《Parallel World Vet》Sentinels of the desert
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It had been nearly an hour since Arun was searching the savannah for a trail that could lead him to Astera, the black vulture, who was the only one who could help him catch up with Vikion. However, the more time passed, the more sunlight was falling : which did not help the veterinarian to spot a possible black mass that would be the raptor's body.
"But where can she be?" Arun had walked for a long time in one direction, and around him the tall grass had become scarce, and the soil was becoming increasingly dry and sandy.
What was a savannah a few kilometers before was becoming a real desert. And even if the sun went down, the heat remained constant.
"I had not really planned to be here today..." complained Arun, who was beginning to suffer from the weather. He was thirsty, but not a body of water was visible in the distance. Walking had become a painful ordeal, and he felt his strength leaving him little by little.
He was not going to die a second time anyway ? He had the chance to survive Alden's mortal blow, it was not for the heat to knock him down a few minutes later !
The vet fell to the ground, exhausted and panting. His legs could not hold, and drops of sweat fell to the ground as he tried to catch his breath.
"Tell me, Mili, don't you have a power that allows me to cool off ?" Asked the young man, trying to turn his desperate situation into something more positive.
But he got no answer. Did the cat have a problem ? Were they too far away now and could not communicate ? It was Mili who had given him all the solutions until now... What could Arun do without him ?
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The veterinarian lay down on the ground, facing the sky and the cruel sun that made him suffer. He had to help Naal... She was probably suffering a lot more than him ! But he did not even have the strength to get up again.
The young man closed his eyes, his mouth dry, resigning himself to his fate. Everything had happened so suddenly, and he was still going to die. He was getting used to it, now...
"Say, Meng, do you think he's dead now ?" A small voice echoed in Arun's head. It was probably his imagination...
"I don't know, it's been a while since he's not moving anymore..." Another answered as well. The heat was making him hallucinate, no doubt...
"I think he's dead, look !" A slight pain in the arm made the veterinarian jump, who straightened up, screaming. It was not his imagination !
The three little animals that had gathered around him had begun to scream in surprise as well, moving away quickly to bury themselves in a hole.
"Hey, wait, I'm not mean !" Arun tried to speak to them apologetically for having scared them. After all, it was the first animals he had ever seen since he arrived in this desert...
A head came out of the hole, a little suspicious, looking at Arun. Obviously, it was going to take more to convince them all to go out.
"I... I don't want you bad, I'm not a predator ! Just a human who got lost here looking for someone, I assure you !" He tried to justify himself, trying to be as calm and benevolent as possible.
One of the three mammals came out of the hole, without letting his gaze go off the vet. It was a small meerkat, surely still young considering its size. He slowly approached the young man, ready to jump back if it was a trap.
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"It's been a while since we've been watching you, and in fact you looked rather lost. But what told us that you were not looking for prey rather than someone else of your kind ?" Asked the meerkat who always found the human suspicious. It was the first time he had seen a real one, but he had often been told that they were machines of destruction.
Arun had not noticed the animals at all, even from a distance... The meerkats were known to have a very good view, and he had focused his attention on Astera's research.
"Another person of my kind ? No, the one I'm looking for is a huge raptor. Did you see her ?" If he could take advantage of their piercing vision to have information on the location of the black vulture, he would already be a bit more advanced than now.
The meerkat who was facing the vet moved a few steps back when he heard the words of his interlocutor.
"A-A raptor ? In addition you came with a raptor to hunt your prey ? We are in danger..."
"No, you misunderstood ! I didn't come to hunt ! It's complicated to explain..." Arun sighed, still in a twisted situation. His reaction was normal, after all the raptors were the natural predators of meerkats.
Arun sat cross-legged, and held out his hand towards the unconfident meerkat. He thought back to the experience he had with Astera earlier in the day. While she was mad with rage, he managed to calm her down by using the [Pet Pact]. Maybe it would help him to win the trust of this meerkat ?
"Uh, what are you doing with your hand? It's empty, you're not giving me anything, there..." The mammal was a little disconcerted at his first meeting with a human. He did not trust him, but at the same time curiosity was so gnawing that he wanted to know more about him.
"Put your paw on my hand." Pronounced the veterinarian simply, without moving a centimeter.
"Shuu, do not be fooled, it's probably a trap !" One of the two other meerkats who had holed up in the hole a little behind took out her head to warn her companion.
"Maybe Meng... But... My instinct tells me I might miss something if I don't do it!" The meerkat called Shuu, who was obviously the bravest of the gang, approached Arun, and finally put his paw on the hand of the vet, who smiled at him.
Immediatly, for both the human and Shuu, everything went black around them.
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The City of the Dragon Twisted
. 🐉 . The City of The Forever-Peace witnesses a pale young Buddhist Monk fighting his fearful thoughts of whether to cross the borders to Nepal and India against the death penalty. Why would that matter? In that September Autumn night of circa A.D.655, Emperor Táme’ Tie’-Zeon has been ruling an empire spanning 13,000 miles from the East to as far as the Baikal Sea in the Western Regions bordering the Middle East kingdom and the Rome Empire. Meanwhile, news has traveled that his Dharma-Son, Pan G. Monk faces an incredible Guillotine Execution that will chop off his waist in halves. The Empress Wǔl Zénder-Tan’ couldn't be careless. Why would that matter to the imperial family? Monks are just officials with equal vicarious duties and privileges. She would then spare her resourceful energy to maintain the fruitful relationship intertwining The Grand-Khan Jurchen-Warlords Clans in the North-East Desert in attempts to affirm her fate as the first and only female-Emperor, in the Medieval Ages of the Great City of the Dragon. Whereas The Abbot Master Xend'-Zeon of the Jade-Lotus Temple faces factions of religious politics. Particularly in the present, the Empress needed to manipulate the Master’s reputation to desperately seek life and/or the after-life merits. She decreed to be addressed as The Old Buddha Grand Father. The Master has had ideals of service to sentient beings since he was young. He could have traveled the Silk Road to the Far West entrance-point bypassing the five beacons as shortcuts save that he lacks the pertinent travel documents. Instead, he chose to cross the 800-mile овь-Gobi Desert that is as vast as the Baikal Sea, on foot. A route that is impossible in the history of the Buddha dharma. His heart never withers to support the mage of the red lotus that promises the Enlightenment of the Buddha-Land. Except that no one has ever endured the latitude of the heat. The pain. Alive, out of the desert sea. But he is also vulnerable to recognize the un-staticity of The Truth, The Truth itself, and the truth of seeking passion and mission for compassion in humankind. The mind and body reciting The Sūtra and The Heart, A phenomenon they knew better as if souls in chemical layers of their physique. Realizing enhanced mind training attaining controlling powers of life and death. Realizing the transformation of the unbearable pains and grievances he thought possible. . 2 . 🐉 . Meanwhile, dreams have been watching him to open The Third Eye, at The City's Amethyst-Jade Palace of the Second Emperor, Third Emperor, and Fourth Empress. Old Monks at The Nālandā Temple at the Far West Buddha Land; Householders Masters and Kings of the Jeek’-Foot Mountains of The City of the Naga-Dragon Twisted; in the Far West of The City of the Ever-Peace witness adventures of The Master. Lives at brinks of suicidal choices slaughtering ordeals. Who have inadvertently neglected the Master's karmic inflictions that would paradoxically affirm in a point of Near-Death Experiences; The Two-Profound-Reflective presented upon attaining The Deep-Active-Meditatitive Flow of Equanimity Samādhi. Eventually, The Seer Consciousness sees the Active Heart that is replete with The Latent Unconditional Love, Compassion And Empathy; that had been so close to us that we could not see it; as if one cannot see her own face. . 3 . 🐉 . Meanwhile also, the Imperial Criminal Affairs Clerk Ewen Hawk-Jean suffers too much seeking possession of desires and relief from a certain situation. Pan G., the Assistant Dharma-Translator to the Abbott Master Xend'-zeon has voluntarily or otherwise fallen into the supposed conspiracy or plain indifference. The imperial family's agenda of the Imperial Family of The Fang’-Chucks of course longs for a waist cut in halves not simply as souvenirs. Awaiting the Abbot Master is to come out from the disturbance. Incredibly transformative factors of the Mind-Transcendence-Samadhi are profoundly desired to spare the Monk Pan G. from the Post-Autumn Guillotine Execution that will chop off his waist in halves...... …But why would it matter to You?
8 75Path of Defiance: Isekai Cultivation
CURRENTLY ON HIATUS High-school senior Rowan doesn’t have a bright future ahead of him. He has no plans, his grades are average and he isn’t exceptional at sports. When faced with the choice to fade into obscurity as a mindless drone in corporate hell or try his luck in a world where mere mortals can battle gods, his choice is clear. Little did he expect that he’d be thrown into an alternate world very much like his old one where everyone he knows is present, but their roles and personalities twisted to fit the cruel world they now reside in. The worst part is, his bully can and will kill him for the slightest offense and Rowan happens to have picked a fight with him. The story is set in a Xuanhuan-based world (basically Xianxia, but extended to include Western concepts). This story is also posted on Neovel. Cover Art from Asviloka's Free Cover thread.
8 349HEMI
Lee knows the Earth is doomed. Lee knows a lot more now he has a supercomputer in his head. He is the first human AI hybrid. His accidental birth almost destroyed the moon-base, now he is learning from his mistakes. Lee can help his home planet, but his despotic boss Lago Santos intends to capture him and exploit his enhancements. On the run, his human empathy slowly evaporating and machine logic taking its place, Lee accepts what he must do. If the human race is to survive, they must evolve. They must embrace the change.
8 125Coalescence of Two Lifetimes
Cilen was you typical, run-of-the-mill kinda guy. Well, until his parents passed away when he was 17 forcing him to learn to grow up. Fast. He figured it wouldn't be that bad. He had a house, he had an inheritance, he had friends that kept him company. And at first, it really wasn't anything But sometimes, the loneliness just gets to you. Sometimes, the expectation to not disappoint just gets to you. Sometimes, life just gets to you. And it brought Cilen to his knees, lamenting, cursing, questioning, "why?" "Why did his parents pass away as they did, forcing him to fend for his own?" "Why wasn't he born in a rich household, with a silver spoon in his mouth that catered to his every need?" "Why was every step forwards so difficult, in this accursed society?" He wished that everything would be easy, like inside the worlds of the wuxia novels that he had grown up reading. Special constitution, lucky breaks, fast powerup, get all the chicks and defeat the big evil guy. Simple, easy, satisfying. But life ain't cut out to be that way. The main actors were already set, and there was no changing them. Unless, you moved to a different stage... But this ain't one of your friendly neighborhood transmigrations. It rewards those that are patient, creative and willing to adapt. But perhaps Cilen is able to make use of this opportunity and become something more. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ This story is a personal love letter to all the pieces of fiction that I have read. Its a culmination of the things that made me laugh, cry and smile when I first read them and It has been a personal wish to craft a story that makes me feel the way I did when reading those stories for the first time. Its gonna be a slow ride but worth it. Promise. Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash
8 131I 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 109Baby of the family
The story of Decs life(or my version of it)
8 118