“I would prefer not to consider the possibility that he meant it literally… And I am not well-versed in the varied morphs of the evoy. I specialize in human grafting, after all. Look into it on your own time; you ought to have access to the relevant sections. Texts regarding the Great Plague ...
2023-09-20 08:07:07 +0000 UTC View PostZefaris herself wasn’t sure how, but the great array unfolded before her eye as if it were far simpler than it truly was. She kept noticing patterns, one after the next, half-consciously picking out smaller glyphs whose functions were only made evident by their placement in the greater whole. I...
2023-09-18 00:39:01 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: I got the uhh
the god damn uh
i slept away most of the last two days
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“Well, eh… Contractors’re loaded, right?” the owner prodded.
“High-rankers, maybe,” she scoffed. D...
2023-09-17 16:32:28 +0000 UTC View PostSaeed pulled a cable from his arm, slotting its end into a physical slot on the side of Cassius’ head. One which hadn’t been there before. With the grafter’s cold metal fingers resting against his freshly-shaven, sore, stitched-together scalp, he heard the man’s abnormally soft voice echo...
2023-09-15 08:43:53 +0000 UTC View PostZefaris received another aetherwave message, mere moments after having struck down the Flesh Sculptor.
“Elder Zefaris, I request that you minimize physical damage to the flesh beasts if it does not impede forward progress overmuch. I wish to make use of them,” Victor’s voice ...
2023-09-15 04:26:57 +0000 UTC View PostWithin the cathedral, upon its topmost floor, two men stood, both wearing gold-embroidered white robes. One looked no older than twenty five, agelessly stuck at the peak of physical condition, while the other had a long, white beard and hair, and his face was scrunched up with wrinkles.
“...
2023-09-13 19:33:50 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Posted the wrong chapter draft. Fixed.
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“Hey, hey, don’t worry. I’m not gonna scoop your brain out of your head,” Semzar reassured unconvincingly. “I’m just asking. You’ve seen the p...
The Thing From Beyond swam about and wrapped itself around his soul, and forced him to understand, simply pushing knowledge into him. Barzai thought he would split in half and depart for his next life, leaving his astral body as food for the Things From Beyond.
It did not come to pass.
<... 2023-09-13 04:39:23 +0000 UTC View PostIt had been unsettlingly easy to integrate the Dragon’s Nerves with Zero’s drive train. Their glistening-yellow, almost golden-looking tissue didn’t react until Strake fired up the engine. But the moment he did, they greedily began drinking up all its output. Hours later, the bundle of nerv...
2023-09-11 23:30:38 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: I forgot to write the paragraph where Joseph actually swings his mace. Fixed.
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Death’s Lieutenant pulled the trigger at the exact right moment, no sooner and no later, to ...
A friend and author of several artworks for both Cherno and Engine, Herbyfox, has just released a short comic. It's just 24 pages, please give it a read.
A/N: Corrected a paragraph halfway through the chapter that had somehow been replaced with a duplicate paragraph from earlier in the chapter.
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Even now, as he raised up his scimitar, its...
Neither Victor’s Servitors nor Lady Zefaris’ Phantoms truly had wills of their own, and if he just ordered his Servitors to act subordinate to the Phantoms unless an override command was given, any control conflicts would be minimized. The artificial cores passively fuelling his servitors com...
2023-09-08 06:12:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe brush was soon joined by an ancient-looking bamboo-slip scroll, pulled out of a partition with at least twelve more identical scrolls. Not just in make and thickness, but the wear patterns, too.
“Ah, and take this as well.”
“What’s the catch?” Krahe asked suspiciously. 2023-09-08 02:28:29 +0000 UTC View Post
A/N: In case you're worried about the focus being away from Zel for now, don't fret. The reason is that she will get all the focus in the back half of the arc when it ramps up.
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Eyes wide, the Flesh Sculp...
“The backlash will be far more significant in the end result, but as you can see, I am no liar. Should you still not trust me, might I perhaps allow you to watch as I place the contingency upon the finished Cremation Cocoon Talisman?” Yao asked somewhat facetiously.
“No, I believe thi...
2023-09-07 00:03:00 +0000 UTC View PostAt that moment, she gestured at the paper and splashed a new pattern onto it, creating an eye-like shape with the dot of purple at its center. It was enveloped by golden light and an image came out, slowly solidifying as Yao sharpened her concentration.
“There. I requested one of my emplo...
2023-09-06 02:47:48 +0000 UTC View PostZefaris wholeheartedly wished she had Victor’s multitrack thinking and hypercognition. She was splitting her mind between keeping track of fire-support requests, trying to advance, keeping watch towards the center of the city, and trying to analyze the Red Fog Dome to see if it could be broken....
2023-09-04 21:57:40 +0000 UTC View Post“An unsettling proposition even from the most generous of perspectives,” Casus chimed in. “What would that make her, then? Not a saint of Chernobog, certainly not an avatar. Once again, the nature of such empowerment would have been detected, and would directly conflict with any Zaveshian r...
2023-09-03 20:19:35 +0000 UTC View PostPlaces whose people were too healthy or prosperous were erased, sabotaged, polluted, or erased with desolation magic altogether, all so they couldn’t possibly threaten the power of those who held it. A mighty conqueror, a man born two millennia late through artifice and strange technology, took...
2023-09-01 17:59:51 +0000 UTC View PostDeath encroaches.
A flying form in crimson-red, tank-sized beasts of flesh and metal at its beck and call, with whirling blades and ballistae easily able to run the Hellhound through.
Death encroaches.
The Hellhound sends the call. A simple ping from the Reaper’s Bride is all ...
2023-08-31 00:12:01 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a few moments of consideration, holding Yao’s one-eyed stare, Krahe said: “I need assurances first. What do I get out of this arrangement?”
Yao, perfectly at ease, shrugged: “I’ll help you to the best of my means. It is that simple. I am sure that, in the process of finding ...
2023-08-30 01:55:42 +0000 UTC View PostDue to IRL interference, the last two weeks have been fairly rough in terms of my posting schedule. Sadly, they start coming and don't stop coming. I'm taking care of an elderly family member for three days this week, meaning no chapters for those three days - Thursday, Friday, Saturday. To compe...
2023-08-29 19:42:02 +0000 UTC View PostCasus instantly went wide-eyed as he considered the consequences of Yao’s account being the correct one. He knew of the World Needle, of its purpose, of the Rite of Amrakas. He had never once considered that the supermassive Archon Flash a few weeks back could be a consequence of that rite, rat...
2023-08-29 19:35:52 +0000 UTC View Post“You dare!” screeched the Puppeteer, two more red-robed individuals rushing to her aid, one controlling a duo of Flesh Beasts and the other, seemingly nothing… Though he exuded danger all the same. Hidden weapons, without a doubt. They all seemed to be using wind magic of some kind to achie...
2023-08-27 22:49:47 +0000 UTC View PostThat was enough to shift Yao's facial expression into one of faint surprise and amusement - faint, but very much there. A raised eyebrow, slightly upturned corners of the mouth.
"Both,” Mistress Yao answered. “The real prosthetic is a spiritual construct, the talismans are suspended wit...
2023-08-26 23:12:38 +0000 UTC View PostZefaris had instantly assigned the new creatures the name of Flesh Beasts, differentiating them by unique design elements. The fact they were numbers of human bodies twisted-together with automata didn’t matter for now; for now, they were just threat factors.
A three-legged abomination wi...
2023-08-26 16:14:55 +0000 UTC View PostIn the seconds after Victor had set her down on the roof, Zefaris carved several kinetic mirror glyphs into surrounding architecture and set forth a deluge of bullets, both physical and ghostly. The bullets of her phantoms were… Unsettling. Immaterial. They just passed through enemy projectiles...
2023-08-25 16:28:57 +0000 UTC View PostYao gestured casually to what could only be described as a conversation pit; a lowered recess in an alcove, furnished with lavish sofas, rugs, and a wide coffee table.
Krahe denied: “I think I would prefer to stand for now. Let’s… Establish the nature of our business relationship, sha...
2023-08-25 08:35:10 +0000 UTC View PostMeticulous, yet stilted writing in the Calbian alphabet read:
You may use this talisman as a compass to find me.
Bring Silberblut if you believe him to be trustworthy.
The moment Krahe finished reading, the glow faded and it fell into her hand. Curious, she fun...
2023-08-23 02:36:40 +0000 UTC View Post