《An Unbound Soul》Interlude 1: Glitch
Advertisement
Erryn's POV, one year earlier
There was a glitch in the System. It wasn't the first time, but it was the first time in the past couple of hundred years. Erryn had thought she'd ironed out all the bugs by now. She stirred her attention from her sixth floor, where the floor boss was arguing with a ranger about the way an arrow couldn't possibly hit anything that was running away. The logic went that by the time the arrow reached the point the runner started at they would have run a little further, requiring the arrow to fly more, by which time they would have run further again, thus the two would never meet. Erryn wasn't entirely certain if the slime believed what she was saying or if she was just messing with the poor ranger. She had recently taken to calling herself 'Mirodar The World Eater' because she thought it sounded cool. With a personality like that, Erryn didn't feel safe making any assumptions.
Erryn focused on the glitch. It was something new. The System had generated a unique trait for someone, but it was causing a conflict of some sort. That shouldn't happen; the System wasn't allowed to create a new effect that conflicted with any existing rules... It should be easy enough to fix in any case, Erryn just needed to find the recipient, remove the trait, then find the hole that allowed the conflict to happen and patch it.
The source was to the far east, almost as far as the ocean. A tiny village built on the edge of a forest. A tiny shack in the tiny village, home to a pair of young humans. The source of the glitch was the woman, which was odd. Young as they might be, they were far past the age of generating traits, and a quick inspection of the woman confirmed she had nothing out of the ordinary. Ah, it wasn't from the woman, but from inside the woman. She was visibly pregnant. But why was the System generating traits for a baby that had yet to be born?
Advertisement
Erryn read the trait details and baulked. The System hadn't generated the trait or its effect; it had simply wrapped words around something that was already there. This wasn't a bug in the System, it was a bug in reality. There was a soul that shouldn't be there. A soul so alien that no existing soul magic would touch it. A soul immune to Erryn's Law. She should kill the child before it threatened everything she had built. She should kill it, but... she watched the parents lovingly embrace, the mother caressing her belly. If she was guardian to these people, could she really take that happiness away from them? If only she had spotted the soul earlier, before it had implanted. She would keep watch, but she couldn't bring herself to kill the unborn child.
Besides, perhaps this child could offer something else that Erryn so desired. Validation.
Advertisement
- In Serial37 Chapters
Perfect World
Dragons. Politics. War. A centuries long battle has dwindled. A delicate ceasefire hangs over the continent. Alter Carlebach vowed to shatter the peace. This first Arc follows Alter and his... activities in his home country, Arseny. Decades of war allowed corruption to take root. Someone has to purge the parasites. Let there be blood.
8 142 - In Serial17 Chapters
The Oresteia (Modernized)
All three of the great Greek Tragedians have written plays about the bloody chain of murder and revenge within the royal family of Argos. Yet theirs is in fact not a story of tragedy, but rather one of redemption. As they move from darkness to light, from rage to self-governance, from primitive ritual to civilized institution, their spirit of struggle and regeneration becomes an everlasting song of celebration to be heard throughout the ages. Forming a discourse set against the emergence of Athenian democracy out of a period of chaos and destruction, the Orestian plays are compelling stories of the tensions between our obligations to our families and the laws that bind us together as a society. In the beginning, we witness how a king’s decision to sacrifice his daughter and turn the tide of war inflicts lasting damage on his family, culminating in a terrible act of retribution. In the aftermath of regicide, we behold how a son must set out to avenge his father’s death by committing a most egregious sin. In the end, the sinner is tormented by supernatural powers that can never be appeased, but ultimately finds redemption and ends the curse on his house once and for all. Woven through all of this is the story of a friendship so close that it elevates itself to brotherhood - Where the blood of the covenant is shown to be indeed thicker than the water of the womb. In this very brief twelve-chapter modern rendition of the Orestian plays, I have chosen to place my focus mainly on the lives of the characters Orestes and his best friend Pylades. The chapters, each around 2000-2500 words, are split up evenly between them in first-person narrative. I hope that you will come to enjoy reading this heartwarming story, but more importantly, that you see how the conflicts portrayed in the story, whether human or institutional, are still much very relevant to our societies today. Note on Sources: The details of this story is very loosely based on The Oresteia by Aeschylus. And I mean very loosely. Other sources that I referenced for detail and inspiration are Mythology by Edith Hamilton, Electra by Sophocles, and Iphigenia in Tauris by Euripides. You may also find that I have quoted some of these works, and others (such as Shelley's Ozymondaeus), without citations (average of 1-2 such quotes per chapter). I did this because I do not have the ability to describe certain scenes nearly as well as some of those writers. If you read a particularly beautiful piece of prose here, chances are it's probably stolen lol. Also, I wrote this during the summer between my high school senior year and my college freshmen year. It was the summer of 2020, and being quarantined apparently gets my creative side out lol.
8 191 - In Serial13 Chapters
The Human Traitor
Nearly two centuries ago, humanity committed a grievous taboo and liberated itself from the Worldrenders, a race of seemingly immortal creatures that dominates two of the three continents. The humans established the seven Foretoken families, swearing to never live in captivity again. In the present day, there is nothing but peace and poverty in Truweld. A poor young woman makes her money from raiding the Worldrenders' plantations. Meanwhile, a genius inventor, a man born from a Foretoken family, idles his days and his talent away. And from the northern mountains, the home of the Worldrenders, a boy with a troubled past marches to the land of the humans. He calls himself a Worldrender and wields their powers. His objective is simple: he will conquer the humans or exterminate them all. This is an epic fantasy story featuring three protagonists, a slew of high fantasy races, and several mysteries at its core. There is a minimum of one chapter (1000 words or more) each week. This story is also being posted on r/HFY.
8 114 - In Serial52 Chapters
The Secret of Life
Adna, a small girl living together with her aged loved ones, Papa Mar and Mom Rona, who lost their newly born children and how Adna fills in the emptiness they felt and changed the lives of Papa Mar and Mom Rona. What did Adna learn from them about the secret of life. Follow the story of Adna in learning the secret of life.
8 148 - In Serial12 Chapters
Bottom Wilbur Soot Extras
Extras for my other book.This will be where I post a/ns and ideas.
8 131 - In Serial16 Chapters
You Are My Heart
This deserves more love than it has been given. Credits to: LeanteaLang------------When Moonbyul lost her memory trying to save Solar, what will Solar do to get her love back? Moonbyul was hospitalize after an injury to the head while trying to save Solar. When she awoke, she had no memories of the past. A woman stood beside her bedside, who could it be? A child stood by the woman calling her appa, who could he be?
8 179
Prev Chap
Next Chap
Chap List
Boy
Girl
