Nineteen
Four lights speared through the utter darkness of the abandoned facility, highlighting the horrors of the death that had been painted with gratuitous violence. Kon was glad of the filters in his helmet that kept the stench from invading his nose. There had been enough of that when he had been on Crucible.
The grip of his mace creaked as he tightened his hand on it, eyes sweeping back and forth even as he pushed his senses as far as he could. T...
2025-07-16 16:01:25 +0000 UTC
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Eighteen
Kon watched over Benny’s shoulder as they appeared in local space. A faded star glowed dimly in the center of the system, burning a faded, deep, red. He turned his eyes away from the star and toward their objective. A large asteroid field stretched out across the system, hundreds of thousands of fragments of rock and iron, hurtling through space at catastrophic speeds.
“Are the gaps really that big between all of them?” Kon asked as he looked ...
2025-07-15 16:01:22 +0000 UTC
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Seventeen
A/N: Give me some suggestions/thoughts on runes for Kon!
“We have a problem,” Benny said as he walked into the common room, wiping his hands on a dirty rag. He tossed the rag to the side as he flopped down on the sofa with Kon and Diur. The old man sighed as he laced his fingers together on the table as he stared at the two of them.
“Got lots of them. What’s the newest one,” Kon asked, his food halfway to his mouth. The steaming pile of p...
2025-07-14 16:01:25 +0000 UTC
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Sixteen
The cultivator woke slowly, groggily, looking about with stupefied pink eyes. Blood covered its wide lips as it licked them with a wide, gray tongue. For a moment it looked like it wouldn’t recognize the world, then the pain hit with awful clarity. It screeched, bucking in Benny’s hands, but the old man’s grip was unyielding, holding the wounded cultivator down as Kon and Diur stood around it.
“Relax friend, your troubles are over,” Benny said in...
2025-07-11 16:01:22 +0000 UTC
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Fifteen
“Diur, check that back door they all left. Secure it. Kon, throw some of these tables on their side so we have a barricade. Get ready to repel boarders,” Benny said as he unlimbered his weapon. It was a short barreled carbine, magnetically accelerated pellets able to rip through flesh and metal with ease. Benny took up position angled to the doorway, aiming the weapon at it but in a place that he wouldn’t be immediately seen by people walking through the d...
2025-07-10 16:01:22 +0000 UTC
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Fourteen
“Stay close to me, watch our backs, don’t let any of these little shits get close enough to touch us,” Benny said as he walked down the ramp. The old man had a swagger to him, a rolling stride that took up more space than it should. A faint sense of danger emanated from Benny, not a full aura like the other cultivators had shown, but just pure body language.
A path opened up in front of them, the mixed crowds breaking apart to allow them throu...
2025-07-09 16:01:15 +0000 UTC
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Thirteen
Kon was right. Benny wasn’t impressed with their tactical plans. He spent the entire next day going over how wrong they were and how they were wrong. Then he showed them how to fix it. Benny loaded up a simulation of the entryways and close quarters combat.
“I don’t like going in with rookies on something so poorly thought out, but we do what we must,” Benny groused as he led them to the armory an hour before they were supposed to drop out o...
2025-07-08 16:01:14 +0000 UTC
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Twelve
The weeks of travel turned into a brutal blur. The first day had been the easiest, Benny falling into a rhythm as time went on. He worked on training them, finding their limits and pushing them every day. Kon could feel the differences as his node slowly devoured the energy his body cultivation had filled him with, reinforcing and strengthening his body as he grew in leaps and bounds.
In the morning they’d go over their aliases, working through deta...
2025-07-07 16:01:37 +0000 UTC
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ONE
Across the lavender-fuchsia sky it stretched out across the horizon, tentacles slapping across the fading shield generator of the floating city, sparks of lightning leapt from the shields as they reacted against the great rift beast. Alice couldn’t look at the great monstrosity for more than a moment before her attention was drawn back to her current opponent.
A gas bag of toughened leather with a dozen segmented slashing limbs advanced on her, f...
2025-07-04 23:50:26 +0000 UTC
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Eleven
A/N: Honestly these last two chapters probably could be one, might do that in edits.
They found the hatchways before there was any need to worry about potential embarrassment. Kon’s cabin was actually quite spacious which surprised him. He had a full bed, built-in dresser, a view screen attached to a bulkhead, and a metal weapons locker. Kon checked the locker and was only slightly disappointed to see it was bereft of occupants.
The bathroom w...
2025-07-04 16:01:50 +0000 UTC
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Ten
Benny refused anymore questions till they were off the Authority of Man, a process that took several hours of them just sitting around as Benny disappeared through another hidden hatch. Both Kon and Diur didn’t say anything at first as they sat there, waiting for the old man to return. As usual, Kon couldn’t hold back the steady stream of curiosity, turning to Diur and starting to pepper her with questions.
“Assassin?” Kon asked, spinning to l...
2025-07-03 16:01:06 +0000 UTC
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46.
The behemoth was picked free of the ground, thrown with violence against a stone wall, breaking it apart in a shower of stone. Blood and stone went flying about, the undead creature struggling to rise again as Erak and his militia raced towards the museum. His aura of command kept the formation in tight grouping, their spears lashing out with machine precision as the undead came racing forward only to die.
“It was a mistake to try to slow down. It...
2025-07-03 01:10:12 +0000 UTC
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Nine
“Now, my name is Knight Benjamin. No Chapter, no Order name, but you can call me Benny,” the old man said, not removing his arm from Kon’s shoulder as they walked through the halls of the dreadnought. Kon struggled to match the old man’s long strides, the deceptive speed of the walk catching him off guard.
“Now, I am welcome on the ship, but…well I’m not encouraged to stay long. So, go and grab your gear and meet me in Hangar Bay 32-C.” Benny ...
2025-07-02 16:01:26 +0000 UTC
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Eight
“CADETS!” Jurgen’s voice filled the space of the hangar, a ringing filling their ears as everyone stared at the Knight as he walked in front of them. He wore a clean charcoal gray uniform with golden dragon epaulets on his shoulders, a shine to his normal appearance that had Kon instantly on alert.
“Today the culmination of your efforts shall be rewarded. The buyers have arrived. Representatives from over sixty chapterhouses have boarded ...
2025-07-01 16:01:48 +0000 UTC
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Seven
Over the next three days they were tested in numerous ways. From stretching to agility drills to textbook knowledge. Kon didn’t like the knowledge portions of the testing as he suddenly found himself near the bottom of the class. Mathis had become a near constant, the older man finding them and often coaching them as they worked their way through the tests.
Kon had known his knowledge was shallow, but the sheer breadth of it he was supposed to understand h...
2025-06-30 16:01:36 +0000 UTC
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First off, thank you for being here. Second off, I have some news to talk about the patreon.
Over the last few weeks i've been asking questions and listening to what y'all like so here's what i'm going to do to try to improve the experience.
Mon-Fri posting at the same time, 9 a.m PST. Some of you like the big random bursts, but the number one ask is a consistent posting schedule. I also just figured out how to set up an automatic post rather than doing it manually, so that's on ...
2025-06-27 22:31:33 +0000 UTC
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Six
“Kon, good to see you,” Mathis said as he walked into the training room, clapping Kon on the shoulder. The older man looked in better shape than the last time Kon had seen him, cleaned up and in fresh clothes, looking well rested as he peered around the gym.
“Squire Mathis, I’m glad you were able to safely evacuate. My condolences about Knight Bosch,” Diur said, bowing her head slightly. Kon simply grasped the man’s forearm in a tight clasp as Math...
2025-06-27 22:24:46 +0000 UTC
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Five
A/N: Would we be interested in some Alice Interlude chapters?
“PUSH CADET!” Knight Jurgen screamed in the straining boy’s face as he tried to rise up in the squat rack. Kon was quickly trying to figure out the weight as he kept performing high knees as his assigned technician kept clutching at her holopad and touching her visor.
“Looks like a hundred-thirty kilos. He’s pretty strong.” Kon watched as the boy managed to finish t...
2025-06-24 20:32:19 +0000 UTC
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45.
Erak planted his foot in the Risen Behemoth’s chest and pushed down with all his might. Bone shattered as his boot blew through the thin protection its fragile ribs offered, organs pulped as blood erupted in a geyser. Erak swung his hammer, crushing the creature’s head for the fifth time. His frustration was mounting as more and more of its spare limbs were converted into mass.
He fell upon it in wrath, the hammer a blur as he struck...
2025-06-24 19:14:13 +0000 UTC
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44.
The risen continued to throw themselves at the shields of the militia. They continued to die at the militia’s feet. Erak felt a tendril of pride at their work, they were still undisciplined louts who couldn’t stand up to a true tested fighting unit, but they were much improved over their last deployment. Nevia had taken over as his voice with both Sammus and Pomp not being with him, but with his newfound aura, he found little he needed to be shouted.
2025-06-23 23:13:23 +0000 UTC
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Four
“It stinks,” Diur said as the two of them walked down the boarding ramp of the Shadow of Steel. Kon grunted, lost in the sights all around him. He had thought that the Dragon’s Maw had been a massive ship, but the Authority of Man absolutely dwarfed his old ship. The Shadow of Steel, which he’d found out was something of a repurposed freighter turned into a yacht, could comfortably fit in one of her smaller landing bays.&nbs...
2025-06-23 20:37:44 +0000 UTC
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Three
A/N: Do y'all prefer big multi chapter drops a few times a week or single chapters throughout the week?
“Exiting the lane,” the pilot’s voice was droll, as if taking a ship out of faster than light travel was an everyday occurrence for him. Kon reflected that it probably was and that the rote familiarization with an extraordinary task could degrade it into the simply ordinary. The pilot’s lack of excitement did nothing to temper his own, he bounced o...
2025-06-23 18:32:55 +0000 UTC
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43.
Forms shambled around, hardly more than dots as Erak leaned over to look at them. Hundreds of them, covering the ground in locust-like swarms as they walked around the half destroyed suburb. It was the closest that Sword could get for the shuttles to land, the rest of the city was shrouded in a thick, unnatural mist. The breeze opened up channels in the mist, showing shadows of towers and domes, nothing more than hints of what lay beyond.
“I think the graves...
2025-06-21 00:01:24 +0000 UTC
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TWO
Kon stalked the silent halls with quiet ease, his eyes roamed the shining steel halls, his blurred reflection his only companion. There were no signs on where to go, no easy path to Diur. Instead as he walked across the halls, he focused on trying to sense excess energy. Alice and Diur had been able to do it, but he had never picked up the trick.
Now off world, where there was no rampant rift energy to consume and obscure his duller senses, he coul...
2025-06-19 21:13:58 +0000 UTC
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42.
Sword of Empire launched with no fanfare. No crowds gathered around to watch as the great ship’s engines flared to life, pushing it further away from the safety of the dwarven hold, burning bright as the ship cut across the air, parting it with its wide frame. Erak stood on the bridge with his officers, Illyria, and Sword herself, all watching as the ground receded as they headed north.
“How does it feel to head back home?” Captain Illyria...
2025-06-19 01:25:47 +0000 UTC
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ONE
An electronic chime sounded through the small room as Kon looked away from the ceiling. The small room he’d been sequestered in was tight, the confines of it hardly large enough to hold the small bed he was on. There was nothing else in the room aside from himself. No decorations, no furniture, nothing besides the bed that was hardly long enough for him.
Kon swung his feet around and the chill metal sent an electric shock through his bare soles as he reached...
2025-06-17 19:17:29 +0000 UTC
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41.
Erak
Bloodsworn lvl. 35
Strength: 70
Vigor: 55
Durability: 55
Perception: 25
Processing: 23
Essence Command
Channeling: 3
Potency: 3
Core: 3
Erak lay in his bed, soaked in sweat as he gasped through the aftersho...
2025-06-17 04:42:11 +0000 UTC
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Let me know what y'all thought of the book, the ending, strong points, weak points, etc. I will be working on editing in the near future-ish and would love the feedback, just be respectful and courteous to others and myself if you disagree with someone's assesment. Thank you
2025-06-16 20:35:02 +0000 UTC
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Epilogue
An Ulmna woman walked across the plateau. She was short with defined musculature that showed in her bare arms of the sleeveless robes she wore. A long sword was carefully belted to her waist, common and plain looking, though well cared for. She looked up to the clear skies and sighed in contentment as she continued to cross the destroyed area.
Her ascension had gone poorly, her rage had nearly overcome her multiple times in the long process of breaking th...
2025-06-16 20:27:49 +0000 UTC
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Sixty-Three
A tree trunk length of red energy blasted out of the cannon, cut across the distance instantly, and struck the bug. Its yellow-black aura had condensed, forming some sort of shield, but it was torn asunder. The bug lunged to the side, but the beam seared it in half vertically. The ground shook again as the heavy body thudded to the ground. Kon sat there, gasping, as he blinked out the red spots in his eyes as he looked to see where Bosch had gone.
Th...
2025-06-16 19:33:57 +0000 UTC
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