Kayday

155 - Soul Searching

“Ah, if it isn’t my friend, Dominic Vacek.”

Dominic turned around. He was currently in Ja-Man-Ro’s ambassadorial estate in a Fae Planet sky abode. The entire palace was made of gold and sat on a cloud, and the tiny inscriptions and images carved on the wall depicted the story of his family lineage, beginning with Ah-Lan-Ro, who was the first of the clan to gain ambassadorship.

As the story changed, so did the carvings. It shifted in real time now as the tall Fae Ambassador...

154 - Exposed

It was a disk scratch moment. 

The music kept playing, but everything around Lexie seemed to come to a stop, as she felt punched and bowled over by the attack she wasn’t expecting. 

So much had happened since Veronica had caught her speaking to Albion that she’d almost forgotten.

She should have expected it the second Veronica caught her. As a matter of fact, she should have expected it the second she saw Veronica with that stupid haircut, as though she were cl...

153 - Elemental Party Surprise

To begin, Lexie lay down, closed her eyes, and tried to figure out exactly how her soul had made the card. 

It was hard to do so because everything had happened so quickly and chaotically, and she'd reacted based on a survival instinct she didn't entirely understand mixed with whatever else was going on in that creature's soul. It was sort of like what had happened with her during the Diana fight, except this time, Lexie’s soul had actually completed merging the three intents int...

152 - Soul Cards

“No,” Tate said instantly.

“Why not?” 

“What do you mean, why not? Why would I meet your dad?”

“Because you need help and he can help you,” she said. 

Tate let out a frustrated breath. “The only person who can help me is you. I just need to go to that dungeon a few times–"

"You said only once."

"Well..." He lingered on that last note, caught in a lie. "I'm hoping one time will do the trick, but if not, we might have to go back ...

151 - Return Of Old Friends

Conrad hummed to himself as he crossed the street, pulling a hat over his face. The mansion in the distance stood tall and a tad garrish against the sky, a beacon of supposed cosmopolitan modern elegance. It was bigger than even his parents' home, with two pools, a sauna, a basement cinema, and tons of unnecessary space. 

He was currently in a suburb in Falstone, called Three Rivers, and it reminded him of where his parents used to live. Unlike his former home, though, this suburb ...

150 - Unwanted Blessing

Lexie bit her lip, anxiety ricocheting through her at Lionel's measured stare. She hurried to hide her panic, trying fervently to pretend she had no clue what he was talking about.

“I’m not sure what you mean by that,” she said.

He cocked his head, crossing his arms over his chest. A tattoo she’d never seen before blazed on his upper arm, glowing white against his dark skin. 

“The other day, I sensed a strong Eldritch energy emanating from you,” he said. “...

149 - New Powers

Lexie's first conscious thought was that someone was holding her hand. She didn’t know who it was, but the touch felt familiar, warm, a bit shaky, and firm at the same time.

She tried to squeeze the hand experimentally, and made the holder go still and gasp.  

“You were right,” a male voice said. "She's waking up."

“Lexie,” another, younger male exclaimed. “You’re awake!”

Lexie groaned, and her eyes barely managed to open. She blinked several ...

148 - Seize The End

Lexie’s next encounter with an Eldritch was with a creature that looked like a three-headed dog, with snapping serpentine tails. Its abode was a sandy dune, and when they appeared on it, it greeted them by running around them in circles, whipping up so much sand it felt like it was choking them.

“It’s a R’Kyrus,” Naem said, using his void powers to shield them from the sand.

“What’s its problem?” Lexie asked, holding her hand.

“It’s infernally curious,”...

147 - The Big Beautiful Birthday Blast

Lexie told her friends that she wanted something wanted something quiet and understated for her birthday.

They nodded and assured her it would be just that.

But Lexie’s birthday began with a blast. Literally. 

She woke up to a loud pop in her room, and when she jumped out of bed, Xena, Dewie, and Jace screamed “Happy birthday!"

"Get up," Xena said. "Time for your big, beautiful birthday blast."

“Ow,” Lexie rubbed her ears, sure they’d burs...

146 - The Accursed

Lexie’s eyes popped open as it hit her, and she met Dewie’s gaze. 

“What?” Dewie sounded alarmed. “What did you see? Are my pathways that messed up?”

“No, it’s just…” Lexie didn’t want to tell him much, at least not until she was sure of what she’d seen. She had definitely detected a subtle mana emanating from his soul, nothing as strong as Xena’s, but still present. But she had to be sure that everyone else’s soul didn’t have the same thing.&nbs...

145 - Soul Discovery

Lexie pondered the realization as she stared blankly around her. This world was not real. Her soul, her body, and this situation weren’t real either. The only thing that was real was the emotions pumping through her, heightening the closer the projectile got. 

The kids started freaking out. They were trying to yell and call out for help, but they were up in the air, above the forest, and approaching the forcefield that protected the island. A few of them had opened up their syste...

144 - Looking Inward

“What do you mean by that?” Lexie asked Naem as he put his thinking face on. She knew what that face meant. It meant he was considering how much to tell her and what to hide. Possibly, this was also an Eldritch secret, or maybe it was too dangerous and telling her would go against his deal with Aiden.

“I’m not sure if you could honestly,” he finally said. “Dream magic isn’t as straightforward as some might think. I’ve only known a handful of humans who had that skill, an...

143 - Well-Crafted Lies

Lexie and Veronica stared at each other for a few seconds, both seeming stunned and somewhat irritated by the other’s presence.

“What are you doing here?” Lexie asked, instantly moving to block Veronica's view.  

“Looking for Dewie,” she said in a snotty, I-don’t-have-to-answer-to-you, Veronica-like tone.

“He’s not here.”

“Then who were you talking to? It was a boy, wasn’t it?” She tried to peek into the other side of the room, where Jet wa...

142 - Albion

Aiden thrust his hands through his hair and pinched the bridge of his nose.

There was a constant buzz in his head and underneath his skin, both from his alchemy workout and the fact that he’d been chugging coffee and energy drinks for three days straight as he sorted through the information that was all in piles on his desk.

He’d posted up on his wall the most important details, all surrounding the man who had hurt Lexie. He'd tried hard to find the links.

And right now ...

141 - The Trap Card

Lexie felt better in the late afternoon, at least enough to help Dewie with his pathways. They both sat cross-legged on the floor while Xena lounged on Lexie's bed. Lexie held Dewie's hands for several minutes, evaluating his pathways and trying to find what was so wrong with them. In the end, she got nothing. It felt very regular, though to be fair, she’d only done stuff like this with Cara and Urmas, so maybe there was something else she was missing.

It would have helped if she'd go...

140 - Resentment

TW: Non-graphic references to physical abuse, drug abuse, attempted s**cide.

After her herbology class, where they experimented with native elven plants that laid eggs, Lexie finally got some time to craft the card. The first thing, of course, was research. She searched Fae literature and some Undernet Eldritch texts that she struggled to decipher (apparently speaking Eldritch in her dreams did not translate well to reading it), but she found it difficult to find a story that m...

139 - Warning

“Why is he bowing?” Lexie stared at the creature on the floor, trembling and shaking. 

“It's because he reached your soul core and acknowledged your dominance over him,” Naem explained. 

“It was in my soul? I didn’t feel it doing anything.” The last time the V’Sala tried to take over her body, it had shown her terrible visions. Nothing like that had happened now. 

“Exactly.” At her confused look, Naem said, “A soul touch is like an exchan...

138 - Kill The Light

Lexie’s eyes flew open. 

Kill the light.

It lingered in the air, the magical intent that confused the heck out of her. Where the heck did that come from?

Lexie had no clue what it meant. Usually, when she perceived intent, she had an instant instinct on what to do with it, but this time was different. What did ‘kill the light’ even refer to? The only thing she knew related to light was Xena, and there was no way in hell she wanted to make...

SHORT ANNOUNCEMENT

So I just realized that we're no longer 10-20 chapters ahead of RR, due to the scheduling change. Therefore, I will be uploading 5 chapters a week, with occasional weekend chapter, until we're caught up.

Thanks,

Kayday.

137 - Unexpected Intent

“You have wind powers?” Someone exclaimed as Lexie’s teammates and opponents picked themselves off the floor.

“No,” she responded.

“Then how on Earth did you do that?”

“With a card I–” Lexie caught herself before she made the gruesome mistake of exposing that she made the card, because then she’d probably be asked to show the card. She couldn't show anyone Windbreaker. What if someone here realized that the card was way more powerful than it was suppose...

136 - Hostage Situation

Everyone turned to regard Lexie, except Weiss Wavelost. Expressions varied, but Shadowsbane looked determinedly displeased.

“Where’s your handler?” he asked. 

“What?”

“I assume you wouldn’t dare attempt to confront us without someone more powerful close by. If you can even call her that.”

Oh. He’s talking about Xena and insulting me while he’s at it. Nice. “That’s rich of you to say, considering there's like four of you against one...

135 - Visit to the Eldritch Realm

“Before we go, I will give you something to take back with you,” Naem said.

“I can do that?” she asked.

“Of course, with the right ritual. It’s dream magic, which I don’t believe you humans explore a lot.”

“Let me guess, the system thinks it's too dangerous.”

“Yes. It’s one of the magic types that the Fae never gave the human population.”

“I see,” Lexie said. “Can you teach me?”

“I’ll have to. It’s the only way you ca...

134 - Simulations and Soul Contracts

Dots blinked quickly in the blacks, growing into flashing lights, like someone was taking photos of her eyeballs. Suddenly, Lexie opened her eyes and groaned as the light flooded her vision. 

“Relax,” she heard someone say. “We’ll get you unhooked in a second.”

Lexie could barely understand what she was saying. She was totally disoriented as the sounds of chatter got louder and louder, and so did the machine's droning.

“Overall score: 10%. Result: Failure.�...

133 - Explosions

The men moved fast, faster than Lexie could gasp. 

“Get down!” Jace yelled. Lexie grabbed Dewie and did just that as a loud explosion rocked the atmosphere. 

It was followed by another, then another, smoke quickly filling up the room. She heard Jace shout again, meaning one of the men had grabbed him and kept him from setting off more explosives. 

At least it had bought Lexie time to open up her inventory. She instantly went for her Defense Deck because sh...

132 - Reparation

One of the first things Lexie noticed, after the haze of war had cleared from her brain, was that Torin appeared pissed. 

Or as pissed as his deadpan expression would allow anyway. 

He looked at Lexie, then at the food and the people sprawled on the ground. His jaw dropped a little, and his eyebrows furrowed as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. When he glanced back up at her, his gaze spoke of retribution. 

Oh yeah. I’m definitely in...