Once upon a time, Ryan and Jasmine had sat around a workshop and planned to make an armor capable of destroying Dynamis’ HQ.
That promise was now fulfilled.
“You have two hidden switchblades below the arms and laser turrets in the gauntlets,” Vulcan explained, as she helped Ryan put the power armor on. Darkling slithered in the background, waiting for the experiment to begin. “Since you intend to force your way inside the HQ, I added a nuclear-powered chest blaster.”
...
2021-04-08 08:02:11 +0000 UTC
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None dared to move, as Sarin pointed her gauntlets at the group. Energy built up within her hands, ready to unleash mighty shockwaves.
Truth be told, Ryan didn’t fear his rebellious VP. He could easily stop time and defeat her. However, they were in an enclosed space with Knockoffs kept in vats nearby; if she unleashed a shockwave and splattered the courier with the substance, even by accident...
“So, it’s treason then?” Ryan joked. “You know you will get impeached for t...
2021-04-06 07:48:16 +0000 UTC
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The institution of Xenia, or guest-friendship, was almost as old as the world itself. Gods old and new honored this tradition, and few crimes were greater than violating it.
Once Xenia was invoked, the host and guest shared mutual obligations. The host provided his guest with food, drink, gifts, comfort, and protection under their roof. The guest owed their host courtesy, stories, obedience, and reciprocity. Even their swords, if someone else threatened their host’s honor.
2021-04-06 07:48:03 +0000 UTC
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It had been two loops since Ryan last met Vulcan in the flesh. The sight of her mech descending from above filled him with nostalgia, and longing.
Ryan stood in front of the bunker’s entrance, as Vulcan landed her vehicle atop a pile of trash. She climbed out of her metal suit, stood atop it like a pintsized conqueror, and smirked. “I love what you’ve done with the place,” she told Ryan, after giving a cursory glance at the Junkyard.
Mechron’s mech guarded the entrance w...
2021-04-03 07:53:46 +0000 UTC
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“When did it happen?”
Sitting on his throne with Cassandra standing at his side, Kairos listened as Nessus and Horace gave their report. The dawn had barely risen on Histria, and the captain woke up to dark news.
“Four hours ago, oh my captain,” Nessus said. “Our man killed his fellow guard with a knife to the throat, and then tried to slip inside Prince Critias’ tent to gut him too. Thankfully, your bird was watching from the shadows.”
“I attacked him by sur...
2021-04-03 07:53:32 +0000 UTC
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It was said that the show must go on, no matter what.
“And so, Little Gorynych attempted to kidnap the princess,” Ryan continued his play, having a three-headed dragon plasticine figurine pursue that of a pink princess. After running out of video material to humiliate Dynamis with, the courier had started to improvise. “But she ran too fast for his tiny legs, and poor Gorynych had forgotten he could fly!”
Nobody paid attention to his Shakespearean play, except Frank, whom ...
2021-04-01 07:29:20 +0000 UTC
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Scratching Eugène-Henry’s ears, Ryan mentally rehearsed his villain speech. He had put on the war hat, and prepared for battle.
Since Frank and the improved Mosquito were too big for the presidential van, the group instead switched to a light black truck and put the heavy-hitters in the back. Tea drove with a bandit’s hood covering her face, which made the android look like a hostage-taker. Sarin sat at the front, while Ryan kept the second seat row for himself.
“Ah,” the...
2021-03-30 07:30:41 +0000 UTC
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“You want us to watch and listen?” Horace asked.
Kairos nodded, as a hundred eyes gazed at him. After the battle with Orthia, word of his ‘generosity’ had spread to the Stymphalian birds like wildfire. The few dozen birds that followed Horace had grown into a flock of hundreds; one so large, that the [Hero] had to meet with them outside Histria not to cause panic.
The night wind brushing against his face, Kairos examined this army of feathered fiends. Most were as big as a...
2021-03-30 07:30:37 +0000 UTC
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He found Livia standing on the piers, facing the sea with a terrible look on her face.
Ryan parked his not-so-suspicious black minivan near the old harbor, and quickly looked around for any Killer Seven member. If Livia had brought bodyguards, they hid well; the courier suspected Mortimer lingered nearby, buried below ground. “Don’t tell me you came on foot?” the courier told the mafia princess, as he joined her in his full presidential costume. “We’re a long way from Mount Au...
2021-03-27 07:56:36 +0000 UTC
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One could see the smoke from the other side of the island.
Kairos couldn’t take his eyes off the skies. His grisly work darkened the clouds, a monument to death and destruction. Stymphalian birds flew circles in the skies above, cackling in diabolical joy. More of the dreaded flock had joined Horace, enticed by the smell of slaughter. Though Kairos forbade them from feeding on Travian corpses, they had enough Orthians to eat for weeks.
After the battle, Kairos had spent much eff...
2021-03-27 07:56:28 +0000 UTC
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- April 2017, France, Village of La Turbie.
It was a sunny day in Monaco. Flowers were blooming, birds were singing, and Simon rolled a boulder in hell.
How many times had Ryan looked at Monaco from this promontory? He had spent one year’s worth of loops trying to figure out this place’s ‘rules,’ and today would just be another attempt.
It took him a while, but he had found an old, pre-war UAV drone in an abandoned military base near Istres; a stea...
2021-03-25 07:50:49 +0000 UTC
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For the first time in centuries, Ryan woke up at peace with himself.
Certainly, he had had good mornings in the past. Waking up next to Jasmine would remain one of his most cherished memories. But nothing could compare to this beautiful moment. His body was numb from the endorphins; the tension in his muscles had long vanished. He could have stayed in his bed all day, smiling at the ceiling.
Ryan Romano was happy.
It took a herculean effort of will to rise up and put on his ...
2021-03-23 07:54:51 +0000 UTC
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The Orthian fleet showed up at dawn.
Leading his own troops from the Foresight, Kairos admitted the sight disturbed him a little. It seemed as if a wall of spears had appeared all across the horizon, the ships’ masts appearing under the bright morning sun. A bloody red ‘Λ’ flag stood triumphant atop them, a promise of slaughters to come.
These numerous spear-masts had mighty wielders too. Two-thirds of the fleet were trireme galleys as large as the Foresight
2021-03-23 07:54:45 +0000 UTC
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“This is the Berlin Wall,” Ryan said, as he stood between his troops and a blast door, “the last frontier between western civilization, and complete annihilation.”
He glanced at his minions, all ready to die for their country, and because they had little choice. Sarin kept her arms crossed, carrying herself with dignity in this dark hour. Darkling lurked in a corner, still sore about its nickname. Alchemo grunted, eager to see the mission done. The rest of the cannon fodder, Gem...
2021-03-20 08:00:26 +0000 UTC
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The return to Histria took place in grim silence.
Neither Nessus nor Kairos spoke a word to the other on the way home. The friendly satyr had turned awfully quiet after the Garden of Stone incident, and the Travian captain started to distrust him somewhat. His [Rogue] ally had clearly encountered the gorgons in the past, yet refused to provide details.
Should Kairos confront him about it? Everyone on the Foresight was entitled to their privacy, and Nessus had proved his m...
2021-03-20 08:00:18 +0000 UTC
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“No.”
Watching the Dynamis CEO’s face on his computer screen, Ryan scratched his cat’s ears. This G2 conference call wasn’t going well. “I think I misheard, Mr. Manada.”
“I said no,” Hector replied, the two using a secure channel to communicate. “No more knockoffs. My agreement was with your predecessors, and their demise changes everything.”
“Certainly we can continue where they left off.”
“Listen to me, you l...
2021-03-18 07:32:55 +0000 UTC
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With his Plymouth Fury out of commission, Ryan had expected to be transported in a Cadillac. Instead, he had to settle for the same black minivan which the Meta-Gang used to attack the orphanage in the past.
These Psychos had no taste at all!
“This is a disgrace,” Ryan complained at the back, Eugène-Henry on his lap. Sarin was driving at the front, while Mosquito sat on the second row of seats. “At least it’s a Chrysler!”
“Nobody can see us with the tin...
2021-03-16 07:12:19 +0000 UTC
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Nessus had gathered quite the warband at the camp’s gates for the scouting mission. Not only had the horned hunter brought his merry satyrs, but also new faces Kairos didn’t recognize.
With one notable exception.
“No way,” Kairos said, upon recognizing a brown-haired, freckled teenager among the troops. “Orion, is that you?”
“S-sir!” The young archer immediately bowed at the pirate lord’s approach, like everyone else but Nessus. The boy had brought a black ...
2021-03-16 07:12:08 +0000 UTC
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President Ryan browsed through Hannifat Lecter’s files, with Eugène-Henry sleeping on his lap.
He had inherited his own oval office from his late predecessor, though it wasn’t square-shaped. Mechron had built living quarters in the bunkers to host Genomes in his employ; each studio was around twenty meters squared in size, including a kitchenette, washroom, beds, and shelves.
Most importantly, each room also had a computer with access to the base’s system. While the bunker ...
2021-03-13 07:55:55 +0000 UTC
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Kairos had often wondered how it would feel to rule. To be a commander, a tribe chief, or a king.
The [Hero] had always imagined the job as one where he would need to speak a lot. Bark out at soldiers, issue edicts with a commanding voice, order everyone around to follow his lead.
But as it turned out, most of the job was spent listening.
“So.” Kairos considered the scouts’ reports. His officers surrounded a table with a map-in-progress of the island covering it. “Yo...
2021-03-13 07:55:27 +0000 UTC
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Post where you can download the free ebooks.
Post where you can download the free ebooks.
Hi, dear dragons of unfathomable power,
As you know, Dracolich Tier patrons get free PDF version of the Kindle Ebooks. Before today, I sent those by mail using Patreon's benefits management feature, but... well, as it turns out, the database obviously doesn't update when I publish new ebooks. Older patrons informed me that they didn't get the new books when they came out.
S...
2021-03-11 17:01:46 +0000 UTC
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Ryan had had many awkward elevator moments in his life, but this one trumped them all.
“Is your life always like this?” Hazmat Girl asked Ryan, as they climbed multiple floors towards the bunker’s recreational area. They shared their lift with four plushies out for blood, with Sarin wisely looking away from the fluffy abominations.
“Do you know where they put my A-bomb?” the handsome courier answered with another question, holding a laser gun in one hand and a Bliss inha...
2021-03-11 08:00:09 +0000 UTC
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For a second, none of the Psychos dared to move.
Instead, they looked at the surreal scene before them. That of an adorable rabbit plushie standing right outside the room, surrounded by blood and corpses. Ryan never told Len much about this unholy abomination, and so, these fools didn’t expect to awaken it. The seal had been broken, and hell set loose.
The plushie noticed the Black Elixir in Big Fat Adam’s hands, and looked at it with curiosity.
Don’t do it.
2021-03-09 08:06:18 +0000 UTC
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The return to the colony happened without incident.
After capturing Boeotia’s merchant ships and staffing them with helots, the pirate fleet had grown from five ships to twenty; while none of them were outfitted for battle and their crews lacked experience, they would serve as passable transport. The Travians filled them to the brim with stolen bounties, and then set Boeotia ablaze. The smoke could be seen for miles.
The message had been sent, and Mithridates would be pleased.
2021-03-09 08:06:12 +0000 UTC
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Choose the next Past Fragment interlude! Also, I'm 90 percent sure I'll add an extra one (Bloodstream's Last Stand) either at the end of the month or beginning of April. Enjoy.
1) Blissful Times
It's 2018, and it's a good time to run a drug cartel! Follow Ryan, Alchemo, and their army of robot farmers as they follow in Walter White's footsteps. Can they carve out their empire of crime and most importantly, not get high on their own supply? Find...
2021-03-08 10:38:53 +0000 UTC
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It wasn’t the first time Ryan had woken up naked and strapped to a chair. At least his captors wisely let him keep his boxers; if naked, he would have gone on a rampage.
The courier coughed out leftover water, and it took him a while to see clearly. The room was dimly lit, cubic-shaped, and as unwelcoming as it could get. Steel walls covered in brown stains surrounded him from all sides, with a single reinforced door as the only way out and cameras in every corner. Ryan’s chair was ...
2021-03-06 08:03:14 +0000 UTC
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The Orthians disdained luxury, and their cities were no exceptions.
Boeotia wasn’t a beautiful jewel like Pergamon, but an utilitarian port through and through. The architectural style was minimalist, with narrow streets and brick houses surrounded by fortified walls. None of the buildings differed much from the others, and the whole place reeked of obsessive control.
Only the city’s palace stood out. While the harbor and the rest of the city were built on a gentle slope leadi...
2021-03-06 08:03:07 +0000 UTC
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Sometimes, Ryan wondered if fate existed.
He had seen it across many loops. While they didn’t exactly repeat, events often echoed one another even after he interfered. Though the circumstances were wildly different, this loop would end similarly to the previous one; with New Rome burning, Ryan trapped in a suit of mechanical armor, and a Genius trying to transfer her consciousness through time.
It made sense. Ryan was only one person at the end of the day, a stone throw...
2021-03-04 07:49:07 +0000 UTC
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Ryan’s vision blurred. It was hard to focus; darkness lurked at the edge of his vision, and his strength left him. He couldn’t even feel his legs, and his whole body felt cold.
Maybe it was the loss of blood, or the leftover damage he suffered from the battle with Pluto. Or perhaps it was Eugène-Henry’s doing, as the cat teleported right in front of Ryan. The feline looked down on the trapped Genome without a sound, like a guide to the underworld.
“Fortuna!”
Above...
2021-03-02 08:05:38 +0000 UTC
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From Friday the 13th to Candyman, Ryan had seen all the slasher movies.
He had acted in a few too, either as the relentless terminator during his brief Punisher phase, or as the lonely target pursued by malevolent Psychos. He still looked back fondly on that run where he escaped the Centipede with only his boxers on. Good times.
So the current situation was nothing extraordinary. Night Terror was just Freddy Krueger, except he could attack people while they were ...
2021-02-27 09:01:11 +0000 UTC
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