Lin Que didn't want to make it look awkward or uncomfortable for her, so he quickly snapped out of his stare and pretended to check messages on his phone. Once in a while, his eyes would subconsciously wander and look up to see the girl either fanning herself or blowing air through her mouth from the spiciness. Short strands of her fringe would then follow the direction of her exhaled air and fly upwards. 

Although the ghost peppers and chili sauce in her bowl made his eyes water from a distance, she didn't seem to be affected by it at all. She bravely devoured strands of vermicelli noodles and other vegetable toppings in the deep red soup. 

The scent alone was enough for his stomach to reverse the tangle dance and stop growling. The corners of his lips curved up when he saw how much she ate and how she could care less about her surroundings. With the apron tied around her neck and waist, she literally gave no shits of eating like a lady. 

Unlike the girls who are always conscious of their appearances, she was very carefree. 'How adorable.' He thought to himself and held back his smile. He spread the menu again to hide his smirk.

Minding his own business, he started to distract himself with Alan's text messages. Oddly, the chewing movements had suddenly stopped, and he didn't hear anything from across the table anymore. Curiously, he looked up after a few more minutes of silence. When he looked up, he saw the girl's reddened lips sucking on the thin straw, trying to use the lemon ice water to cool the temperature in her mouth down. 

When that didn't work, she took another piece of clean napkin from her side of the table and covered her face. A soft chuckle left his mouth as he thought, 'That's not going to help with the spiciness. Hehe.'

Suddenly, her right arm reached upwards to press the napkin down onto her eyes area. Through the thin layer of the napkin, he could see her taking slow deep breaths. Something didn't seem right and he observed for another minute before taking a bunch of napkins to give to her.

His eyes were settled on the spicy bowl in front of her. Should he applaud her for her courageous act of finishing up the ghost peppers all at once? Even if someone has a stomach made of steel, their stomach would burn like hell later.

"Miss, are you feeling alright?" His furrowed brows and concerned tone made her sit up almost immediately. Covering her flushed ears with her hair, she said, "I'm feeling fine. Thanks." 

She took the napkins that he had handed over and pressed the server button to get her bill. Reaching into her handbag to look for her wallet, she didn't realize that her new case of business cards had dropped onto her seat. Using the machine on the table, she successfully paid and tipped the waiter. 

Without another look, she stood up to leave in a hurry. The reason why she had left was because the last express bus that would bring her straight to her block departs around this time. When she removed the napkin earlier, she saw the time on her watch and gasped at how late it was. 

Watching her leave in a rush, his eyes followed her track and saw her running to get on the express bus. He let out a sigh, "Ah, she's trying to catch that express bus." His eyes wandered back to the empty seat in front of him after she had gotten onto the bus on time. The image of her breathing through her bruised lips and trying to fan out the spiciness appeared in his mind again, making him laugh to himself. 

As he reached out for his glass of lemon water, he realized that she had left something on her seat. "Clumsy," he whispered and held the case of business cards in his hands. Snapping his neck sideways, he noticed that the bus had long left its spot and there was no way in catching up to it with this traffic. 

He sighed and decided to open the case to see if there was an information on it that he could contact. "Hmm...Blogger agency. Lily Jiang.." A mischievous smile curved on his face as he noted to himself that they will meet again.

Soon, the waiter brought his serving of spicy bowl and placed it in front of him. For once, he took a picture of his late-night dinner and posted it on his social media. Within seconds after the picture was uploaded, he received a text from Lucas and Alan. They were spamming him nonstop.

Due to the annoying flood of messages, he created a group chat with the two chatting devils in it. 

Lucas: "Oh my god! Bro, you created a group chat!!!"

Alan: "Wait, wait! What?!! Are you at that spicy bowl restaurant?! Who are you with? You never post pictures to your moments!"

Lucas: "^ Exactly!!! What happened? Did someone have you take that picture and upload it? Hmmmm? Suspicious! Are you really my big brother?"

Alan: "Maybe his account got hacked."

Lucas: "Or maybe he is dining with my future sister-in-law!! Damn, are you already feeding me dog food this early in the morning?"

Alan: "What? Who? Who?? @LinQue since when did you get yourself a wife and I didn't know?"

Lucas: "@Alan, she was the girl from brother's graduation picture! The one who coincidentally got captured by my amazing photography skills! Look, look. I forwarded the picture!"

[Graduation picture]

Alan zoomed in and said, "Oh!!! Isn't she that girl we met at the Anime Convention? Wow, wow, wow!!!!! And I thought you lived under a rock for all these years. Didn't you say you weren't going to get involved because she had a boyfriend or something?"

Lucas: "What?! Which jerk could compete with my brother?" 

Lin Que read their amusing messages and finally responded, "We only met by chance. I'm eating alone."

Lucas: "!!!!"

Alan: "...Lin Que, pass me some of that luck too."

While Lin Que was being bombarded with more messages in the chat, Lily was sitting in the bus with earphones plugged into her ears. Watching everything pass by in slow motion, flashbacks of her and Hawk's happy memories started to float in her memories. 

Back then, when they used to get out of school and hang out...
Back then, when they used to share one Mcdonald meal happily...
Back then, then they thought less about the future and where their relationship was going...
...Back when everything was much simpler...

'When did the content feeling fade and everything become the way it did today?' She asked herself throughout the entire ride. Little by little, she passed by the places that they once walked by while holding each other's hands happily. Those were good times. 

Pressing the stop request button, she got off the following stop and walked home alone.

Turning around to see the bus driving farther away, an acceptance smile appeared on her face. 

"It's not that anything had changed. It's just that we're already on separate paths and seeing two different goals. When a puzzle piece doesn't belong in the puzzle, no matter how much one forces it in; it would never fit. Even if the puzzle is trimmed to fit, it'll never be the perfect match. Hawk, it seems like time really taught us a lot." She whispered and walked into her apartment building.

Her warm palms reached to her lower abdomen and slowly, wrinkled on the hoodie that she was wearing. A thin layer of sweat highlighted her pale expression as she waited for the elevator. 'Argh, must be the ghost peppers from earlier.'

Bending slightly forward with her hand against her stomach, she knew she was heading towards a doomed end when Ginny and her mom see her like this.

The first time was a coincidence.
Second time could be called good timing.
Third time is destiny.

The first time they met, they were both cosplaying at an Anime Convention. Coincidentally, she was Usagi Tsukino, and he happened to be Tuxedo Mask from the anime, Sailor Moon. 

Their first gaze caught his attention.
Her first smile swept his heart away. 
She walked towards him, and he was ready to take off the mask to talk to her. Unfortunately, it was all a misunderstanding.

This was their first time crossing paths, but he facepalmed so hard when he realized he got the wrong idea that he changed his "Hi," into an anime's title, "Hitman Reborn." At that time, he watched her approach another person who acted as Tuxedo Mask behind him. The smile she had on her face wasn't towards him. It was a mistake.

Two months later

Second time they met was at their graduation. His brother, Lucas, flew back from overseas to attend his graduation in place of his parents. After taking countless pictures with his brother and some with friends, they left campus. Inside his black Mercedes, his brother shoved several well taken photos and showed it to him.

Just when he was about to answer his regular plain response, the words swallowed back down his throat. He held his brother's phone and zoomed in to the back where he saw her again! Once again, a facepalm landed on his face as he couldn't believe that there could be such timing. He could've gotten her name!

After a few days later, he got off his shift late and realized that he didn't go grocery shopping. Since his fridge was empty, he decided to have his meal at a newly opened Szechuan Spicy Bowl restaurant. 

"It shouldn't take that long to get a seat at this time.." Or so he thought.

When he got there, the place was full and he didn't have much patience since he was alone. Right when he was about to leave, the waiter asked if he minded sharing a table. 

"Sure." 
He sat down across from the girl and ordered from the menu. When she took a few napkins to wipe her nose, he took the chance to thank her for sharing the table.
And there she was with her Beyond Human level spicy bowl...
Although they only exchanged a few words, he found her very interesting. A girl eating at this hour without caring about her weight and her surrounding. She was adorable. 

The clumsy her forgot her newly printed business cards at her seat when she left. 

"Lily Jiang," he smiled. He thought of bringing this to her when he is free, but who knew that they would meet again at the hospital?

His lips twitched when he faced his new patient, "Hello, Miss. Jiang, I am Lin Que, your doctor for this visit. Where do you feel uncomfortable?" He looked at the medical report in hand as he couldn't believe his luck with this girl.

The next day, another woman joined Ruga, Lambo and Kavio for morning meal. Kuruga was Ruga’s younger sister, Lambo’s wife. She looked like a less tormented version of Ruga, still a twitch too lopsided to be pretty, but with more black than gray hair and a more thoughtful tilt to her head. During the meal, she shared trivial news about the clan with Ruga. Lambo spoke little, and Kavio said less. No one mentioned Gremo, who, after sleeping beside his boulder, had started up walking in circles again as soon as the sun had risen.

Kavio spent the day sitting by the barricade, studying Gremo, the ropes and the rock. He ate when bread was set beside him, but otherwise did not move. The tangle of magic cords still perplexed him.

Kuruga brought him the evening meal once it was obvious he did not intend to join the family.

“Lambo is right,” she said after a moment. “You’re not like the others who promised they could heal Gremo.”
“I promised nothing.”

“I know. But Ruga won’t believe that, no matter how many times you tell her. When you fail, it will hurt her. The longer you stay, the greater her hope, the more it will hurt her. You should leave, tonight. Say nothing to her. Just go.”

Kavio gave her his full attention. “Give up on your nephew? Strange advice from a loving aunt.”

“There’s something you should know about Gremo,” she said. “Something Gremo himself doesn’t know. He was fathered by the spear. Blue Waters warriors came up the river and raided our clanhold. When Ruga found out an enemy left his hate in her belly, the Tavaedies gave her a drink to rid her of the poison, but though she drank it, the kicking in her belly did not stop. When the babe was born, she was advised by all to return the thing to the river, and let it float back to him who made it. She took the babe to the river, and threw it in, but when she saw it start to turn blue she fished it out. They told her again to get rid of the spawn of our foes when Gremo started toddling and talking. She tied him to the black stone of the Deathsworn one night, but in the morning, when she found him still there, again she took him back. All were disgusted by her weakness, but there was nothing we could do. No one was surprised when the spear’s spawn grew wrong.”

“There’s no law in the light or shadow that says a woman must void a child she wants, even if she was raped,” said Kavio. “Or are you telling me that someone hated the baby so much it might have been a motive for the hex?”

“I’m just telling you.”

“Unless it can help me solve the puzzle, I don’t care who Gremo’s father was. It’s not his father’s spear a man throws in battle, but his own.”

“You arrogant boy.” Kuruga curled her hands into fists in her lap. “I know your kind. You are young, strong, headstrong. No doubt you’ve led raids on your clan’s enemies and earned a fine Shining Name. You probably have some rival, as young and strong and headstrong as you. Like two bucks, you locked horns and he drove you off for a time. But you plan to go back, fight him again, and win or die trying.”

His lips curved very slightly, and he shrugged. “Your arrows hit their marks except for one. I will never go back.”
“All those weapons in your pack—don’t look at me like that, how could I not notice the sharp bits straining the leather?—and you tell me you don’t intend to fight?”

“A man needs to defend himself.”

“You have enough weapons for an army. Are you carrying an army in your pack, Outtribber? Are you carrying a war?”

“Your sister asked me here to heal, not fight,” he said. “That’s what I’ll do.”

“You’ll fail.” Kuruga said flatly. “No one can heal Gremo. Many healers have tried. None succeeded. You won’t succeed either.”

“I have to try.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I just have to try. Let me ask you something. Is there anyone in the clan who hated him enough to curse him?”

“To curse him as cruelly as that? I don’t know. But to be rid of him, and the shame he brought us through his birth?” Kuruga stared hard at him. “I will tell you the truth. None of us, not even among our Tavaedies, has the power to create such a powerful hex. But among us all, only Ruga would have not wanted to.”


A DESPERATE GIRL...

Dindi can't do anything right, maybe because she spends more time dancing with pixies than doing her chores. Her clan hopes to marry her off and settle her down, but she dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, one of the powerful warrior-dancers whose secret magics are revealed only to those who pass a mysterious Test during the Initiation ceremony. The problem? No-one in Dindi's clan has ever passed the Test.

AN EXILED WARRIOR...

The Unfinished Song is created by Tara Maya, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author. 



She asks me if I know anyone else who has been getting back these memories and I nod tentatively and tell her about Anton and then I recognize the familiar look of hope in her eyes, the same feeling that I felt just moments ago. "Meet me in the parking lot with him after school, I'll tell you what I know." She says. And then we part ways, and I make my way to English class, pondering about what she could've figured out, what she knows that I don't. 

 I see Anton already standing outside of class, waiting for me. Just looking at him brings back so many memories that we've had. Memories that I now appreciate and cherish, memories that I now hold onto with every bit of my soul as I don't know how long it will last. I don't know if these memories will be so ruthlessly taken away from me once again. Memories of the only boy I've ever loved, a love so intense that when I look at him, nothing else in this world matters. When I approach him now, it's like time stops in its place, like everything in the world halts to make space for our overwhelming emotion for each other. 

 Anton and I take our seats next to each other at the back of the classroom and I tell him about my encounter with Beatrice. And just like before, I see the same sliver of hope in his eyes, the same one apparent in Beatrice's eyes. The same sliver of hope I still feel. 

I can't focus in class. How was I ever able to concentrate on anything while being in the same room as Anton? Now I can't go a millisecond without glancing at him, trying to memorize every single minuscule detail of him. Right now he is drumming a beat on the desk with his knuckles and I think I'm going to combust right now, everything he does makes my heart flutter in my chest, my pulse go up in a matter of seconds. 

After a dreadful hour, class is finally dismissed. I walk out hand in hand with Anton and though I see everyone giving us curious glances, I couldn't be bothered because all that matters is that I'm holding Anton's hand and he's holding mine and all I can think is that I love him and nothing can ever beat the eternal love I feel for him. 

"Are you hungry?" He asks me while he puts his arm around my shoulder and I think to myself I could die right now. It feels so good to be secured and safe in his arms, to be enveloped in the soft oversized fabric of his grey sweater again, to be wrapped in his scent. He always smells like sweet cologne and fresh laundry detergent. 

"Not really." I reply and I can't help but smile. 

"Why are you smiling? What are you thinking?" He asks me. 

"I'm thinking about how I've missed you so much. I can't believe I went so long without the memories of our late night drives, movie dates and how we would just talk on the phone about anything and everything till the crack of dawn. I'm so happy we're together again." We make eye contact and I see his smile lines quirk up. 

He leads me into an empty classroom. "I'll never let you go again. We'll make new memories together, I promise." He tells me and what happens next just comes so naturally. Our lips meet and a fire ignites within me. He is so gentle and soft and everything in between. I tangle my fingers in his soft, fluffy hair. I remember how I used to curl my fingers in his hair all the time. 

We break apart and I look up at him, our breaths coming in shallow pants. His hair is already ruffled and it's adorable. 

"Fuck, I love you so much Nicole." 

When he says my name its like I'm hearing my name for the first time. The alphabets of my name on his lips and the way he enunciates every single syllable with care and affection is like music to my ears. He reaches out to cup my face in his hands and once again, our lips rendezvous but this time its different. This time its more intense. We cling onto each other like our lives depended on it. Adrenaline rushes through my blood as his hands caress my back. He tastes sweet, sweet like candy. When we kiss every bit of anger and annoyance that has coursed through me over the past two weeks goes away. Our kiss is passionate, it just feels right. Like the final piece of a puzzle. 

I take in this moment and try to memorize every single detail, afraid to lose it once again and I can't help but wonder if he sees me the same way I see him. Like he's the only person that matters in the world.

In a world where the government has the ability to change parts of history to their liking through a time machine, how long does it take until people find out?

Chapter 1 
It is said that no matter how many times you and your soulmate part, you are always destined to meet in another life. This was a theory that Kenma thought was absurd. Thought it would be enjoyable, life was not like a video game in his eyes; at least it wasn't when it came to soulmates. The idea of having someone with whom you were destined to meet made Kenma uneasy. With the apparition of his red string just around the corner, the eve of his eighteenth birthday was bound to be stressful. The thought of having a string attached to his pinky, simply not any string; a string that could stretch, tangle but never breaks. The most unnerving thing was that the string led to someone that Kenma was bound to meet one day.

How old would he be when he met this so-called soulmate? What would it be like? Was it really that important? What if his soulmate wasn't what he expected? Many thoughts swarmed Kenma's mind. It was difficult for him not to overanalyze the possibilities.

Kenma's parents had discussed the topic of soulmates with the boy at a young age; his parents had explained the concept and how it worked. They had even stated that they were soulmates. Their relationship had always picked Kenma's curiosity, though he understood what a soulmate was, his parents seemed to go beyond that of how it was explained. They knew every little detail of each other, their hearts seemed to be laced together; they were one. Through his doubts, Kenma's parents gave him hope. He did not understand but he hoped to have something half as amazing as his parents' relationship. They seemed to fit together like two puzzle pieces; their smiles glowed when in the presence of each other. Though he'd never voice it, Kenma longed for something as wonderful.

The time had come, five minutes remained till October sixteenth, Kenma's birthday. His mind contemplated the many possibilities: What if it didn't show up? Would it hurt? Would his soulmate feel it too? Would he have to wait till his soulmate was eighteen? Did his soulmate already have the string visible to their eye?

The boy pushed the thoughts away from his mind as he looked at the time on his phone. His hands shook as he held them on his knees. Sweat formed as the boy continued to fix the clock. The minutes seemed to be going slower than normal; he wondered what he was so nervous about. It was simply a string on his finger. It wasn't like he was the only one going through this. Everyone had a soulmate; everyone had a red string.

As the last few seconds slipped away, Kenma took a deep breath. His body stiffened as he felt a thin pressure being applied to his right pinky. Though he tried not to, Kenma looked down to see the red string slowly materializing into something clear. A string the girth of a simple strand of yarn was now attached to his finger.

The dyed blond reached his hand down and attempted to touch it. To his surprise, it felt it almost felt like a real string. The weight was existent, he could play with it. He'd never bothered to read up on it but it surprised him just how real it felt. There was an odd warmth that he wasn't expecting. It was comforting; comforting enough for Kenma to give a faint smile.

The bright red colour was a little unsettling to the eye. Though the vibrancy slowly started to fade as did the tingling of the string being formed. Kenma let out a deep breath that he'd been holding. It was finally over, the wait for this was over; the stress was gone. Well, the stress of this was gone. More lied ahead

+++

Simply a few moments before, as the string was being formed on Kenma's hand, Kuroo's string grew to have a brighter colour. At the final moment, the string gave a gentle tug on his hand and a light squeeze on his finger. He'd remembered when Bokuto had told him that this would happen when your soulmate can finally see their string. Kuroo had hoped that his soulmate was younger, allowing him to feel this.

The string now provided a gentle warmth, something new to Kuroo. In the past year, it had been different, a simple weight on his finger; it was a gentle weight but it was still there. The dark-haired boy smiled down at his hand. His body felt warmer, instantly giving him the comfort he hoped his soulmate felt as well.

He smiled down at his hand, still holding his pencil and smiled. The thought that he now knew his soulmate's birthday made him happy. This was a date he needed to remember. The boy engraved the date into his mind: October sixteenth was his soulmate's birthday. The first of many things he was determined to learn.

Prompt: Fighting dangerous and unpredictable criminals can come at a cost. In a single instant, your entire life could change...

You sit on the edge of your bed with your head buried in your hands. You compare your new life to a prisoner within a cell. You're the captive, your brain the cell, holding you back with steel bars. The accident happened several months ago, yet you can still feel the pain as if it were yesterday...

Six months ago...

The timer counts down rapidly. Every second wasted is another second stripped from your life. Thanks to your brothers and sisters, the hostages were escorted out of the building and directed to a safe location by police vehicles. Joker had barged into the bank about three hours earlier and killed ten hostages. The bomb on the upper floors was a bonus to his mayhem. Batman is on his way to ensure Joker pays for this.
Sweat drips off your brow as you pry the metal backing off the bomb. Sets of multi-colored wires tangle together like snakes within the capsule. You pull a Batarang out from within your utility belt and cut the correct wires one by one. Each one of your slices through the wires decreases the time by two seconds. Finally, you cut the last wire and the timer screen goes dark. All is quiet. You pick yourself up from off the ground and smirk at your success. 
Just as you turn your back, you hear the Joker's maniacal laughter pour from the bomb's speakers. Numbers flash swiftly across the screen before the word 'BOOM' appears. You sprint as fast as you can to the nearest window.
"I'm going to make it," you say to yourself. 
Unfortunately, just before you reach the glass, the bomb explodes and sends you flying through it. You feel the inferno scorch your skin through your armor-plated suit. As you plummet to the ground below, your limbs hit every roof ledge, fire-escape railing, and laundry line in the path. Suddenly, you feel the force of a sludge hammer hit your head from behind. Pain surges like a wave from your skull, down your spine, and clear to your feet. It burns white-hot, and the world seems to fade away as your body goes limp on the concrete. The last thing you feel is a wet substance pouring from your ears before your eyes shut and your last breath escapes your lips...

Present-day...

Ever since then, your life has been difficult. You can no longer catch a ball flying towards you. Your limbs don't want to react. You can no longer express yourself to your family. The words you can see and think so clearly mean nothing when escaping your lips. You can no longer complete a puzzle or basic homework without Tim helping you. Your thoughts are like a train that derails from the tracks. Worst of all, you can no longer feel sympathy for others the way you used to. The tears of another are somehow not as heartbreaking as your own. 
You desperately tried to continue helping Batman and your siblings in the fight against crime, but your disability is putting the lives of innocent people at risk. You're not quick on your feet anymore. You're not mentally capable anymore...
The phone rings on your bedside table and you walk over to it.
"Y-yes?"
"It's me," Bruce answers. "Come down to the living room. We need to talk...all of us."
You hang up without another word and head down the grand staircase to the living room. Leaning against the wooden hearth is Bruce, who appears to be looking at the flames deep in the thought. Damian sits in the leather armchair with his back facing towards you. Dick, Tim, Barbara, and Jason all sit on the sofa, looking at you with nervous and sympathetic eyes. Bruce turns from the fire and looks at you sternly.
"(Y/N), I hate having to ask you this, but I think we both know this was going to happen."
Everyone stares at you. You just look into the fire. 
"I'm asking you to hand in your mask," he continues. You rip your gaze away from the flames and give Bruce a pleading look. 
"P-please...d-don't do...t-this," you beg with tears lining your eyes. "I c-can still do t-this. G-give me more t-time...". 
He grimaces and looks away again. It's his way of telling you "I'm sorry, but I have to do what's right." The tears lining your eyes finally fall and you whimper in despair. Why is this happening?
Dick gets up from the couch and pulls you into a tight hug. Jason walks over too and rubs smooth circles on your shoulders. Tim and Barbara hold your hands.
"Hey...this isn't your fault," Dick soothes. "We hate having to do this."
"We're your family and we all care about you," Tim says.
"And we'll never forget what you did that day," Barbara adds.
 "No matter what happens, you'll always be a hero to us," Jason concludes. 
You nod and crack a small smile. After everything that's happened, they still love you and will help you through this. Giving up what you love won't be easy. You'll still have to take speech and physical therapy classes. Things will never be the way they were, but having your loving family with you every step of the way will be enough to get you through. Life isn't always kind, but you'll continue to fight the battle. After all, that's what you do best. You fought for Gotham. You fought for your family. Now, you'll fight for you.

Your stories; my words. Create any Bat-Family scenario you want! No limits to the imagination!

Chapter 83
Resolution
"With me, I bring the Blaze – kneel before the Infernal!" 
Fragments
 
 Noah suddenly jolted out of his sleep, heaving himself up into a seated position, breathing rapidly and heavily, his entire body soaked in sweat. For a moment, he felt hazy, almost in a daze, unsure as to where he was. Quickly scouting his surroundings, he realized he was back in his tent, well away from the sea of bones and the imposing creature.
He took several deep breaths in succession, yet still failed to completely calm down. Even with nearly four decades of experience, and even with having seen all the things he did, it was difficult to recover from that experience. It was several times worse than when he had met that wailing woman; by the end, he even felt a trace of sorrow and sympathy – now, however, he even felt the few tendrils of fear and trepidation creep into his steeled and cold heart.
There was no way for him to reconcile all that he had seen and experienced in such a short period of time. After all, all of it had completely upturned his vision of the world, of the reality itself. It wasn't a dream, per se. That creature existed, somewhere, far, far away. And that boy… he also lived sometime long, long ago. Did everything really change that much?
He had never seen any of the people with Light fighting full-force – the closest he got was with Sylene, but even that was brief and looked more to be a show of strength rather than anything more palpable. Furthermore, he correlated his own prowess to that of a boy he'd seen, realizing he really looked like a timid mouse in comparison. All this while, he'd always assumed that the Dark was as it name implied – something to use to hide and vie from the distance and the shadows. He realized today, however, that there also existed Shadow, just like Light and Dark, and even Fire.
"… Aspects." He mumbled lowly, recalling the creature's parting words. He was Enshrouded… not Enshadowed. That, at the very least, he understood – he linked it to the concept of the 'Illuminated' as those with Light were called.
In essence, he was a novice; just like the Illuminated, he'd merely touched upon the threshold and nothing more. Enshrouded, he confirmed, was merely Dark's equivalent to Light's Illuminated. And, he suspected, Enshadowed was Shadow's, as Kindled was Fire's.
 What confused him, however, was that the Lumina natives didn't look to be aware of this, and genuinely only thought of those creatures as beats of fire, completely accidentally naming them Kindled. Or, which he thought was more possible, at some point in the past, they were aware, correctly naming the creatures – but, over time and the murky waters of history and the heritage, the knowledge was… lost.
Some things still left him confused, namely in why the Kindled looked far more powerful than the Illuminated. Both, in an abstract hierarchy, were at the very bottom, yet one appeared to be far more powerful than the other, to the point that even those from the upper hierarchy of Light fell short of matching the Kindled.
 There was more to it, Noah knew; but, had no means of finding out. Once again, he felt frustrated; the few answers that he was given merely turned into more questions. Rather, he genuinely wished he wasn't even given those answers and berated himself for asking in the first place. From the sounds of it, he had accidentally dipped his feet into the waters that were as wide and as deep as all the oceans combined… and he did so with insultingly little knowledge of this world.
Our Age… Age of the Aspects… Fake Gods… he repeated the terms inside his mind, but it was fruitless. He may as well be screaming sheep, as he had no clue what those signaled precisely. Could the Wheel be considered a Fake God? Noah mused inwardly. According to Olivia, Light was not given by the Wheel, per se, but rather enunciated enough to actually be usable. People either had Light or didn't, that's what she said. But Noah knew that was ridiculous; just as his Dark came from somewhere, Light also had to come from someplace.
 Sighing, he stretched his hand and flung open a flagon of wine, dunking his throat in the sweet taste. Only after a few mouthfuls did he finally stop, letting the buzzing sensation numb his mind somewhat. For him, connecting the dots was not the problem; he had trained his mind all his life to do precisely that, to take the most obscure clues and tie them with the others, completing the puzzle. The problem now was, however, that he was so far off from seeing the dots, they may as well not even exist. Chances were that even the current popular hierarchy of Light was so wrong he may as well burn it out of his mind.
One thing, however, he was capable of ascertaining, and it was the one that had caused him the greatest headache – one way or another, he was not a part of the 'Fake God Cult'. According to the creature, he was just like that boy from the past, a Chosen. Even thinking it up caused Noah to cringe and take a few more mouthfuls of wine. All of this sounded awfully lot like a story a young boy made up to escape the harsh realities of life – all his enemies were fakes, unworthy, and only he was the true Chosen.
Once again, he felt like gagging, forcing down a few more gulps of wine. He did some quick mental gymnastic and found a pacifying solution – he wasn't the Chosen, just someone that the Aspect endowed. So he was endowed. No, wait, that's even fuckin' worse. Doesn't that make me sound like a horse? Oi, wait… 
Another few mouthfuls of wine later, and he found himself barely capable of thought. Did he have any desire whatsoever to thrust himself into what looked to be a conflict akin to those mythologies back from Earth? God no… his wants were exceedingly simple, so simple that he thought he was even underselling himself – establish a small base of power, and try to figure out what the hell went wrong on their way here, hopefully locating others in the process and, most likely, living out the rest of the few years that he had left in peace and luxury.
His desire to suddenly tangle himself in the tongs of some ancient conflict was as bountiful as his desire to swim down a river of dung. Yet, looking back at it all, he realized that all of it was due to his decisions, going all the way back to how he decided to enter Elucido. Had he chosen another method, he would have never caught an eye of Olivia and would have never been forced into those muddied waters of the Royal Court.
All of it stemmed from a single choice, he realized, sighing. Life… truly was unpredictable. He wasn't surprised, though; he'd already familiarized himself with the power of a single choice many times before in his life. No matter how winding and how long the road, it was entirely possible that the destination would be determined by a solitary choice made, with thousands of others laying on the wayside, rotting.
 His single choice had practically thrust him into this path, but it didn't determine this point. He could have taken many different routes, and who knows where he would have wound up; today is the result of many, many choices he'd made, but all of it did begin with one. His bare expectations no longer held waters; he'd promised too many things to too many people, and though he hardly cared for the pride of breaking a promise, he needed them, especially Olivia. Without her, it would effectively be impossible for him to build a base large enough within a reasonable number of years in order to investigate what had happened. In that case, his best choice would have been to go to Port Wevvas and try and sneak onto one of the ships coming from Beyond the Seas.
 Even then, however, that was just a blind gamble. This way, at least, he maintained some resemblance of control, even if many things spiraled out of it. He had to persevere, no matter what. In the end, he had no other choice than to tangle himself into those muddy waters; it didn't matter, however. It would be like a temporary, side quest. He was already in his mid-forties, and even if he didn't die from a stray blade or arrow or a dagger in his back, old age was catching up to him quickly. What could he possibly do with the remaining two-three decades of life? No, not even that many. Within a decade, his body will start decaying far too much, and all he would have left with would be his wit and hope someone had an appreciation for it. By then, it would simply be better to withdraw someplace remote and live out his life in peace.
He stared at the empty flagon for a long while before sighing and putting it away. Regardless of what was to come, he knew that he wouldn't have a peaceful life. In the end, Jovyer had won, even if he never realized it. Noah had no choice but to maintain the Kingdom now, as he desperately needed its resources and its people. He was hardly a heroic youth willing to stand up against the whole army by himself without a trace of fear; he was an old man, too withered and waned to have such aspirations. The day he took that black sphere, and the day he'd thought he had dismissed the greatest variable of this world, was also the day his fate was permanently cemented. It was bitter, but, at least, now he had a relatively clear path to look forward to. It wasn't like him to give up, regardless of the circumstances. He'd fight it out until the bitter end and see what happens, as he always has, and as he always will.

Noah finds himself stranded in a completely unfamiliar world after something went wrong with the 'Gates' mission back on Earth. Running low on supplies and with no means of contacting those who were supposed to arrive here with him, he will have to use his almost forty years of experience as a mercenary on Earth to survive, establish himself, and try and locate others, as well as learn if there is a way to go back home -- back to Earth.

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(A/N: Want to read ahead of what I've posted so far? Go to my patreòn and get early access chapters. 

As of this chapter, the patreòn is 16 chapters ahead at chapter 119. I'll be writing and posting at least 2 chapters tonight. 

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Thanks for the Power Stones and enjoy the chapter!)

Gasps could be heard all around as everyone was shocked to see Albus mummify before them. 

The only one that wasn't really surprised was Tom. He thought something like this would happen and decided not to interfere. Getting rid of Dumbledore was a challenge that he didn't want to face. 

Someone like Grindelwald, who is openly a piece of sh*t, can be handled without any backlash, but a man that hides himself and plays the good guy routine is much harder to get rid of. 

Although, in Tom's mind the situation could have gone fifty-fifty. Either Grindelwald would betray Albus, as we just saw, or he would join up with him. Both situations would have been favorable to Tom, but this one is the better of the two. 

With Dumbledore dead on the floor, Gellert summons his wand and looks to Tom. His face twisted in anger as he glared hatefully in Toms direction. 

"Give me back my wand and I'll spare your life and the lives of everyone you've ever loved." The younger Gellert commands in a demanding tone. 

"Hmm..." Tom raises his hand to his chin. "How about you stick your boyfriend's wand up your *ss and fire off a spell or two?"

Veins start to throb on Gellert's forehead as he raises Dumbledores wand and starts firing spell after spell. 

More chains exit Tom's body, but these are slightly different. At the end of these chains are shields that fit together like a puzzle. Each shield forms together making a wall that blocks every spell. 

As the spells are being blocked, the offensive chains surge into action yet again. Weapons start cracking down on Gellert's position, but this time he tries a different strategy. 

First, Gellert shields himself from the impact of the oncoming weapons. The golden Eldritch weapons bang onto the invisible shields slowly cracking them apart. 

As the shields are doing their work, Gellert starts transfiguring the area around them, countless thick stone pillars shoot up from the ground and tear through the area. 

When he was finished, he looked slightly worn out. The number of pillars conjured would have taken an incredible amount of magic, and without the elder wand, he can't perform such grand acts of magic so easily.

Before the shield broke, the teleportation started once again. Grindelwald apparated constantly to dodge the golden chain weapons. 

With every escape, he would teleport to the opposite side of the pillared area. He plans to tangle the chains with pillars. Once the chains are tangled up as planned, he could go for the killing blow.

Soon, Tom's chains were wrapping around pillar after pillar as they constantly sought out Gellert's next location. Crisscrossing as they start to line the entire area. 

After a few more teleports, the chains could no longer move. Gellert was almost out of magic yet again and Tom was trying to pull his chains back but failed every time. Even the shield chains were tangled in the mess of pillars that were created. 

Tom became frantic and started pulling the chains with a mad will to survive. He is stuck in place and the chains couldn't be recalled. 

"Hehe, not so strong now, are you?" Gellert laughs as he casually walks up to Toms position. 

"Stay away!" Tom calls frantically as he yanks on the chains for dear life. 

"What happened to all of that backtalk you used to have? Did it disappear with your chances of a long and happy life?" Gellert smirks evilly as he stands before Tom in murderous glee. He then sees the wand tight in Tom's grip. "I'll be taking that. Expelliarmus!"

The wand flies from Tom's hand, but something doesn't feel right about this. It's starting to feel like it's too easy. Gellert looks at the wand that landed before him and could see it's the genuine article. His worry disappears as he bends to pick up what was rightfully his. 

As he's about to grasp the wand, a golden spear impales itself into Gellert's heart. The wand flies back into Tom's hand as his once frightened expression disappears. 

"You may have juiced yourself up with magic and rejuvenated your body but without the elder wand your not really a challenge for me. It was fun toying with you while you lasted, I suppose." Tom says as the chains that held him in place disappear. 

"W-what?!" Grindelwald stuttered as the life drains from his eyes and he joins his boyfriend in the next great adventure. 

"Tom!" Druella yelled as a torpedo slams into him, knocking him on the floor. "Don't ever do that again, do you hear me? I thought you were actually losing for a minute." She says, hugging Tom tightly as tears stream down her face. 

"Sorry, Drue." Tom mutters as he hugs her back and tries to calm her down. 

The hardest part about that entire fight was keeping Druella from getting involved. As he started faking weakness towards the end, Tom had to literally command her through the mark, as her Lord, not to come and help. 

As they were laying on the ground, Druella felt a spike in courage and picked her head up off Tom's chest. She looked him in the eye for a moment and pushed her lips out and leaned forward. 

Their lips touched and Tom laid frozen for a moment. Soon, Tom puckered his lips as well instead of just laying there like a dead fish. 

The kiss was nothing grand. Their lips touched and they stayed frozen together on the floor, entranced in the feeling of one another.

Druella felt amazing as tingles crawled up her spine. She's been waiting for this moment for a while, but couldn't find the courage to just go for it.

Although this isn't Tom's first kiss, as he had another life, he found himself getting a bit excited and nervous about it. It feels like his first kiss all over again. Well, it technically is his first kiss all over again.

"Ehem!" Newt Scamander clears his throat as everyone that came along with Albus came walking over. 

"What! Can't you see we're busy here!" Druella yells at the people interrupting her precious moment. 

'I'm starting to see how Steve felt when I did this to him. Is this Karma?'

On the day that an 11-year-old Tom Riddle receives his Hogwarts acceptance letter, his soul merges with a transmigrated soul from our world. A new Tom Riddle is born and he’ll take the wizarding world by storm. With his future knowledge and some creativity, he’ll achieve any goal that he sets his mind to. Oh, and also he’s in the MCU/X-men movie world as well. 

No harem BTW

(A/N: I tried something like this before with my old story ‘I’m Harry Potter (MCU Xover)’. This time I’ll stick with it and hopefully make an amazing story for you to read.)

If you like my writing, consider supporting on Patreon. I'll have advanced chapters there for you to read as well. https://www.patreon.com/AlienWarlord

Third POV. 
She closed her eyes, feeling his lips on the back of he neck, feeling his fingers tracing the length of her spine. There came a warm hand grasping her core, lips against her lips. Fingers touched her chest. She felt herself being lifted, he feet no longer touching the floor, the darkness swirling around her, strong hands turning her and stroking her all over. There was no gravity any longer; she felt his strength increasing, the heat of it increasing. She was floating in the air. She turned over, groping in the shadowy tangle of arms. 




She couldn't get enough of him. She didn't want to sleep. She wanted the ache. She wanted him in her. She wanted to squeeze him further and further. She wanted to see his face, she wanted his sweat to drop onto her. She got on top of him. She has never done it before. She couldn't really believe it. She held him and put him in. He felt deeper in her. She will never forget it. She held his hands down. He pretended he was trying to break free. She kissed his earlobe. He went mad, he bucked. Their bodies fit together just like jigsaw puzzle.




At first it was painful but as time went she felt both pain and pleasure. Axel was so gentle with her. He held her like she was something so delicate. It felt good as their bodies synced together until he withdrew from her and released himself. He groaned and kissed her so passionately.




Their bodies were covered in sweat and the room smelled of sex. He looked at her and asked "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"




"Yeah...E-Everything is okay. You didn't hurt me at all." She replied with a shaky grin. 




"Okay. I am glad. Tonight was perfect!  You're perfect." He told as he pulled her close to him until her head was resting on his chest. 





She just blushed and tried to cover her face with her hands. 



"Don't cover yourself for me. You're beautiful." He kissed her hair. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Axel.
Last night was so great. Cleopatra was good at everything she did. I love this woman with all my heart. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can't wait to be with her forever. 




She slowly opened her eyes. She looks like an angel. 




"Morning my love. How are you?" I greeted her. 




"Morning..I am good." She said. 





"What do you wanna have for breakfast?" I asked her. 




"Um..you." She said with a shy smile. 




"Hmm...okay. I am here. You can have me." I told her as I began tossing the sheets. 




She laughed and got up from the bed and went to the washroom. After 15 minutes she came out dressed in my T-shirt and her hair was in a messy bun. Damn! She looks more sexy. 





She cooked me breakfast. She made pancakes, bacon and some orange juice. 




We made love in the shower. She is still shy with me but I believe as days pass by she'll get comfortable with me. 




We chilled out and watched some Netflix. 




"Next week I'll be going back to Egypt." She suddenly said. 






"What? Are you serious?" I asked her. 




How can time fly so fast? It's like I just met her yesterday. She can't leave me. 





"Yeah..." She said with a sad face. 




"Can't you stay a bit longer?" I asked her. 




"I wish but I can't. I am sorry." She said. 




"It's okay. You don't have to be sorry. We'll figure out about it." I told her as I pulled her close to me. 



I kissed her and she kissed me back then I asked her "Don't you feel like going out?"





"Where do you want us to go?" She asked. 




"At the club. Don't you wanna see how clubs are in Paris before you leave?"I asked her. I hope she says yes. 





"Yeah! Have always wanted to visit La Java." She said happily.



La Java is a very typical old school Parisian club. Built in the heart of the popular Belleville area and the building has not changed much since. La Java is every weekend the theater for the most outrageous parties of the city. I like the place. It's really cool. 




"Oooh....Okay. It's among the best clubs in Paris." I told her. 






"Let me go change." She said as she looked at her outfit. 





"I'll drive you." I told her. 




I dropped her at the hotel and waited for her. After something like 20 minutes she was ready. Damn! She looked good. I love her outfit but that ripped jeans is too revealing. I don't want other guys to see her skin. God! I sound jealous. 



"You look so good baby." I told her. 



"Thanks love." She smiled as we left the hotel. 


Love? Did I hear that right? I can't stop smiling. I smiled all the way to the club. 





The club wasn't that packed. I took her straight to the VIP section and then we ordered for our drinks. She wanted to do some tequila shots. 




Our drinks arrived. She took like two shots and I think the alcohol started kicking in. She stood up and started swaying her hips then Boss Bitch by Doja Cat started playing. 





"Aaaaaah. I love that song." She shouted. I just smiled at her. I think I like more the drunk Cleopatra. She was so confident and free. 




"Ama bitch, Ama boss, Ama bitch, Ama boss...."She sang happily. She looked so happy. 




I saw a guy staring at her. I could see how he undressed her with his eyes. I got so angry. I clenched my hand into a fist. I wanted to punch his nose. He kept looking at her and he said something to the guy sitting next to him and then got up. I just watched him. Suddenly my phone started ringing. My father was calling me. So I had to talk to him. I told Cleopatra I was going to answer a call. 



"Hey dad." I greeted him. 



"Hello son." He said. 



"Are you okay?" I asked him. 



"Yeah but your-your mother is sick." He said. 


It's like I froze. My mother has always been healthy. She eats healthy foods, she works out like every single day. 



"What's wrong with mama?" I asked him. 




"S-She keeps fainting. The doctors are still examining her." He said. 




"Oooh...okay. I hope she gets well soon. I'll talk to her tomorrow." I told him. 




"It's okay son. I hope everything is okay with you. If you get a chance please come visit your mother." He said. 




"Okay dad. I'll visit soon. Thanks for telling me about mama." 




"It's alright son. Take care of yourself. We love you so much." 




"I love you too dad. I am sorry about mama." 





"It's okay. I believe she will be fine. Your mom is one of the strongest woman I know."





"Yup! That's so true."




"Have a good night son."




"Good night too dad."


He hanged up the phone.  I went back to the club. I found that guy touching Cleopatra's waist. I saw red. I went and punched him straight on his nose. 



"What the fuck man!" He shouted while holding his bleeding nose. 




"Don't you ever touch her again you imbecile! You're lucky. Next time I'll fucking kill you!" I roared at him.

A story about an Egyptian lady who found love in Paris. 


The scenarios in this story are all based on the writer's imagination.

tangle puzzle novel

Love tangle

Puzzle

Love At First Gaze

The Unfinished Song

The Essence of Time

Kuroken (Sad)

The Great Big Book of Bat-Family One-Shots

Endborn Creation

I’m Voldemort (MCU Xover)

EGYPTIAN GODDESS.

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