The faint sound of sirens stirred him from sleep.
Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, had been anything but for longer than he could remember. Gang violence, crime, poverty and wealth disparity- it was a bastion of the American Dream like so many others, a flickering flame that people...
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
The normal sound of his heartbeat played loudly in his ears as the Bloodsworn sat, swirling his index finger around the lip of his half-empty glass. It was past midday and the streets were bustling, but it was far too early for happy hour. Instead of doing quests or the...
He ripped the VR headset off and discarded it beside him on the bed. The usual withdrawal from a lengthy dive was immediately apparent- his vision was blacked out, slowly seeping back in from the middle outward. Theo fixed his gaze on the ceiling and muttered discontentedly to himself, jogging...
While behind the group that had rushed forward with the intent of saving the Magia Leader Szofrit, Jin and some few others took the time they had before battle was joined to prepare their own strategy. Szofrit was a war criminal, aware or not, and her actions had far reaching consequences...
Her pain resonated as throbbing around him. Jin could hear her heartbeat out of sync with his own, blood spewing from the open wounds where her fingers simply fell away.
Stay still. That will hold them in place while they heal, and the sap will ensure no lasting damage, but you push yourself...
As the wagons carried them back behind the safety of friendly lines, Jin found himself staring at the monstrosity that revealed itself in a final effort to erase the Starfallen. His world was numb, bright red, still too bright to make out any definitive qualities of the machine that had assailed...
The capital was abuzz, suffused with new life in the wake of an event that called on members of all four major Guilds. The rumors were quick to move about the strange, demonic energy that had managed to kill multiple people, including a disturbing number of Travelers. In Finweald, the very idea...
The Izekaya was only slightly cooler inside than the humid Okinawan countryside. He could smell the salty sea breeze from his seat as the fans whipped air around the smattering of patrons, and he sagged in the seat he'd chosen. The proprietress hurried over when he polished off his glass of...
The request went out to the Adventurer's Guild just in time for the harvest season. Information on the small city of Vikform was readily available, and realistically, they were willing to accept any level of help for the job, but it was labeled "urgent." Jin wondered silently if that meant the...
The long march back to Astorea felt almost like a walk of shame. While they had been victorious in their campaign and managed to both ascertain the cause of the encampment's disappearance and seemingly rout it, they had lost no small number of lives in the process. Some of them were on their...
The events of the previous night were fresh in his mind.
By the combined efforts of a multitude, they had brought low the foul creature that threatened to unravel their minds and allow its young to feast on their flesh. He recalled the madness that gripped him, and the way that he felt with...
3
Under normal circumstances, he would have declined. The less he showed what he was capable of, the fewer people would take an interest in him. While he seemed shady simply by appearance, Jin knew that was hardly enough for gamers to call him to question. The skulking archetype was hardly...
Stockbon, Docks
Early Morning
The sun rose slowly on the horizon, like a quill that sat too long in an inkwell that bled out across the water. A pastel stain illuminated the murky ocean as he turned from the light. "Tell me again what happened?" his voice cracked, though he managed to keep the...
