Hope's Light

Chapter 20

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Twenty - Music

Twitch let my head rest against his chest, his close presence reassuring and solid just as it had been on all those wagon journeys taken together through the dark. Thoughts rampaged anyway behind closed eyelids like a herd of startled graxh tearing through sharp-ferned forest. Between the blurred collapsing leaves and trunks crashing aside from the mental onslaught hung a simple circlet of gold.

And all it represented.

I didn’t know if I could do this.

Hope's Light

Chapter 18

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Eighteen - Threads

“Do not thou, when thou art king, hang a thief.”

Now that Mantra and Gabriel have captured the Flaming Woman, it is time for them to leave the world of the supervolcano. But their mission requires that they gain the help and cooperation of three of the most dangerous entities in the entire universe. If something goes wrong from this point, it can go very, very wrong.

Here we are again. Please enjoy the thrilling wonder of school lunch time!

Hope's Light

Chapter 15

by Erisian

Book 6

Part Four

Chapter Fifteen - Continuance

Time, fluid in its speed across all realms, inexorably moves forward with each advancing page.

Upon the fundament do towers rise, gleaming with marbled perfection in the undying shine radiating eternally from above. Multitudes of angels, working hand-in-hand and wing-to-wing in the fulfillment of the plans laid out by their cherished Architect, constructing the channels which culminate at the focal point, at the tallest tower of all:

The Throne.

Hope's Light

Chapter 13

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Thirteen - Traces

“Alright dude, how’s this supposed to work?”

Nick and I were standing on the tower’s rooftop. A wide variety of antennas, all made of clumped bundles of wire or actual dishes pointed at distant targets, surrounded us. The power and signal cables, hardened against the ridiculous heat from the uncomfortably close burning sky, coiled about like massive snakes having a grand ol’ party.

A party we’d intruded upon, though we had done our best not to trip over anyone.

It is time for Mantra and Gabriel to leave the world of the super volcano, but they are going into time and space accompanied by three of the most dangerous entities in the universe. All Mantra can do for the time being is to keep her fingers crossed and hope.

Hope's Light

Chapter 10

by Erisian

Book 6

Part Three

Chapter Ten - Keepers

Layers unfold as the Book advances chapters, and intervals beyond time nevertheless speed forward.

Past further iterations of Light’s expansion, past concept of boundary enforced by the one called to such purpose, past moment of blood and sacrifice, of pain and birth.

Mantra has met indecisively with the rebellion leaders, but Gabriel has some important news for her. He has located the hiding place of the all-powerful Time Gem, one of the Infinity Stones. Mantra goes to capture it, but unfortunately, she is not the only one who wants to get her hands on that source of ultimate power!

Hope's Light

Chapter 7

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Seven - Coffee

The ride through the paved cavern tunnels was short but bumpy as the transport’s suspension had clearly died a squealing death at least ten to twenty firestorms ago. I’d been locked into position in the middle of a squad again, though this time opposite me wasn’t a cranky diminutive devil blowing smoke but rather a sullen swamp-green demon similarly shackled into place whose inner rage boiled and simmered.

As evident by the constant glares of resentment and brewing rebellion he kept shooting across the aisle whenever he thought I wasn’t paying attention. My sympathy meter didn’t move much in response, I was too busy being happy that they’d given me a bright orange prison jumpsuit.

Hey, it would never have won any fashion shows but it certainly beat being naked.

Hope's Light

Chapter 5

by Erisian

Book 6

Part Two

Chapter Five - Plans

Brightness sweeps away the Book’s words and echoing voice entire.

All is light, and Light is All.

Infinite yet singular, timeless yet growing, perception expands.

Perception of existence, perception of pattern.

A vision of glory beyond all glory, depth beyond all depth, and purpose beyond all purpose.

From this vantage, a locus forms. A pivot through which the Light’s perception shall guide, reach, and measure.

A pivot through which to recognize Self.

A pivot through which to Act.

Hope's Light

Chapter 4

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Four - Enemies

When appearing again in front of Krux and all his gun-toting troopers, I’d changed clothes. Gone was the casual jogger garb, replaced with biker’s gear of white leather: boots, chaps over jeans, gloves, and an armored jacket - one with enough pockets to wedge in all the currency I’d just recovered. My bike, of course, was stuck in a galaxy far, far, away - but I knew the pattern of this outfit well enough to replicate it.

Being an angel had certain advantages.

Hope's Light

Chapter 2

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Two - Paintings

Ever since that moment of radical transformation (or resurrection, if one prefers) back at the start of all the madness - when my name went from Justin to Jordan and personal pronouns flipped on their heads - I’ve had occasion to journey to a scattering of spiritual places. Planes of existence, dreams, realms - call them what you will - they all had a certain commonality. They were formed around an inner core, a nugget of desire or purpose which stabilized the whole and resonated throughout. Some were tied to entire stories sung forth in glorious splendor, others built on specific concrete principles or even emotional states. The more coherent the core, the more cohesive the realm - and all the souls and spirits resonating in sync with that pattern locked-in the solidity even further. Their presence and observations made things more ‘real’ within that domain.

I’ve tasted, touched, ripped, reinforced, and even created such places anew. The planes of Hell were no exception in their properties, and while I’d only visited two of the many available, for various (and desperate!) reasons I’d needed to delve deep into the structures of both to fight against a Chaos-corrupted agent attempting to shred them into incoherent pieces.

Mantra is cornered into a meeting with the last person she wants to meet in this violent ruin of a planet. But that same person is the one whom Mantra loves most in the world.

April 22nd, 3040

Vantier a Whateley Tale.....Ancient and Powerful Vantier awakens in a foreign world, struggling to find her place in it.

He is saved from the death of his race and planet....to start all over again....but can she survive?
A human high school and being a teenager? Will she remember what was? And grow in power?

This Chapter---dealing with life's issues and a hidden danger GROWS!!
dun dun daaaaa!!!!!!

Well its been 4 years since I posted a chapter....so I guess its well past time?

First half of this is another brand new scene, I hope you all like it.

Alright so a few things. First off, Desyi being brought back might be seen as cheap or a deus ex machina. I understand that viewpoint but at the same time I really have no idea whether Ruexin’s original intention was to bring her back. I killed off Raycern to bring her back so we still had one character death in order to make it feel as non cheap as possible. Also it just kind of fit.

Second off, the anti capitalist messaging may be seen as shoehorned in because the original story had nothing to do with capitalism. So, okay. I tried to make the anti capitalist stuff as minor as possible, but I still think the story needed a nice and uplifting ending. And this was what I thought worked the best.

UPDATE AUGUST 2024: Again, a lot of this was written when I was a new writer. You don't have to cut 2022 me slack if you don't want to, but I will.

The Time of Void Skies brought death and destruction all across Vanasia. Memorials were set up across many towns, honoring those who had lost their lives in the tragic event.

The Lyceum had the largest memorial of all. Thousands of names were listed. It didn’t matter if they were rich, poor, a criminal, or someone who had died of causes unrelated to the event. If they died during it, their name was listed.

Author's note: Hello everyone, I'm sorry there was such a a long break between chapters. I've been busy and having major writer's block. Hopefully I can get back to writing on a regular basis again. Hope you all enjoy!

“No Hermione?”

“She had to run back to her room for something. Where are the others?”

“Crabbe and Goyle are getting a little more practice in, and the girls said they needed to get cleaned up. So will we need to save an extra seat?”

Mantra and Gabriel have come to a version of Los Angeles that exists in parallel time, but this is the worst version of the city that Mantra has ever visited. As bad as it is, something important that is about to happen, and before it does, Mantra has to get her ducks in a row. That is not going to be easy with danger on every side, and with people who used to be her friends acting like enemies.

Mantra and the alien scientist Gabriel have discovered that a Third Force exists that can match the power of the zombie goddess Nemesis. To gain the Third Force as an ally, they set out on a quest of discovery. They will be surprised to discover the nature of the Third Force, but they will be even more surprised to find out what else is awaiting them at the end of the trail.

Mantra is about halfway convinced that Gabriel is telling the truth about a Multiverse-ending catastrophe that is on its way, but she's determined to be wary. The adventurers retrieve Gabriel's "Time Capsule" and travel into the future of a different timeline. They observe the crucial battle being fought their by heroes from two different universes uniting to overcome a resurrected god bent on destruction. The Time Capsule's monitoring equipment detects that there are not two parties involved in the faithful battle, but three. This is a mystery of the utmost importance, because finding out who or what the third force is may mean the difference between victory and the Multiverse's collapse.