Epsilon Twilight

86. Shift I

Once I became aware that the author I had been seeking for almost a decade had been before my very eyes all this time, I couldn’t help myself. I needed to meet him, to meet Eygaz. It was a dangerous and overall stupid move, but my body wished to see it, demanded it.

A part of me told me I was wrong with my assumptions, and if neither the author was Eygaz nor the book was the phylactery,...

85. Heir III

Time looked as if it had stopped upon the realization. In retrospect, the pieces were always there. I knew few things about the nameless author, but it was enough with the three pieces of information I had. The author was a mystic, they had access to forbidden knowledge, and it wasn’t an ellari.

I, once, briefly thought that Kashar, the elemental operating the leyline under the Arcane S...

85. Heir II

“Does it scare you?” Amyr added, his hand still being attacked by magic lightning. “Does it scare you that your own soul acted beyond your control and knowledge?”

My first instinct hadn’t anything to do with my soul, but with the man before me. I thought: “Are you trying to scare me?” And the answer was, yes. Yes, he was. But that action wasn’t born of hatred but comedy. I...

85. Heir I

The planes slightly warped as my avatar manifested on the imperial palace. I was aware that my presence would make either Princess Salayah or dragonborn Caius come, so whilst I waited for them to make their appearance, I inspected the mana capacitator from the perspective of the spiritual plane.

Instead of a raging storm inside the artifact, I was greeted by a monsoon. Not much of a diffe...

84. Affinity

“What I’m seeing here is that the hole will be a pain to sew back.” First Sergeant Shyz touched my shoulder and inspected the hole. “Damn, it’s a clean hole by both sides of the jacket but your shoulder is in perfect condition. I wished I could heal like that on demand.”

“Don’t you have a system or something for broken uniforms?” I asked him as he stepped away from my si...

83. Training

Even after a night’s rest, my mind was still focused on the author of the soul anthology. I had found proof of their existence. This was the farthest I had ever gone with my investigations. I knew they had to exist, but to completely know that they were out there was a weight lifted from my shoulders, a weight I never knew I carried.

I thought of multiple ways to find the elusive mystic...

82. Divination

“So, a healer then?” The young arcanist asked once the glooming dread on the room settled down.

“I’m not fully qualified as such, but I can do some patching and first aid,” I added. “My healing is stronger when applied to myself rather than others.”

“Then what’s the point of being a healer then?” A bit hard-headed, wasn’t she?

“I am no healer; I have si...

Update on Book Cover

Hey guys!

Do you remember that I told you a while ago I contacted an artist to make a book cover? So, yeah, I didn't get a response. Instead, I contacted another artist and has already given me a sketch.

I didn't put a poll on Patreon this time for two reasons: I now had a clear image of the cover, and it will be a cover for the third book rather than the second (and it may contain ...

81. Order

I would say I had done my bags if I had any personal items, to begin with. I probably was the most austere and minimalist ellari in Ferilyn, my personal belongings were kept to a minimum. Clothes, writing equipment, bath items, and… No, that’s all.

Adrian didn’t even like visiting my room because he said it depressed him. I had to push him hard when I made him watch over when I cast...

80. Alive II

My eyes shut wide open as Marissa’s lips touched mine. She vigorously pushed her tongue against mine in a mad frenzy. I gave her a light push, separating our lips and ending the kiss.

“What are you doing, Mari—” But before I could say anything, she lunged on top of me.

As a mage, I was physically weak, even more than the average person. If you added the fact that I was barel...

80. Alive I

Alatea was more than capable to heal all the damage my body had sustained over the last days, and far more competently than me. The Regenerate spell was powerful, but at the end of the day, it was a half-assed solution compared to the hand of a knowledgeable healer.

Starting next week, I would be relocated to Lan’el to work as a soldier, but so far no one had told me anything about when...

79. Mystics II

“Greetings, imperial princess.” My Astral Self bowed to the albino draconid as I materialized in the imperial palace. Checking back on my body, I felt Alatea’s healing magic making its course.

“Greetings, ellari mystic.” She bowed back to me, partially unfolding her white wings and raising slightly the skirt of her also white dress.

I heard a grunt coming from the armor-cl...

79. Mystics I

I found myself in Alatea’s office as I went to visit her to heal all the damage the sparing against the Ceaseless Storm had done on my body. But to my surprise, when I opened the door there was another person besides Alatea in the room.

“Oh, hey Edrie!” An enthusiastic Kirielle saluted me with a teacup in her hand. “Long time no see!”

“Same, Kirielle.” I saluted back t...

78. Soldier IV

Have you ever wondered what it felt like to be blind? Most likely yes. Everyone would say they only see an infinite blackness if they lost their sight, yet to me, that infinite appeared as the shiniest white.

It was only when I decided to forgo my mortal senses that I understood what was happening.

In the spiritual plane I could see that my Astral Self had been utterly obliterated, ...

78. Soldier III

I followed Albeyr through the military offices, but Amira stayed back at her office. That made me a bit nervous because if there was one person I could trust, it was the pure-soul arcanist.

We walked in total silence, passing by multiple military people who only reacted to Command Sergeant Major by saluting the man in very tense postures. I understood why they were scared shitless of thei...

78. Soldier II

“What are you exactly doing?” Fynn Albeyr asked me.

He had entered the room at some point, but I was too concentrated to even notice it. It didn’t help that Amira herself was able to do paperwork in incredible silence.

“Meditating,” I told him as a matter of fact.

“This doesn’t look like any meditation I know of.” It weirded me how he was able to speak to me th...

78. Soldier I

The day after visiting Novela’s emporium, I finally deemed it appropriate to go back to classes. Besides, I had mostly healed back thanks to the relentless efforts of Mystic’s Dominion to keep its caster alive.

Sometimes it felt like the spell had a mind of its own, akin to a symbiote of some sort. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a parasite, though. The spell was entirely benefic...

77. No Rest for the Damned II

My voice, almost a whisper, exploded with confusion incarnate.

“What do you mean that my Arcane affinity lowered?”

“What I have just fucking said!” Novela’s removed her hands from my tunic’s collar, raising them onto the air. “How in all of fucking existence did you lower your affinity?”

I had never seen Novela swear and as their swearing fell down as a downpou...

77. No Rest for the Damned I

Pain.

A single odious word. A single word I had painstakingly made familiar with these last days. They say the wicked had no rest, but it was more like no rest for the damned in my case.

Having been brutally overwhelmed by a leyline had taken a toll on my body, and then dying multiple times to only then die again by traveling to the afterlife, had eroded my corporeal vessel beyond s...

76. Patriarch

Saphar hadn’t really changed after these many years. Maybe he got a bit taller, but that was all. He was of dark blue skin like his father, but his hair was white-blond instead of orange-red. He wore a red tunic, like the one he used in the duel back then. Saphar had a scar-looking birthmark on the side of his face, which I now could see that it was very similar to the one his father had. Onl...

75. Noble House

As my consciousness came back to my body, I was able to breathe again. My body had been breathing automatically whilst I was gone, mind you. It just felt like a novelty to breathe. And also, very painful. There still was a considerable amount of damage and blood clots in my lungs.

The room was deserted except for Alatea and me, and the healer herself wasn’t awake. Alatea dreamt peaceful...

74. Heroes of War

As a lightning strike of unbelievable power assaulted me, around the nine-star mark judging by the fluctuations of mana, I shifted my Astral Self back to the spiritual plane.

That’s the thing about not having a physical body, you didn’t have to deal with corporeal matters. Either way, the spell was powerful. Maybe not as complex as Astral Self itself, but it packed quite a bit of powe...

73. Testimony

“Did you actually have to tell everything?” Marissa’s first comment after finishing telling my story was but a groan. “You certainly didn’t have to tell all the events until right now?”

“Really, Marissa?” Alatea responded with indignation at Marissa’s complaints. “After everything we have heard coming from Edrie’s mouth, this is where you draw the line? He has just t...

72. Untold Story

I blinked several times as it took time for my dying body to grow used to the light emitted by the surrounding Mage Lights. I tried to get up from the chair I was laying on, but my arms proved too weak for even such a menial task.

With a sweep of soul mana, I became aware of the nefarious state my body was in. Multiple busted blood vessels, a handful of broken bones, and uncountable ligam...

Addendum: Letter from a Traveler

Disclaimer: This chapter is an addendum to the end of the second book. It's meant to incite questions but contains mild spoilers that some readers may not be comfortable with. This chapter is totally optional as it doesn't follow the main story and can be skipped without affecting the next book at all.

* * *

As per my treaty with Information, I found myself exploring the worlds of t...

Update/New Schedule

Hi there everyone!

I decided to take a week off publishing chapters before the third book to rest a bit. The upcoming releases of new chapters will also come slower as I don't have a stockpile of chapters anymore, but I'll try to make them a bit lengthier to compensate for it.

I will also publish an extra chapter this Friday. This chapter does not take place on the main story, think...

71. End of Inactivity

I woke up once more to the world of the living, no different than coming back from the dead. I found extreme difficulty in the most menial tasks such as blinking and breathing. Rebirth was complicated, even more so when your body was dead. Puppeteering a dead vessel wasn’t something you were taught in class; defying death was an even more obscure subject.

Tendrils had to be used as stri...

70. Life Anew

I felt my inexistent blood freeze as an entity beyond comprehension appeared before me. From the mist dancing on top of the River of the Damned, a wooden vessel appeared in my sight. It was a gondola, and two silhouettes were riding it. A ferryman and damsel.

“Your change disappoints me a little.” The Lady of the River spoke as she hid behind her white parasol. “Seeing a pure soul b...

69. Known Origins

“You may inquire the wrath of the gods if you cast this spell.” The emperor said as he brought me an old book in tatters. The antiquity was held together by sheer luck alone. “This isn’t magic as you know it, but something more nefarious, more primal. Of a time far gone.”

I received the tome with open hands, controlling my left arm so it may not burn down with arcane energies wa...

68. Throne Room

“Hello, father.” I bowed to our mighty country’s emperor.

The old emperor may not be the strongest warrior in the Imperium, but he was a very capable mage and my mentor. His eyes possessed reptilian pupils and undeniable cunning, yet he wasn’t dragonborn. His horns were one of the mightiest around, though.

“Salayah.” He looked at me. “You know why I called you here?”...