As the Realms ($10) can attest to, we have finally finished writing and posting the current Book, and are working on the plotting & planning process for the next. For that, we are pausing our updates for a month to grant us enough time to get it done in a beautiful and cohesive manner. We shall renew posting come next month at 6 updates per month as per norm.
The Patreon will also be ...
2023-12-05 02:40:30 +0000 UTC View PostLocation: Somewhere in a borderland amidst the Haze…
It was finally time. He had trained himself as much as possible, raising his levels higher and higher for as long as he could without getting into the ‘absolutely irksome’ category. He had spent nearly equal if not more time in comprehending the nature of the world that was him, and studied the enti...
2023-11-25 21:15:33 +0000 UTC View PostLocation: One of Zuken Banksi’s safehouses in Haviskali…
Zuken sat at his desk and went over the paperwork he had to deal with. Despite all the mess in the Desert, the aftermath was quite normal, which was elating and concerning at the same time. The sudden disappearance of Warlord Mujin Shimizu within days of the loss of their Sacred Eight status, followed by the mos...
2023-11-21 20:56:13 +0000 UTC View PostMujin’s mistake was using his power too late. It had given his opponent time to gather themselves, time to resist. He should’ve known it right from the beginning when that no-name stranger had faced him off, and stopped his all-powerful Death By A Thousand Blades attack form, only to deflect it towards the Earth King’s warship. He should’ve known that anyone with the skill to do that wa...
2023-11-15 22:16:56 +0000 UTC View PostIt smashed Lukas out of the sky like a falling comet. A single backhanded swipe from the immense, wind-covered, scalding hot conjured limb sent him hurtling down, crashing into the desert floor. The impact with the kami’s limb hacked through his body in half, and he smashed into the sands, his body splattered and his intestines dripping out of him.
Lukas Aguilar died.
Inst...
2023-11-11 20:51:57 +0000 UTC View PostTanya was not particularly fond of the current situation.
Not that she had yet to be forewarned about her lover’s latest absurdity to some extent, but her less than glowing view on the matter had only redoubled on itself as of the past several minutes.
For the entirety of her life, she had always believed that it was wise to choose one’s battles. Asukan war philosophy always foc...
2023-11-06 23:01:27 +0000 UTC View PostA Level-4 missile was headed his way, and it was going to obliterate everything in its path.
He couldn’t shield against such an attack. Not only would the sheer momentum shatter through any shield he could conjure, the resulting collision would detonate in his face, damaging the carquane crystal, and if that happened, the entire desert would probably blow up to ashes, leaving nothing bu...
2023-11-02 19:17:59 +0000 UTC View Post“Well, this is certainly a curious development, if nothing else,” said Solana idly, observing the chaos with a meticulous gleam in her eyes, her voice carrying over the wind effortlessly despite the explosions in the air. “I have to admit, I did not foresee the girl having this much talent.”
“She hasn’t yet used the Haze even once,” said Maude from behind her. “The time yo...
2023-10-22 19:03:16 +0000 UTC View PostIt was faster than his eyes could follow.
One moment the Warlord had come for Aguilar with a speed that defied comprehension, the next moment, Lukas arrested his armored fist in his armored palm. The next moment, wind blades attacked him from every possible angle, leaving him no room to maneuver or escape. Aquamancy was all about trajectories and flows, and to Olfric’s trained eyes, the...
2023-10-17 14:44:40 +0000 UTC View PostWhat saved them was not the terrain, but what was built under it. The yokai territory was a vast labyrinth of walls and doors and shadows. Thick rock walls lined by Solana’s barriers were merely the first layer of protection, and beyond that lay a maze of passageways and corridors that could prove a challenge to navigate to those unfamiliar with its halls. After Lukas’s stunt again...
2023-10-10 18:01:19 +0000 UTC View PostWar was coming to the Namzuuhuu Desert.
Around a millennium ago, this very place hosted a catastrophic battle between the Empress Amaterasu and Meynte. Truth and Taboo clashed on this land, and the result of that was this plain of sand that hated the living. Amaterasu’s Eternal Light, or as Olfric would put it, the All-Seeing-Eye was blind within the desert’s periphery, making i...
2023-10-05 19:37:28 +0000 UTC View Post“I was wondering when you’d finally show up,” said Zuken, as Lukas closed the door behind him and stepped into the room.
“What can I say?” said Lukas. “Elena’s warned all of us from disturbing you. Trust me, no one here wants to cross that one woman that carries around a nightmare for a familiar.”
“And yet, here you are.”
“Eh, I’ve got a trustworthy fac...
2023-09-30 20:58:16 +0000 UTC View Post
We're pleased to announce that Stranger Than Fiction Book 2 - Borderland is officially released on Amazon and Audible stores. If you are enjoying our work, kindly spare a moment to give a review on Amazon or Audible. We need all the positive reviews we can get to bolster our sales, and no, we are NOT taking this story off Royal-Road. It's there to stay.
Please click 2023-09-26 14:43:47 +0000 UTC View Post
Dreams are fleeting. Only nightmares last forever.
It was an old saying, one that had passed on through multiple civilizations. Bdevorren would know, he had been through all two and a half of them.
Even before the first bremetan forces came marching along the Sea of Mone, trotting on their bicorns and claiming the land and the sea in the name of their Empress, before the name Asukan...
2023-09-26 14:37:58 +0000 UTC View PostLukas ran his hand across the surface of a crystal growing from the ground of his World, feeling oddly giddy as he did so.
This wasn’t the first time he had been to this place. Even back when the Crypt of Fiendish Worms had hijacked his brain and overwhelmed him with the Dranzithl’s instincts, he had been able to view brief flashes of this place. The vision he had seen back then was s...
2023-09-20 19:23:27 +0000 UTC View Post“You… wish to see my world,” said Lukas, giving her an eerie stare. “What do you expect to see, Frost? Meynte called me a soulcrafter, and you’ve seen me devour souls and use their skills as my own. Do you really want more proof?”
Tanya agreed with his words. It was a grave invasion of his privacy to even ask for something like that, but she was equally curious about exactly w...
2023-09-15 18:01:58 +0000 UTC View PostNot for the first time, Lukas woke up wanting nothing more than to stay in bed and ignore the rest of the world. That or conjure a gun and shoot himself in the head to get rid of the massive headache he was experiencing.
“Ngh.”
“I see you’ve finally graced us with your consciousness, Lukas.”
“Tanya.” Against his body’s protests, he pushed himself up and rubbed ...
2023-09-13 14:41:36 +0000 UTC View PostSticking his head past the open door, Lukas peered into the room, just to make sure it was empty. At this point, he was almost certain that no soldier inside the entire castle would willingly stand before him, but he didn’t want to take his chances this close to the end. It didn’t help that the energy field emitted by the wardstones — pure natural energy of the world — was causing inter...
2023-09-05 18:50:32 +0000 UTC View PostNo one had truly understood what had happened.
Ultaf Shimizu tried his hardest to keep staring in open horror. He couldn’t afford the lapse in judgment.
After escaping from Aguilar, Ultaf had instantly sent word to his grandfather, but to no avail. None of their communication spells were going through. Someone had set up an interference field around the entire castle, without anyo...
2023-08-25 07:26:39 +0000 UTC View Post“Index and ring fingers,” said Solana, looking at the dispersed remains of stone. “The Asukan and the changeling haven't gotten to Banksi yet. Yet the Outsider is requesting aid, not for himself, but for those two. In this situation, the next course of action would be…”
“Of course he’s the first one that gets in over his head,” snapped Tanya, as she looked at the army behi...
2023-08-15 18:34:17 +0000 UTC View Post“Why the hesitation, Outsider?”
“Just thinking… I mean, the soldiers. They are just people following orders.”
“I’ve been at the mercy of people following orders,” Tanya shot back. “They will not think twice before killing you. Why must we be different? And where is this even coming from? You had no trouble massacring creatures back in the bord...
2023-08-09 04:11:22 +0000 UTC View PostIt was cold, windy and icy.
As far as the eye could see, there were towering mountain peaks in every direction, looking bleak, and hateful, wreathed in mist and wrapped in ice and snow. And in the middle of it, stood the stronghold of jet black stone, the entire structure supported by walls easily rising to a hundred feet and more. Between the atrocious weather and these stone fortificati...
2023-08-09 03:55:48 +0000 UTC View PostNow that Book 3 is super close to its end, we are having a little rough time finalizing the last arc, and attempting to make it super-awesome. For that reason, it is taking a little bit of time to get them sorted out, and hence, the delay. We should be back to posting from August 8th onwards.
Thank You, and apologies for the delay.
2023-08-03 19:07:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe first thing that Ultaf felt was pain. Immense, horrendous, stabbing pain. He looked down, where his hands should have been there, ready to conjure blasts of intense pressure like his grandfather had taught him.
Instead a feeling of despair flooded through him.
I can’t feel my hands. I can’t feel my hands.
They weren’t broken, yet utterly unmoving. His body w...
2023-07-24 18:39:49 +0000 UTC View Post“Remember,” said Olfric, as they walked down the carriage. “I’m the Asukan, and you, a vagrant. A second-class citizen. Your job is to guard me, no matter the cost. You can be a little temperamental but if you are hostile to them by any means, they are within their right to execute you.”
“Sweet,” said Lukas.
“There’s a fifty-fifty chance that you’ll not be allowe...
2023-07-16 18:06:36 +0000 UTC View Post“This is a ridiculous mess,” hissed Ultaf. “I thought we had everything under control.”
Zuken allowed himself a small smile. It wasn’t as arrogant as a full-blown smirk, nor as bright as a grin, just a small twitch of his lips to demonstrate a fleeting amusement at Ultaf’s growing anxiety. It took a while, but it looked like at least one of his plans had borne some fruit.
<... 2023-07-12 15:23:56 +0000 UTC View PostLukas stopped on the sidewalk in the flow of a gaudy sign that blinked VILLAGE and stared through the open doorway of the ubiquitous corner bar one could find in any self-respecting neighborhood in the Midwest. This one just happened to be his local watering hole. It was closest to home and one he had more than a few interesting memories of.
He passed through the glow of the blue neon sig...
2023-07-06 17:14:13 +0000 UTC View PostMuch to his chagrin, Lukas was denied having any further access to Joey. The only thing the others agreed to, was to let him be present when Elena exercised Joey’s powers on the captive soldiers. He had requested them several times for a private meeting with the nightmare, but both Elena and Tanya had put their feet on it, the former because she claimed Joey was frightened of Lukas, and the l...
2023-07-01 18:21:14 +0000 UTC View Post“So, who or what is this Joey?” asked Lukas.
“Joey is my familiar,” said Elena, “and he’s… not from around here.”
“You mean like an alien?”
She scowled. “I don’t know, alright? There aren't a lot of people out there that even know what a nightmare is. It doesn’t help that just meeting his gaze destroys spiritist-kami bonds, and then ...
2023-06-25 16:32:40 +0000 UTC View Post“Alright,” said Lukas, “I hereby call this war-council to order.”
They were all sitting around in Tanya’s room, which was considerably larger than his own, and perhaps the only one with some touch of artistic design in them. It was funny, since Maude had mentioned how he had been getting five-star treatment for being the fabled Outsider. The oni had simply pointed out that Tanya...
2023-06-21 19:24:46 +0000 UTC View Post