ValentineDavis21

If it helps, I started the first chapter last night. I know it's as bit of a wait, but I'm hoping by the 2nd of November to have several chapters.

The moment Aethan plugged himself into the mainframe of the ship, the presence that steered the ship turned its gaze away from the black hole, fully on him. With its pilot dead, it was on its own, but now it had a new potential host to infect and repurpose. Instead of data, cold pitch-black sludge flooded his sensory pathways. His pulse spiked wildly as the corruption who had brought the ruin of an entire civilization and perhaps more tried to start the process of rewriting his biological framew

As Aethan and Ghor crossed the blast door into the command deck, Aethan felt a heavy, oppressive weight settle down on his shoulders; it was as if he had attempted to lift a very large boulder and carry it across a great distance. The air tasted of cold ash and stagnant decay. SInce the last time they’d stepped into the command deck, the dark influence of the Xhal-Khur had altered the architecture of the room more than ever: black tentacles of the infectious moss writhed with anticipation and th

Aethan slowly rose from the fog of unconsciousness back to the real world. Before his eyes were even open, physical sensations worked their way into his burgeoning awareness - the solid steady, support of broad powerful arms and the contrast of warmth against the chilly air within the ship. Memories replayed behind his eyes as if someone were fast-fowarding through a montage of images: the nightmarish climb up the elevator shaft, Ghor’s fall to his death, the nest, the creature that had bee

As the Gromm-variant charged forward with a roar, the flare gun kicked violently in Aethan’s hand. At the exact second the flare slammed into the creature, the Cathesan threw himself backward. Searing magnesium light filled the room, throwing the pulsing, wet texture of the aberration walls. Aethan hit the floor, rolling gracefully onto his feet in a hunch, and pivoting around to face the cloud of sulfury smoke that now choked the chamber. His eyes burned with cold, calculated fury. He waited, f

He had survived for over two hundred years, fighting for his life through brutal arena matches. In that time he had lost himself and committed atrocities he would never be able to forgive himself for. But it was going to take a lot more than a fall down an elevator shaft to kill him. For all his size and strength Bhal-Ghor was not impervious to injury. Several of his ribs were broken, that was all. His fate could have been much, much worse. Aethan had seen him plunge down into the elevator

What happened with to all my readers? There for a while I was getting 4-5 reactions, now I'm getting 2. Did you all lose interest or something? The silence is disconcerting lol.

Aethan gaped at the blazing inferno at the bottom of the shaft, his eyes wide, his jaw slack. Over and over again he watched Ghor plummet to his death, a final look into those yellow-green eyes before he disappeared, never to be seen again. The sharp stabs of pain in his dislocated arm were nothing compared to the pangs of disbelief and grief that assaulted his heart. There was a look of fixation on his face, as if he concentrated hard enough then he could reverse time. But then no Cathesan ever

In the stifling golden heat of the desert sunlight, the squeak of the cart’s wheels had been a welcome companion: a jaunty sound that now seemed more like a shrill scream in the gloom of the tunnel. And still Aethan kept pulling because he had to. The way off the ship was closed and it most likely wouldn’t open again until they reached Cathesan - if we reach Cathesan, he tried not to think. Even once they made it through the black hole it would take over a century before Tarkhon reached the youn

Tarkhon had been true to his word: They’d been waiting for Aethan and Ghor to return this whole time. Tarkhon had done more than just convert them into his own dark religion. He’d remade them into something completely new. A nightmare not even Ghor could conjure up in his worse nightmares. Xera, Gromm, and the Saurians had been melded together into a grotesque, seamless collage of flesh and muscles. Ribcages were spread open, intertwining with twisting lengths of muscle and calcified bone t

As they passed the dead proximity monitors, Aethan recalled the first time he’d stepped onto the ship; it was a memory he knew he’d never be able to forget. He remembered how the air had smelled of dust and age and the green musty smell of the moss. And yet the atmosphere had seemed to carry a static charge to it, a life. He and the expedition team hadn’t just been stepping into the remnants of a dead civilization but another world. Seeing the camp as it was, a cluster of tents and small buildin

Each time the darkness took him Aethan prayed it would be the last. How many times could your head sink below the surface before it simply didn’t come back up any more? This was the first true thought that crossed through his mind before it was cut off by a screaming alarm bell of pain. And the answer was: At least once more…Maybe next time. He jerked his hand away, slapping at the air frantically, not knowing what he was slapping at, only sensing that he wasn’t alone and he was in danger.

Aethan and Ghor led Tarkhon away from the compound towards the desolate edge of the valley. Other than the sound of sand crunching beneath their feet and the occasional cryptic mutter from the Kaldari, everything was completely silent. The Cathesan had no choice but to confront his own racing thoughts. In the end he knew that he had made his decision and that he would carry it out even if it meant the cost of his sanity. The cost of his soul. The determination had yet to drain from his bone

The moment they stepped out of the tent, Ghor steered Aethan in the direction of the greenhouse as a parent might a sleepy child. It took all the felid’s effort to simply not scoop the Cathesan up in his arms and carry him the rest of the way. If the prince had proven to be completely incapable of movement he would have, but Aethan was conscious enough that he stumbled after him, his face completely blank. Remote. Completely devoid of emotion. It was an expression that filled Ghor with an uniden

He has stayed with Aethan. The boy and Chakabron have moved on