When he returned to the kitchen, he noticed Jess and Angela bustling around, preparing various items for consumption. There were reassuringly regular eggs, bacon, and toast, but also more exotic fare consisting of blue meats and glasses of purple drink that seemed to fizzle and pop of their own accord—and not merely in the way soda was prone to on Earth.
“Well, I suppose it’s better than nudity,” Tylariel said matter-of-factly, sitting in a very ladylike pose at the other side o...
2026-01-05 01:39:18 +0000 UTC
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“I’m not a Prince,” Arcturus said into the silence with a growing sense of incredulity. “I figured out while you were all talking that my father was probably Terran, which, by the way, is still taking me a while to process. It’s easy to acknowledge this entire nightmare is real, but the actual gravity of that is a bit lost on me at the moment—which is probably to be expected, given the monstrous pile of bullshit I’ve already gone through.”
He knew that ...
2026-01-05 01:23:50 +0000 UTC
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Angela was the first person he noticed fully, sitting at the head of a rectangular table that could seat six, her chair facing the wall to the left of the archway through which he’d entered. She was wearing a simple white shirt and a pair of blue breeches that matched her eyes, with her long brown hair tied back in an efficient bun. A look of deep amusement spread across her features as she spotted him, and she appeared to be on the brink of laughter.
The other three occupants he knew...
2026-01-05 01:16:30 +0000 UTC
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Arcturus awoke to the sound of voices, his eyes opening to take in the white-painted ceiling above.
A moment of grogginess had him blinking to dispel the lingering effects of weariness before he felt his ears twitch slightly, as if automatically adjusting to better hear the nearby voices exchanging tense words.
His body felt… good. Stronger. He felt as if his frame had greater density and solidity, and as if each step and movement would intrinsically be more efficient. ...
2026-01-05 00:24:24 +0000 UTC
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“Alright, back to it.”
Arcturus deliberately refocused on the task at hand, eyes once more locked on the primary attributes that defined the essence of his being with their deceptively simple mathematical values. If he focused on any of them hard enough, he would receive a list of hypothetical situations in which they were applicable, which essentially broke down how each correlated to his existence as an individual. That, however, was not strictly necessary. He’d played enough vi...
2026-01-04 23:14:03 +0000 UTC
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Arcturus’ eyes opened to the familiar sight of his room on Earth, his mind once again submerged into the deepest recesses of his subconscious.
It was not a surprise that after falling unconscious, he’d once again found himself lucid dreaming within the safety of his own mind. The scene was somewhat different this time, though, with a light smatter of rain on the windows of the house and a faint rumble of thunder in the distance. He’d always enjoyed sitting on the veranda with his ...
2026-01-04 17:08:22 +0000 UTC
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Arcturus’ gaze remained locked on his helpless foe, a dark thrill surging through him.
He knew this wasn’t the man who’d killed Angela, thanks to context clues, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to care. Holding the intruder in a crushing vise of telekinetic force, seeing the struggle—the sheer inability to resist the power killing him: it was catharsis for a young man who had been utterly deprived of any sense of control over his own circumstances.
He shivered at the pl...
2026-01-04 13:10:36 +0000 UTC
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[Perception Check] successful!
Arcturus spun at the sound of shattering glass, realizing a moment later that it meant someone had just smashed in the window of Angela’s store. He opened his mouth to speak, but was abruptly cut off by Angela pushing what seemed to be a pistol into his hand, eyes focused on his.
“Listen, Arcturus,” she said seriously, “this is a standard aether pistol. If anyone that isn’t me comes in here, you point it at them and feed mana to th...
2026-01-04 13:07:49 +0000 UTC
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Arcturus ran a hand through his hair as Angela watched him, waiting patiently for him to find the words to his question.
“Okay,” he said finally. “Inquisitors, huh? Walk me through that concept, if you could?”
“Of course,” she assented with an amused look. "The Inquisitors of the Church of Eternal Light are a staple of the Empire, and have been since its earliest years,” she began, and stopped upon seeing the look that had overcome his features. “...
2026-01-04 12:57:29 +0000 UTC
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Arcturus vaguely noticed the light from outside the store dimming, but paid it no mind.
He was tired, tired of trying to pretend that everything was alright, that he didn’t miss his parents, that he wanted anything more than to see his father walk in and declare it was going to be alright. He had failed, failed utterly and completely, and with outstanding levels of ineptitude. He felt it welling up in him like magma in his gut, ejected by the twisting and churning maelstrom o...
2026-01-04 10:05:51 +0000 UTC
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“This here is your standard aether rifle. Three hundred meter range, as opposed to the standard one hundred, single-shot accurate, and with limited but effective burst-fire capability in a pinch,” the enthusiastic brunette speaking to him said with a smile, her blue eyes twinkling with glee. “You’ll sacrifice accuracy for it, though, if you go that route.”
Arcturus accepted the long, silver weapon from the store owner when she extended it—carefully pointing the gun ...
2026-01-04 10:04:17 +0000 UTC
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Arcturus reached the door without incident and placed his hand on the handle to open it, only to stagger as he did.
[Agility Check] successful!
Noise hammered his ears in a disorienting cacophony, forcing him to take a moment to adjust to the sudden change from what had been near-total silence. Thankful for the rapid adjustment his ears made in that moment, Arcturus slipped out of the room and closed the door behind him, taking stock of the hardwood corridor he f...
2026-01-04 10:00:32 +0000 UTC
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Arcturus drifted in the void of his mind, vaguely aware of his physical body moving with outside impetus. It was not so much a sensation as it was an understanding, a comprehension of altered position that flitted across his mind in a mix of alarm and concern, before being relegated to the recesses of his thoughts. His focus was claimed instead by the pulsing, steady beat of power that welled up within his body; an essence of existence that demanded he claim it, direct it, and guide it wherev...
2026-01-04 09:46:11 +0000 UTC
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He had to be smart, and on top of that, he was losing blood, which meant that eventually the fatigue would catch up to him—slowing him down at a vital moment, and making him an easy target for the Dire Wolf.
You suffer 1 Damage from [Light Wound]!
Health at 91 / 100. You are [Bleeding]!
“Thanks for the reminder,” Arcturus muttered angrily, wracking his brain for ideas. Perhaps he could will his aether into doing something, but if words didn...
2026-01-04 09:34:51 +0000 UTC
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Congratulations! Aether use unlocked! You are now able to make use of the mystical abilities tied to Aether manipulation, allowing you to cast and understand magic in all of its many fantastical and myriad forms.
[Dimensional Rift] uses 215 Mana!
Mana cost is nullified by [Soul Chrysalis]!
Mana at 100 /
2026-01-04 09:31:45 +0000 UTC
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Okay, gonna make this real simple.
At the top of Patreon is a tab called "Collections".
Click that, find the book you want.
Done.
Have a good one!
2026-01-04 09:23:08 +0000 UTC
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True Oblivion stirred, disturbed by something that was not of itself.
The final wish of a vanquished mind shouting its defiance.
The dying embers of a shattered existence, consumed by the paradoxically vast lack of absolutely anything.
True Oblivion rippled and flexed, shivering along its infinite unreality as something incompatible forced itself free. A whisper, a breath, a memory of actualisation—the last vestiges of a young soul cast into the endless dark by its own des...
2026-01-04 09:17:31 +0000 UTC
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Arcturus shot bolt upright, panting, hands running over his naked body in panic.
He remembered everything: the alarm, the phone message, the kiss with Amélie—panic surged through him again, balanced with adrenaline and anger. The shooter was still at large.
Amélie! If that blue-eyed bitch had hurt his... what? His friend? Girlfriend?
No, the details didn’t matter. Amélie was in danger. All of his friends were, and he had to get to them. First, though, he had ...
2026-01-04 09:10:30 +0000 UTC
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Arcturus took a moment to compose himself and catch his breath, straightening his jacket and double-checking himself in the glass of the door. Vanity was the last thing on his mind, concerned as he was with making sure that Alanna wasn’t aware she’d made him sprint to arrive. Letting The Dictator see him flustered was unacceptable. Better to be late, though that was almost as bad—worse, if her mood was already foul.
Plus, you want to look good for you-know-who.
Ther...
2026-01-04 09:03:33 +0000 UTC
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Arcturus’ back hit the mat with a shock of impact, compelling a groan of pain from his lips. A laugh from above drew his attention, and he turned to where his father was standing victoriously, arms folded across his black tank top and a pleased grin on his face.
“Still too predictable, junior!” his father, also named Arcturus—though in their house he was called ‘Senior’ or ‘Old man’ whenever Arcturus Junior addressed him—teased good-naturedly. “You need to s...
2026-01-04 09:02:48 +0000 UTC
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“They’re coming, my prince.”
Explosions and shouting voices followed as the corridor outside the fortified ritual chamber carried the sounds of conflict to the armored individuals within. The speaker was a woman attired for war, with elegant silvery plates layered over glinting chainmail. When she moved toward the figure at the center of the room, her steps belied no sense of difficulty or awkwardness: the armor’s weight seemed to barely register, as if the burden presented no i...
2026-01-04 09:00:48 +0000 UTC
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A family legacy transcending time and space.
A world where power is the only justice.
A hero severed from the threads of fate.
All Arcturus wanted was to officially ask out his long-term crush, hang out with his friends, and finish his year at college without managing to get on the bad side of the preppy Club Manager with delusions of tyranny.
Instead, a tragedy cuts his idyllic life short an...
2026-01-04 08:53:50 +0000 UTC
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Friday, July 22, 4 S.E.
Leonidas strode through the streets of Dawnhaven with his left hand in his pocket and his right hand wrapped around the hilt of his [Archon’s Psiblade], while its blade rested on his right shoulder and the [Spatial Backpack] he wore. His blue eyes were idly surveilling the area as the party moved together through the Residential Quarter, toward the Prosperity Quarter, and the main gate of the city. They had considered taking one of the...
2026-01-04 08:17:48 +0000 UTC
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Thought you guys might be curious!
Leonidas.
Aylar.
Bardulf.
Synthra.
2026-01-03 08:09:27 +0000 UTC
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Friday, July 22, 4 S.E.
“{You certainly seem prepared, Achilles. How do you feel?}”
Leonidas glanced at Ceruviel when she spoke, pausing in the process of latching the last of the straps on his [Spatial Backpack]. It had been a gift from the Duchess herself the night prior, after he’d spent the day meditating to better harmonize with the [Manastorm Pinions] he’d grafted to his spine.
Even then, he could feel the graft, dormant but awaiting h...
2026-01-03 06:26:21 +0000 UTC
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Monday, July 4, 4 S.E.
Honor is worthless if you are too dead to revel in it.
The words of her mother thrummed in Xarina’s mind as she flowed through the motion of her forms, twin shortswords whining through the air with a lethal hum as her white hair fanned around her. The movements were technically perfect, she knew, but they lacked something she couldn’t quite define—a smoothness that still escaped her ability to actualize. She had learn...
2026-01-02 16:04:49 +0000 UTC
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Hey y'all! Quick PSA. No one panic.
First, good news! I have the next 10 days off work so I can write to my heart's content and keep pumping those muddafukken numbers, SON. Very excited for that. I would like to finish Book 2 by Feb.
Second, bad news: I had a pretty horrendous night (australia) at work and the adrenaline rush from that is still keeping me awake. Right now I'm focusing that into writing, but I'm liable to crash like a sack of brick...
2026-01-02 03:22:24 +0000 UTC
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Wednesday, July 20, 4 S.E.
Leonidas and Ceruviel arrived at her study minutes later, entered without ceremony, and proceeded immediately toward the hidden, psi-warded meditation chamber. Once inside, the pair separated, with Leonidas proceeding to the center of the room while Ceruviel took up position near the wall, arms folded as she leaned back against the dark manastone.
“Now then,” Ceruviel continued in English. “It’s time for the most miserab...
2026-01-01 07:01:20 +0000 UTC
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Feedback would be greatly appreciated here!
Please leave some with your thoughts. This is a greatly extended version of the previous Chapter 16 ending.
Here we go!
-----
Wednesday, July 20, 4 S.E.
Leonidas stared at the doors for a long moment after they closed behind the departing Princess, and then shifted his attention back toward Ceruviel, his embarrassment already flaring into anger as he turned to his Mentor—and then blanch...
2025-12-31 12:05:59 +0000 UTC
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I have reviewed all the comments sent in by various people here, and with gratitude at that. This new version of Chapter 16, truncated both for length reasons and for impact, is the Second Draft, with a large overhaul to the tone and language.
Please read through and tell me your thoughts. I greatly appreciate all of you taking the time for this, as stated, and I appreciate the contributions you all made.
I would like some comments on your thoughts of the new version, too, so...
2025-12-31 11:26:36 +0000 UTC
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