《Divine Arts》Prologue
Advertisement
The dimness of the ever clouded sky roared as rain ripped through the coalescent swirls of the cold unyielding wind. The endless night stood at peek as the raging storm continued through the cold confines of the night. Dark clouds covered the half glistening moon. A swift echelon of sound could be faintly heard through the thunderous roars of the storm. Sauntering feet's broke through the roar.
Beneath the cold damp canopy of trees, a small figure rose and fell as he moved with urgency through the darkness. The figure strayed left, then right, slipping passed the soggy earth around the giant trees. Mud splashed upwards as black tattered boots hampered across the grounds. Cold droplets of rain drenched his outer coat. Torrents of wind slashed against his damp skin.
The boy peeked up over his shoulders, rain blinding his vision. A faint bark could be heard over the howls of the wind. The boy slipped, tripping over a stagnant root protruding off the ground. Mud splattered over his body as he collided against the ground. Momentarily he sprung back to his feet, scuttling over the roots he continued his journey across the woods.
The sound of barking grew louder. The boy's chest heaved up and down rapidly. His lungs worked erroneously trying to keep himself moving. He panted in fits of waves trying to fight his bodies urge to stop him. Breathing with pained breathes, the boy scampered over the fallen logs of the forest.
The whistle of the winds continued to haggard the movement of the boy. He fought with all his might. His stamina stood at a pivoting point. He sneaked another glance over his shoulders. A loud bark halted his heart. His pursuers were almost upon him. Cold fear ran up his spine causing cold sweats to drift from his pores.
Advertisement
The boy closed his eyes, drawing in huge breaths of air, he darted across the forest. His heart pumped painfully as he surpassed his limit. Suddenly the sound of crashing waves made the boy stop. Wiping away the mud and water around his eyes, he looked ahead. A faintly lit up horizon greeted him.
The forest had ended just inches behind him, in its place stood a small narrow cliff. A vast body of water thrashed against the cliff. Strong heavy waves rippled and tore at the rocks. Strong freezing wind carried droplets of water over the cliff.
The boy coughed. He had never seen the ocean before. The rich aroma of the sea clogged his nose. The salty air brought tears to his eyes. The tears formed droplets running down his face. He was almost there. It was so close. He just needed to get over this hurdle and he would be safe. They were waiting for him not far from here.
A loud growl alerted the boy. He twirled around to see a huge beast coming directly at him. He toppled, sliding across the slippery rocks. His movement came to a stop as his head stood over the edge.
He screamed. Sharp Canine fangs bit into his torso. Kicking and punching he managed to knock the beast away. The beast stopped. It stared at him. Glowing black eyes glistened in the dark. It bent its knees, then pounced at him.
The boy crawled backwards. Unfortunately, there was nothing behind to crawl to. He fell off the side of the cliff. Grasping around for anything he could get his hands on, he finally clenched onto a piece of vine. His body slammed hard against the side of the cliff, a crackling sound came from his side. His rib had broken from the impact. The beast wasn't so lucky. It flew over the cliff, falling straight down into the cold waters. It whimpered as it splashed down into the surface of the ocean. The boy watched as the beast struggled against the waves, trying its hardest to keep afloat. The beast pounded at the water. In the end it was all in vain. The ocean quickly claimed him.
Advertisement
The boy tried to reach up toward the cliff. Suddenly the vine started to tear. He fell and dangled further below the cliff. The boy looked up, a figure appeared over the edge. A man in black armor glared down at him. He frowned, lowering his arms down. He seemed to be offering the boy salvation.
The boy slapped at his hand. This was the enemy, he no longer could live with knowing the truth. He could no longer go back to the life he left behind. Without any hesitation the boy swung sideways, launching himself over the edge of the cliff toward the massive waves below. This was the only way. This was his last chance.
His body hit the waves. He sunk deep into the waters. His lungs started to fill with cold icy chills. His eyes stung. Cold waves of water rushed up against him. He felt his body grow numb as the water swallowed him into its abyss. His chest gurgled when the remaining air in his lungs left. His vision blurred. He felt his body being pulled further out to sea, farther into the unknown. The final moments of his consciousness pass as cold blackness embraced him.
...........................................................................................................................................
Veering over the edge the man in black armor stared down with black anger. He watched the waves swallow the boy. Loud sirens stopped behind him, more armored men arrived with leashed dogs barking into the night.
The man turned, taking a metal box off from around his belt. He pushed a button and howled into the night. He had failed. There was going to be strong consequences for this night's failure. Unfortunately, he now needed to clean house. No one was to know of the boy's fate.
The other men in black armor gazed in streak horror at their commander. They knew what was coming next. They did not want to die. Slowly they all started to back away.
The man took out an item from the box. It was a small metallic device, with a slender cylindrical shape. He pointed the item at the men around him. A silver light sprang from the item. In a blink, all the men including the dogs turned to dust.
The man knelt, dropping the item back into the box. This had to be reported but it needed be reported as a slaughter. The boy was to be the criminal and he was to be the hero who stopped the boy. He tossed the box into the sea, allowing the water to swallow the evidence away.
He stood, trying to think up ways to twist everything from this night's events to his liking. This had to be executed in perfect order or else he would not survive this ordeal. The boy shouldn't have died but now that he had, everything had to be rethought, and re-planned. Not all was a lost. He still had the pendant from the boy and with it he should be able to do the things he had planned from the beginning.
Advertisement
- In Serial7 Chapters
Rift
Jun had his life flipped upside down after an encounter with a Riftwalker. Explore, alongside Jun, the mysteries of the Rift, its inhabitants, and the powers it bestows.
8 165 - In Serial63 Chapters
The Summon
The 18-year old Jonathan from modern earth was summoned as a familiar by an aspiring common born sorceress. First, they must survive the Royal School of Magic in the Kingdom of Theron with the help of unlikely allies they find in some of the teachers in this noble dominated society. Together they will have to master difficult challenges, learn to trust each other and survive the many adventures that lie in their future. Inspired, at least in the beginning by an unfamiliar summon, a fiction I cannot find anymore. It was here on Royalroad. Completed You are forbidden from profiting or copying this work of fiction in any way
8 183 - In Serial9 Chapters
Apex Immortal: a LitRPG system rampage
"Across the multiverse where the contest for power is the only constant, only a handful have succeeded in reaching the ultimate heights of ascendency and gained the title Apex Immortal. Dominus is one of them, unsurpassed in overwhelming violence, feared across universes. Now, memories locked and stranded far away from everything he’d built, Dominus will face enemies that will challenge even his powers and discover that change is more difficult than destruction." I’ve been writing fiction on and off for the last decade and I’ve always wondered how a peak immortal (or an OP superhero) would single handedly conquer a world that mirrors our own in all of its complexity. As a politics nerd, this is my attempt at answering that question using Machiavelli’s “The Prince” as the primary playbook. The “monsters” are entire political systems with entrenched culture. Expect many versions of real world political systems (and cultures) to be on the hit list. The MC has to successfully institute regime and cultural change without engaging in wholesale genocide and causing the state to fail. Expect things to go wrong pretty quickly as escalating and cascading political and economic effects rapidly go out of control. Methods deployed are not for the faint hearted.
8 186 - In Serial50 Chapters
Lieutenant Garrett
Nicole Collins is just a normal senior at Beckton High. Until she falls in love with Christopher Garrett; a Lieutenant in the United States Armed Forces.They spend one magical summer together and then it all comes crashing down. Chris has to return to the army for nine months.Can Nicole convince him to stay with her in Beckton?Or will he leave her behind and risk never seeing her again?Cover by: @writingtaurus
8 190 - In Serial17 Chapters
I Am, Lloyd Garmadon.
This is an AU where Lloyd never wanted to be like Garmadon, but Garmadon wants it to be like father like son.Also, to be clear, unless it's stated by me in an author's note, or the star I use to sign my drawings or painting is on the art, I probably found it on Pinterest and in no way mean to take credit for someone else's art.
8 109 - In Serial60 Chapters
The Demon King (The Demon King, #1) - Completed
The Demon King, Dimitri Rae the most dangerous and brutal demon you could ever come across has been ruling over Rovana for a very long time. Life tends to get boring so Dimitri results to torturing and killing humans as a form of entertainment. This has been going on for more than a century and the humans are too weak to fight back. A prophecy states that The Demon King can be stopped by one thing and one thing only. A girl who will be eighteen years of age when she meets the King. The prophecy doesn't state how she will stop him, just that the demon King can be stopped. So every year, the humans send twenty girls who are eighteen years of age, down to Rovana, hoping one of them will be able to kill him. Read this extraordinaire tale of love and hatred as they come together in one epic bang. Highest Ranking: #1 in Paranormal (Thank you all so much!!!)Completed.
8 195