The Machine God

Chapter 120 - Practice Under Fire

Chapter 120

Practice Under Fire

Alexander stepped through the gateway.

The air hit him first. Thinner than The Nexus, sharp in his lungs. Cold enough to raise goosebumps but short of freezing. Wind rushed past, carrying the scent of pine and stone.

He stood on a ledge jutting from the mountainside. Below, several hundred meters down a steep slope dotted with scrub and loose rock, a dense forest spread into the distance. Above, the mountain continued upward, gray ston...

Chapter 119 - Forced Entry

Chapter 119

Forced Entry

Guang stepped toward the portal, then stopped. He turned back to face the group.

“Good luck,” he said. His expression shifted, something genuine replacing the careful neutrality.

He crossed the distance to Alexander, extending his hand. “And thank you for Grimnir’s assistance.”

Alexander took it, surprised. The handshake was firm. He said nothing, just held the man’s gaze for a moment before releasing.

Guang nodded onc...

Chapter 118 - Returning Fire

Chapter 118

Returning Fire

Maximilian’s eye closed again, his attention returning to the chains wrapped around the gateway. “The prophecy has haunted my family for years.”

Alexander waited, sensing there was more.

“My father was obsessed with it,” Maximilian continued. “Believed he was destined to be one of the eight. When the divination specialists finally revealed the names of the divines and everyone started believing I was one instead...” He paused....

Chapter 117 - The Prophecy of Eights

Chapter 117

The Prophecy of Eights

Cash’s words hung in the air for a moment. The tension didn’t quite break, but it shifted. Some of the heroes relaxed slightly. Others remained wary.

Alexander’s attention remained on the armored lady who hadn’t lowered her guard. A Nordic giantess of a woman, easily six and a half feet tall, in heavy armor that covered most of her body. A massive two-handed sword rested point-down against the platform beside her, and she held it ...

Chapter 116 - Rivals Reunited

Chapter 116

Rivals Reunited

Annie turned abruptly from where she’d been staring through the viewport. “We should help.”

The bridge had been quiet since Carmen’s revelation about the invasion. Everyone processing what it meant.

“If there are gates open, then people will be in trouble,” Annie continued. “There might even be more of the cultists and their rituals.”

Augustus nodded slowly. “It’s an excellent opportunity to build rapport with the...

Chapter 115 - The Nexus

Chapter 115

The Nexus

Alexander stared at Spencer for a long moment, processing what he’d just heard. Eight prophesied divines. Titles without faces. Wars across Earth. Or multiple Earths.

And his supervillain alias on the list. Not that he’d told anyone yet that it had been locked in.

“And you believe it?”

“Yeah.” Spencer leaned back against the sofa. “The titles are consistent. Sure, diviners and seers might disagree on the details, but these ei...

Chapter 114 - Promises

Chapter 114

Promises

A few days later, everyone on the ship gathered in the cargo bay for a second time.

Last time had been to go to war. This time it was to show respect for those who’d paid the price.

Carmen stood at the front, the crew assembled in loose ranks facing her. Grimnir remained near the back, present but letting the crew take point. Even Spencer had come, watching quietly from near the bulkhead.

“We’re here to honor Bradley Jones and James C...

Chapter 113 - Starting a Fire

Chapter 113

Starting a Fire

Annie shifted against Alexander’s back for the third time in as many minutes.

“This is really uncomfortable,” she said. “Like, seriously. Your armor has pointy bits.”

Alexander sighed, adjusting his grip on her legs where they wrapped around his waist. The drones that had survived the fight maintained formation around them, but there weren’t enough left to carry her weight. 

“I can put you down if you’d prefer. Y...

Chapter 112 - Soul Circuit

Chapter 112

Soul Circuit

The tendrils writhed upward from the rubble, black and smoking. More than before. Thicker. Each one moved with deliberate purpose as they cleared debris, some carving through with others hurling chunks of concrete aside.

The woman pulled herself free.

Alexander floated above and to the side of Annie’s Spinosaurus form, watching the cultist leader emerge. One arm still dangled uselessly. Blood ran down her face from a head wound. Her robes w...

Chapter 111 - Teamwork

Chapter 111

Teamwork

Felix pressed his paw against Yuki’s shoulder, white light flowing from his small cat form into her body. The entropic corruption fought back, black veins spreading beneath her skin where the cultist’s attack had struck. He pushed harder, channeling more power into the healing.

The corruption slowed. Stopped. Then began to recede.

But Yuki remained unconscious. The damage had been too severe. She was alive, but out of the fight.

Felix g...

Chapter 110 - Entropy Rising

Chapter 110

Entropy Rising

Alexander watched as Annie struggled to her feet. The ritual circle churned with unstable energy. Black smoke writhed across the dome’s surface.

She stood there for a moment, swaying slightly. Then her posture shifted. Straightened. She mouthed something. Her metal body rippled, and Alexander watched as the silvery surface flowed to smoky black. The same quality as the death energy filling the dome.

Annie turned toward the next cultist. H...

Chapter 109 - Assimilate

Chapter 109

Assimilate

Alexander adjusted the waves of Metallokinesis, weaving between buildings as they rocketed through the city streets. The drones carrying Annie kept pace, Droney coordinating the formation while she sat in the makeshift chair they’d formed.

Buildings streaked past. Concrete structures blurred into gray smears on either side. The packed dirt roads below became brown ribbons as they flew.

An attack erupted from somewhere to their left. Alexander...

No chapter tonight.

Sorry everyone. Work thing ran really late. I had a feeling it might, hence the double yesterday just in case. I'll make it up to you with a double tomorrow (and a bonus chapter over the weekend)!

Edited to add: I just now realized there is a way to schedule the chapters. I'll make use of that feature moving forward to keep post times more consistent.

First Month Celebration: Design a Character for The Machine God!

Update: Closing date shifted to the 9th! I had a few questions that I was slow to respond to, so I'm extending the deadline by a week to give anyone that's interested time to get their entry in.

Thank you all for an incredible first month on Patreon! Your support means the world and makes it possible for me to keep bringing you the story week after week.

I'm still learning what makes a story resonate with readers, where some of my writer blindspots are, and your f...

Chapter 108 - The Cult of Entropy

Chapter 108

The Cult of Entropy

The barrier dropped.

Black smoke-like blasts erupted from the crowd beyond where the barrier had stood. The mass of mind-controlled civilians began marching forward with mechanical steps, their movements perfectly synchronized, but slow. Cultists moved among them, using the bodies as living shields while they channeled dark energy toward the defensive positions.

Alexander leaned forward and adjusted the waves of his Metallokinesis. The...

Chapter 107 - Sleipnir’s Landing

Chapter 107

Sleipnir’s Landing

“Captain?” Yuki’s voice carried an edge of controlled panic. “The ship isn’t responding to the controls.”

Carmen leaned over the helm station, her fingers moving across the displays. “Everything is green.”

Reaching through the ship’s systems with his powers, Alexander traced every connection between the console and the thrusters. Everything registered as functional. The commands were being received. The ship was resp...

Chapter 106 - All Hands on Deck

Chapter 106

All Hands on Deck

“Come in.”

Alexander entered the ready room. The space was compact but functional, everything designed for efficiency rather than comfort. Carmen stood behind her desk, reviewing something on a tablet. She looked up as he entered and gestured to the chair across from her.

“Have a seat.”

Alexander settled into the chair. Carmen set the tablet down.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you.”

Chapter 105 - Five and a Half Members

Chapter 105

Five and a Half Members

The team shifted, exchanging uncertain glances. Nobody seemed sure what to make of Spencer’s announcement.

“What does that mean?” Alexander asked. “Paths ending?”

Spencer straightened slightly in his chair, seeming to gather himself. A smile spread across his face. “That’s my power. Reveal the Path. Know the Path. Walk the Path.” 

Augustus’s hand went to his face with a long-suffering sigh.

The ot...

Side Story - Gabriel Santiago 1

Side Story

Gabriel Santiago 1

A quick note about access: This side story is currently for paid members only because it spoils events in the advanced chapters. Once the regular releases catch up to this moment, I'll make it available to free members as well. Don't worry! All side stories will eventually be free, as promised!

Gabriel Santiago reclined in the mineral bath, steam rising around him in lazy spirals. The water held at precisely forty-two degrees ...

[TLD] Chapter 11 - Names

Chapter 11

Names

Azratheon woke to darkness.

Not the darkness of early night. Deep darkness. The kind that came hours past sunset.

He lifted his head and looked around. The forest was still. Quiet. The meeting spot empty.

She wasn’t there.

Confusion came first. He’d slept longer than intended. Much longer. The moon hung high and bright overhead.

She should have woken him at sunset. Her presence always roused him from slumber. He should have sens...

[TLD] Chapter 10 - Real Monsters

Chapter 10

Real Monsters

The wolves moved first.

All three of them attacked simultaneously from different angles. Azratheon tried to track them all but they moved too fast. The one on his left darted in low and snapped at the back of his hind leg where scales gave way to more vulnerable flesh. Teeth tore through and blood welled hot.

He spun toward it but the wolf was already gone, dancing back out of reach.

Another strike from his right. This one bit at the un...

[TLD] Chapter 9 - Ambush

Chapter 9

Ambush

Azratheon cracked open an eye.

She sat a few paces away in the grass, watching him. Her hands were folded in her lap. The last light of sunset caught on her white fur.

“You’re here,” he said.

“You were snoring,” she said tentatively.

“Dragons do not snore,” he replied with dignity.

She gave him a small but genuine smile.

He pushed himself upright and shook, scales rattling softly. Stretched his wings carefully. T...

[TLD] Chapter 8 - Rest and Study

Chapter 8

Rest and Study

Night fell across the forest as Azratheon moved deeper into the trees.

The darkness didn’t trouble him. His eyes cut through it easily, picking out roots and stones and the small creatures that scattered at his approach. The temperature dropped but he barely noticed. Heat and cold meant little to a dragon.

He needed to hunt.

The weakness from his birth still lingered. He didn’t know how long he’d been in that egg, but it had to ha...

[TLD] Chapter 7 - A Taste of Freedom

Chapter 7

A Taste of Freedom

Azratheon moved through the forest, trees blurring past as he ran.

The rhythm felt good. Powerful strides eating distance. Wind rushing past his scales. This was real movement. Not the stumbling weakness of his first days. Or the hybrid form. His body worked properly now. Stronger than yesterday. Still weaker than it should be, but growing.

“It’s up ahead,” she said from his shoulder. “I can smell it.”

He slowed, shifting ...

[TLD] Chapter 6 - Choices

Chapter 6

Choices

The forest thickened around them as they moved away from the volcano. Trees blocked more of the sunlight filtering through the canopy above. The air had cooled considerably, though Azratheon barely noticed. Temperature meant little to him.

She shifted on his shoulder, adjusting her grip on his neck. The rings clinked softly where she’d slipped them onto her fingers, all except one that she held clutched in her other hand.

“It’s called the Syst...

Chapter 104 - Pathfinder

Chapter 104

Pathfinder

Carmen’s voice cut across the bridge before Talia could respond. “Are you saying there’s a stowaway aboard my ship?”

Alexander met her gaze. The question carried weight beyond simple curiosity. Technically, the GSS Sleipnir belonged to Grimnir. They’d borrowed it fair and square, after all. But Carmen commanded it, and a captain calling their vessel ‘my ship’ was more than semantics. It was about authority and responsibility.

They...

Chapter 103 - Twenty-Five

Chapter 103

Twenty-Five

“Bridge to all hands,” Carmen’s voice came through the ship’s comms. “Approaching Astra Omnia. ETA ten minutes. Grimnir, please report to the bridge.”

Alexander set down the steel plate and leaned back from his workbench, frowning at the array of 4x4 inch squares spread across the surface. Each one had a different rune etched into it, courtesy of Augustus’s work over the past six hours helping him set up the workshop and providing him ...

Chapter 102 - Mystery Solved

Chapter 102

Mystery Solved

Twenty minutes had passed since they’d cleared Prime Orbital’s docking berth. Twenty minutes since the alarms had started blaring behind them, lockdown protocols engaging seconds too late.

The bridge had settled into a professional rhythm. Carmen commanded from the captain’s chair, her crew at their stations. The XO stood at her shoulder, posture relaxed but alert. The pilot kept steady hands on the helm, maintaining their automated flight ...

Side Story - Star Titan 1

Side Story

Star Titan 1

Star Titan hovered above the French countryside, exhausted beyond anything he’d felt in years. Three hours of sustained flight from California to here. Mach four through the atmosphere, plasma jets burning hot enough to make the sky scream. His skin was red beneath the armor, friction burns across every exposed surface despite his enhanced durability. His regeneration worked overtime just keeping him functional.

Below, a facility sat in the middle...

Chapter 101 - Borrowed Time

Chapter 101

Borrowed Time

Alexander stepped out of the room and pulled the door shut behind him. With Metallokinesis he reached into the lock mechanism, twisting components until they seized. The internal workings bent and broke. No one was getting through that door without extra effort.

He glanced both ways down the corridor. Still empty. 

The next elevator would arrive in minutes. The team and new ship crew were on board, split between first class and standard...