《The Faceless Minion》Chapter 19 - What We Can Do
Advertisement
Master Dayal walked among the black and twisted branches. Her eyes stared forward, unmoving, unchanging besides the occasional blink. Her shoulders were hunched over. Her right arm hung limply at her side, her left gripped it.
She didn’t know what to do.
She didn’t know what to think.
She wasn’t thinking at all.
But one foot moved after another. Step step step. Why? To what end?
What was her end?
Move.
Step.
Walk.
Go.
Somewhere.
Anywhere.
Away from here.
Her heart pounded in her chest. Her stomach boiled. She felt a fog, a wall in her mind. She couldn’t…think?
Just…keep walking…
Just…
Go.
Maybe.
Maybe…you’ll find something.
Her foot stopped.
She looked down.
Her eyes widened.
She found something.
A bear. A small bear. Made of cloth. Stuffing falling from a hole on its neck.
She trembled. Her heart pounded faster and harder.
She fell to her knees.
All went black.
Bob walked through the twisted branches and broken landscape. The ground was cracked and dark. Black branches twisted through shattered windows and crumbling houses.
He kept his mouth in a straight line. He stopped for a second, staring at a broken building. He shook his head.
He kept walking.
He had something left to do.
He kept walking until he heard it. Quiet sobbing. He turned and headed towards the sound.
He found Master Dayal curled up on the ground, hugging a torn teddy bear to her chest.
He stepped towards her, and then stopped.
And simply waited.
Eventually, the sobbing died down, and Master Dayal turned her head.
“Acolyte?”
Bob nodded.
“Master.”
She shook her head, tears welling up.
“No, not anymore. Not…”
The tears fell again.
“A-Acolyte…what do I do?”
“...”
“I…I’ve tried it all. All the doctrines, all the instructions. I…I failed…I…I cannot…the emotions…I cannot find balance. I cannot maintain serenity.”
Advertisement
Bob shrugged.
“Then don’t.”
Dayal paused.
“Huh?”
“Serenity is overrated. Emotions are a part of you. You can’t control them. So acknowledge them. Set them free.”
Bob looked her in the eye.
“Then, they won’t control you.”
Tears welled up again and Dayal began to cry. No longer quiet sobbing, but loud wailing. Bob walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. Dayal paused for a second.
And then latched onto Bob.
They stood there for a countless moment.
The two separated. Dayal wiped her face with her arm.
“Acolyte…what should I do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“I…the things I’ve done…what I’ve become…just…what can I do?”
“What do you want to do?”
“What do I…want to do?”
Dayal sat there, blinking, and then lowered her head.
“I do not deserve to answer that.”
“And if you did?”
Dayal stopped, and thought for a moment.
“I…I suppose I would want to make the world a better place. I, always did, or so I thought…”
“Then do that.”
Dayal looked down again.
“How can I? What can I do that would make up for what I’ve done?”
Bob shrugged.
“You can’t. So do what you can.”
“What, I can?”
“If you can’t do what you should, then do what you can.”
Dayal furrowed her brow and frowned. Eventually her face relaxed, her expression turned neutral. Her eyes regained some light. She stood up straight.
“I’ve decided. I will surrender myself for the world to judge. After that, we will see.”
Bob nodded.
“Acolyte…you aren’t really an acolyte are you?”
Bob shook his head.
“Who are you?”
Bob turned to leave.
“Someone doing what they can.”
Dayal watched as he walked away.
“Thank you, whoever you are.”
As Dayal fell out of view, Bob heaved a sigh. He bent down. There was an ID in the dirt. He picked it up. He looked at it for a moment, then placed it back down and continued on his way.
He would do what he could.
He would do what he had to.
He didn’t have to like it.
Advertisement
- In Serial17 Chapters
A Virtual Invasion
An invasion from another dimension is shut down by an Empire's traitor and the world has a scant few decades to build the strength to resist a multidimensional Empire. How will the world fair when no one even knows its doom is one barred gate away? Fortunately, the traitor has a plan. Maybe with a bit of luck and planning, he can build a force to defend the world without anyone realizing it. Author's Thoughts: What is litRPG (From wikipedia) - LitRPG, short for Literary Role Playing Game, is a literary genre combining the conventions of MMORPGs with science-fiction fantasy novels.[1] LitRPG is a literary genre where games or game-like challenges form an essential part of the story. A LitRPG work simultaneously narrates the story of characters inside and outside of the game-world. At least some of the characters in a LitRPG novel therefore understand that they are playing a game: they are 'meta-aware'. So, while Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is a fantasy novel, a book about people creating avatars and interacting in a Lord of the Rings MMORPG would be a LitRPG novel.Why do I read them? You know, I am not too sure. I love MMOs. I played them, quit them, joined up and repeated the cycle. They are fun! They are a massive waste of time but so are most games. Do I want to read about someone else playing them? Sort of?The advent of VR and the possibility of VR someday becoming so immersive that you can't tell them from reality sets the imagination on fire. What if this could be life? But most stories fall short. At the end of the day the protagonist hangs up his VR helmet and goes to have dinner with his mom and dad or other family and it becomes meaningless. It's like the story that ends because the main character woke up and nothing you read matters.There have been some books that explore the concept of the intersection of reality and total immersion VR. Enders Game is a classic. There were a few others that escape me but they exist, however, the cross between the game and reality is weak.So what if the game was real? The technology needed for total immersion VR is so advanced that by the time we reach that goal technology should have naturally evolved to include several items. You must have direct neural input. You simply can't have a total immersion (all senses and perfect presence) experience without this basic prerequisite. If you have direct neural access, you can probably do neat things like feed knowledge and skills directly to that person. You can undoubtedly do many horrible things as well. Muscles are controlled by the brain. If you control the brain why would you let the body just sit there and rot? A person that sits unmoving for 24 hours a day will have their body whither away just like a coma patient. However, if you control the brain you could control the muscles. On a basic level, this would be isometric impulses, working muscle group against muscle group to avoid atrophy. Taken to its logical conclusion you would be able to gain muscle mass and program muscle memory. The flip side is that you could remote control their body... but let's not go there. So what would people do if it were real? Well, they would probably limit and regulate it since the drawbacks are very obvious. Even if you look at the basic aspects of this you can see some negative possibilities. Look at the Sword Art Online anime. Personally, I think they missed the boat by putting a bomb in the VR helmet. Do you really need a bomb when you have direct access to the brain?So what kind of events would you need to have a situation where the obvious drawbacks haven't been explored? Maybe a society where the advancement of technology has so far outstripped the explorations of its applications that ignorance was truly bliss? Okay, so I had to put in an alien invasion to kickstart the premise, but that was just one of the possibilities.
8 128 - In Serial27 Chapters
Rose Red
You can't buy a girl! But in the year 2214, you can. She can whip you into shape, design your diet, be your personal stylist, and turn you from geek to chic in just one year. After buying a model at Sleeping Beauty Inc. your life will never be the same. But what will happen when the model Harrison buys isn't exactly what he bargained for?
8 182 - In Serial9 Chapters
Reborn-----the unexpected tales
In a small town there was one boy,he lived normally with his family but he was always diffrent,but it all changed the day he died.This is a tale of reincarnation and a young """"man"""".However he has little to no past memories and has only vaguely kept his thin line to humanity.Now he is reborn in world with magic and countless fierce beast.But his reincarnation was….unexpectedThis is a story about young man that has been human in previous life however in his last moments of life he received a big shock which caused him to loose almost all memories.What was he reincarnated as? ….well you will find out in storyP.s there will be gore
8 338 - In Serial148 Chapters
Chronicles of a Fallen Matriarch
With trouble as her only constant bedmate, the only aim, after being exiled, was to spend her life in peace and relative obscurity. A chance encounter brought back memories of her lost love. The more she pursued her lost love, the more question she faced and the people who were close to her are not what they appear to be. Even in exile, her constant bedmate would not stop. Now, being hunted, embroiled in an age-old conspiracy, torn apart by various factions, how is a lone drow to survive? Of course, by doing what she did best, raising an army. For the dark-elf Matrons have a nasty habit of not staying down when knocked. They rise up again and come back with fury. ===== Series Info======= The world-building is a combination of DnD, Pathfinder and Elderscrolls. Though I prefer to take a few liberties if possible. The yuri/GL Is an extremely slow burn one and the focus is more on the relationship dynamics than romance. =====Author Notes===== This is my first writing attempt, and in the spirit of full disclosure, I am not a native English speaker and I am hoping to use this chance to improve my writing. Constructive criticisms are always welcome. I have a full-time job but I would try to keep the releases consistent.
8 105 - In Serial6 Chapters
¥ Indigo ¥ Mike ¥ Foxtrot ¥ mission impossible fallout
8 187 - In Serial13 Chapters
Prank || Xianwang
𝐗𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐆 Read to find out lol i'm so lazy making an description-Peace AU! or... AU where all clans are at peace, and everyone is not homophobic well... expect for lan qiren or does he?▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔🌠- - - notice ⌇·˚ mo dao zu shi isnt mine.🌠- - - update stats ⌇·˚ random🌠- - - stats ⌇·˚ ongoing🌠- - - date started ⌇·˚ 09 ⌔ 04 ⌔ 22🌠- - - genre ⌇·˚ bxb, mpreg, angst, fanfiction, sfw.
8 76

