《The Last Woman on Earth: A Military Sci-fi Intrigue》Part V, Chapter 18
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IZHMEK Mechanical Plant/refortified fort, Izhevsk, Russia
November 18th, 1991, 23h22’
56.8619° N, 53.2324° E
Leaning back against his chair, Commander Dzyuba closed his eyes, trying to take in a breath that didn’t reek of vodka, latrine, or his past mistakes. Outside the ventilation hole above his head, fragments of sunlight had long given way to a dull overcast, then to barren nothingness. Dzyuba had never been that fond of darkness. Nothing pleasant ever happens behind the back of the light.
“Take care of my creations for me,” whispered the voice of his old friend Anatoly Maksimov.
Before setting himself alight at the Battle of Vyazma, Maksimov had illegally conceived a pair of identical twins to “carry on his legacy” should he perish. At the time, only the fittest sets of genes were allowed for procreation, and Anatoly had to pull all the strings to sneak his own into the mix. It was the closest anyone could come to sustaining their lineage.
The twins were Andrei and Maksim Maksimov.
The last moments of Anatoly’s life flashed through Dzyuba’s mind again. His lurid grunts as the bluish flame ripped its way through his limbs. His ghastly howl as charred metal and cloth fell into the snow, melted and melded into inky streaks. Skin tearing and flesh shrinking. Hair smoldering and eyeballs popping.
The commander snagged the half-full vodka bottle from the table, craned his neck back, and swallowed until the last bitter drop, letting it bled through his veins. The screams inside his head fizzled a little with each mouthful he absorbed, reducing his terror to fitful murmurs in the back of his mind.
Artem Dzyuba, Anatoly Maksimov, and Boris Zhukov—they were the elites of the 1964 class; the future of the State of Ural. They were supposed to be the symbol of wits, heroism, and bravery, the beacon of hope against the oppressive Republic of Moskva.
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Yet, Dzyuba never felt he deserved to be in the same rank as his best friends. He was never as sharp, never as resourceful, and certainly never as valiant.
It was he who had compromised their hiding spot, but it wasn’t Dzyuba who’d sacrificed himself as a diversion for the other two to escape.
I should’ve died in Vyazma.
He hadn’t. Since then, he had died several times; each time, he’d risen from death, shedding a piece of humanity with him. Now, his time was running out, yet again.
The commander rotated the ring on his index finger until he could see the words “From Papa” engraved on it. The piece of diamond on the ring emitted a dim white light as though a mini lighthouse were built inside.
Dzyuba unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a thick piece of cloth wrapped twice around his chest. He had to wear the cloth, no matter how uncomfortable it felt. He had to hide what was underneath: a Republican artificial heart, observable behind his rib cage, next to his artificial lung. He was no longer a human, at least not one with cardiac organ.
The price I paid for Maksim’s life.
He unwrapped the cloth and looked down at the plastic, heart-shaped, opaque white mechanical organ wired to his arteries. It glowed with a pale light, the same dim glow as the ring. He pressed the diamond against his mechanical heart, and the two lights started interacting, beaming toward each other as the plastic surface grew warm and almost sizzled.
Courses of energy pulsed through Dzyuba. He arched backward, teeth gritting, grating grunts escaping his throat. A greenish tint crept through his veins, visible under his pallid skin.
More, more, more! Stronger, stronger, stronger!
His heart flashed a blinding light, and he dashed the ring to the ground in agony. Beads of sweat poured from his body as he lay face-down on the table, gasping for air. His body was too obsolete for this.
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Nonetheless, he had to try. Izhevsk was no place to die. But to survive, he and Maksim needed to be superhumans. War machines. It was them against the world.
‘Take care of my creation for me,’ Anatoly had said.
I must live. I have a promise to fulfill.
Dzyuba stared at the summoning order he’d just written, Alexei Vronsky’s name on it. He’d had a sneaky suspicion ever since that man arrived in Izhevsk unscathed a year ago, only to be confirmed when Lieutenant Commander Petrov had found this mysterious ring lying about inside a med pod and brought it to him. A hidden fusion generator suddenly appearing close to Alexei’s room? In no way it could’ve been a coincidence.
Dzyuba had served Supreme Leader Smolnikov for three decades, and yet had never heard Vronsky’s name among the ranks. How did a person with barely any military record manage to bypass Pavlyuchenko’s army amidst a prolonged siege? Who exactly was he? If that man could walk in, surely he would be able to walk out.
And that meant Dzyuba could, too. He just had to learn Vronsky’s secret.
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The Villainess Has Fallen
An overworked executive. An innocent, suffering soul. A twist of fate brings the two dreams in one magical way. Waiting for her inevitable end as she gazes at the frozen pastels painting the southern skies, Leonora—a simple, enlightened soul finds herself thrown into a pit of darkness. But worse is yet to unfold. Bound, gagged, and blindfolded, she wakes up and discovers she has transmigrated into another world. Not as Leonora, but… Victoria—an infamous villainess whose wicked feats have bedeviled her kingdom. A mass murderer, a malicious plotter, an evil witch, and a king-killer. A fallen princess condemned to death through the worst of all punishments—death on a burning stake. ***1 Chapter A Week.
8 129The fallen (?) hero and Aži Dahāka's soul fragment
I have to apologize.A certain real life problem that I thought I got rid of has caught up to me once again.I tried to continue writing, but my mind was not in the right track to do so and thus, as some people had said, the quality of the latest 2 chapters had turned from the usual "bad" to "worst". So, I reluctantly have to say that I will be away until I can sort things out.I can't say when, but I do intend to return to writing. I might lurk around to read other people's works though. I will be turning my attention to stories with "tragedy" and "despair". The five of us were summoned to this world from our clubroom two years ago to be made as heroes.Shouldn't forceful summoning like that be counted as kidnapping?Well, we chose to go with the heroes route.After harsh training and battles, not to mention all the killings, we finally defeated the demon lord.However, all those achievements literally became nothing, it wasn't just forgotten, it was erased to be totally nothing as even the written records were somehow being disposed of. I was too naive. Who would have thought that the side we have been fighting alongside with, the side we were fighting for, was the one to bring our demise?After I had to see everyone else turn into nothingness, somehow... I alone survived. Note: I will attempt to fix the grammar problem with the help of lieutenant colonel fletterman. This may delay the release of future chapter. Chapter 1 is fixed. Chapter 2 is fixed.
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8 15049 and one hero.
Hi I'm Spint, 27, and I'm from Sweden.This is my first attempt of writing something readable.(A first attempt on making a proper description.)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Heroes, a word normally associated with people who do extraordinary deeds that others would shy away from. Deeds like jumping in front of a car to save a child. Like walking in to a burning building to save those inside. Like taking a bullet to save another. Save, this is the word that defines a hero, to save others at the cost of oneself. But what would happen if a hero was not made by his own actions but was instead forced in to situation that would eventually make him into a hero. What if everyone around you saw you as a hero, named you as a hero and looked upon you to save them from what was to come. Would you become a hero for them, or would you lash out against them for forcing you? This is a story about those that walks the road of a hero, and the one who makes his own path. Written in the classic """"Summoned heroes"""" style set in a fantasy world.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I hope you will enjoy it!Ps. I would love to know what you guys think, good or bad. Feel free to wright a comment in the individual chapters or wright a review down below telling the readers what you think about it. But please keep in mind that good or bad scores don't tell anyone anything. If you are hesitant about reading this fiction then try out the first chapter. It is short ^^. Ds.
8 108Tanjirou x Reader One-Shots (commissions open)
You read the title. Commissions or suggestions in comments. Anything will do. Have fun!If you want more just check out the full story on my main page.(Sanmiittai_Katudo #Reminders)~Slow updates~author-chan out~!
8 189Please...
Harry Potter is five years old now, though he does not look it. He looks more like a small four or three year old. But, that's not the end of it.The fact that none of his neighbors know he exists, that he sleeps in a cupboard, even that his parents are dead, is not the end, nor the worst of it. No, the worst, is his uncle. The reason he doesn't speak, look at anyone, barely even breathe. Each night, he hopes for someone to come and save him, but they never come. No matter how hard he wishes, how hard he hopes, it seems he will be stuck there forever, or until his slow, agonizing march to death ends.One night, after hoping and hoping, he starts to realize he will never get saved, helped, even comforted, for his entire life.What if he's wrong, and what if a certain Slytherin can heal this broken child?What if, in turn, this broken child can heal him?THIS IS NOT SNARRY!! If that's your thing that's fine, but HARRY IS FIVE IN THIS FANFIC!! NOT SNARRY!!Do not repost on any other website/account without my permission.
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