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Embrace the Ether

To burn away the old, rebuilding it anew. Countless years ago, a terrible war came for the ancient Primordials, casting down their once believed immovable dominance and securing the rise of a new empire. The Ether was fractured, broken into numerous pieces as peace was hard-fought. Thrown into this new hectic land, Deus must come to wield an unexplained power, one that threatens both his sanity and life simply to use. If he wishes to survive, he must learn not only how to harness this strength but how to grow and expand it, altering the path of those around him. What he doesn't know is that he's found himself involved in a terrifying plot hosted by those demons of old, a game of sorts to decide the fate of Midnight. Does Deus have what it takes to survive, or has he found himself trapped in a plot he has no hope of escaping? ———————————— Note: This story has a slow-build and takes awhile for the pace to get going. If that isn't your thing, this may not be for you. Heavy emphasis on world-building and character creation and progression. Release schedule! I don't have any specific schedule, and every time I make one it tends to end in tripping myself up after a few weeks. I will do everything in my power to release frequently enough, though. Seeing comments and support help dearly, and absolutely give me that kick of inspiration I need to keep going. I'd release more often, but it typically takes me well over 10+ hours to complete a single chapter when I aim for 2-2.5k words, and that doesn't include major post-writing proofing and plot-hole checks. I'd post more frequently if I had more time, but the day only has so many hours in it. If you find any plot-holes or inconsistencies, I'd love to hear about them. Hit me up for a shout-out in my author's notes! —————————————————— I write as a hobby, not professionally. Maybe one day. —————————————————— Tags: Fantasy, Light Sci-fi, National Wars, Magic, Demons, Supernatural, No Romance Plot, Secret Organizations, Technology, Light Steampunk, No-Harems, Male Lead Characters, Strong Male and Female Characters, City Construction/Founding, Deep-Lore, and more.

JVenior · Fantasy
Not enough ratings
61 Chs

An Ungodly Place

"Computer, what's going on!" Experiment XZ shouted in a flurry as the capsule began tilting onto its side, the sound of scraping metal continued to ring throughout the cabin as something slammed itself against the outer container.

"Bzzz... Reporting, hostile entity... bzzz... outside containment... bzzz... standby... bzzz... continuous impacts."

Metal began to separate from its hinges as if the capsule walls were being ripped open by mere brute force. One wire after another short-circuited as the computer system within the room started to spark violently. One console after another shattered as the glass monitors were crushed in on themselves, turning the display into potentially dangerous shrapnel that piled onto the floor.

Several alarms went off at once as different systems began detecting one threat after another, a blaring screech roared as sparks flew from all around the capsule.

"Computer! Damn it, computer! Turn off the alarms!"

"Bzzz... Sys—... lockdown... bzzz... sta—.... don't.... bzzz." All that could be heard was an unintelligible reply, one that filled him with even more concern.

A portion of the capsule began to move and shake as if being ripped out completely. The room tilted onto its side, allowing him to climb around across the walls, as he did everything possible to stay standing.

"It's no use staying here, just waiting to get myself killed..."

Taking a running start across the walls, he jumped, slamming his chest against the main console, which he was now hanging from approximately six feet above the ground. "Ugh! Computer, open the doors!"

A loud buzzing sound shot through the capsule, as if it had received some severe internal damages. By some miracle, the computer seemed able to unlatch the main door, which currently was several feet above him. Multiple motorized sounds could be heard as the door pulled open, the metallic door swaying downwards into the capsule.

"Shit... I need to climb, I think. Hey computer, you got some sort of archive copy I can have? Can you even hear me?"

"Bzzz...."

At his feet, a small compartment opened to reveal a small round plate, no larger than the size of a thumb.

"Bzzz... Arch—"

"That's the archive I need, right? That works!" He cheered aloud as he carefully unplugged the drive, placing it gently into the single pocket that his trousers had. "Now... to get out and not get myself killed."

By chance, the capsule began to tilt further downwards, the sound of scraping metal even louder than before as something from outside was pushing and pulling on the container. The capsule rocked back and forth, making both the opened door sway about, which also seemed to catch the odd chunks of glass that had shattered earlier, gathering them all together into one large pile of shrapnel.

Holding himself up on the console, he looked around with a panicked expression, hoping above all else that somehow his chance of escape would increase before he had to take the risk of diving for the door. He knew full well that if he were to make it, he'd be able to escape, however, the alternative of falling would be the last thing he'd want to do.

"Damn, why did they ever fill this place with glass monitors?"

The door swung open as the capsule violently rocked, the metallic scraping sound only picked up as the room shook from the outer layer of metal ripping apart, separating from the foundations.

"It's now or never... I'm so dead." Yanking himself back up onto his feet, balancing on his shaky legs as the room rocked about violently, he hunched down in preparation to jump. The door swung away, then closer. He jumped, kicking his body off the side of the wall to create further leverage, in an attempt to reach even greater heights.

He smacked against the swaying door, his chest slamming against the small latch on the door, knocking the wind from his lungs, he cursed, "...Shi—ah!"

Pulling himself up as the entire capsule seemed to have reached the climax of the rocking, shards of glass, mechanical components, everything that had been strapped carefully into the walls had now been mindlessly thrown throughout the room, flying around beneath him.

Finally passing his head past the opened door, lifting himself through the opened passageway by way of the swaying door-hatch. A large bruise started to show itself on his chest, right where he knocked into the latch. Looking around outside, all he saw was smoke from the capsule, along with something large moving in the air.

"What the hell is that..."

From beneath the smoke, the form of a large centipede creature took shape. It's legs crafted from this rustic metal, hundreds of razor-sharp pincers creating a whirlpool in the beast's mouth. It was something born to kill, an ungodly thing that should never exist.

The metallic centipede screeched out, wrapping its legs around the capsule, ripping off even more chunks of metal as Experiment XZ could just barely hold onto the ledge he was dangling from for dear life. The centipede towered several dozens of meters high, it's entire circumference too large to see all at once, as the rest of its body seemed to lead off into the shadows of this hell-scape.

The sky dyed a crimson aura, a single lone black star sat above the horizon far beyond the reach of man. There was a ruthless bloodlust in the air, one that even he could sense as if it weighed down on him with all its might. The pressure was so excruciating that for a moment, he even contemplated simply climbing back inside the capsule to escape this place, but in the end, he remained and kept his ground.

More metal ripped apart as the inner foundation pieces had finally been shredded off by the centipede creature, revealing the inner room of the capsule to the outside. He dangled there, his legs still inside the room while his chest grabbed onto the outside of the container with all its might.

He had entered a hellscape of ungodly fury, one where nightmares are formed from. 'How could humanity have possibly dreamed of coming to such a place?' He wondered.