《Ultima Deus - The Last God》Interlude I - Her
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Interlude I - Her
A dazzling array of lights and colors shimmered against the backdrop of a cool autumn evening sky. Exotic flowers still shivering with morning dew bloomed instantly into sunbursts and supernovas of exquisite visual debauchery; shadows grew into fearsome legends from ages long past, only to be vanquished by heroes of song and myth; the motifs were legion, and it was a drunken revelry to the eyes and ears, carefully contrived to captivate and enslave the senses.
Every set of eyes, except for two.
The first belonged to a wiry man in his twenties, whose eyes were lost, shipwrecked in the gentle swells of the triple scotch neat he nursed in his hands. His demeanor was unassuming and his physical presence overmodest, yet an air of quiet confidence and deadly earnestness coiled about him like a viper ready to strike. It was no wonder that he drifted about alone in a sea of humanity, drowning on dreams of scotch and visions of another man’s life.
The second set of eyes were steel grey, focused and intent upon their prey.
It was a slow seduction, a dance to be sung for the ages. It started with a single step into his personal space. A subtle calling card, a statement of intent. As all such timeless gestures must be met if they are to be properly savored, it called for the attentions of time - a premeditated affair - just to let it settle. As the weight of it slowly drifted over his shoulders, it was not the wintry breeze of a stranger’s breath but the warm caress of a lover’s embrace.
Love does not impose itself on another. Rather, it bides its time. Patient and abiding like the skies and the mountains, like the stars and the ocean until the day when both meet in a perfect timeless kiss, the sanctity of the occasion and the precious rarity of the moment was enough to give both a pause. They savored the moment, extracted of each second its essence as though to lock it away from the predations of time and circumstance, the sworn enemies of all star-crossed lovers.
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And so, for the next few moments, there dwelt a deep, peaceful silence between the man and the woman. It was a spell woven with strands so translucent, so gossamer, that the merest of breaths would have been enough to shatter it. Yet it stood, firm as a deeply rooted tree reaching down, down to the very core and further still, to find that which had secretly been its most dearly coveted desire. Time was of no object, and its streams pooled into an ocean, countless ripples echoing the cadence of their hearts as they beat as one, twined and interlocked, suspended in the absolute void between one man’s destiny and a woman’s fate.
And then it was done. Having served its purpose, it vanished on the wings of a whispered prayer and yearnings buried deep. However, it was done and it had been enough.
For a prelude, it would do.
The man found it necessary to expel wind from his lungs, and form words with his tongue. It all seemed too contrived. He shook his head slowly, then looked in askance to the woman.
“Sophia,” she whispered.
Her lips formed the word yet it was his heart that seized and shook in sweet agony; excruciating bliss.
*Sophia. Ah, Sophia..*
If her name was the poison, he’d gladly drink to the very last drop, if only so that he may taste it for one last time.
Her voice was that of a stranger, but in those eyes he knew her. But his own had forgotten the words they’d so loudly sung in silent tribute mere moments past. And so, churlish and mundane as he felt, he had no choice but to address the voice in order to unveil the mistress behind those twin swirls of mercurial flame.
“I am. My name. That is, I..” the man trailed off. His words were measured and slow, his voice deep and steady, his mind cool and composed. However, there seemed to be no method to bridge the gap between his will and these utterly graceless words which would irrevocably mar this perfect moment.
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The woman tilted her head to one side, a minute gesture that encompassed a statement, a question and their mutual resolution. Then her right hand rose from her side and came to rest upon the man’s cheek. It was a deeply intimate gesture, disdaining all ceremony for the immediate, filled to the brim of the here and now.
“I am..”
It was liquid ecstasy, vitriol that burned. Burned brightly, burned fiercely, until there was nothing but ashes.
Isn’t that how all love stories end?
Ashes and the fading whispers of a broken promise.
*My.. Sophia..*
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The Laptop Hero (Portal/Isekai LitRPG)
[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] - April 2022 Silas got summoned to another world—by a group of kids attending magic school who seemed rather unhappy with the results of their ritual. After a brief glimpse of his summoners Silas woke in the town dump. Unable to speak the local language, a misunderstanding escalated and before long Silas wound up in a jail cell, the locals having confiscated all his worldly possessions aside from his laptop, which had formed some strange bond with him. Now he can summon his laptop at will, and he can view his Status, level up, and gain powerful skills and magic as if he were some character in a video game, which is great and everything, but all Silas really wants to do is sit in a dark room and play games on his laptop. Only, life isn't a game, and Silas needs to get his act together because everyone else is playing for keeps. Or does he? Maybe for Silas life is just one big game now, with everyone else stuck playing by his rules. Assorted Disclaimers, in no particular order: I am only posting this on RoyalRoad.com, so if you find my story elsewhere it was not posted by me. Please do let me know! While I do consider this a progression fantasy, and have tagged it as such, Silas's Status improvements will not necessarily proceed in a linear fashion. His RPG stats will have ups and downs, exploits and nerfs, periods of growth and stagnation. Such is the life of a gamer, to be held under the thumb of the all powerful devs, or in this case a certain goddess devoted to the idea of Balance. SIlas himself should learn and grow, improving and progressing in areas where he struggles, or rather, to show such is my goal. The story is told from multiple points of view. While other PoVs will come and go, Silas shall remain the only lead character. The world Silas finds himself on is not a nice place. Expect him to encounter gore and traumatizing content and bad people who do bad things for selfish (or possibly noble) reasons from time to time. Some characters will use profanity, however due to cultural differences the curse words used will differ from those used in our corner of reality, so I'm not including the profanity content warning. Silas himself isn't one for foul language. No explicit sexual content here. This novel is intended for mature readers, however, and will include mature topics, including, but not limited to, sex, violence, death, and taxes. No harem. Might be an eventual romantic interest, possibly even some competitive jealousy, yet as his story begins Silas is too overwhelmed with other concerns to consider long term plans. Musophobics might want to steer clear of this story. Same goes for turophobics. You have been warned. Keep in mind, however, if my other disclaimers didn't make this clear, I only have the faintest of outlines at the moment. This story will take me where it will. My goal with this story is to write it to the end, something of a long-term writing exercise, with the hope others might take an interest in my work and encourage me to keep at it. I've started a number of works before, even finished a few, but this is the first time I've shared any work in a public forum. My temporary cover was made by me, in GIMP using public domain images. If you can do better I'll happily accept your submission and give credit for your work here!
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