This poll takes place after Chapter 59 - The Next Choice. Cast your votes here for which choice Paradox should pick for his level 20 reward. I can't fit the descriptions of the abilities into the poll, so you'll have to look over them in chapter 59 itself. The options that are different from last time are marked (NEW).
2021-04-18 02:16:19 +0000 UTC View PostIt was a strange sight, though not one that I hadn’t seen before. More than once, I had found myself stuck within a sacred slow-spot when the Great Core’s fields shifted unexpectedly, causing the world outside to move far faster than I - or, rather, causing me to move far slower than the outside world.
Falls that would have happened instantly instead occurred agonizingly slowly, and slithers that would have brought me across the Great Core’s nest in a few moments suffer...
2021-04-18 02:12:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe thought-light flickered, revealing what I wished to know.
Core Skill: [Chrono Fire].
Description: The Flame That Would Consume Time Itself.
Some of it, anyway. Just as it had with [The Endless Cycle], the thought-light was less forthcoming than it usually was - as if the Skills that came with consuming a Core were something that couldn’t quite be described in a simple flash of thought-light...
2021-04-18 00:07:41 +0000 UTC View PostThe bad-thing closed its mouth around me, and I found myself pulling free from my scale-flesh once more.
And again.
Again.
Again.
My failures - our failures - repeated ad nauseum, each loss pouring into the next. My frustration mounted, and it showed. Each attempt became more and more reckless, despite the foreknowledge that my previous lives gave.
The battle with the bad-things that came before the fire-water had become routine, each step in ...
2021-04-16 02:33:28 +0000 UTC View PostThe Coreless continued to jabber at one another as I hissed at the fire-water. It bubbled back at me, little bits of itself popping upwards from the depths, but I was no more able to understand what that meant than I could truly understand the noises of the Coreless. It could have meant many things; it could have been the warning of an enemy, it could have been the pleas of a terrified foe - or, more likely, it could have been nothing.
Either way, I couldn’t help but stare ...
2021-04-15 03:23:28 +0000 UTC View PostValera couldn’t help but let a smile creep onto her face. It was only natural, she thought, after everything that had happened in the short while since they had defeated the Flame Salamanders.
She couldn’t help but feel just a little smug - like a proud parent, almost.
And while that wasn’t quite the correct description for what she was, for the relation that she had to the cute little snake that had led them so effectively through what might have easily ...
2021-04-14 03:45:15 +0000 UTC View PostIt didn’t take much longer.
With four angry Coreless against one weakened bad-thing - even as strong of a bad-thing as it was - the outcome was already decided. The Coreless were flagging, brought low by exhaustion, but their enemy was far worse.
The venom that I had spread through its flesh had already begun to do its work; blows that had once been terrifying in their strength had become weak and sluggish, deflected off of Will’s wall of ore-flesh with ease.
...
2021-04-10 22:18:27 +0000 UTC View PostSorry about the delay, just finished up this one and about to write another one to post in a bit. Assuming I don't suddenly go braindead there should be another chapter up fairly soon.
Mana flowed through me in what felt like a never-ending torrent, burning its way through my flesh. And yet, each flicker of the thought-light brought me a small measure of relief, allowing me ever-so-slightly greater control over what had once been an unmanageable tide. Despite that, my s...
2021-04-10 21:02:20 +0000 UTC View PostIgnoring the stone-tendril bad-thing’s corpse as it continued to leak its fluids, I focused, pulling on my reservoirs just as I had in my last life - for now, at least.
I had let everything play out just as it had previously - warning the Coreless about Will’s potential death to the Flame Formicans, guiding them past through the large-tunnel, and alerting them to the stone-tendril bad-thing that laid in wait.
Now came the hard part.
The image of two flame-gaze...
2021-04-09 03:43:17 +0000 UTC View PostThe Coreless erupted into quiet conversation around me, jabbering on with their unintelligible noises. Still, I waited, allowing them time to prepare for the challenge ahead. I was well aware of how dangerous flame-gaze bad-things were. And two of them? If I had been forced to choose the most likely outcome, I would have to admit that we were all going to die.
And probably more than once.
Finally, the Coreless finished making noises at one another, reaching into the lar...
2021-04-07 21:37:49 +0000 UTC View PostThe quiet sounds of the Coreless as they followed behind me were pleasing, a welcome difference from my previous life. Then, only the sounds of my own blood had pounded in my ears, mixed with the hissing of my scale-flesh as it lost the battle against [Molten Bite] and the heat of the air.
This was better.
So far, things were working out perfectly. My brilliant use of [Illusion Spark] to communicate with the Coreless in a way that they ...
2021-04-06 19:16:37 +0000 UTC View PostThis was supposed to be Saturday's chapter, but I had some trouble writing it. Sorry for the late upload. On the other hand, it's a bit longer than normal chapters, so hopefully that makes up for the delay a bit.
Doran leaned over, keeping watch on the monster from the corner of his eyes. It acted innocent, and the others - especially Valera - had quickly become complacent. Not him, though. However cute it might be, Doran knew that a monster was a monster.
Sure, t...
2021-04-05 03:17:08 +0000 UTC View PostIt was over.
There was a point when that became the only conclusion - like when I had been suspended within my threads of red, bleeding out my last as I hung from the Aridae's strings. Then, I had given up entirely. I had believed myself lost.
Now, though I knew that I had lost, I knew that all was not lost.
The flames smashed against me, the strength of two flame-gaze bad-things colliding as they met my vulnerable scale-flesh. The fire-death approached.<...
2021-04-03 02:20:46 +0000 UTC View PostMy head drooped against the stone, and I almost let it stay there.
Almost.
It would have been easy to let things end there; to say that I had tried my hardest in this life. After all, there was always the next one. I could always try again. Not now, but later. When I wasn't so tired. When I wasn't so hurt. When I wasn't so...everything. My scale-flesh ached in a way that was almost beyond bearable, the place where my tail had been throbbing with a pulse that ne...
2021-04-01 23:42:24 +0000 UTC View PostA line of fire-pain cut across my tail. My blood, blackened by [Poisonous Blood], began to empty out onto the stone behind me. For a moment, I didn't react. I just stared, fixated on the place where the lowest part of my tail had once been. It was just...gone.
A shard of stone, shattered and fragmented by the impact of its landing, rested in its place.
The moment passed, and I slithered sideways with an abrupt jerk. Another stone smashed into t...
2021-03-31 21:21:53 +0000 UTC View PostMy fangs dripped with fire-pain, but it was bearable now - not comfortable, but it no longer caused my scale-flesh to helplessly dry, nor my mind to cry out. Tiny flames and waves of heat sparked from my scale-flesh in a never-ending torrent, held steady by the increased capacity and absorption rate of [Illusion Spark V].
I felt renewed, able to move with a speed that had just moments before felt impossible.
I felt relieved, saved from a slow a...
2021-03-30 14:19:38 +0000 UTC View PostI wasn’t sure how long it took for me to awaken, to break away from the bad-dreams that the heat had forced me into.
It was long enough, I knew. Long enough for my scale-flesh to feel all but dried out, for my mouth to run dry of all moisture except the fluid that [Molten Bite] dripped through my fangs. My tongue felt as if it was destroyed entirely by the constant heat; unconscious, I had stopped draining away the heat that [Molten Bit...
2021-03-28 01:37:18 +0000 UTC View PostI slipped between the wall-cracks as the sounds grew nearer, covering the gap in its surface with a weak illusion; as low on light as I was, it wouldn’t have held up to close scrutiny.
It didn’t need to.
The bad-things thundered through the tunnel, generating the sound through the sheer, unending size of the horde rather than size of the individual. Mandibles clicked and clacked in an incessant tick, and I could faintly make out the drip-drop of molten liquid tappin...
2021-03-26 21:42:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe thought-light flickered.
Blooded Trait Upgrade Progress: 1/20
Again.
Blooded Trait Upgrade Progress: 2/20
Again.
Blooded Trait Upgrade Progress: 3/20
And again and again, until it all began to run together.
Blooded Trait Upgrade Progress: 19/20
I slid through the gaps between the bad-things, snapping up every corpse that I could see. A few...
2021-03-25 15:12:32 +0000 UTC View PostI slipped through the backlines of the gathered bad-things. Cloaked by [Illusion Spark] as I was, I wasn’t even noticed. It was an agonizing sensation, sliding my length between the tiny gaps that existed amongst the tides of bad-things. I was forced to twist and contort my length, avoiding a leg here and a dripping mandible there. My mind rebelled, my scale-flesh feeling as if one thousand eyes examined it. Every so often, I felt phantom flashes of fire...
2021-03-24 16:42:09 +0000 UTC View PostA wave of fire-pain pressed against my scale-flesh, centering itself on the Great Core’s likeness upon my head-scales. I twisted and writhed, slithering painfully away from the edges of the gathered bad-things.
My grip on [Illusion Spark] flickered and flared with the pain - one moment disappearing entirely, the next forming a blazing beacon.
Alerted by the flashing light, a few of the bad-things turned. They clicked their mandibles together,...
2021-03-23 15:15:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe Coreless each made their noises at the sight, competing with the gnashing of the bad-things’ mandibles in a useless competition of noise. Rather than waste my time with that, I remained silent. Instead, my length worked its way down the female Coreless’ side. All the while, I kept myself focused, shifting the light that covered my scale-flesh to match the ore-flesh upon which I traveled.
It was a difficult process, forcing my slithers to slow nearly to a standstill, b...
2021-03-20 16:42:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe Coreless turned to look at me as one, taking in the splendor of my accomplishment. I glowed with mana-light, my scale-flesh covered in the same shades as the ore-flesh around which I wrapped.
They each made their own noises of what I assumed to be praise and astonishment. Wait...that wasn’t right. They could see me. I was supposed to be blending in.
I twisted about myself, examining my scale-flesh.
It looked as I expected it to; I was tinged a shade of gray ...
2021-03-19 17:07:56 +0000 UTC View PostMy head bobbed in time with my happiness, independent of my conscious control. The Coreless continued to jabber away at me as I waited for the reservoirs within my scales to fill themselves again. This time, it felt far slower.
It wasn’t, I was sure. But I was eager to try again. I was eager to fulfill the Great Core’s expectations of me.
While I waited, I passed the time by looking around. We had traveled further than I otherwise would have, if I were on my own. Th...
2021-03-18 19:57:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe female-who-was-not-Needle had finally stopped scratching away at my head-scales and making her incessant noises. A few minutes had been enough; her shoulders had slowly lost much of the tension that had held them tight, though her eyes had never lost the sadness that dwelled within - it had only become a little muted. Still, it was enough that she eventually turned her attention to the tunnel around us and left me free to focus entirely on my goal.
The cavern around me fe...
2021-03-17 22:37:34 +0000 UTC View PostThe bad-things swarmed over Will, working their way through the cracks of his ore-flesh skin. Finally, he toppled.
Finally, he died.
I lowered my head in respect for a moment, letting out a mournful hiss. Beside me, the other Coreless did the same. Turning, I twisted my way up the female-who-was-not-Needle’s body, finding my customary perch again.
Drops of fluid dripped down her face, spilling from her widened eyes. I flicked out my tongue, catching a drop. It w...
2021-03-16 20:43:23 +0000 UTC View Post“What is the greatest danger that humanity faces?” his father asked. It was a strange question; it was one that everyone knew the answer to. Even Erik, at the age of ten, was well aware of it.
“The Dungeons,” he answered confidently.
“Wrong,” his father responded, his face set into a grim facade. The boy was taken aback. What greater danger could exist? Had his father seen something, while out on one of his many expeditions into the world outside?
Unli...
2021-03-14 18:49:50 +0000 UTC View PostThe bad-things’ mandibles click-clacked as one, snapping together in shared anticipation. The Coreless shouted, pointing and jabbering at one another even more, as if they were competing with the bad-things in the field of unnecessary noises.
We moved up the hanging thread faster, the female Coreless rapidly pulling hand-over-hand, desperately working to reach the top. Her feet pounded against the stone of the wall, scrabbling against the many small-tunnels and wall-cracks ...
2021-03-13 19:23:32 +0000 UTC View PostI balked in horror, pulling as far back as I could without losing grip on my perch. Involuntarily, my tongue slipped from my mouth in a defiant hiss. It, too, was horrified.
“Do you think that we could sell this thing?” the male-who-was-not-repentant made a few noises, holding onto my shed scale-flesh as he walked. Distracted as I had been, I hadn’t noticed that he picked it up to take it with him.
I wasn’t sure what to think about that.
I just knew that h...
2021-03-11 17:21:24 +0000 UTC View PostI pulled free from who I had been; I pulled free from the fear of returning to what had been. I pulled free from the trappings and chains that held me.
I found my freedom from fear.
In that single moment, I defeated the Aridae once and for all.
There would be no going back. The threads that had connected us were severed and snipped, vanished from existence as the Great Core’s power washed over me. The Cycle had found a new beginning.
It was exhila...
2021-03-08 23:06:01 +0000 UTC View Post