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Chapter 206 - There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (VI)

Chapter 206
 There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (VI)

There was a world once upon a time where now only desolate wilderness stood. It was dark and bleak and lifeless, with a thick layer of black soot covering everything in sight. All the trees were dead, and were still the solitary reminder that there once was life here. The ground was uneven and unnatural, with jagged obsidian rocks jutting up from the decaying earth, forming a sort of landscape infernal souls envi...

Chapter 205 - There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (V)

Chapter 205

There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (V)

Sylas drew out his sword and slashed forward, moving at the speed inconceivable to an ordinary eye. And yet, the King followed–blinking backward and summoning golden lightning that turned into a shape of a spear and thrusting it forward. The clash resulted in yet another explosion, bouncing him back as his skin melted off.

However, just as quickly as it melted, it healed. This was their eleventh clash...

Chapter 204 - There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (IV)

Chapter 204

There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (IV)

There was once a man who could not die, his wings of infinity unfurled before the cosmos. And the man dreaded life as he dreaded sleep, for eternity of time was a blend of elysian nothing. Death was but a passenger in his journey, a handheld child in awe of what and who defied it. Though others did exist who could defy death, be it through the heart of their own or the Voyager’s will, there was something d...

Chapter 203 - There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (III)

Chapter 203

There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (III)

There was once a man who could not die. His songs were unsung, his words unspoken, his actions forgotten within the realms of time. The tiny, spirit motes would whisper ‘ere and there, and their whispers winds would bury, for it was heresy to speak of that which cannot be spoken of.

There was rage in the high skies, anger within the observing eyes. Though far, they saw it near–and they feared, pro...

Chapter 202 - There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (II)

Chapter 202

There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (II)

There was a peculiarity to living, Wyvenul had learned many years ago. Young were fearless, undaunted, willing to set themselves on fire in pursuit of whatever highs they were chasing. They feared neither death nor pain, accepting it as a byproduct of living. But those that outlive that scorching youth grew old and frail and cowardly, and death in due comes cold and unwanted. Sages wrote of wise men acceptin...

Chapter 201 - There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (I)

Chapter 201

There Was Once A Man Who Could Not Die (I)

There it is… Sylas stood on the precipice of a gentle mountain overlooking a vast span of the fields of yellow grass. Somewhere at its heart, there were tall walls of stone framing a city of dreams. Even nearly fifteen miles out, he could still see the tall towers and spires and the grand palace shining like the golden sun amidst the snow-white stone. It was the capital, perched at the heart of the...

Younger Ryne

Chapter 200 - The Banner of Tomorrow

Chapter 200

The  Banner of Tomorrow

The capital city of Ethernia had been growing rather distressed in the past several weeks. What started as distant rumours and fancy tales that seemed entirely divorced from their reality were now very stern and deadly stories that were being passed around every day. Those were stories of a rebel army marching south, an unstoppable machine incapable of losing, toppling over one county after another.

The city was no l...

Chapter 199 - In Flash of Thunder and Death

Chapter 199

In Flash of Thunder and Death

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Ryne’s scream jolted him from the numbness that he had succumbed to in order to die. He’d hung himself upside down, slit his throat from one end to another as it was no longer physically possible to actually cut his head off in a single slice, and bored dozens of holes into his hearts. He was bleeding like a waterfall, pooling blood beneath him into a literal, small lake, and ...

Asha

A result of me playing around with prompts in Stable Diffusion AI to try and get some visual representation of characters. There are quite a few other good ones that I manage to wrangle out that I'll probably post. 

Chapter 198 - Infinite Infancy

Chapter 198

Infinite Infancy

How long has it been? Sylas couldn’t say. Hundreds upon hundreds of years, now, had passed at least. But to him, it all became a blend of a singularity, a trip that he re-lived so many times that he could recite it, word for word, event for event, from heart, just aroused from his sleep and probably drunk out of his mind.

Their progress was slow, but it was there–every few years of reliving the same story over and o...

Chapter 197 - Kingdom Come

Chapter 197

Kingdom Come

Their march slowed down considerably, Valen noted as he silently observed the open stretch of land currently being occupied by tents and campfires roaring smoke into the sky. It was in part because their army grew bulkier, tripling in size effectively, meaning that they could no longer maneuver as quickly as they used to.

Most of it, though, was entirely because of General Staun and his insistence on three-day-marching and four-day-...

Chapter 196 - A Proper Army

Chapter 196

A Proper Army

A week had passed since the induction of General Staun in the army, as well as nearly ninety thousand of his men. The rest left, alongside two constables who looked just about ready to explode. Even after Sylas declared his loss, the two were unable to persuade most of the young men to return with them, and those who elected to do so largely had families back home waiting for them.

And while folk cheered the first day, few were che...

Chapter 195 - Chthonian Beyond

Chapter 195

Chthonian Beyond

Sylas did something that he didn’t do often recently--he went to sleep. Most nights he’d learned to meditate himself into a state of nothingness as it was the only way he found to battle the decrepit hands of time, and as he hardly needed sleep to function, it seemed a good choice. But, for reasons bored deep inside of him, instinctively he drew himself to the sleep.

He climbed up onto a tree and found a particularly thick b...

Chapter 194 - Skies Bear Witness

Chapter 194

Skies Bear Witness

Two men stood some twenty feet from each other, surrounded by hundreds of curious eyes, both from Sylas’ and Staun’s camp. The atmosphere was heavy, especially for the prisoners as they have learned that should their General win, they would be freed. Such proposition was something they didn’t even dream of just a few moments ago, and yet it became such a violent reality so quickly.

They knew the man who led them well--be...

Chapter 193 - Jubilant

Chapter 193

Jubilant

They once again stood in front of the wall, a massive army far outnumbering theirs spelling doom. But, this time around--as was the case a few times before already--Sylas helped. Not in the ‘going alone and committing a genocide’ help, but more in being the facilitator stabilizing the line. He kept an eye out on the superhumans of the other side while also helping the army whenever he saw a side give way or stumble.

Even with this, ...

Chapter 192 - Numbness

Chapter 192

Numbness

Though Valen’s force broke further and deeper than ever before thanks to Sylas breaking down the wall that was stopping them, their momentum was killed shortly after when they chose a wrong route. The night before they crossed what they thought was a simple patch of forest, it rained heavily, turning the forest into a quasi-swamp. Halfway through it, they were ambushed, and then once again after they left, dwindling their numbers heavily. 2022-11-22 23:26:56 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 191 - Amorphous Whispers

Chapter 191

Amorphous Whispers

Some stories never die. Though the wretchedness of time dims and consumes them, as it does all things, they persist beyond its scope, etched in whatever little motes of infinity they could find. One such story was born on a foggy and strangely stormy day. The Kingdom of Ethernia hardly ever witnessed true storms, the kind that rupture the sky and shake the earth. But on that day, the day of silent effervescence, they did.

It r...

Chapter 190 - The Red-Dyed Star

Chapter 190

The Red-Dyed Star

It began to rain. Though it hadn’t rained in weeks, the skies above suddenly ashened and the thick rain began to pelt the world beneath. Thunder, too, joined soon after--as though through the will of the world, a desperate attempt to hide what was happening. To mask it. To retire numerous souls with at least a shred of dignity. But it was not enough.

The screams of agony, horror, terror, and pure madness were louder than the ...

Chapter 189 - The One Who Writes the Story

Chapter 189

The One Who Writes the Story

Sylas watched as a small force of 400 cleaved free of the charging formation, engaging a wide flank toward the vastly-outnumbering enemy. It was a lost cause, he knew, for he had seen this exact scenario six times now. By the time 400 strong force reached the flanking position, the ranks of the main army would have been already breached.

Numbering the many, many loops he’d spent getting here already got hi...

Chapter 188 - The Kingdom in Terror

Chapter 188

The Kingdom in Terror

A tale sprung like the snowstorm in the middle of a Cold Snap--it travelled like thunder from far north deeper and deeper south with each passing day. At first, the tale was told merely in whispers--secrets shared almost silently, begging to be hidden. Then, as days passed, the whispers grew louder, and soon it was only the ignorant that dared claim they were in the dark.

It was a fascinating tale, indeed, for it spoke of a...

Chapter 187 - Words Unsaid

Chapter 187

Words Unsaid

Sylas looked inwardly, his energy swirling like whirlpools. There where once upon a time a single heart beat, and more recently two, now three shuddered. They weren’t ‘hearts’ in the literal sense, naturally, but it didn’t matter. He had three lives, now, and though many would rejoice at the thought, he was frowning.

It already took him too long to die--the last go around, he actually tossed himself from the Pass, fell for w...

Chapter 186 - Martyr's Pass

Chapter 186

Martyr’s Pass

Sylas lounged about freely at the walls of a small town called Verrak. It was a town stationed some eighty miles down past the forest beyond the village, and was home largely to farming families and retired conscripts. Their group had arrived two days ago to a rather warm welcome, as the news of the band of heroes under the banner of Prince Valen had spread during their travels.

The stories were aplenty, some more benevolent than...

Chapter 185 - Then the Years

Chapter 185

Then the Years

The loops began--they were rough and uneven, sometimes lasting a few weeks and sometimes a couple of months. Sylas wasn’t particular about following a route, often diverging on his own, effectively looking for all the variables. He wasn’t in a hurry. If anything, he slowed down the pace to a crawl, letting the time wash over him like the warm winds.

Though months and years passed, he hardly felt them. Bit by bit, time had begu...

Chapter 184 - Prophets Made of Sand

Chapter 184

Prophets Made of Sand

Strange silence befell the two, with varying degrees of confusion shared between them. If Asha wasn’t part of the Queen’s plan, Sylas realized, then she was just a cosmic coincidence. No, he inwardly shook. Universe isn’t that kind.

“You sure?” he asked again.

“Fairly certain,” she replied. “I am as surprised as you are, to be honest. Prophets... are rare things. In fact... scholars h...

Book I available on Amazon (& here)

Hello everyone, hope you're having a grand ol' time. Book I (The Song of Madness) of the 'Master of the Loop' is now available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BH1R6F14). Kindle version is available immediately while the paperback is still being processed. 

To thank you for your support, you can find the .pdf file of the book in the attachment below. Thanks everyone, again, and I hope you'll enjoy ...