《Behind The Hero's Mask》Eight
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America pov bc why not.
I opened my eyes, slightly surprised to see empty space next to me. I sat up, looking around the room. Ivan wasn't here. Did he get weirded out by me sleeping with him- wait no that sounds wrong. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and grabbed my crutches.
I scooted down the stairs with my crutches in hand and saw that the house was empty. I felt my heart sink. I fucked it up. Like always. I heard dark voices begin to cluster in my head. Tears stung my eyes and I felt so embarrassed. I hurried into a secluded room with a lock and the tears spilled. I covered my face with my hands, the voices getting louder and louder with every passing second.
I wanted to rip my hair out. I managed to screw up our friendship three days in. God, why can't I do anything right?
I'm such a failure as a country. I'm a failure as a person! I felt my nails rip through my skin, blood seeping under my nails. I clawed harder, more crimson spilling onto the tiles. When I was finished, a collection of flesh and blood had gathered under my nails, my upper arms bleeding heavily. I cried silently until no more tears would flow. I felt drowsy and decided to bandage them up.
I knew my arms wouldn't fit in the sink so I placed it under the bath faucet and turned it on. I let out a hiss as the water stung. After it was clean, I bandaged my arms up, pulling the sleeves down to cover them.
I didn't even care if I was giving myself scars. Nobody would ever love me so why not. I stood up, and almost slipped on the blood that covered the floor. I groaned and began cleaning.
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-twenty minutes later-
I sighed and stood up, looking at the now clean bathroom. Note to self: try and find a way to harm myself that doesn't require tons of cleaning and bleach. I thought, exiting the bathroom.
I looked outside and saw a hill that led down to a frozen lake. That looks fun. I mused, deciding to go outside. Not going to lie, it was difficult as hell to walk in the snow with crutches, I fell seven times facefirst. I eventually made it to the lake. It looked so cool.
(The third person)
The American figured that it would be stupid to use crutches on ice, so he limped onto it. He looked down and measured that the ice was at least four inches thick. He used his left foot to propel himself across the ice, snickering a bit. He enjoyed ice skating. It was one of the things he enjoyed doing whenever England left for seven years.
He was so busy reminiscing that he didn't notice the slowly cracking ice. He had skated onto the thinnest part of the ice.
He became aware when he heard a loud "" Ring out into the January air. He looked down, instantly becoming frozen like the land around him. He tried to move but only succeeded in creating more cracks.
He looked around for someone, but the land was barren. WHY THE FUCK DOES IVAN LIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE?! America screamed in his head. He saw that the ice was almost completely broken, so he waited until the last heart-stopping crack and jumped away, slamming down on thick ice.
He looked back to see the spiderweb of cracks that he had made and sighed in relief, but then looked to his stomach. Am I really that fat? He asked himself. He was so immersed in the fact that he almost fell into the ice and the pain in his ankle that he didn't see the oncoming storm clouds approaching.
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//////
Ivan searched the house one last time, but no sign of the blond American.
(You'll learn about where Russia was eventually)
He must have gone out. He walked to the front door and saw that Alfred's jacket and boots were in fact gone. He got dressed and stormed out, so frustrated that the idiotic American had gone out. Let alone the fact that he had a badly sprained ankle and wasn't wearing more than his jacket.
He opened the door and a blast of snow took him by surprise. A blizzard had blown in and Alfred was out there in the middle of it. His frustration was overpowered by worry and he quickly began following the trail of footsteps before they filled in.
He ran into the raging storm calling out for Alfred.
//////
England, Canada, Prussia, Allen, and France had all caught a flight to Russia at last and were making their way to the Russian's house. A storm had come out of nowhere but they kept going until they reached the house. They noticed that the door wasn't locked and went in. There were some lights on, and it didn't look like anyone was home.
Regardless, the five searched the house for the pair and came up empty-handed. By the time the search of the giant house had finished, the storm outside had escalated greatly, making it impossible to go out. The group had no choice but to stay here until it blew over. Canada couldn't help but worry if his brother was out there.
//////
Alfred's teeth were chattering, his ears and face were completely numb. He wiped his running nose and continued through the blizzard. He had lost his trail and was now back where he started at the frozen lake. He tucked himself into his jacket trying to stay warm. He already knew he probably had frostbite, but he was too cold to care. He collapsed into the snow, trying to burrow into it. He shivered and recalled the last time he talked to his twin. The last time he talked to England. The last time he saw the states. He closed his eyes
Through the loud and unforgiving barrage of snow, he heard a small shout far off in the distance. He perked up slightly, opening his eyes that had almost frozen shut.
"" He heard Ivan shouting. Did he come out here... for me? He thought, sitting up. He pushed himself to his feet, no matter how badly his ankle hurt. He walked towards the voice, growing weaker and weaker from each step. He saw a silhouette in the snowstorm and fell to his knees. He was so tired and relieved that he didn't even remember that the nearly shattered ice lay right in front of him.
He felt his heart stop. He heard a yell as he fell into the freezing water, sinking below the surface.
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Toymaker's Creation
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8 499Heroic Age
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8 186Ephemeral Shards
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8 209Cymurai
In a dark future, something ancient and immeasurably powerful walks the mutant wastelands...Kensuke is a lowly ashigaru footsoldier in the Tachiyama Clan, one of the few remaining human settlements in a dark, post-apocalyptic future. Thousands of years in the past, deadly nanomutagens were released across Asia, killing hundreds of millions and transforming billions more over subsequent generations. Those who remained immune soon moved into enclaves. In Japan, the feudal system revolving around the samurai class was revived, and resource wars became common.In the present, the Tachiyama Clan is under attack by the brutal Sasagawa Clan whose goal is nothing less than the total subjegation of all remaining human enclaves. Both sides take to the battlefield with human soldiers, robots, and the powerful Augmented Samurai -- cyborg warriors who do battle by plugging into six-meter-tall mecha.Hard sci-fi samuraipunk action!Posting schedule will be slightly faster in the early chapters as I have most of them ready to go. Later chapters will take more time. That said, the outline is written and finished. I imagine the full work will top 50,000 words.Please note: The first 9000 words of this work were posted recently on Patreon (free) as part of a 30-day writing challenge. The work that will appear here will be complete and may differ in editing and chapter order. IMAGE SOURCE: Illustration 171244302 © Grandfailure | Dreamstime.com (Paid)
8 202The White Rabbit: Book 2
In the Urillian Empire, the Empress Xandra rules three-quarters of the planet Xren from her home in the capital of the Earth Continent. Both the fire and water peoples have fallen under her might after a series of wars stretching back three centuries. Earth elves, under Xandra's rule, have spread throughout the planet and established colonies, and are, by all accounts, enjoying what seems to be a prosperous and happy existence. But not everyone in Uril is happy. The holy books speak of elves as the Chosen People of Thesis, tasked with guiding and protecting the lower races. For some people, this scripture has been interpreted to designate their life as one on the lowest rungs of society. Humans have been reduced to a slave class, and serve their elven masters under Xandra's rule, kept at bay by the constant fear of the dreaded Emerald Knight, and their own perceived weakness. Humans do not lead long lives, nor do they possess the wisdom, power, or magical acumen of their elven masters. But there is hope. A group of people have banded together to fight against Xandra, her Knight, and her empire. They call themselves the "Knights of Order" united under the principle idea that Xandra's reign has brought chaos unto Xren, and they wish to restore order. These Knights are led by a man named Xaxac Brigaddon, spoken of as a legend. They say that when the moons are full, some humans transform into powerful beasts. They say that Xaxac is the most powerful warrior on Xren, that in his youth he was enslaved and forced to fight other humans to the death in a bloodsport called "cage fighting", that he could not be touched and held the world championship title for three years running until he faked his own death and escaped his master to join the resistance. They say that he has friends in high places- noblemen, pirates, and the devil himself. They say that if you can find him, he can ferry you to freedom in places where the Earth Elves fear to tread. They say that he is immune to magical attack, and his eyes shine like the silver moon. They say that he is descended from Quizlivian Brigaddon, one of the humans who helped the demon Magnus escape a god. They say that if you want to walk the Path of Order, you should follow the White Rabbit.Come and watch the transformation from human boy to Knight of Order: The life and times of Xaxac OfAgalon OfLangil Brigaddon. Content Warning: This work is based on the real experiences of human trafficing survivors. Xaxac's origins are based on true events, and they are presented realisitcally; this includes but is not limited to: isolation, gaslighting, emotional and sexual abuse, and grooming tactics. This work is meant to hold a mirror up to society; it is based on the real of experiences of people who have experienced slavery and/or abuse. It is an adult work and probably should not be read by anyone under the age of 18. If you are a survivor of human trafficing and/or abuse, your feedback is welcome, but please do not read this if you think it may trigger your trauma. I did not write this with the intention of harming anyone, but rather to provide accurate representation for a group that does not normally get it in the hopes of changing the zeitgeist. I would like to see a world where more people understand what these experiences are like, so that real survivors do not have to deal with microagressions from an ignorant public. Reader discretion is advised. This book does not display these elements as heavily as book 1.
8 133The Heavens System Subsidiary (I Was Chosen By The Word)
Vincent Gate, A Middle-Class man with a below low-class life. His mother was a rape victim in coma. To bring his mother out of her coma, He tried all he can but one day all his efforts went to nought and not too long after he followed. He expected to find himself in Satan’s embrace or God’s grace, instead he woke up in a queue of long souls with an Identification No [77777]. He was judged to be passed on but had complications so he couldn’t, hence he had to be reincarnated but with an ability only . By why does he find himself with an overpowered ability and a system to boot? In a new world, new dimension, new danger. How can Vincent Gate expect to survive with an ability to make all that exists his [Sandbox]? ‘’By the Power of [@#[email protected]!], [Devour].’’ ‘’By the Power of [@#[email protected]!], [Rewrite]’’ ‘’By the Power of [@#[email protected]!], [Kill Yourself] Read and find out
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