《Heart of a tree》CHAPTER-45 FORGING A NEW SELF {PART 2}
Advertisement
~THIRD PERSON POV~
Erebus grinned as he studied the boy before him
The young man's features were beautiful but not as perfect and flawless as those he had seen before
And when he smiled the purest smile anyone had ever seen it lit up the night sky and made the stars shine with delight
His eyes were bright but it wasn't the light kind of shine but a dark glint as if he was contemplating a murder
the permanent scowl with a razor straight line did nothing to aid the boy
his hair was now dirty and decoloured over the time
and the many scars all over his ripped we'll toned athletic body made the kid look like an evil overlord's son getting ready to kill his adversary
the way his whole self exuded evilness and deathliness that could not be hidden from the eyes of those who saw him
He was a demon, but if anyone knew the kid would know he was a kind soul and that had sacred Lord Erebus God of darkness more the once
kindness in this world would only get you killed
but Erebus didn't have the heart to do what needed to be done
But he knew the boy would understand if he knew everything
"The 'Ancient tree body' is the body of a deceased person with the blood of divinity it is a dangerous body to forge
but
If you want to achieve immortality, you have to acquire something called a 'Spiritual Body'
it was a necessary evil
and with the runes and scripts finally falling apart after so many eons their sanctuary was disappearing along with them
just five years measly five years was all they got with the child and as only three of them were ready to train the new soul that refused the chain of the gods that they so graciously blessed upon him
but now the runes were falling and a spatial rift would soon devour this place
the fates had forced their
it was ironic as fate would decide someone's free from fate's future
and as a dying God, he felt that helping the child dolled up with wrath along with an exempt will free from the bounds of the river of fate
And it was as the old God said
' all is for the best '
and it was a great boon for any mortal
to have the body and spirit of the god's soul to help the child
So the boy did exactly what Erebus wanted it to do
he gave the nervous child his most " don't worry" smile
and tossed him the celestial core of his disciple may the world river embrace her
if he could he would have never done such a taboo thing
but the child was clearly a mortal without a spiritual root
and so he needs a core and he had a core and by back luck or fate it was pure one without any elemental affinity
perfect for the boy and his path
he just prayed that his previous disciple would forgive him
"First you have to swallow this," he said as he threw the core that looked like a white marble to the kid
the child caught the core and studied it
the white shimmering, bright pearl of core glowed brightly in his hands
his permanent frown deepened
and he looked at me with puppy eyes
"Do I have to?" he asked clearly struggling to contemplate whether he should take it or not
Lord Erebus God darkness barely controlled his laughter and nodded heavily
Advertisement
the boy hesitated a moment and then
He swallowed the core whole and the white glow became darker as the core touched his tongue
As if the core suddenly became heavier
Erebus was worried the boy might have lost his appetite
but the boy swallowed
Then suddenly Erebus felt something as the core power began melting inside the body of child
it felt like a huge explosion inside the body
then he picked up the boy and threw him into the million-year-old ice water pond
as the child hit the water he let out a blood-curdling scream
and the water broke and the lake cracked as the boy's skin began turning dark
as the child screamed the lake split and formed into a whirlpool in the middle of the pool of water
the child let you another scream and floated to the surface screaming
Erebus was horrified by the pain
"Is the child dead?" He shouted to Lady Tong
She shook her head and replied: "No"
"but you should jump and guide the spiritual energies to form the spiritual veins as I don't think the child will be able to think through the pain so you know what to do Lord Erebus"
Lord Erebus nodded as he too jumped into the freezing ice-cold water
......................................................................
~ FIRST PERSON POV DAVID~
"Do I have to?" I asked feeling particularly afraid as I held the glowing white ball in my hand
moments ago I had tried to look at it with my soul's eyes
it was as if I was staring right at the sun as I held it in my hands
It was blinding white and seemed so hot that it burned me
I was sure I was going to pass out anytime now
and I felt the bile rise up in my throat as I got the NOD from the man
I swallowed my none existent salvia as I looked at the ball in my hand
What am I supposed to do? I thought to myself
What should I do?
I closed my eyes tight trying hard not to cry
I just accepted the fact and with one motion a pit in my mouth
the ball tasted disgusting it tasted of death and decay
and yet the man said to just swallow it as if swallowing was no big deal
what was I supposed to do?
How did the man expect me to do this?
Did he even know about these things?
What happens if he can't find anything wrong with this?
Is there something wrong with me?
Or this ball?
but I ignored the panic and the disgusting taste and swallowed the ball
and cool wonderful energy began to flow through my system
like a warm soothing shower washing away all my sins
I sighed as the cold water washed away my tears
I stood there for a second just enjoying it
and the warmth from the water helped soothe the burn
I felt refreshed and I started to float away in the water like a feather floating on the ocean
it took me a second to realise it wasn't feeling but I was actually flying through the air
and then I hit the water
and it stung like fire.
Water drilled right down into me until I thought I was dead for sure.
the pain and heat of it was unbearable
I felt like I was burning alive
I wanted to cry out for help but my throat was dry
I couldn't move so much as I struggled to breath
and the water seeped into my pores making every part of me ache and
Advertisement
feel sore
I felt a sharp pain shooting up through my body as I felt myself begin to suffocate
I opened my eyes slowly to see my surroundings but I couldn't
the darkness scared me more than the pain ever did I let out an ear shattering scream
I heard something fall from above me
it was soft as a feather landing softly into the water
was that a person?
I closed my eyes again afraid to open them
could I trust what I felt in my gut?
Could I trust my instincts?
They weren't as strong as they usually were
"circulate your spiritual energy" a distant gruff voice spoke to me as I felt hands wondering all over me
and I felt someone gently brush my head
trying to ignore the raging pain I tried to gather the energy but failed
again I tried but the pain was just too overwhelming I felt like a broken ragdoll
my muscles ached terribly
I felt weak
I still couldn't focus
I tried and kept trying
And try harder
My mind was blank I wanted to leave so bad
it hurt...
"Don't fight it let it enter your very core let your anger aid you" I heard a muffled voice
in the darkness speaking to me
but pain flashed like someone had stabbed through my arm and my blood began to burn.
I was about to give up when a chant appeared in my mind
and like someone had thrown a lifeline to a drowning man I grabbed onto it and began to chant like my life depend on it
"Cycle" the voice came again louder this time
"Draw in the water into you drink it, breath it, absorb it, devour it"
so against my better judgment
I pushed the cold water everywhere I could
surprise when the water followed my spiritual energy,
so I cycled my energy along with the water forcing it into my muscles, skin, even the very centre of my bones.
It was an endless moment, but still, it was over
sooner than I'd thought.
but I was celebrating too soon as the pain came back
my body began to twist involuntary
and I could feel the pressure and pain
from before coming back with more force and intensity
I cried out painfully and in that moment
I withdrew in my soul space
as I lay there in my lake crying from the pain that came in short bursts I thought
"I hate my life so much"
....................................................................
~THIRD PERSON POV~
Lord Erebus was shocked as he watched the broken, twisted and burnt body of the boy lying limp floating in the pond
His body wasn't moving much anymore, as he'd run out of energy sometime today.
When he twitched, it was like lightning moving through dead flesh more than any conscious attempt at motion, and his skin was all but invisible beneath swollen black veins. the spiritual ice water ran throughout his body
as foam trickled from his teeth as his own blood ran from his ears, the corners of his eyes, and even sweated through his pores.
He'd lasted more than a day, which had left even lord Erebus astonished. His standards were high—too high, really—but this child had still surprised him.
even his former disciple who had long surpassed him and died had only lasted half an hour
that was nothing compared to the boy
but it wasn't over far from it
Lord Erebus guided the spiritual energy and the chilled deadly water throughout the body
forcefully not just opening but creating spiritual channels as well as meridians in short he was destroying recreating a new body for the boy
Lord Erebus consider himself a kind loving God but he couldn't be kind to this boy
they were pushing him into a dangerous path from his connecting cushy life the least he could do was give the boy a chance to survive
he began using his divine essence spark and lightning to stimulate and cast the body
he worked with such precision and without any emotion as if he was working on a cast of iron instead of a living breathing body
then suddenly an idea struck him and he immediately acted on it
once the boy's new body was forged his spiritual veins and meridians spread through his body like tree veins with the heart as the stump he was now an actual tree with the roots buried inside him
and then he connected the core of his former disciple of his soul creating a game empty core
if the child was lucky to awaken a spirit his core would be more powerful than a 1st-grade golden core
but then he did something no other God had ever gone he began fusing his driven spark with the core
Lord Erebus skilled wickedly and sent power into the boy's chest
"I am about to die anyway at least I can feel better for fooling this Pope child" he muttered
a light flashed around the boy's chest
as he fused the core and divine spark he felt the child rage slipping into the core's essence
he felt the rage
the anger was blonding as it was like a fire in the core he felt the pain and fear of rejection from the core as he felt it
but then
as the core of the core was being consumed by the rage
Erebus for the first time felt pain
the pain became less intense as the core was being burned
but the divine spark fought against it and finally subdued it
as the core was becoming stronger than ever
his core was evolving as Erebus fought the flames of rage
the rage felt like it was burning
Erebus felt like he was burning too
with the fire that raged inside his heart
it felt like it was ripping his insides apart
he was burning inside but outside
he felt like he was melting inside
He felt the anger and hate within him grow and grow
As the heat of the anger and hatred grew
finally, after eons, Lord Erebus God of darkness survivor of Olympus was finally afraid
A memory of an old friend came to him
his rage was great too
but he had extinguished it and made peace with himself
his friends word carved at his soul and so he decided to carve those words in the boy's soul
[Divine Rage can make people uncomfortable. It can feel disruptive, chaotic, frightening or unpredictable. We must remember, The aim of divine rage is not vengeance but to reorder the world. It is precise and purposeful never use it for oneself but others]
Erebus felt a pang of saddens as he remember his old friend he was the only true kind and loving God unlike his breathing the vain and selfish ones
he remembered the hunched back the twisted legs and the fiery wrath that he channelled into his forge
and through that memory, Erebus came up with another inspiration
Erebus began to cast divine inscriptions, divine runes and even divine words of creation on the very bones and soul of the child
the boy's back seized up. His eyes rolled up into its socket, and foam bubbled up quickly at his mouth as he choked violently.
Erebus ignored the boy's struggle in favour of continuing
his work as if nothing had happened
He knew the boy wouldn't die the heart won't let him
Seven days and seven nights the boy squirmed like a worm on a frying pan,
and when it was over only the tired and dying Erebus looked happily at his handy work
only a single day remained for all of them
but lord Erebus was proud of the boy
with his body forcefully transformed he should have not even have woken up
with all the pain
he looked at the colourless eyes of the boy
he felt a pang of guilt for he had stolen the boy's soul mirror
but that was the only way he could think that could protect the boy
now no dirty or being can see into his soul
no one would know he is unbound unless they throw him into the river if fate and time
but even with all the pain, the boy had suffered because of them
there was no madness in the eyes of the boy
his will wasn't broken his mind wasn't shattered
Lord Erebus God of Darkness began to cry for the first time since he began to walk this cosmos
he was proud
he was happy
but he didn't know why
He was sad
The last day had come
the final day the last day
Lord Erebus was excited
the child's body and the child's soul was ready to
he was ready for it
the child of wrath carrying the heart of the Tree
Lord Erebus was relived
he didn't have to worry about the child anymore now
he could go on peacefully now
but before he disappeared he wanted to see the boy's..............
Advertisement
Ars Magica
Our vision comes back into focus. Our eyes, while being able to perceive the immediate surroundings, still leave us with our minds uncomprehending towards what is actually occurring. Sure, there are definitive things that we can focus on, like the fact that we're either out upon the open sea or the open ocean, there not being much of a difference with no land in sight, as well as the fact that we appear to be upon a haphazardly constructed metal boat, whose seams are barely able to keep a hold of themselves in the crashing waves. However, that does not let us understand what exactly is causing the waves in the first place. If we were to rewind time, we'd find ourselves upon a calm sea under a peaceful sky with the only difference, being a small whirlpool that would be the precursor towards this uproar around the boat. Lightning flashes in the sky, with no clouds being near, and anyone actually manning the boat has either died towards the cause of the smashing tides in the first place, or are fighting amongst the flashes of lightning, all while trying not to become devoured, demolished, and utterly decimated by the beast roiling in the whirling waves. To better understand exactly what is happening here, there is one singular event that needs to be understood, that needs to be explained, and that is the arrival of a creature named Dave. Stepping back from current events and going towards this creature's first appearance in the world, we begin to hear the sound of water slowly dripping across rocky ground. The cavern is utterly silent except for this one constant, its cause feeding channels downwards, sloping towards cracks in the rubble along the floor from broken stalagmites and stalactites. And there, lying on top of something which had fallen over recently, judging from its cracks, is a person, the creature named Dave. His form is fast asleep, either from the impact or from an intoxication, judging from the smell upon its breath. A bright light suffuses into it for a second, giving life towards the pale skin, before it slowly dies down back to the comfortable black of the cave that it's within. Before this moment in time, Dave did not exist in the physical world. At least, not in the reality that he finds himself born into. We do not know whether or not his existence is simply a cosmic joke, or something that is being played out on purpose. All that we do know, is that one moment, the body was not in the cave, and simply formed in the next. The actual earliest time that we know Dave exists, is the interpolation of the memories of J-209, which we'll begin looking into shortly to gain context towards the coming narrative that is being written and hastily trying to keep itself written. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Warning: This story has several things which might turn its readers away. The first is that this story has shifting points of perspective. Don't worry about that previous sentence too much though, as the main character will always have a first person perspective associated with them. However, any other character from which we're viewing the story from will either be in third-person, as we are not necessarily in their shoes at the moment, or in first person, given that the narrator is an actual physical presence within the story. For the most part, chapters will be self-contained with their perspectives, so there will not be an abundance of switching perspectives within the same chapter. The most that an average reader would have to worry about is the fact that perspectives can switch between chapters. The second thing is that the main character is a bit on the 'special' side of things. He's not exactly mentally there most of the time, so there will be some times that his personality or his thoughts do not actively align with his actions. The third, and final thing of importance, is the fact that past the first couple of chapters, nothing has been planned in advance. There are arcs and plots that I want to do, want to implement, or have already been set into motion from our main character's introduction to the world, but the method that I use for my story writing and generating leads towards a bit more random chance being enabled. Basically...there's a lot of dice rolling behind the scenes. To not complicate the story further than its regular LitRPG elements, the rolls will not be publicly available. However, there will be knowledge within the author's notes on whether or not there were positive or negative critical rolls that had occurred within the chapter. You have been warned. Updates: Mondays & Fridays (Schedule permitting) Typical Chapter Length: (2,000-3,000)
8 107The Spell Struck Convenience Store.
Modern day world were magic is hidden, not out of fear, but because it's a limited resource. Mage who was kicked out of his family because his spells go wrong ends up sending the convenience store he works in to a ever changing fantasy landscape after being shot during a robbery. His shooter ends up in a copy in hell, and a Magical Incident Bureau agent is trying to figure out what just what exactly happened and why. Finished work
8 257Paint with Me Among the Shadows (Book One, the Salvation MC Series)
What happens when a finger painting prodigy hitches a ride from a disfigured biker? Why chaos of course!Quirky, oddball Georgie is anything but normal. For years she hasn't only suffered from a lack of filter but she also has "episodes." She can't control them. To make matters worse, she was just expelled from the illustrious art university that she had been lucky enough to get into. With nowhere else to turn, Georgie makes the decision to travel back home to Sunny Valley, AL to reunite with her father and sister, whom she hasn't seen in fourteen years.It's at a gas station where she meets the beautifully scarred, Adonis, and with his help, she arrives home in typical Georgie fashion: with arms full of snacks, a never-ending string of chatter, and a determination to find out the truth all while keeping her episodes a secret. Easier said, right? Especially when that handsome biker stumbles upon an episode.*Wattpad Reviews:"This was a beautiful book and captured me throughout." @JamieLee716"This was honestly one of the best books I have read on Wattpad in the last two years." @alswedlove"I love this book. This was such an emotional ride. At times so painful, so raw. And the ending... Perfect." @YelenaLugin"I was so hooked I couldn't put my phone down." @S_Nicole1995"Wow, honestly I loved the raw emotions in this book." @kenny-08"This story was seriously beautifully written." @SugarLoverCandy9"This is one of the best stories I've ever read no exaggeration!" @xxxSweetMelodyxxx*# 1 in Art 5/8/22# 1 in Alphamale 7/20/21# 3 in Comedy 6/26/21# 1 in Painting 7/30/21# 3 in Biker 5/5/22# 3 in Motorcycle 5/5/22# 5 in bad boy 11/19/21 # 4 in Mental Health 2/19/22# 21 in Romance 7/20/22
8 191Lead Me Astray
Lead Me Astray is now published as a Wattpad Book! As a Wattpad reader, you can access Wattpad Books Edition upon purchase and the Original Edition for free."Ambitious and fiercely original. Sondi Warner is the exciting new voice we've all been waiting for." - Carmen Ho @ HQWhen Aurie dies, only two people can save her soul: a seductive Empath who sees her ghost, and a hot werewolf investigating her death. But will she accept the desire swirling between the three of them? ***** After her death, Aurie Edison awakens in Overlay City, a shadowy world of supernaturals hidden within the ley lines of New Orleans. There, she meets a non-binary Empath named Mys who agrees to help her with her unfinished business, and Detective Zyr, a rogue werewolf investigating the sketchy circumstances surrounding her hit-and-run. A magnetic attraction soon pulls the three of them together - but can they stay out of bed long enough to catch the vampire who may have killed Aurie?[[Watty's 2019 Horror & Paranormal Winner]][[Winner of 2018 Rune Awards Romance Category for Best Technical Skill]][[Winner of 2018 Majestic Awards in Paranormal]]Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of violence and sexual activity, which may be triggering for some readers.[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]
8 85His Butterfly
BULLETS AND BROKEN HEARTS #1Richard Black had his eyes and heart only for his girlfriend Amara Wesley. They were what people called made for each other. Everyone knew they were to get married, have kids, enjoy their old age with each other. Richard had everything a man could wish in a relationship but he haven't told Amara he is the second son of the Mafia King Henry Black. Afterall he wasn't the heir, he was just the second son who lived two cities away from his father and his men. He just wanted to have a future with his Amara.But Fate had other ideas, an unexpected incident changes everything the Blacks have ever imagined.Richard have to leave his previous life behind along with his sunshine, Amara leaving the latter heartbroken and shattered.Now, four years later, destiny again strikes its magic bringing both Richard and Amara in front of each other, him being the cold, stone-hearted Mafia King and her being the same girls but with a broken heart.Join in the rollercoaster ride of happiness, love, tears, some snakes in human skin , fear and more importantly what we call destiny......................................................................................................................................Please give a chance to my story and your love to my writing. Constructive criticism is appreciated. This is the first book of the series Bullets and Broken Hearts.Yours, Ira 🦋
8 154That bakery girl [Gojoxreader]
Gojo Satoru x readerWanting to leave the past and someone behind ,Y/n came back to her home village planning to stay and live there forever until one faithful day...- the plot follows the anime so SPOILER WARNING- you have red eyes WARNING - I know Gojo is 28 in the anime, here we will say he is 26 and Y/n is a student so it's a student/teacher relationship!!!!
8 104