《Compline》Chapter H.1 – Fly
Advertisement
A pale specter walked alone through the dark, labyrinthian streets of the Suburbs. This man—if he could even be called a man—wandered aimlessly through streets built for no one. All he wanted was to feel alive.
Alive. Ha. He laughed to himself. His chest heaved in and out as his feet dragged across the concrete paths lit by a sickly green moon and amber streetlights.
Sssh… ssssh.
Sssh… ssssh.
The sound of his shambling form scraped like sandpaper against gnarled wood.
A lonely night was brought to a halt when the silhouette of a man pulled out of the darkened side streets ahead.
Oh? The shriveled man stopped and stared, thinking to himself for a moment.
Maybe tonight will be the night, he wheezed and laughed as he began to slink towards the man who seemed to be waiting silently for his arrival.
The distant man shouted, “stop! Empty your pockets and you won’t be harmed.”
“Why would I do something so inconvenient?”
The man gave a shrug and, as though to punctuate that gesture, a crack echoed from a faraway place, and the wall to the pale man’s right cracked. Dust and debris began to rain to the floor.
“Only the weak kill a fly with a hammer.” A breathless laugh slipped out of the thin gangly man, shooting a chill down the wannabe ambusher’s spine. He took a step back. The swaying corpse seemed to like that and started to slide forward in the darkness.
Sssh… ssssh.
Sssh… ssssh.
“Hey, stand back! W-we’ll paint the walls with your brains. Don’t mo—” A crack echoed through the streets, and the figure jerked unnaturally. The thug froze and squinted. It was so much darker than he had anticipated tonight. The streetlights barely seemed to cast any light anymore as they flickered feebly. Trying to see whether his support’s shot landed, the thug’s heart skipped a beat as the figure twitched and resumed his walk.
Advertisement
Sssh… ssssh.
Sssh… ssssh.
“S-Stop!” Throwing his hands down, the man slapped the ground causing spikes of rebar to shoot out from the wall to impale the stalking horror. A smile half crept onto the man’s face before the shadow pulled past the spikes like they had all just chosen not to harm him.
This wasn’t a human… it couldn’t be. He tried to turn and run, but his trembling legs gave out underneath him.
Sssh… ssssh.
Sssh… ssssh.
Two cracks filled the air in rapid succession. The hollow man seized and twisted violently with each shot, but, alas, he kept on advancing with those uneven, loping steps. There were no impacts again?
“Stay awa—” The man’s words caught in his throat as he started to see the nearly skeletal man reach out. When had he gotten so close? He could see the man’s face clearly now, empty eyes held in deep sockets. This man's skin seemed to be pulled far too tightly against his skull… and he was showing his teeth. A smile that made the man give up, right then and there. Like a bug growing tired of struggling in the web, the man just laid on the ground, frozen, eyes forward as the man’s spidery fingers inched towards his face. All he saw, in the end, were those teeth… and the three bullets wedged between them.
Advertisement
- In Serial319 Chapters
Reincarnated With The Strongest System
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only Light can do that," the Goddess Amaltheia said as she held William in her loving embrace. "Hate cannot drive out hate, only Love can do that.”
8 175 - In Serial311 Chapters
Awakening: Prodigy
The Awakening changed the face of reality itself. A cataclysm of dimensional proportions, the event unleashed all manner of demonic beasts upon the world of man and left humanity's scattered survivors trapped in an endless battle for survival. That's a battle Council Academy all-star Seth Wright learned the hard way, barely surviving his first encounter with demonic entities. Now aware of the peril mankind faces, he's desperate to learn what he must to defeat them - but the only person willing to help him is veteran demon hunter Astral Daamon, and only so she can pursue her own investigation into corruption within the walls of the Council Academy. But what they uncover together is far more terrifying than mere conspiracy - challenging everything Seth thought he knew about fighting demons. Beneath the foundations of the academy itself, an ancient and malevolent evil is stirring from its slumber - and unless Seth is willing to sacrifice what he believes could protect humanity from annihilation, this demon will rise and devour everyone he cares about. Seth is being forced to weigh the lives of his classmates against the fate of humanity. When the moment comes, will he make the right decision?
8 135 - In Serial38 Chapters
Adventures of an Old Dreamer
There once was a boy that lived in a village with no name in a remote corner of a province in a grand empire. Every villager had their place, and his was a shepherd's. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, the boy was an avid dreamer, yearning for adventure between each book he read. Decades go by in the blink of an eye and the young boy grows into an old man, yet remains a shepherd, watching his flock live and die in an endless cycle of life. Yet, the old man dreams on about adventure, never too old to indulge in his delusions. One fateful night, however, his endless prayer gets answered. Two immortals fall from the sky, and from their corpses, the old man acquires the means to strength in order to adventure. What does the world have in store for Lao Chen. --- A Xianxia with a little twist. Rated gore and traumatising, potentially triggering. Enjoy!
8 215 - In Serial92 Chapters
Synergy
Dear Inspector, Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from being a Player. Hey! Laugh all you want, but I had to try. With no rules down here, who's to say that I can't resign? Anyway, my reasons are simple: I'm neither a gamer nor a hero. You got the wrong person for the job. Sure, the pay is decent and I could pretty much live like a king if, you know, I wasn't so busy trying to survive. I have major concerns about the demonic dagger bound to my soul too. Come to think of it, I've never asked to be transported to this fantasy land either and would like you to return me home, thank you very much. I don't want supernatural powers, I don't want to complete quests after quests, and I don't want to be your test subject anymore. What? I'm not whining, you're whining. Stop making excuses and let me leave already. Thank you for your understanding, and I hope you'll find a better replacement after I'm gone for good. Sincerely,Randel, the Mad Painter What to expect from Synergy: --> Some GameLit elements are presented subversively. If you want the protagonist to “play the game” properly, this might not be the story for you.--> No filler chapters; the story's structure is already plotted out. It's going to have six story arcs.--> Character development happens slowly, over many chapters. Don't expect a perfect protagonist right off the bat.--> Some romance, but it will never be the main focus.--> Humor and dark elements in equal measure, but not to the extent that I’d label this story as “Comedy” or “Grimdark”. ... and lots and lots of Author's Notes. See you on the other side of the portal!
8 107 - In Serial88 Chapters
Sorcerer, level 1
Alcar's life sucks. His days in the poor quarter of the city of Katresburg are long and tough, his parents treat him like garbage, and he doesn’t have a silver moon to his name. But Alcar knows that there is an exciting world of adventure out there. And when he sees a half-orc master sorcerer walking through his neighborhood, he decides to grab his chance. He approaches Master Maluhk to offer his services as an apprentice. And to his shock, the sorcerer agrees to let him come and try his luck along with several other applicants. Soon though, it is all too clear that Alcar, clumsy and lazy as he is, lacks any natural magical talent. It also becomes apparent that Master Maluhk is only interested in ’apprentices’ in order to get someone to do his laundry and tidy up his books. At best, Alcar and the others have signed up to do unpaid labor. Things go from bad to worse when his fellow applicants for the role of apprentice prove to be reckless in the extreme, and as Master Maluhk’s tower catches fire, Alcar soon finds himself being blamed for their misdemeanors. Can Alcar clear his name, gain another chance, and learn enough to show that he has the potential to be a proper sorcerer’s apprentice? [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]
8 214 - In Serial15 Chapters
Hole in the Fields
George Edrik expected a phone that was long outdated, barely functional- maybe a Chinese knockoff at best. What he didn’t expect was a different world. In Telora, the nights have been conquered by a relentless force known as the prowlers, and nature has retaken the land. Mankind is forced to dwell underground in grand cities, unified by the guild. In his attempts to acclimate to his new world, George becomes wrapped in intrigue between the guild, the reclusive elves, and the savage graldor, as revelations surface that send tremors throughout Telora.
8 226
Prev Chap
Next Chap
Chap List
Boy
Girl
