《Battlefield NYC (LitRPG Apocalypse)》Chapter 42: Insanity, Personified
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The stranger didn't answer—he just started walking towards them, and they all backed up instinctively. They could have easily tried to flee, but this man hadn't attacked yet. If he wanted to kill them, then they wouldn't stand a chance if they tried to run away.
The man stopped at the edge of the circle that Ray's corpse was still laying in, almost like he'd placed it there on purpose. It took a minute before he spoke again; his voice was deep, echoing in a way that made it seem like it came from a bottomless pit.
"You've not heard of me," the man said. “My name is Death."
***
"This is madness," Sophie growled angrily as she watched the strange man move across the ground towards her party. "What the hell did we do to deserve this?!"
Lance shook his head slowly as he looked down at the body of his new acquantaince: it was still not obvious now what had happened. The knife stuck out of Ray's chest perfectly, straight from the front and slightly angled downward as though someone had plunged it into him through his heart.
But nobody had seen the robed man move.
"Death?" Lance asked. "That's an awfully pretentious name."
He used [Assess], pouring enough mana into it that he was sure it must have a booster of at least +3 or +4, and yet--
[Assess failed!]
[Mana required for successful Assess: ]
"What the hell?" Jacob yelled angrily.
"I see you like to play games," the man who called himself Death said without moving his mouth—and he was suddenly standing right next to them all. "Let me teach you how this one is played."
A chill ran up Lance's spine as Death's voice sounded like it was coming from somewhere else entirely; no longer did Death look human to Lance as his eyes turned into dark voids as they stared down at the group. His skin looked pale and grey, almost like it was made out of stone instead of flesh; his body seemed impossibly thin, too tall and lanky to be real. It was as though he'd been carved out of the very earth itself by some god or another.
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Death told them all calmly.
Wait. He hadn't said that aloud. The way he'd done that was awfully familiar...
"Do you have connections with the voice that's been speaking to us?" Sophie asked, apparently thinking the same things that Lance was. She stepped forward—or tried to—but her feet refused to move: she stumbled, unable to go any farther than two steps before falling back down to the ground.
"The voice that spoke to you is no mere illusion," Death said, still not moving his mouth, even though his lips were now moving like they should be. "It is an aspect of reality, and it is always listening for those who might need its help."
"So you do know about it," Lance said.
"Know about it?" the man-named-Death laughed. "I am one of its messengers."
Lance felt himself grow cold as Death continued talking. Something had changed; he couldn't put his finger on what it was yet, but something was off. It took him longer than normal to understand what Death was saying—but he finally realized that there was a difference between hearing someone speak normally and being forced to listen as if by telepathy. There was a certain detachment from the rest of the world that made this so much worse; he could hear Death's words perfectly, but they seemed like they'd come from somewhere else, somewhere far away where he was.
And with them came a terrible realization.
"You killed Ray because he was too weak," Lance whispered. "Are you going to do the same to us?"
Death smiled again. "Of course not."
"Then why are we even here?" Jacob asked angrily. "We haven't done anything to you! Why won't you leave us alone?"
"Your actions have consequences," Death said. "They must be paid."
Lance thought.
"It is," Death said. "If you stay weak, stay irritating, then you will be next."
And with that, he disappeared as suddenly as he had come.
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8 192Spell Crafter's Journey
A professor of physics disillusioned with bureaucracy associated with academia becomes transmigrated into the world of magic and rediscovers his love for research in the field of spell crafting.
8 149Digital Sorcery (A LITRPG Adventure Series)
New Chapters Release Weekly on Saturday at 2:00 P.M. Eastern. Book #1 is published on Amazon! Get it Here Book #2 is published on Amazon! Get it Here Book #3 is published on Amazon! Get it Here For news and subscribing to the newsletter, please check out my site: http://davidmzahn.com/ Dive in to the Comedy LitRPG series for terrible people! Old and dying, Ryland is ready to start a new life in game so naturally he studies night and day for his new life. He’ll exploit every weakness, get all the legendary loot, and rise to be the most powerful being in all of Alderoth. Just kidding! He’s not even going to read the instruction manual before jumping in and bumbling around. He’ll be joined by a racist NPC, a black man from Mississippi, and the world’s biggest online troll. With such an exceptional group of people and a level of competence to match what could possibly go wrong? Yep he’s probably getting fish herpes… Note: The author takes no responsibility if you get in trouble for laughing yourself stupid. I'm always happy to receive feedback. Thank You all for reading my work and supporting this story!
8 72The First Dragonborn
It was Aden’s dream of becoming known around the world, as one of the greatest adventurers ever known! Aden was your average 13-year-old boy who wanted to explore the world and live a life full of freedom. He dreamt of many such things and would dream of him and his best friend, a smart 13-year-old boy named Charles, as they traveled through those dreams and slay beasts beyond human imagination. That was what Aden could ever wish for, but like many other dreams, they are bound to be crushed by a certain person. Aden was still able to continue on fulfilling his dreams, but is now bound as nothing more than an entertainer and slave for the Princess of Destruction, Lilith, who destroyed Aden’s home and turned him into a Dragonborn. Permanently making him part-monster. Now for his entire life, along with his friend Charles, they are to entertain the princess and not bore her throughout their adventures… or else she’ll kill them. Author's Say: You might be wondering why the chapters were released so long ago and why I'm posting them again? All I'm going to say is, "Don't ask." I have gone through so much school, work, depression, and pain that I don't want to think about it anymore. And all of those combined didn't help with the fact that I'm also lazy. So, please, don't mind the time difference. Because I've gone through a lot of pain. PAIN, I SAY! Oh, also, chapters will come out when I believe they are ready. They can come from a few days to months on end. So keep that in mind when wondering when the next chapter is coming out. Alright, peace!
8 208Hes Too Good For Me (SouDam)
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8 155Secrets in the Moonlight (Lloyd Garmadon x reader)
(y/n) is the oldest Jade Princess, adopted much like Harumi. (y/n) doesn't know much about life outside of the palace, but this changes when the Sons of Garmadon rise up, causing a certain green ninja to stumble into her life. The closer she grows to Lloyd, however, the more she learns about the people she thought she could trust, as well as discovers more truth about her previously unknown heritage.
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