《Lifeward》Ch 2 - The secret of the Ether. Marta’s decision
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Chapter 2
The secret of the Ether. Marta’s decision
Thousands of years ago, back on the magicless days of old boring planet Earth, scientists reached the peak of astronomical knowledge by discovering a substance they referred to as ether, or “The Ether”, in more ominous citations. They realized that ether explained why their numbers didn’t work sometimes. Why this should weigh X when weighs Y? Well, there is this substance that erases space and time. So, when contacting something, it doesn’t just disappear. The very past of its existence disappears from reality. If you where to throw a person into The Ether, not only would that person disappear. Your memories of that person would disappear too, as it would have never existed in the first place.
So, how do we know all this? It involves more math and weird speed-of-light-things than any sane person could comprehend, so just assume it as fact. Then, we’ve got this reality erasing substance around. Is it dangerous? Yes. Should we be worried? Not actually, as it is nearly impossible to find it in the universe. Outside the universe, on the other hand… You know, the universe just grows and grows. Another discovery. But it is surrounded by ether. Or trapped, we should say, like a boiled egg floating in the sea. You should imagine, then, The Ether as the death guardian of the Universe, keeping it in place between fixed limits. When the universe grows, this final frontier makes it stay the same. And when science could not do anything else…
Magic. The final entanglement between mind and matter. The force by which humans, entities or various forms of souls change nature and imbue objects and tools with their trained consciousness, defying logic or any kind of scientific notion of reality. The magicians of the Indirian Monarchy devised a plan to build a “canal” across the universe, from its edge toward the very center. Redirect the ether inside the universe, erasing all in its path, while freeing it to expand eternally outside its primordial cage. The Indirian Monarchy meant to sacrifice the existence of entire galaxies to finally free the Bird from the Cage.
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Marta’s dad was the magician that trained the military engineer corps in this planet, the eldest of the galaxy. At first, like many others, he didn’t believe this project was feasible. But one day, he could experience in his own soul what it meant to move the ether. One very day, he walked home to his daughter, like he always did, only this time he realized how little sense it made that he didn’t have any memory of the coming into existence of his own child. She just appeared. No mother. No wife. Could it be…?
His realization made him understand why everyone was so chill about the project. It wasn’t that their galaxies would cease to exist. It would have never existed.
‘A world without pain…?’ Marta has made her mind. ‘Yours is a world without life nor joy.’
Just after his father execution, Marta found a data disk well-hidden between her favorite music. It contained all the discoveries and studies her father had conducted in secret, and the missing files he stole to derail the project, that caused his demise. He talked her many times about the Prince of the Free Counties, in this very world. Past the desert, along the shore, across the sea, inland, the great Countal City, with him as its jewel. He could be of help. It is her only hope.
Cornelos sighs sadly with disgust.
‘If only you could understand…’, he says, while approaching her.
But Marta understands it already. It will take pain and it may break her will, but she has never been so certain of anything. Of course, she had a mother. Of course, her dad loved her. Of course, she loved her too. Now, she will come to the bottom of this no matter the cost.
Against the day of death that the canal brings to this world, she jumps over the last lit cobblestones and starts to run inside the black desert.
Some of the engineers try to follow her, but they get afraid and stay back at the last moment. Deep down, they all believe she’ll be back by morning.
‘Silly child…’, shouts Cornelos. ‘Where will you go?’.
Marta keeps running.
‘Lifeward’, she says to herself.
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THE SPACE LEGACY
-= New chapter every Wednesday! =- What would you do if you found an ancient spaceship? Michael Freeman is a disabled veteran who had just been fired from his mind-numbing cubicle job, which allowed his opportunistic girlfriend to dump him. Now, he only wants to spend some time in his grandfather's mountain cabin to unwind away from the drudgery of daily life with a cold beer in his hands. Standing in his way is an ancient spaceship with an emotional AI, nanites that have invaded his body, an international crime syndicate, a suicidal FBI agent on a vigilante mission, terrorists... and this is just the beginning. What can one man do when faced with insurmountable odds? Call it quits? Or… call some of his old army buddies and blow those obstacles to smithereens. Can he become more than he had ever dreamed, reaching further than any man before? Staying under the radar of the powers that be while righting a few wrongs of the modern world. He is sure of three things: 1. He really doesn’t want to follow the rules anymore... aside from his own. 2. Space is the ultimate frontier, and he had been given a turnkey technology to reach it—if they let him. 3. Those that want to hurt him and the people he cares about will rue the day they were born. You do not always get what you wish for… sometimes, you get one hell of a lot more. --- “Really entertaining, and a promising future.” - RR Reviewer “Good old sci-fi novel” - RR Reviewer “Sci-fi with a realistic MC” - RR Reviewer “Wow, seriously... just wow” - RR Reviewer “I'm hooked!” - RR Reviewer “A well crafted story.” - RR Reviewer “A Sci-fi Novel I can appreciate” - RR Reviewer “This is f....ing good.” - RR Reviewer -------------------------------------------------- Advance chapters available on Patreon -------------------------------------------------- The original art for the cover picture was made by N. Dasco
8 418The Garden
Humanity was on the verge of killing itself off. Decades of wanton gluttony, rampant consumerism and widespread apathy had finally taken their toll. Until the Sun started giving them superpowers. Welcome to The Garden, where man can reach heights of power only dreamt of previously. Of course, that's if the other Garden residents don't wipe them out first. Updates at least twice a week, sometimes more. Chapters between 2-3k words (I have been known to get to 4k though) Author's Note: New author, so any feedback (comments or reviews) is greatly appreciated. Cover art not mine.
8 399The Deadliest Blade of Grass
Our MC was a basic worker in a vertical farm located in Houston. A recent virus had begun spreading to plants worldwide, it’s transmission vector unknown until it was too late. On the cusp of a discovery, a food riot breaks into the farm and kills our MC. After being 'greeted' by the deity in charge of reincarnation and 'judged', he is sent to a new world. Due to certain reasons, he is brought to life with most of his memories intact. His life of being a plant starts now. Also, Chapters here will be posted slightly after chapters are posted at my self-hosted wordpress site, https://laogbib.com/deadliest-blade-of-grass/ Check it out, I also have plenty of other ideas/previews I'm currently working on. PS I'm back
8 166Hiraeth: Promise of the World
On a rainy night, a young woman is transported to the enchanting world of Sol'h'meyr. Thrilled to be freed from the shackles of monetary survival and societal expectations on Earth, she embraces her newfound existence and magical powers bestowed. But the rose-tinted fantasy life she always dreamed of turns out to be a stark reality that poses to kill her if she doesn't adapt and let go of her past. Essairyn battles both cripping nostalgia and imminent danger in her journey from the Spirit and Demon Forest to the human realm of As'pyze. Disillusionment leading to anger has erupted into violence across the deceptively peaceful land. New friends and allies gather by her side, but tragedy and betrayal lurk closer than she realizes. Hiraeth is the idyllic beginning tainted with dark shadows in the epic fantasy series, Singularity Cycle. [ – Now Completed with upcoming minor revisions before second book – ] + complex character relationships and growth + realistic quirky magic system + unique mythical creatures + deeply developed world lore + evocative writing style + cute sassy fox sidekick - Original Book Cover Art by Chryiss Rewritten final version of formerly named Canaan series and first book, My World to Live. After a long wait and major changes, the first book in the series is retitled Hiraeth: Promise of the World. Thank you to all readers that joined me since I began posting this story two years ago. Your support is what motivated me to never give up my dreams. [ Major Tags: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Psychological, Romance, Tragedy, Female Lead, Grimdark, High Fantasy, Magic, Mythos, Portal Fantasy, Isekai, Progression, Reincarnation, Secret Identity, Strong Lead, Epic Fantasy, Spirits, Demons, Monsters, Fairies, Dragons, Kingdom, Parallel Dimension, Mage, Knight, Royalty, Philosophy, Friendship, Slow Burn, Mythical. + Major Tags not in Book 1 but later in Series: Supernatual, Science Fiction, Ruling Class, School Life, Time Travel, War and Military, Vampires, Dimensional Travel. Minor Tags: Comedy, Horror, Artificial Intelligence, Cyberpunk, Dungeon, Dystopia, Loop, Steampunk, Virtual Reality, Villainous Lead. ] Additional Notes: The series, Singularity Cycle, is a passion project dating back to 2016. The original version of the first book was published on RR in 2019 and has since seen multiple revisions based on reader feedback with this one as the final and official fourth version before the second book. While the entire series story has undergone major changes in the last year, all books have been planned since the beginning of writing. It is also my second wish to eventually make this story into a webcomic, either by myself or with a team if possible. Thank you for taking this journey with me, and enjoy reading! ( You can alternatively read books in the series as standalone fictions, but they connect to one another though a running theme and mystery that evolves and progresses with the main character. ) Alternate Blurb for the Singularity Cycle series: Essairyn had never felt truly alive on Earth. It felt like something was missing ever since she was born, but even after nearly 20 years of mundane living, she could never pinpoint what this or the emptiness in her heart was. Suddenly, she awakens in a grandiose, primordial forest and encounters mythical creatures beyond her restless imagination in a parallel world called Sol'h'meyr. She befriends, in particular, a sassy fox-spirit named Akari who reincarnated after three millennia. Essairyn is gifted with abnormal magic, and Akari is being chased by those of her dark past. Together, they set out on an adventure in a world more dangerous than its beautiful facade could hide. Finding new friends along a path riddled with tragedy, Essairyn must learn who to trust as deceit and betrayal lie behind kindly faces. Life in this deceptively promising world slowly spirals down a path of no return. This is not a game, but cruel reality. Her simple adventure became the modest beginnings in a chain of disruptions that tore even the dimensional fabric of time and space. No one, not even Essairyn, was who she thought they were. And not even the fickle gods could change the time-worn destiny of the universes... A single promise shook eternity’s existence.
8 142The Trickster Priest
As the new VRMMO World of Damakar by Beyond Illusions was closing in on full release, Led had still not touched it since beta-keys were extremely hard to get by. This all changed, however when the most popular kid in his school suddenly invited him to be their healer.Sniffing a catch from far away, Led still agrees to join them considering he gets the VRMMO equipment for free, in exchange for him being their healer. But what kind of healer you ask?The Trickster Priest.Join Led as he tackles the new world of VRMMO, World of Damakar, with his not so run-of-the-mill. Can he and his analyzing nature cope with this very unreliably class?
8 122Source Proxy - Act 1: The Holy Lands of the old and future Kings
Stranded in a foreign land, two 14-year old boys find themselves in a new world. Proxy, a battle-loving delinquent, who is seemingly rough around the edges, but whose kind, fun-loving attitude draws people to him. His ability for battle is considered top-notch, and it's only elevated by his ability to sense danger. While he is a fighter at heart, under is a child who lives in his own bubble of reality and is ignorant of the true dangers of his new surroundings. Richard, a normal teenager, whose polite, quiet, and less confrontational nature leads him to be less fit for battle but holds a desire to grow stronger, hating his own powerlessness. He is also a boy who can read the true emotions behind a person's words, but he sees this as a curse more so than a gift. His new surroundings offer danger and the threat of death, and the chance to move past his weaker self, in more ways than one. These two are caught up in an incident that sends them into another world by an item called "the black grimoire". In the land known as the Holy Lands, a land filled with people that have experienced war for several years, but are now controlled by a powerful group of bandits. Is there only danger and death waiting for them in this strange new world, or will there be more than? Either way, follow these two young men, as well as others, on this journey of battle and coming of age! Now uploading at 7:30 P.M. once a week for now on, hopefully. I am currently fixing chapters at random, but this does not interrupt updates, so still look out for a new chapter every week, at 7:30 P.M.
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