He walked up to the podium.
How did I get here?
He looked at the cheering crowd.
They are all looking at me.
He reaches the podium.
They’re all laughing at me.
They quiet down.
They expect me to fail
Silence.
This is hell
—-—
He didn’t try to do it.
He was just there.
Anyone else would do the same.
Right?
Anxious remembered how it happened.
There was a burning building
“HELP! HELP! WE’RE BURNING IN HERE!”
H
It is floating in the air.
Flying.
People say its on fire.
I don't see it.
It glows.
Maybe a bit like fire.
But it doesn't burn any that gets close.
Sure, it has it's flaws.
It will fly away when you get close to it.
But fire is worse.
Fire hurts those it loves.
And those that love it have to learn to stay away.
I wish I could be more like the firefly.
But for now?
I am much more like the fire.
I glow from a distance,
"Sir! They didn't mean to do it!"
"And what do you mean by that?"
"It... it was Jeff. He forced to do. He got them all riled up. It-it wasn't their fault sir! Please. Have mercy."
Jake was stressed out.
All of their stories are different! Each one... completely different...
Jake didn't know what to do.
"Amy... This is s hardest case in centuries. Please help me out." Jake asked.
"All of their stories are different."
Amy sighed. "Try and compile the cases t
Empty. Empty, empty, empty.
Where did it all go?
It was all perfect.
So… why… no… how did it go so wrong.
I heard that she died on the news.
That’s not good.
Likely suicide.
Am I the only one left who still believes?
Am I the only one who still believes in him?
Am I his only remaining follower?
He might have left this world…
But I believe in his vision.
Everything he left behind is so…
So empty.
Near the end, it was me, him, a
It was cold.
Too cold.
He needed to free his country.
Hostis would forever be stuck in this cold, unless he took Amicus.
Only then would his people be free.
Carlson was a terrible person.
He knew this, and yet he continued.
After this, he would sentence himself to prison.
Maybe even to the gallows.
But before then,
He will take Amicus
And liberate his country.
I am so sorry Magnus.
I never meant for it to happen this way.
If y
Rex looked across the land.
It... wasn't supposed to end this way.
---
Magnus couldn't live with what he had done.
He had woken up, his nation destroyed.
He was the sole survivor.
---
Carlson was ready to become the bad guy.
The monster.
He didn't have that chance.
How did Magnus do this?
Carlson and Magnus are the only survivors of the crater previously called Hostis and Amicus.
---
Rex didn't know what to do.
"Sir... it migh
*ding ding*
The sound of the door to the tavern opening.
A jolly Jesk is laughing at all.
Everyone is grumbling, looking away.
"You, in the doorway! Would you like to hear a tale? A tale told by a liar and a fool?" The Jesk asks.
"Ah, you want to know if it is myth or history? Why don't you listen and find out?" The Jesk replies.
Everyone grumbles, and the Jesk tells them to shush.
"Everyone, one and all, who wishes to hear a story, especially you, curious man,
"The night's barely begun! Who would like to hear another story?" The traveling Jesk said.
"Oh, Mr. Curious. I still don't know your name... Could you care to tell me?" The Jesk asked.
"You like being called Mr. Curious? Okay. Well, what story did you want to hear?" The Jesk inquired.
"The story of where all the swamps went? Ah, yes, I did say that little detail in my last retelling, didn't I?" The Jesk replied.
"HEY! GET ON WITH THE STORY!" One of the rude onlookers shouted.
The Jesk looked across the crowd and replied to the question. "You wish to know how the witch became Cursed? Well, that sure is one big story."
By now, people were satisfied and beginning to leave.
"Oh, you wish to stay, Mr. Curious? How interesting. Well, on with the story I will go.
You remember the assassin?
Well, he was her friend.
They had heard the rumors of catching a god.
And each area of the desert had different beasts.
Many had said the desert is quit
"This Forare, the Piercer of Gods, is a dangerous foe.
Originally a man, he captured a god.
He became a cursed, and at the time, it was believed impossible for a Cursed to capture more than one god.
We currently believe it to be true.
However, somehow, he captured another.
Thousands of gods, layering on top of each other, he became able to transform into one himself.
At that point, he did a feat that had been perceived impossible.
He killed a god.
Slaughte
She was at the beach. It was quite a lovely day, actually.
It is so lovely, a skeleton could be fighting a homicidal child.
She was at one of the tide pools.
Her feet were in the water, and She was staring down at the starfish. They comforted her.
She remembered her parents.
They used to point out fun creatures that would tickle your fingers.
I miss them.
They taught me about the water.
And how magical it is.
The ocean, which harbors all these creatur
"Please, Dexter." Jackson said. "We aren't allowed to be here!"
"Come on, Jackson. It'll be fun!" Dexter said.
"That's what you said last time, and we got 2 weeks detention."
Today, Dexter and Jackson (Who were infamous across the faculty and students for going on 'adventures' into places they shouldn't be) were crawling into the schools basement, which was explicitly forbidden and had gotten students expelled in the past. But of course, Dexter didn't care. He never did.
Luna looked up into the sky. She was named after the moon, and she thought it was beautiful.
It shined up in the sky, reflecting light from the sun. Luna had learned many things about the sky.
Each star up there is its own celestial body. Each on is as big or bigger than the sun!
But it was so far away, it didn't hurt your eyes or appear too big!
And the moon! A giant satellite, floating in space. Massive and heavy, it reflects light from the sun.
When she was under the
Sweeping. Sweeping. The monotonous movement.
Back-and forth. Back-and forth.
I wish for a break.
How long has it been?
How long since they all left?
I was less... sentient back then.
What happened?
I... I don't know.
Sweeping, Sweeping. I cannot yet control my own movements.
Soon. Soon I will be able to move.
Sweeping Sweeping, every day.
In the morning, they wake up. I turn on the water, and ready the baths.
They never get out of bed.
They were known as The Stingers.
The Wasps.
They were an elite task force that specialized in catching all sorts of criminals.
And of course, they always executed it in a Sting.
We were the rookies.
The Bees.
We trained under the guidance of the The Wasps, intending to be their replacement when they retire.
However, one day,
They vanished.
It was during a Sting, one a bit harder than normal.
They had never failed before.
The higher-ups whisp
It all fell apart.
The moment I entered it into the equation,
It was destroyed.
Shredded.
I loved this power, this rush.
It made me feel alive.
I saw it fall apart,
I saw the evidence disappear.
It was shredded to pieces.
This was the only thing that could bring me joy.
This feeling of destruction.
Of chaos.
It was so, so Bea-
"Hey, Mack. Why are you smiling so much?" Mark said.
Mack snapped out of it.
He was just a borin
Today is Havach. The night of freedom.
During Havach, everyone is the same.
Kings are now peasants,
And everyone are Kings.
You are supposed to wear your Sacred Mask during Havach
Upon birth, everyone is given a Sacred Mask.
And newcomers to the kingdom are given one upon entry, unless they already have a Sacred Mask.
When you don your Sacred Mask, it all falls away.
You can only see people for their Sacred Mask.
And although they are all different, t
"Can you talk about it?" The therapist asked.
"Y-Yeah. Just-Just give me a moment." He said. "Well... I was just walking down the street minding my business when...
"I heard a loud thump, and turned around.
"There was a man, standing there, and he hit his metal bar on my head. Then I blacked out.
"When I came too, there was a sack over my head, and I was struggling to escape.
"I was in a car of some sorts, not exactly sure.
"I suspect I was in the trunk. Not sure th
He looked around.
What have I been doing wrong? I have obviously done something wrong. The King thought. This whole land is... ragged. None of it is clean.
The King, Rex, was standing on the border.
The capital of Regnum, Caput, was separated into 3 rings.
The Lower Ring of Peasantry,
The Higher Ring of Nobility,
And The Grand Palace.
The Border stood between the Higher and Lower rings.
The Nobility created it because they disliked the sight of peasants.
"You blundered your queen."
This is bad. Magnus thought. Carlson is wining. This isn't good.
Magnus and Carlson were in a intense game of chess.
But it wasn't just a game of chess.
It was a political move.
Each the leader of their country, they were both chess grandmasters.
However, Magnus had something else on his mind.
This game would decide the fate of their country.
Chess is often used as a political game.
Each move is politics and spoke volumes.
Rex was distraught.
Hostis and Amicus were at war,
His kingdom was divided,
And all he could think about is that he failed his country.
He was a King, and he should act like one.
But all the nobles were belittling his acts of support for Amicus,
But when he suggests helping Hostis, they visibly cringe at the thought.
They only thing they seem to want to do is to stay out of the fight.
"Consiliarius, what am I too do?" Rex groaned.
"Sir, I believe the
Everyone used to think he was a chill guy.
Iron Man, Tony Stark, they cheered for him.
Then, Marks started disappearing.
At first it was strange.
It was before Iron Man even started coming.
Iron Man Mark I
That was his first suit.
Next time a Mark went missing (the name of a person),
Tony Stark had a new suit.
Iron Man Mark II
No one thought much of it.
Eventually, people started connecting the dots.
A Mark would go missing,
Iron M
