The Keeper heaved labored breaths. His face contorted in fury that looked beyond us, past us. Alice moved to my side. Her axe was ready and her fingers wafted cool air that brushed my skin.
“We’ve done nothing to you!” I shouted.
“Nothing? You’re presence is an insult! Even when exposed to the truth you dare pretend to play innocent?!”
What can we do here… he’s mad. But I doubt we can leave without t...
2024-06-03 17:06:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The dungeon was dark and gloomy, the walls dull and the pathway empty.
Except for the hidden monster waiting on the ceiling.
Sereza threw a single spectral blade and it sailed through the air, stabbing into the monster's thorax.
It hissed and flopped to the floor in a heap of mechanical limbs. The purple strings underneath unspooled but were quickly retracted as it flipped over.
I gripped my spear and contained a growl as Zagreus placed himself between the monste...
2024-05-31 18:19:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe void curtains draped across my back and tugged at something deep inside my chest. Before it could sink its roots, my cloak bubbled outward and pushed it away.
As colors returned, I joined Alice in taking in the expanded room. It was more of a spacious cavern adjusted to fit the monolithic statue in the center. Near the corners, pillars of dull iron stretched to the ceiling where jagged rocks and veins of glowing blue crystal stabbed down. From the pillars, extended iron c...
2024-05-29 17:06:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Ready?” Alice asked.
I nodded and she stepped into the portal. As I approached, Grim gripped my shoulder.
My cloak pushed his hand away, and I composed myself. “Yes?”
“Do not disappoint me, Cain. The hunt calls whether the parasites in the pack understand. Fight, survive, or be crushed underneath.”
His words drew the attention of the four. Even Elizabeth pushed her hood out of the way to observe.
"No. I'm not scratching you anymore. It's been an hour!" Isaac shouted.
Zagreus flipped around and gently bit his nose with all three heads. The rogue brushed him off but the thumping tail slowly won him over.
My familiar leaned into the scratches while Sereza cooed.
"He's adorable," she sighed. "You're a lucky bastard, Cyrus. I wish I had a familiar skill."
"I know he's cute and all. But you don't treat my other familiars like this."
"I do too!"
"Oh yeah? ...
2024-05-27 17:19:01 +0000 UTC View Post(Patreon messing up my spacing again. yaaaaay----- :(
The heavily bearded man fully emerged onto our side of reality and examined the scene. Before they could reach for the hammer belted to their waist, they froze as Grimm spoke.
“Join the others. Await my orders.”
The man marched into the crowd of Grimms as Astra and an unknown parted to allow him entry.
His words weren’t directed at us but Alice stiffened and a p...
2024-05-27 17:06:01 +0000 UTC View Post
I kept my eyes closed for a while and listened to the conversations around me. Eodyne and Igas were fighting or playing rock-paper-scissors. I couldn't tell which between the grunts and yelps of pain.
Teddy and Celenae were discussing tea and what the best kind of blend was for a breezy but warm spring day.
And Sereza and Isaac argued over poison, because why not?
I was almost content to fall asleep, but instead, I delved into my soulspace.
My familiars were off th...
2024-05-24 18:19:01 +0000 UTC View Post
There was only so much training one could squeeze into a couple of days. The incantations were a bust. Whatever magic spells Grim had thrown at me were too complicated. Beyond the one I managed to use by corrupting it with my shadow mana, I was left to spar with Alice.
And she was a blade honed and focused.
Conversations were stilted after another round of ‘Where’s Devon.’
When we sparred she fought hard. Blood spilled, bones creaked. Long hours of our time practic...
2024-05-22 17:06:03 +0000 UTC View Post(So if I'm being honest, somewhere somehow part of this chapter got deleted. And I for the life of me can't understand what. So this is by far the shortest chap in FHC history.)
When Alice looked up, I expected anger or defiance. But instead, she nodded and lowered my axe.
I rolled off and helped her up. As she stood she winced, reaching for the back of her head.
“There’s some blood, but not a lot,” I said.
“You held back.”
“A little.” 2024-05-21 17:06:00 +0000 UTC View Post
I checked my status sheet but there was nothing changed.
My familiars watched me while adjusting to their seats. I asked them how it felt and received a round of replies.
Apparently, the mounds were comfortable.
As I bent down, I inspected the runes. Unlike the curving lines that were more typical to the enchantments used in Inoria, the scrawl was made up of a single unbroken line that formed loops and sharp peaks without crossing.
Since I was nearest to Z...
2024-05-20 17:19:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Five hours. Five hours of searching and nothing to show for it. Astra had to leave, called away by Grimms I didn’t know for something important.
Eventually we relocated to a side room with a table and chair and just sat there.
“I don’t think we’ll find Devon anytime soon,” I said.
Alice sighed, and stared at the table. “I know.”
“Then we call it quits? We should probably do some sparring and test out our stat gains.”
“Mhhm.”
I waved a ...
2024-05-20 17:06:00 +0000 UTC View Post
The stairway down was more like a trip through Wonderland. After a certain freefall down the stone chute, I'd feel the hidden portal activate and instantly cart me to somewhere else.
It reminded me of when I was connected to Xena. The dungeon wasn't truly connected, not the way people thought it was. Each floor was more like a realm onto itself, another layer of a complicated puzzle.
And we had skipped the layers and stopped at floor four.
Instantly, the dark-aspected ma...
2024-05-17 18:19:01 +0000 UTC View Post
She handed the journal over and I stared, not entirely comprehending what I was looking at. Alice stabbed the page and began tracing a jumble of lines. Slowly, I made out the rune hidden behind the scribbles of black ink and felt a strange connection to it.
It felt familiar somehow, but I didn’t recognize it all.
Four swirling circles connected together through jagged triangles. But near the center, there was a whole lot of nothing, almost as if the runes were half-formed be...
2024-05-15 17:06:00 +0000 UTC View Post
“So that just happened.”
The chain wound around my waist uncoiled and returned to its owner, who was staring at where the door used to be.
“That’s never happened before…” she whispered. “Years of entering through this door and I’ve never seen it take as long as it did for you.”
Oopsy.
I canceled the incantation. “Well, we’re good now, right? Can we enter?”
Astra shook her head and inspected the doorway before stepping th...
2024-05-14 17:06:01 +0000 UTC View Post
It took a solid minute of shutting everyone up before I explained what happened. People started to line up behind us, so I took the token from the clerk and we moved on.
"We should torture him," Isaac growled.
Igas scoffed. "I'd like to see you try. I distinctly recall someone getting pounded into the ground only a few months ago."
The two nearly started fighting, but Celenae summoned a barrier between them before the first fist was raised.
"I'm sure he had his reasons...
2024-05-13 17:19:00 +0000 UTC View Post
“You better explain what you mean by that.”
Astra raised her chin and stared directly into Alice’s eyes.
“They are not untrained. Idren, Uryss, Holden. They’ve been training for years. Just like I did before I became a Grimm.”
“Practicing and studying is not the same as real-life experience.”
“It’s not,” Alice admitted. “But they are not untrained. Just inexperienced.”
“They’ll die.”
“Or they live.”
Alice continued ...
2024-05-13 17:06:00 +0000 UTC View PostI blinked away the grogginess and stared at the ceiling. Nothing happened; No buzz, no spasm of pain or bad memory.
It felt wrong.
Slowly, I sat up and stared at the reflection in the mirror. I felt tired, but my face didn't show it. Who knew having a fairy that could heal would be amazing for your complexion?
Chuckling was too much effort. I fixed my hair before plodding over to the attached bathroom. It was funny to think about, but today was probably the last day I'd ever...
2024-05-10 18:19:01 +0000 UTC View PostEven with Áine's healing, Sereza stayed unconscious. It wasn't hard to take a look into her body through Áine's memory, so I knew the state of her mana channels.
All the damage she evaded while transformed had seriously stressed her body. And there were fragments of spatially-aspected mana left inside her chest that had to be absorbed before Áine could heal her properly.
The section of the Underground we were in was truly abandoned.
Not even rats or other scavengers li...
(For those who read FHC, a little similarities of the end scene :P Anyway enjoy the chapter!)
Dark crimson hair, reddish-brown skin, and two blade-like horns that jutted from the sides of his head before sweeping backward, the felkin looked nothing like the rest of his family.
No.
His eyes were glowing orbs of crimson in a sea of black, but the features were similar to his mother's. He had her nose, her brow and the same dimples.
His tail jutted in front of ...
2024-05-03 18:19:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Cursed, wretched, twisted roots.
Strangle, constrict, deny the blood.
I hunt, I must. Shackles that tie, bindings that dig deeper than fur and flesh.
I’ll escape the hearth. It was never home.
I sat up and licked my lips. They were dry. There was a taste on my tongue, coppery, but more–like it was mixed with rotten pistachio.
As I worked my spit and loosened my tongue, Freki poked his nose into my side. I rubbed his head an...
2024-05-01 17:06:01 +0000 UTC View Post
“What the hell?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
Alice shrugged. “That was it. To avoid you during the Blood Harvest.”
Anger flared up, but I swallowed it and studied her. She looked as neutral as ever; with relaxed shoulders and not a crease on her face. Only her eyes revealed a hint of emotion. The dull crimson stood out underneath the overhang of the building above.
“And what did you say?”
“Nothing.” She looked up for a moment, then began adjust...
2024-04-30 17:06:00 +0000 UTC View Post
The world stretched my insides, but I flexed and my mana solidified, resisting the tearing chaos that was the transportation between dimensions.
Magnus and Zharia were protected in my arms, and they hunkered down.
I scrunched up, keeping Sereza's legs trapped and attached.
I wouldn't let go.
We zipped through the whirling colors until the light flashed and the stretching stopped. The limb wrapped around us continued to pull forward, forcing us into a roll across solid ...
2024-04-29 17:19:01 +0000 UTC View Post
(Heya. Head's up, I'll be taking next week off. I can't avoid it, need some time to go thourgh B1 edits. Hope y'all enjoy the week, and see yah next chaps :)
“And all I have to do is listen?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “The same as our last conversation. All that is required of you is to listen.”
I motioned with my axe. “Get on with it.”
She closed her eyes and looked to the sky. Her hair rippled behind her through wind I didn’t feel. When s...
2024-04-29 17:06:01 +0000 UTC View PostIsaac lifted her head and slapped her good cheek.
She didn't respond.
He began shaking her, but Teddy gripped his shoulder and shook his head.
"She's gone," Teddy said softly.
Isaac continued to hold her, but Igas helped set her down as Isaac stood up.
"I've known her since we were kids. She's an idiot and cocky, but not a monster," he whispered.
"I remember. She brought you to my house when you were knocked out."
He stared at Urry and then pan...
"I'm coming," Alice said, following me out of the tea shop.
I snorted. "I appreciate the backup."
Still, why was Hildegrim here? Why risk coming into town when it was filled with Grimms crawling around? She could only remain undiscovered if she used a cheat-like magic power.
Kierra was ordered to stay at the shop. Thankfully, she didn't protest. As we left, I kept my hand close to my axe.
Two minutes of walking, wasn't long by any means, but inside the town bustlin...
2024-04-24 17:18:02 +0000 UTC View Post
There was an explosion of light, and the flames died, leaving behind an empty circle that continued to burn.
Burning pain shot through my veins, and I gritted my teeth as it surged toward my core.
Alice tried to grab my attention, but I couldn't focus as the scarlet fire breached my core and exploded. My mana rose up to combat it, and both sides expanded and unified against the foreign breach.
The shadows attacked first, aiming to swallow the light. It stabbed forward bu...
2024-04-23 17:06:01 +0000 UTC View Post
I spun my spear and ran a finger along the blade. The bone pushed at my skin but it only cut after I applied pressure.
"Are you sure?" Teddy asked.
I glared.
He sighed and pulled out a ring. I recognized it, a similar one having saved my life not too long ago.
"Will you at least wear this?"
"You think it'll be that bad?" I countered.
"I don't know. But it could be. Even with Isaac and Sereza, the Underground is filled with opportunists."
"How's th...
2024-04-22 17:19:01 +0000 UTC View Post
It was a bold statement.
Despite our badgering he remained tight-lipped as he led us out of town. The doors we passed were all painted with a rune and had windows bound in iron. It looked extreme, but none of the town folk we saw seemed concerned.
Devon swerved through the trees following an unseen winding path that led us deeper into the forest. After five minutes, he finally stopped and scanned the area.
I sniffed the air, but only mildew and dirt filled my nostrils.
Cal clapped my shoulder and grinned wide enough that it looked like it hurt.
"I'm proud of you. Made some interesting choices I'm excited to see," he said.
"Any idea what's up with this one skill? Skald is a term from Earth, right? Uh, old viking song people?"
He frowned. "More than that, but close enough for what you're thinking. And the mana type is unrecognizable because it technically isn't a type. It's a special skillstone requiring a certain proficiency in runic kn...
2024-04-19 18:18:27 +0000 UTC View Post
For a second, it looked like the metal cage wouldn't be enough and the creature splashed against the iron rods before a claw formed and left hazy lines in the air.
The creature roared, a lion's maw wailing with reverb that vibrated the air. But the maw bubbled and exploded, once more forming the amorphous blob of quivering, crimson slime that battered at the iron.
I stepped back. The blood was so thick and heavy that it felt like drowning as the scent of iron and copper cramme...
2024-04-18 17:06:00 +0000 UTC View Post