Hereafter

CHAPTER 27 - Aurelia's Fall

With a guttural groan, Jason felt like he was about to collapse onto the ground. Pulsating agony snaked through his veins, devoured his strength, and left him powerless. His arms and legs trembled and convulsed with pain. His muscles felt as though they were being torn apart from the inside out. Despite his valiant efforts to remain standing, he couldn’t muster the energy for much longer. And then, in that moment of utter exhaustion, the darkness creeping in was blown away with a violent explosion!

In an instant, the night was shatte...

CHAPTER 26 - Wailing Drums

Vanya Anlyth, Elven Knight, and Paladin of the Kingdom of Slaethia lay alone in her bed. The bitter cold of the bedsheet’s emptiness filled her heart with an aching at her husband’s absence. The knowledge that he was fulfilling his duties as the General of the army was of little comfort. The hours of his absence seemed to stretch on endlessly. The sounds of this night’s celebrations only now fading, leaving behind the drunken laughter of a few soldiers stumbling toward their bedrolls.

The victory was but a distant memory from a f...

CHAPTER 25 - Forbidden Secret

The proclaimed Dark Champion, a title that was nothing but a cruel insult. Jason remained haunted by the nightmare of that psycho sludge girl’s tentacle ramming its way down his throat and throughout his body. The memory caused him to clench his ass cheeks. It had violated him in the most grotesque manners before tossing him like damaged goods to suffer a slow and painful death. He shuddered thinking about it, but still, he stealthily followed her, remaining unseen to all. Life was a sick joke, and Jason was the punchline! Trapped in a nev...

Ugh... Names are stupid!

Greetings, my beloved acolytes of darkness.

It is I, your supremely deranged ruler!

In my moments of madness, I have stumbled upon a troubling issue that I had overlooked in my attempts to repair the fucked up magic system. The label Levelers is far too mundane for my tastes, and I find myself in dire need of a more fitting title.

The title Ascendant does have a certain ring to it, but I can't shake the feeling that I've come across it before. Hmm...

Do any of you, my dear disciples of the shadows, have any suggestion...

CHAPTER 24 - Beloved Monsters

I loomed over Olin’s new corpse like a harbinger of death as Ava meticulously bound the phylactery to it with surgical care. Though she said nothing, I couldn’t help but sense a hint of admiration from her, as if she were in awe of the situation. Perhaps even a private joke!

Ever since our fateful encounter with the Crone, the world had taken on a twisted and surreal quality, like a familiar and foreign nightmare. Reality had been skewed and distorted, leaving me feeling disoriented and lost. It was as if I had once again stepped i...

CHAPTER 23 - The Masochist

Vorigan, a vampiric monstrosity with amphibian-like features, was not blessed with the fangs of his kin. Instead, his frog-like face housed a maw lined with miniature, fish-like teeth. He lacked an intimidating presence of any kind. The cruel joke was not lost on him, as even his tormentors now saw him as nothing more than a mere plaything, fit only to be toyed with and abused. Vorigan felt like a lamb led to the slaughter, dreading the impending impalement that was closing in once the two elves were done. And he really didn’t want a woode...

CHAPTER 22 - General Stalking

And so, here I am, compressed and condensed down to the size of a tarantula, with most of my gooey tar-like body stored within Stellar Void. As I skittered on eight legs through an enemy camp just outside the town of Elsternwick’s shabby wooden walls. I was certain I had stumbled upon the tent where they held Aurelia captive, but there was a small hitch. Twelve bastards, six in full elegant plate armor, and another six cosplaying Conan and Red Sonja fucks straight out of a Comicon. They were guarding every portion of the tent’s exterior....

CHAPTER 21 - Impaled Carolers

We all sprang into action when the Crone finished her decree, splitting into two groups. Wartie – My. My… The Crone’s new grandbaby – Seriously! What the fuck?! You know what, I don’t fucking care! Anyhow. The kid led the five dipshits back into the dungeon to present the Crone’s offer to restore the dungeon folk’s lost magic and powers. They just had to swear their devotion to the dark goddess. After the dungeon core was stolen, the dwellers lost everything. It was apparent that they were des...

CHAPTER 20 - Ethereal Tune

I reclined in the dreary and foreboding depths of my consciousness, mesmerized by Ava’s spellcasting. Her movements were as fluid and graceful as the sweeping arcs of a symphonic conductor’s baton. I was spellbound by her mastery, but I would never grant her the satisfaction of knowing how deeply I was entranced. Olin’s soul still clung around his body, even after his skull had been shattered beyond repair by a massive battle axe. And yet, thankfully, Heather, our new Dark Priestess, or Priestess of Darkness – whatever – had the po...

CHAPTER 19 - Fract%red @$%&@

As I emerged from my slumber in the all too familiar viscosity of my tar-like form. I was once again filled with a sense of frustration at the repetitiveness of the experience. One of these days, I’ll wake up without being a puddle of goo!

I shifted into my human form, allowing my spider silk to wrap me up, fashioning my gorgeous phony casing together. Well, maybe phony to others, but it was my luxurious skin to me. Once that was done, I gazed into the darkness surrounding me with my orange, glowing eyes, influenced by Mana ...

INTERLUDE – Aurelia’s Desire

Britannia

“Flee, Aislinn, my love,” Bowen cried out, his voice trembling with fear and urgency. “The Romans are closing in, and we must make haste.”

The winter solstice had brought naught but woe to their tribe, for the Romans had come to conquer all. Aislinn and Bowen were two of the few who had escaped the wrath of the invaders, but the fear of capture still weighed heavily upon their hearts.

The forest winds carried the mournful cries of their fallen kin, and the spirits of the trees raged in an...

CHAPTER 18 - A Delightful Nightmare

“Arise, my dearest Blake, the hour is nigh to leave thy dreams behind! The other young ones do prance and play in fields so wonderous and kind. So come, child, and join the fun in the meadow bright and rare, where frolics and games and joys untold do await thee, fair and rare.”

I awoke to the sound of childish laughter, a symphony of joy and delight. My eyes beheld a verdant meadow where six young children frolicked without care. They cavorted and gamboled, their giggles ringing through the air as they chased each other in wild aba...

CHAPTER 17 - Mask the Terror!

I gazed at the child’s lifeless body, feeling a swirling storm of emotions, pain, guilt, sorrow, and above all else, burning rage. My anger boiled within me, and I thirsted for revenge! Fortunately, I had two phylacteries, but using one on an irritating brat who I had barely managed to resist killing myself felt like such a waste. But for someone else to come along and take the child’s life was beyond bullshit. Death was not enough to satiate my desire for retribution. I was determined to make those three responsible pay with misery. How...

CHAPTER 16 - A New Pet

As I followed the goblin child through the twisting tunnels of the dungeon, I could feel my excitement building. The thought of hunting down the other candidates, emerging victorious as the Dark Champion, and returning to Aurelia filled me with an almost intoxicating thrill. But for now, I had to make do with Wartie’s idiotic company, although I did enjoy listening to his new pet slime’s pleas.

“Kill me!”

As we turned down a particularly narrow passage, Wartie suddenly pointed to a small opening in the wall.

“Mudd...

CHAPTER 15 - Undesired Companions

“Alright, Blake, it’s time to get back to training!”

“Oh yes, Ava, because while we’re busy trying to track down the four escaped candidates that nearly took me out with a single spell, let’s make sure to add even more to our already overflowing plate. Priorities, right?”

I stumbled out of the boss chamber where I had just battled the five candidates. I was frustrated. The remains of the one I had decapitated were nowhere to be found, just a bunch of bloody stains smeared on the stone floor. To make matters worse, t...

CHAPTER 14 - Eating a goblin like a lady!

Seriously? Again?! I found myself, once again, waking up in my liquid form on this delightful floor of the former Red Toad’s boss chamber, only this time, every nerve ending in my black pudding body was set ablaze. I was so sure I had that fight in the bag with a freaking twenty-level advantage. Who wouldn’t feel confident with that kind of advantage?! But no, I had to go and convince myself that I was unstoppable and ended up getting my ass knocked out with a single attack spell. Ugh, I’m such an idiot!

Hah...