BlueShear

Chapters 33-34

Bodies.

The clan-less bastard previously known as Grey surveyed the scene of carnage with a face as expressive as stone. The macabre sight spread out before him merely the latest in a long string of gruesome landmarks.

A meandering trail of broken bodies which chronicled a harried migration from one end of this profane expanse to the other. He watched as acolytes dragged the few corpses still recognizable into neat and orderly rows.

Likewise, he did not flinch away as ever...

Chapters 31-32

Peak-Stone and five others closed in as one, their quick steps completely soundless in the cavernous expanse. Three approached from behind while Peak-Stone and her two protégés attacked from the front—the hypnotic flow of her twirling twin daggers leaving behind the faintest of pink smoke trails in her wake. Bright-Burner, for his part, could only look on with pride. The visibility of her blade heart a clear sign of her mastery. The two groups arrived simultaneously and struck out in well...

Chapters 29-30

They’d been blitzing through tunnel after tunnel for what’d felt like a lifetime, until—so suddenly that it was almost surreal—they were freed from those cramped confines altogether. The space around them opening up into an enormous cavern. One so impossibly large that he’d genuinely felt as though every harsh step he took could be heard for several kilometers around.

This was where the third ambush occurred.

The floor was very strange, he’d noticed almost imm...

Chapters 27-28

Jun ran faster than he ever had in his life. He careened through the cave system, taking turns at random, and shearing through obstacles as he went. It was a wonder that, after each new corner he took, there always seemed to be yet another way forward. Either this cave system was truly massive, or he was burning through his luck at an expeditious rate. In the latter case, he could only hope his string of good fortune continued. Otherwise, he was going to be in a world of hurt. 2024-10-07 05:33:22 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapters 25-26

Jun could only watch as the filthy little intruder shamelessly ransacked his precious belongings. He hadn’t even known there was anything else alive down here, not until this little creature decided to pay his makeshift home a visit. Oh! And would you look at that. The little fiend had been so kind as to bring along his friends. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

They were rats, there were ten of them, and they were each half again the size of his head. The only silver lining th...

Chapters 23-24

It took everything Jun had to calmly finish exhaling. Almost immediately the pain noticeably eased—leaving behind a dull throb that could be felt from his crown, all the way to the tips of his toenails and back. Unfortunately, Jun was given no time for further reflection before the next breath in the unforgiving chain arrived. He was fully committed to the second stage by now, and he knew there would be no turning back. With mounting dread, he added another exhale to the cycle—lasting for...

Chapters 21-22

Thirty minutes later a panting, groaning, and profusely bleeding Jun would lie on his back, stare up into the void, and wonder if he was actually cut out for this whole cultivation thing after all.

Upon further reflection, it’d been a several fold lapse in his judgement that led to this unfortunate state of affairs. The first and foremost being his willful disregard of the novel concept that, maybe, just maybe, there was a good reason the cultivation manual had ...

Chapters 19-20

Light! He needed light. If he had light, he could… he needed light! An idea came to him then. With a mental prompting he brought up his status menu. A glowing vertical line was drawn in the air, which then expanded into a rectangle. He nearly laughed out loud, though whether in relief or disbelief he couldn’t immediately tell. His surroundings were now lit by a faint glow that only he could see.

And… yep. It was a pit alright. He wasn’t immediately presented with a pile of bones...

Chapters 17-18

Three massive impacts resounded throughout the hall before an enormous crash shook the entire estate down to its foundations. Panting, a harried looking man in servants livery burst into the dining room, moving at a full-on sprint.

“Lord Darius! Intruders! They’re in the entryway, they-!”

Unfortunately, the man never managed to get any further before he was cut off by those aforementioned intruders. Marching forward in organized step, the soldiers who bullied t...

Chapters 15-16

The carriage rumbled up the cobblestone path which led to the main entrance of their modest two-story manor—passing sparse woodland and dense thickets to either side as it bounced, jounced, and rocked its way ever closer. A magnificent thing of polished metal and burnished wood, it had to have been large enough to fit a dozen people or more. Its prestigious bulk accompanied by several flapping banners, ennobling its already impressive silhouette.

The straight-backed driver was dressed...

Chapters 13-14

The city lord’s office was an exercise in self-delusion. Like a prince making to disguise himself as one of the unwashed masses, who couldn’t fathom the idea of  shedding the creature comforts of home, the room exclaimed it was one thing, but very clearly was another. It was no secret that the man had been relegated to his current position from one on high—in the esteemed employ of some duke or another from the kingdom’s capital.

Something Jun knew simply didn’t happen un...

Chapters 11-12

“Ah! Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” she exclaimed, her voice just as prim and proper as always. “It feels like it’s been ages. Please, please, sit, sit. How are you, by all the gods graces? A-and…? Goodness, it would appear you’ve brought along a little friend as well…! How marvelous! You’re… both doing well? I hope?”

To her credit, Maisell’s voice barely wavered when she caught sight of Ivory, though her eyes...

Chapter 10

There had been a time, long ago, when it’d just been him and his parents against the world. It was probably the last time he could remember truly being happy. So, when his father up and disappeared without a trace, and, not an afternoon later, his mother and distant uncle were summarily betrothed, suffice it to say, he hadn’t taken it all that well.

It didn’t help that, whenever he asked her why, he was only ever given vague assurances that they’d “needed his pro...

Chapter 9

The spirit empowered slap reverberated throughout the open reception hall. Startling birds from their roosts in the eaves up above, and splattering droplets of blood across uneven stone tiles. The power of the blow left his head spinning, and it was only after taking several drunken steps that he managed to properly steady himself. He could feel blood dribbling from split lips, though wiping it away was, of course, entirely out of the question. In the same way that lifting his eyes to meet he...

Chapter 8

Jun reached the first crumpled form and gingerly checked for a pulse. Still alive. He honestly wasn’t sure whether he should be thankful or not. Sure, the fact that Caspian still breathed meant that the likelihood of a dagger in his back went up a few ticks. But, then again, at least that death was only probable. Whereas he was certain that if he returned home, nearly unscathed, while her sons did not, the boys’ mother would skin him right there on the spot.

G...

Chapter 7

“Oh! Are we leaving? Where to, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Jun paused. For whatever reason it hadn’t occurred to him that she might wish to tag along.

“Uhh… Well, for one, I’m,” he tried to emphasize the word. “Going over there to check and see if my idiot stepbrothers are still alive. You, on the other hand are free to-”

“Yes yes! We’ve been over that already. What I was asking is where we’re meant to go afterwards.”<...

Chapter 6

Ding!

You have found enlightenment in the concept: [Cutting]

|Concept of Cutting| (1st Aspect)

Aspect of Razor’s Edge

+5 to resonance

Congratulations!

You have formed a Single Aspected Mantra.

Mantra: [Cutting Nail] (1st Aspected)

I cut what ...