《Ascension of the Nephilim 》Chapter 179: Darkness of Destiny
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The mystery of the dracanae in this underground world had a shocking tale to it.
When the Mighty Sword God worked together with the Fallen to eliminate the dragon heretics, the sword strike wounded all dragons, and then the Fallen attacked, and the battle began.
Orgen Pendragon fought a valiant battle that day. He attacked one of Kyriachos's Saint warriors, and the battle ended in a pyrrhic victory for the Fallen. In that battle that was supposed to be food for the many Fallen Princes aiming to be a god, all were slain, and the mighty dragon they wanted to defeat fell into the Separate Realm.
Many other Heretics arrived and tried to aid the dragons, which officially started the Heretic Wars. Airom became a battleground, and the body of the saint-level dragon, Orgen Pendragon, was thought to be lost.
But the vitality of dragons was not to be underestimated.
In the many years since the Orgen Pendragon's soul fell into the Separated Real, his cells continued to grow. Aside from being a dragon, he was a Heretic cultivator that was close to Godhood.
The heart began to absorb the earth itself, and with the much bloodshed that day, soon, the heart gave birth to live. The earth that was tainted with blood formed strange and small creatures.
And as thousands of years passed, more of these creatures began to be born from that heart.
After five thousand years, the first sentient life form was born. And soon, more came to be.
The creatures that were born somehow managed to 'remember' countless things about life. They learned to speak a language naturally. They learned of many desires even though they hadn't experienced them. They sought a clear sky. They sought to grow wings and conquer. And they knew that they were among the most powerful beings in this world.
With these memories came identity and personalities. These creatures began to attack and devour each other. And as each began to devour, five powerful creatures dominated the region. More and more creatures were born, but these living creatures no longer grew strong, and no matter how much the five tried to devour, they couldn't gain any more strength than what they already had.
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The five also tried to attack the heart, but as they did, they felt terrifying darkness that was severing their minds and thoughts. And the group never approached it again.
And so, the five of them sought means to gain more strength to fight the rest and have the chance to devour them. They clashed and clashed but always would end up being unable to devour each other. No schemes could be hatched among each other, for everyone had a vague idea of what the other dracanae was thinking.
It was then that they soon realized that they were connected to the minor lifeforms. Furthermore, they soon realized that they were all connected and were body parts of the heart.
The battle changed as the group was now fighting to become the main controller of the body. Each group managed to control a growing number of creatures, and everyone focused on strengthening it. Unlike them, these creatures became the mindless dracanae ghouls.
Attempts to move out of the region also failed as a strange carapace-like region covered them, which even their strength could not break.
But suddenly, a strange thing occurred. A powerful force began to drain the energy within the mountain. It was as if something was leeching off the entire region. The dracanae's felt a strange, fearful premonition, and soon, a being appeared in their dreams.
A beautiful woman charged them to break out of the region so that they could aid her. She revealed mysterious things, including Destiny and Fate, and urged them that their battle would soon happen.
She told of a being that would arise, a Nephilim which would be a terror to them. To prove her words, she told them that the barrier that sealed them in that region would soon give way. She revealed that it was the dragon's hide and that they were inside the corpse of a gigantic dragon.
The power of the strange carapace slowly degraded, and they managed to break out of the place they were in and explored the underground territory. Destiny was aiding them as earthquakes occurred until they were so close to the surface.
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There were so many mysteries yet. But the one thing they guarded was the heart which they learned to be the source of everything.
And this heart not only vanished, but the owner, Orgen Pendragon, has returned!
A dracanae had died before their eyes. And several more also went alongside them.
There was hope for Martha.
The appearance of Orgen Pendragon revealed his dragonic soul, which caused the cells of the dracanae to tremble.
With this, they could find their way out.
The three Hs were also waiting for any command. Martha was able to give them specific orders.
The orders were made ready. They would secure a way out and attack the top of a certain area to cause it to fall. The explosion that occurred weakened the tunnel they were in. Martha had learned of the bombs that Myas made. She was aware of its power. And with that, Martha prepared the attack.
Myas had skill in shooting. The vials had a small hole that was normally used to hang the vial on a rack. But Myas could shoot through these small holes and send the vial to explode on certain parts accurately.
Martha laid out the possible places where the rocks could fall.
"Is this believable?" Martha asked Dorothy.
"Yes. I think I understand what happened here. These things are my cells!" Dorothy smiled.
"Your cells?"
"I'll explain later!" Dorothy answered.
"If you do not comply, I will send the dracanae ghouls that I can control to fight you! Obey them! Your life is linked to mine!" Dorothy threatened the dracanae once more.
Four of the dracanae started to give way to Martha as they moved back slowly.
One stayed on their ground.
"You wish to rebel?" Orgen's words echoed once more.
"All my life, I wanted to be free from this dark world! I wanted to go out! That woman told us that we are but your body parts. We are cells that found life! But I want to break free! Now that you appeared can I really be truly free?! Bound in darkness, bound to that woman and Destiny, and now bound to you! Death will be my only freedom! So I'll risk it! Is it possible for me to be free if you die?!" The dracanae laughed, and he began to move towards Martha.
"Kill me if you can!" The dracanae began to take a step forward. He was afraid, but he wanted to release.
He took a step forward and challenged his Fate.
And at that moment, the bravery of this dracanae awakened the power of Destiny. Destiny Challenger started to work.
The darkness of Destiny that coursed around the dracanae sent a simple whisper. And one of the dracanae heard it.
"Do not force me! I don't want to waste energy to kill you! But I won't hesitate if you push me to my death! Obey me cell! You are me!"
"That's it! He can't!" The dracanae suddenly shouted.
"I cannot feel your emotions! I cannot sense your thoughts!" The dracanae pointed to his brothers and was becoming more and more happier.
"All that I can sense are the dracanae ghouls that I control! We are free, brothers! We are no longer connected to each other in thoughts! That heart was sealed, and his control over us also disappeared! He is lying! He can't kill us!"
Martha was shocked. Their ploy had been revealed. Her wounds haven't even healed half of what she has to be capable of moving!
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Wildling
Blurb: Silas--a scavenger living off the ruins of humanity--has spent his entire life fighting tooth and nail to provide for himself and his crew. But when a scavenging run goes awry and he's snatched up by an android patrol, he finds himself thrown into a cage and priced to sell as a pet. And when a suitor comes calling, he fears the worst: that he'll be turned into a Domestic, a human lapdog brainwashed into total obedience. Instead, he discovers an equally disturbing truth: that the creatures who stole his world have created a videogame the likes of which Earth has never seen; a sprawling, game-like theme park where humans are the Avatars and androids are the players who control them. And to make matters worse, his android guide is as hopeless as they come, having gotten all of her previous Avatars killed in record time. So if Silas wants to regain his freedom, he'll not only have to fight his way through a world that was specifically designed to murder him in brutal fashion--he'll also have to convince his android guide that he should be the one calling the shots. FAQS: Q: Who are you, handsome stranger? A: I'm Kyle Kirrin, the author of Shadeslinger, book 1 of The Ripple System, published by Portal Books, and I write crunchy LitRPG. Q: What is Wildling? And is it complete? A: Wildling is a crunchy LitRPG mash up of Fantasy and Science Fiction. And yup, Wildling is already complete at 64 chapters, or about 120,000 thousand words. You're looking at something like a third draft here--it's fairly polished, but it hasn't been picked over by a copy editor yet nor has my developmental editor seen it. Q: Upload schedule? A: 5 initial chapters today (2/15/2021) and one chapter a day for the next month. After that I'll probably slow down to 2 or 3 chapters a week until the story is complete. Q: How crunchy is it? A: It's pretty crunchy. I'd put it on the same tier as Ascend/The Land/RSSG, but it might be a bit crunchier than those three? Q: Is this the first book in a series or a web novel or what? And what are your plans for it? A: It's currently a standalone with series potential. Full disclosure: this story may head the way of my publisher eventually, but will be available on RR for quite a while no matter what. Likely several months after it's complete with plenty of warning before/if it's taken down. Q: What kind of build does the MC create? A: Sword and board! Q: Crafting? A: Plenty! Crafting isn't as center stage as it is in The Way of the Shaman, but it's close. Q: Base building? A: Two fully separate, distinct bases, both of which play a major role in the story. Q: VRMMO? Portal? Reincarnation or what? A: This one's a bit tricky. Basically an advanced race has created a game-like world that closely resembles a theme park. Think Westworld but with copious amounts of loot. And the MC has to fight his way through that to earn his freedom. Q: Permadeath? A: Nope! The MC gets 3 lives to play through the entirety of the game world, and death is extremely punishing, but not fatal. Q: Harem? Or romance? A: No and no. Q: Cursing? Blood? A: Quite a bit of cursing, yeah. There's blood, too, but it's not a gory book by any means. Q: How can I support? A: Instead of a Patreon/donations etc, I'd ask that you consider giving my debut LitRPG Shadeslinger a chance. It's free on Kindle Unlimited and the audio is already out narrated by Travis Baldree. It's an epic fantasy VRMMO where the main character gets 3 days of exclusive access to a new game plus a snarky, talking axe to guide him through it in exchange for agreeing to become the target of a serverwide manhunt once the Head Start period ends. Q: How's it similar to Wildling? And how's it different? A. The crunch level is very similar, but Shadeslinger is a much lighter, epic fantasy take on the genre. It's also VRMMO, but without any real world components aside from the first chapter. The MC is very different--he comes off as a bit of a jerk early on and can take a bit to warm up to, especially before his backstory is revealed--but he's also got a talking axe that constantly puts him in his place. Shadeslinger's a much more humorous story in general, and it's a great deal more polished as well. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy Wildling!
8 319Time & Tied
A war in the future is spilling into our present. Enter Carrie Waterson, a teenage girl who ends up with a time machine. In using it, she learns that she is tied to a future destiny. What does that mean for her now? Who in her high school can be trusted to help out, given how some of her friends have their own agendas and mystic connections? Most importantly, how might Carrie fight against the future, when the future is herself? (ASIDE: Cover was an old commission from Sabrnyan.)
8 76Twisted Creation – Wicked World
In the beginning there was pain; unending and unbelievable pain. Tough there were also happy memories mixed together with the pain. Memories of her only friend and caretaker happily laughing at her misery. When he stopped visiting her in her small dark room, she decided to search and explore the outside world, trusting that she will reunite with him again.This is the story of a twisted, wicked girl and her very first steps in a new world.
8 114The Lucky One
When opportunity is coupled with luck, success is achieved.An unfortunate event reversed by luck, creates miracles.A joyful event added with luck, brings greater happiness.An extremely talented person filled with luck, gives birth to legends.Simply experiencing luck, leads to great changes.But does luck really exist? Some says luck doesn't exist, and everything is decided by our actions and decisions.But Shin believes otherwise, and that it exist!And that it can change his fate forever!
8 138Silver Sky
Yuha princess of the avian fiends is forced to flee when an unknown force attacks her people. Forced by her sister to use their ancestor's contingency plan, she is sent to another world to escape the horrifying foe that was assaulting her people. She finds herself in the land of silver sky where the sky is sealed in metal the suns are godlike beasts and a massive wall of light that reaches to the sky that none know what is beyond. Yuha must uncover the secrets of the land and herself to reunite with her people.
8 118The Errant Otherworlder Watanabe
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and trucks whom transport men to other worlds.” Meet our titular protagonist Haruto Watanabe, a man who has all the markings of a good protagonist for a generic portal fantasy story. As an overworked office worker, to escape from the grips of crippling capitalist alienation, he had taken up to reading many stories where young men like him were transported to other worlds and enjoyed their lives at a most leisurely pace. Armed with genre-awareness and (what he believes to be) a marketable personality which would make him an easy audience self-insert, he longed for the day the isekai express would take him to his long-awaited adventure to another world. When the fateful day came, where the fair yet harsh mistress that is the fabled truck took Watanabe on one last date to the other side, he was most ready to escape his previous life, ready to embark on an errant so great he’d be most overpowered, his heroics so exceptional and his harem so vast that they would barely fit ten or twenty volumes of an overly long novel made by a desperate author looking for quick cash. Lo and behold however, Watanabe instead found himself in a low fantasy world which lacked severely in the department of any game-like systems, cheat skills or easily charmed damsels in distress. In a setting so antithetical to his established genre savviness or any attempts at power fantasy, how will a man like Watanabe, lacking in strength, wits and courage, manage to survive in a land most foreign to him? This is my first time trying to share to the wider world what I’ve written, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading the errantry of Watanabe as much as I enjoy writing about them. I'll be posting one chapter per week on Sundays, along with extra chapters whenever I get the chance to write more than usual.
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