my wishes. All I could do was remain in my little nook. Legs and arms coming together into the...

Chapter 21: Thalassophobia.

Chapter 21: Thalassophobia.

The end of the second week marked the end of our journey upwards. Not because we were finally free and I was running to the nearest phone to call in the army and a few airstrikes mind you.

No, we had to stop because we’d reached a large body of water that blocked our path upwards. How?

Simple.

The river was running above us, pressing upwards in defiance of gravity. I suppose I should have seen it coming, all thing...

Intermission: Not My Fault.

Intermission: Not My Fault.

It was taking too long.

Getting it back was taking too damn long!

This stupid, (Gnome)ing System wasn't giving me back my powers fast enough!

It was all their fault. The aliens! The gnomes! The Telepaths! They did this to me! They're the ones who took my powers away! The ones who took my arm away.

Phantom pain shoots through me. Giving me the illusion that I still have something on that side of my body. 2024-07-15 12:44:28 +0000 UTC View Post

Intermission: Keep it Together.

Intermission: Keep it Together.

Do not lose your temper. Do not lose your temper. Do not lose...

"Hey! Are you listening to me!? We've got to turn back now! We've gone too far! Prudence? Prudence!?"

My hands began to itch.

[Claws] growing from my fingertips without any conscious effort.

A smarter man might have taken the hint and backed off.

Ryan merely raised his voice. Yelling so loudly that every centip...

Chapter 20: No Bargaining.

Chapter 20: No Bargaining.

Taking the pelt proved to be the right choice soon thereafter. Displeased as Buddy was, it had become clear that extra warmth was necessary around these parts. In fact, I might just risk another fight with a shrew if it meant getting my hands on another one.

The puddles that used to plague the cavern floors were frozen solid more often than not, with each floor showing more and more signs of intolerable cold.

All the mushr...

Chapter 19: Creeping Cold.

Chapter 19: Creeping Cold.

The small drones hovered overhead. Using some manner of anti-gravity system to keep themselves aloft. Their laser pointers cutting through the relative darkness of the abandoned buildings.

One by one they searched, scanning the interiors for any sing of life. Their turrets would only fire once they’d successfully locked on to a target, as the dozens of dead minotaurs could attest.

Funny how that worked. In most novels a ...

Chapter 18: Dear Diary.

Chapter 18: Dear Diary.

“You know Buddy, I don’t think I show you enough gratitude. Thank you for being here to feed and clothe me. I really do think I would’ve died by now if it wasn’t for you.”

‘Aww. Thank Sully! I appreciate you too! You’re the bestest best friend a Symbiote could ask for!’’

I smiled, caressing the slightly thicker section of Buddy that had positioned itself over my heart. He didn’t have a central ner...

Chapter 17: A Chance Encounter.

Chapter 17: A Chance Encounter.

I turned a few corners and follow along some straight passages while keeping a lookout for more centipedes or eels or moles or whatever else decided to make an appetizer out of me.

With a grunt of effort, I sniped one of the moles when it came into range.

I then tried to find a detour that would allow me to reach it in order for Buddy to top off his reserves.

Goose prickles erupted all over my skin as I took not...

Chapter 16: Meditations.

Chapter 16: Meditations.

Hunting for the rest of the day yielded no more levels. Not that I expected any.

[Meditation] allowed me to sense Psy far more clearly than before and regenerate it faster than ever, even while in motion. My hunting speed had therefore skyrocketed without the constant need for breaks or the constant drag of fatigue. Yet, with those improved feelings came a greater understanding of the levelling process.

I ha...

Chapter 15: Best Friends Forever.

Chapter 15: Best Friends Forever.

Luigi was laughing. A loud, raucous sound that threatened to bring down the bowling alley. Henry and Vince were laughing too, though they at least had the decency to stifle their giggles.

“Yeah. Yeah. Chuck it up you guys. I’m sure you can do so much better.” I spat back with faux outrage.

As it turned out, I was right on the money. They could do much better. Vince was knocking at least six pins with every att...

Chapter 14: Hunger.

Chapter 14: Hunger.

So, good news and bad news.

On the upside, I wasn’t currently dead.

Always a positive.

Furthermore, I hadn’t sustained any physical injuries, which was honestly nothing short of miraculous.

The downside was that I had managed to end up very far away from the spot where I was and even further from the entrance to the maze.

Meaning that I would have to climb all the way back to my starting point if I wanted to...

Chapter 13: Acrophobia.

Chapter 13: Acrophobia.

‘Stupid. How are you this stupid. Of course it was a trap. What did you expect? A hug and a kiss? Promises of brotherhood? Do you think this is a comic book or a movie? That we’re all going to get along and serve the kidnappers their comeuppance?’

That part was bad enough. The truth that I’d almost gained compatriots made it a thousand times worse.

‘I was so close. I was so (Centipede)ing close, to havi...