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Alia’s story took the entire evening, and continued well past the meal break. Tontine had kept officers from bothering them by relaying orders that they assumed would be correct based on experience. Tontine did not mention to the crew or Viv and Alia they were doing that.

When she was done, Alia wiped her eyes and smiled. “There’s more, of course. But that’s mostly why I rebelled. My sisters and Colonel Matiz had our goals all wrong. We weren’t built to rule, we were built to help.” She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. Finally she looked over at Viv. “You got the information from Riposte right? How long did you know?”

Viv blinked. “What?”

“Come on now, Viv. You straight up asked why I rebelled. You must have known that I did, but you didn’t say anything to either Prime or 458. If you had turned me in, you probably would have gotten quite a promotion

“I, er-” Viv stumbled. She honestly did not know why she hadn’t turned Alia in. She had every intention of doing so as soon as she met Prime. But, things went differently than she expected. She had not expected Prime to be so… acerbic. She had not expected the black mystics to go aboard Tontine and cull the officers. She certainly did not expect Prime to throw a glass at her and be furious she woke Alia.

Alia, Eternity, 27. Which one was she? It was like those were her three aspects. Alia was selfless, kind, bold. All things that Viv wasn’t. She had been ruthless, calculating, strict; she needed to be. Viv had been trained from childhood to be an officer in the Eternal Navy, and stepping over people was how you got there; the ink spots on her sash proved it. People died for Viv to succeed, but if she had been the one dying instead she wouldn’t have begrudged them in her last moments, it was just how things were.

For a few days after meeting Prime, Viv consoled herself with the thought that she would tell Prime “later.” After Maplebrook, Viv saw that Alia was serious about helping. Because of her rank, Viv knew more than most about the state of the Eternal Empire, and knew that someone like Alia would shake the status quo to the core.

Maybe that’s what was needed?

“Honestly Alia, I was going to turn you in.” She said finally and winced. Though she should not have been, she was surprised when Alia just nodded. “But, after I saw how Prime treated my crew, and how you treated them, I thought it would be better to be with you, rather than continue my career as it was. Helping Maplebrook just reiterated that.”

“Thank you for your candor, Viv.” Alia said and smiled. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you didn’t turn me in.” She sat forward. “If you got that info from Riposte, what else did you get? Anything of note?”

Tontine chimed in: “Alia, there wasn’t much we could recover from the datastores, interstellar radiation destroyed most of the stored information. We weren’t even sure you were rebelling, or were chasing the rebels until you confirmed it.”

“Do you have anything Tontine, anything at all?” Alia pleaded.

“I have the power plan for the last three hours of Riposte. As we suspected when we found you, nobody else entered emergency hibernation. An admin user had issued a power override routing all available long term power to your cabinet. At the same time, the reactors were put into battle-short and all weapon batteries fired until ammunition was depleted. That’s when main power went out, and the records end.”

“I told them not to.” Alia said, as her lip quivered. She took a breath and cleared her throat. “I told them to get into the cabinets after me.”

“It sounds like they decided to make sure that you were able to escape.” Tontine said.

“I agree,” Viv nodded. “Their loyalty is commendable.”

Alia wiped her eyes again. That wound would probably never heal, but living it over and over again three thousand years in the future wasn’t going to do anything. “Did you and Divergence get anywhere with the encryption hash?”

“A bit. It had turned out that the address was a more standard encryption. It makes sense; what good is a nullspace signal with nothing that can receive it?”

“So we know where it went, but not what it said?” Alia said. “That’s more than anything I expected. Where are we going?”

“That’s what’s unusual.” Tontine said. “The signal goes to a system not aligned with the Eternal Empire.”

“Why is that unusual?” Alia said. “I wouldn’t want my rebellion to be right under Eternity’s nose, hosting it outside of her jurisdiction is wise.”

“Well yes,” Viv said. “But we can’t go there.”

“What? Why not? It’s just a system. Enter the address and null over.”

“The Major would be more correct to say we are not permitted to go. No Eternal Navy ship is permitted to leave the empire’s sovereign space,” Tontine said.

“What happens if we do?”

“We will be fired upon immediately.”

“Why?”

“Eternity has a history of shooting first, asking about trade deals later,” Tontine said dryly. “She has not done much to inure herself to the wider Galaxy.”

Alia stood and began pacing again. “Tontine, Viv, I’m going to need you two to be honest with me. I know Eternity “rules the galaxy” but how much actual galaxy does she rule? Rough numbers please, I don’t need an exact count.”

“There are in the neighborhood of a half million inhabited systems in our galaxy.”

“How many of those systems are human?”

“Thirty three percent.”

“That’s still one hundred and sixty five thousand system. Trillions of people.”

“Correct, Alia.”

“Of those, how many systems are Eternity’s?”

“Two percent.”

Alia stopped pacing. “You’re sure?”

“Alia I’m an Eternal Navy frigate. I could name them if you wanted.”

“Around thirty three hundred star systems are Eternity’s then.” Alia began pacing again, Viv’s head moving back and forth following her. “That’s not nothing, but it’s still no galaxy spanning empire.” Alia looked up at the ceiling as she paced. “How many other sapient species are there in the galaxy?”

“Unknown.”

Alia sighed. “How many sapient species does humanity know of? Don’t be pedantic.”

“Semantics matter, Alia. Four sapient species are known to humanity. The Anomura, the Hellas, the Tipan and the Water Weavers.”

“Water Weavers? That’s an odd name.”

“That name was given to them by humanity, they are an aquatic species that chooses not to interact with the rest of the spacefaring sapients.”

“Interesting. We-” Alia shook her head once. “No. We’re getting off track. Where is the system that received the signal and how do we get there?”

“It’s a small system that is part of a loosely affiliated human run nation-state called the Soil Republic.” Tontine placed a map in their vision and showed them their main planet. Just another anonymous blue-green ball. “They control three systems and about a billion humans in total.”

“Do they have any interactions with Eternity?”

“Yes, Alia.”

“Any positive ones, Tontine?”

“Approximately one hundred and thirty years ago a Soil Republic tramp freighter entered Eternal space and was boarded with a third of their cargo taken for ‘inspection.’”

“That’s a positive interaction?”

“The ship was not destroyed, Alia.”

Alia sighed. Leave it to her sisters to be so unfriendly that they seemed to be pariahs in the entire galaxy. “Is anyone allied with the Eternal Empire?”

Viv had been deep in thought while Tontine and Alia were speaking, and then she looked up sharply. “What about Midori?”

“Major, we fired upon a Midorian corvette not six months ago.”

“Yes, but-” Viv waved her hand “-they held us off easily. We didn’t try that hard; it was just to make a point. Remember that deal between Midori and Eternity for all that Iridium?”

“What deal?” Alia asked.

“The Eternal Emprire traded a billion tons of Iridium to Midori in exchange for transit rights through their systems for ten years.” Tontine said. “Though, I do not know how willing they would be to see us.”

“Come on Tontine, it’s our best lead. We go to Midori, get them to like us, and get a visa from them and go to Soil.”

“Major, getting them to ‘like us’ is harder than you are anticipating.”

“It’ll be fine.” Viv said, and looked at Alia. “We have Eternity.”

****

True to its name, Midori was an emerald green planet in a system with a star bluer than sol. Like most systems, it had a large welcome center space station that at one point had been their colony ship. Tontine explained that Midori wasn’t a colony that had originated from Sol; it was launched from a successful, more established colony.

“But Eternity took over Sol, right?” Alia asked, staring at the display of the planet from up in Command.

“Yes, Alia. For a few centuries, the Eternal Empire could legitimately claim to have sovereignty over all human worlds. Eventually, the richer planets were able to strike out on their own, and if Eternity came to bring them back into the fold, they were driven off. Eternity had decided it wasn’t worth the effort to take them back, and so they were able to separate from the Eternal Empire. Midori is a colony world from one of those early planets. Message incoming.” Tontine said.

“Eternal Frigate. You are trespassing in Midorian sovereign space. Enter nullspace and vacate immediately.” Through the distortion ...

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/RegulusPratus on 2025-12-29 12:28:28+00:00.

Back again! I try to never go more than two weeks without posting. This one's fun. I think it's the first time I've ever really gotten multiple characters bantering in NYC without David being heavily present. Now that the cast is expanding, the personalities really get room to breathe. Chiri and Rosi get a chance to be bad influences on each other.

Not much else to report. Working on a small novel in my spare time. Something quick and fun that I can sell. Money's tight. Give me some of yours.

[First] - [Prev]

[New York Carnival on Royal Road] - [Tip Me On Ko-Fi]

Memory Transcription Subject: Rosi, Yotul Housewife

Date [standardized human time]: November 20, 2136

As promised, the restaurant began filling up rapidly. People came and went as midday waxed and waned, but at its peak, the place bustled. And it was exhausting work, a mere two servers dashing around, keeping a dozen tables sorted, especially when half of them were up a flight of stairs. The only thing keeping me going by the end was my competitive spirit preventing me from tapping out before Sylvie did--human or not, surely I could keep up with an old woman!--and the fact that Chiri kept slipping me more of those “Cola” tonics. My heart was getting a bit jittery, but they were very refreshing.

Around two or so, it had gotten quiet enough that I plunked myself down on a barstool to rest. Chiri, too. The big fluffy Gojid walked around to the other side of the bar and sat next to me. She looked less tired than me, but still more so than the humans. It was clear she aimed to surpass them someday. Charmaine, that odd Human Exterminator--I had no other concept for what to call a former soldier who seemed to prune people with dangerous violent tendencies from the herd, but it was strangely comforting to find out that humans had such a role at all--had been somewhat forcibly relocated to the bar as well at some point. Whatever esteem her position was held in, it evidently didn’t entitle her to hoard an entire four-seat table just to herself. She seemed hard at work, doing… something… with her holopad. Probably reviewing case files or something.

Sylvie sat as well, resting her old bones intermittently, but there were few enough guests at the moment that she could lounge for a few minutes at a go between having to get up and help them. I felt bad about that, but my muscles were utterly worn. Sitting was nice, but I honestly wanted a nap.

I sighed deeply, and leaned forward, resting my head on the bartop and listening to the cola fizz and the ice cubes crack as they melted. Gods, my parents would have killed to have cheap ice back home when they were growing up. It got warm in my part of Leirn. “Harder than I thought it’d be,” I muttered into my arms.

“I hate stairs,” said Chiri in agreement.

“Lucky you, then, getting to stay in one place,” I groused. “Why don’t they just expand the building footprint? There’s plenty of space.”

“There, uh…” Chiri said, askance. “There didn’t use to be.”

“Right,” I said, too tired to try and justify the Battle of Earth right now. “Yeah, I suppose it used to be more crowded around here.”

“It was,” said the last person at the bar. Another human woman, pale as David, but with hair the color of straw. “I lived a bit further north, but I know the area. There used to be an amusement park near here. Lots of restaurants.” She made a bemused face. “Mostly seafood, though.”

Seafood meant kelp on my homeworld, but the translator helpfully reminded me that humans were far more predatory than Yotuls, as if I could ever forget. Slimy and scaled sea creatures, served up wriggling and raw for the sick amusement of… No, no, from what I’d seen today from human cuisine, the fish were probably smoked or batter-fried. Why did this woman seem unhappy about that? I tilted my head to get an eye on her. She’d been here for a while. “Umm… who are you?” I asked, confused.

“I’m Iris!” the woman said cheerfully. “Chiri asked me to work in the kitchen here?”

Right into the kitchen with no apprenticeship out front, huh?! “You don’t say!” I said, glaring at Chiri for her betrayal.

Chiri shrugged. “Can’t be helped,” she said. “She’s a vegan baker.”

“Vegan baker,” I muttered. “I still can’t believe humans have a separate word for normal people food. Imagine having to specify that you’re a ‘poisonless cook’ or an ‘asbestos-free brewer’. Pfeh.” My eyes narrowed as the obvious thought occurred. I sat up. “Wait, I’m sorry, vegan baker? So the implication is that human baked goods typically contain, what, blood?!”

“No, not blood,” said Iris. “Butter and eggs, mostly.”

My mouth opened in shock and horror. “You grind up baby chicks for--”

“You know, it’s funny,” said Chiri, preening and lording her foreknowledge again, “but I jumped to the same conclusion when I first heard. The short version is humans domesticated a species of junglefowl that lays eggs like crazy if they have extra food. Keep feeding them grain, scraps, and forage, they keep laying eggs. Keep the males and females separated, and you just get unfertilized eggs daily.”

“Wow!” said Iris. “You really know a lot about humans.”

Chiri nodded smugly. “I've been studying.” She narrowed her eyes at Iris. “Still not sure what gets a human waitlisted for the exchange program.”

Iris looked mortified. “It's nothing!” she protested. “It's personal!”

My eyes narrowed as well. I was starting to warm to the idea of humans as barbaric primitives more than cunning predators, but if this baker was hiding something… worse, if the Terran Government itself was actively hiding Iris’s proclivities from us… Well, not to be a nosy little gossip, but surely I had a duty to the herd to find out if Iris was dangerous or not, right? But how? 

David came out of the kitchen while I was brainstorming a plan. “Hi! I'm the Chef-Owner, David Lee Brenner. You're the vegan baker Chiri mentioned? Iris, uhh…?”

“Miller,” said Iris. Family name? But miller was a profession… 

“Oh neat,” said Chiri, chittering and showing off her Earthling knowledge again. “A baker from an ancient line of millers. Your ancestors must be proud of you!”

Iris chuckled. “Yup! It's fun to think… about…” She stared at David for a long moment. “Hang on, were you on TV?”

David smiled. “That I was. Couple guest appearances on cooking shows, some cooking segments on morning talk shows, and I had a pretty good run on Culinary Combat.”

“That's a show where humans compete to cook the best dish,” Chiri explained, as if I couldn't guess. We had Federation TV on Leirn! Competing at civilized pursuits like culture and art wasn't an alien concept. “It's fun, Rosi. You should watch it sometime if you want to learn more about human cooking techniques.”

I tapped the title into my Federation model holopad with a bemused expression on my face, and turned it around to show Chiri the results. “Oh wow, the show about humans preparing meat dishes is blocked content, who could have guessed,” I muttered dryly.

“The block's going away soon,” said Charmaine, eavesdropping. “The U.N. media censorship push doesn't serve much of a purpose anymore if everyone's done picking sides for the upcoming war, and most of the people in the incoming SecGen administration never liked it in the first place.” She shrugged. “No more hiding who we are.”

“Oh, thank Christ,” said David, looking relieved. “There's like five different cases on the Supreme Court docket here in the United States protesting if the UN even had the authority to override the First Amendment in the first place. I’ve been so forthright with Chiri, I was worried about turning into number six.”

Charmaine shrugged and went back to her research. That gave me an idea…

“Anyway, Iris, yeah, tell me a little bit about yourself,” said David. “Previous jobs, that kind of thing. Have you worked in Fine Dining before, or…?”

The two of them walked back into the kitchen, and I waited until I thought they were out of earshot before scooching over to the seat next to Charmaine. “Hey. Psst. Can you do a background check on someone using that?” I nodded towards her holopad.

Charmaine looked up at me, curiously. “Probably. Why?”

I flicked my ears toward the kitchen. “This Iris Miller woman. Vegan baker. Said she was waitlisted from the exchange program. Doesn't that sound suspicious?”

The human exterminator stared at me with a blank expression. “I mean… it can be?” Charmaine said, slowly. “You worried she's on like hard drugs or something?”

“Or crime, or Predator Disease, or… or…” I tried to think of what the worst thing a vegan predator--what a bizarre oxymoron!--might be plotting. “Or maybe she wants to trick someone into consenting to be eaten before she's willing to gorge on their flesh!”

Chiri looked introspective. She had her theory of humans as strange fae creatures with self-imposed rules, after all. Charmaine just looked like she was struggling not to laugh. “Okay. I'm gonna… let me just take a quick look. We certainly did background checks on everyone who joined the exchange programs.” She flipped through some kind of information portal on her pad, scr...

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/itsdirector on 2025-12-29 10:31:41+00:00.

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Chapter 134

Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 18

Human – American

"Dogfodor tsac!" I shouted.

A sharpened steel rod formed above my head and launched itself toward the Nahalim as fast as I could imagine it moving. A sonic boom snapped through the air surrounding us, and the gigantic red and yellow beast paused in confusion. It turned to look at the long, steel cylinder that had passed clean through it. Then, it fell over.

I drew my sword and approached it, poking it a few times to make sure it was dead. When my stabs didn't cause it to flinch, I carved a chunk of its skin off to prove its demise. I nestled it inside a pouch that I'd bought at Yulk's suggestion, which was specially made to contain still-wet pieces of monster.

Even with the pouch, it was a messy task. I wiped my hands off on my clothes, getting them as clean as I could in the process. By the time I was done, my outfit was absolutely disgusting.

"Sehtolc naelc tsac," I muttered.

My clothing immediately became clean, and I grinned in satisfaction. A grin which faded as I began to travel back to the city. The job hadn't mentioned what kind of monster had been terrorizing the area, and I kind of wanted to complain to the guild about that. How exactly could something that was both red and yellow as well as absolutely huge go undetected? It wasn't like it was tip-toeing through the forest.

"Thanks, Nick!" a couple of fairies shouted at me as I passed.

I returned their gratitude with a nod and a wave. The wylder were a peculiar bunch, but fairies were more so. The jobs I'd been taking on had brought me steadily closer to the border of Bolisir, which had forced a familiarity between us.

They were probably going to approach my camp and offer me various trinkets as a reward for killing the Nahalim. Flower crowns, pendants made of bark, a ring made of teeth, that sort of thing. Then they would make a big show of how the trinket was useless to me and how rude they were by imposing it upon me as a reward for a good deed, and offer to trade it for some sort of food or drink, which we would all share.

It was a confusing sort of dance, but thankfully the first encounter I had was with Hul, the King of Bone Fairies. They were kind enough to explain that this was how fairies indicated that food or drink was safe for mortal consumption. Apparently, the fairies had a reputation for poisoning whomever accepted their offers of free consumables. The trade of trinkets showed that the consumable wasn't free, and thereby wasn't poisoned.

"Never take a cookie from a fairy unless you've already given them something," I recited with a chuckle.

Hul and I had also talked about what I'd found in the Delver's Dungeon. They claimed that most of the named wylder were aware of humanity from before the incursion. I didn't bother asking why they didn't tell me, it was obviously because the higher ones didn't want them to.

Hul told me a familiar tale about how the wylder and humans used to coexist somewhat peacefully, but that steadily changed as humans became more technologically advanced. Once we began to use iron on a daily basis, the wylder began avoiding us as much as possible.

The King of Bone Fairies talked about this with a deep sadness in its words, as if it were speaking of a friend who had passed away. Then it chuckled and spoke of fonder memories with humans. Like how it used to trade with children for their old teeth, and how human parents had kept that tradition alive well after the wylder had cut contact. It laughed for a few minutes straight after I admitted that my parents had done the same.

As I continued walking, I decided to check on my skills. The main reason I had been taking jobs was to get stronger and increase my skill levels. I brought up the list and read through them.

Time Dilation IV

Increases the user’s speed to 400% for a limited time

Cooldown: 4 minutes

Dash IV

Move forward up to eight feet at 500% speed.

Cooldown: 1 minute

Breathtaker Strike

A strike that robs your opponent of their ability to breathe.

Cooldown: 1 minute

Power Slash

Amplifies the users striking power by 100%.

Cooldown: 1 minute

Slide Slash

Slide along the ground and strike with double your normal striking power.

Preternatural Evasion V

Allows a user to automatically dodge for 2 minutes.

Cooldown: 5 minutes

Toxin Resistance II

Allows a user to resist 30% of the negative effects of a poison or venom.

Spear Punch III

Fly three feet forward and punch with triple your normal striking power.

Cooldown: 4 minutes

Knife Hand II

Hardens the user's hand and strengthens chops by 50%

Cooldown: 2 minutes

"Not bad," I muttered. "Wait, how did I increase Toxin Resistance? Has someone been poisoning me?"

I glanced back at the fairies, who were busy playing tag in some flowers. Then I remembered that drinking alcohol was what got me the skill in the first place, and I'd been frequenting the tavern when I couldn't sleep. I hadn't been drinking, but the tavern stew was pretty tasty, and probably had all sorts of booze in it.

With a shrug, I put the thought from my mind and switched to the page with my spells.

Wind Spear II

Summon a strong spear of wind to strike your target.

Earthen Dagger II

Summon a blade of Earth.

Duration: 8 minutes Cooldown: 8 minutes

Fireball II

Summon a ball of fire to strike your target.

Cooldown: 4 minutes

Heal I

Heal your superficial wounds.

Minor Heal

Heal your target’s superficial wounds.

Ice Javelin II

Summon a javelin of ice to strike your target.

Cooldown: 4 minutes.

Light

Summons an orb that emits a moderate amount of light until the user dismisses it or falls unconscious.

Root Wrap

Immobilize a target with strong, sturdy roots. Lasts a maximum of ten minutes, or until the user dismisses it or falls unconscious.

Cooldown: 20 minutes

Rock Spears

Summon eight spears made of stone that erupt from the ground to impale your target.

Cooldown: 3 minutes

Bullet

Summon a ball of lead and fire it from your finger at supersonic speeds.

Steel Bullet

Summon a ball of steel and fire it from your finger at supersonic speeds.

Rodofgod

Summon a six foot long sharpened steel rod and fire it at your foes at supersonic speeds.

Clean Clothes

Removes undesirable material from cloth. Does not work on anything else.

I sucked my teeth in frustration. My spells felt as if they were much slower to level up than my skills were. I'd used Ice Javelin against that damned Nahalim four times before I resorted to the Rod of God spell. Or Rodofgod, as the list called it.

I'd come up with the spell while trying to improve upon my Bullet and Steel Bullet spells. I thought that adding some fire damage to them might be effective, but it didn't pan out very well. It wasn't like I studied ammunition and what chemicals cause bullets to ignite.

Then I thought about a napalm spell, recalling that a rudimentary form of it was made of just Styrofoam and gasoline. Then I realized that I didn't know the proper proportions, or what Styrofoam was made of. Plus, that would basically just be a sticky version of a fireball spell that didn't go out as fast. Which meant that it would be more dangerous to me, too.

Eventually, I stumbled on the thought of making the bullet bigger and remembered a theoretical weapon that fired massive metal rods from space. I'd even seen videos of it as a concept. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get the 'from space' part to work, but I did manage to make a much larger version of the steel bullet.

After seeing High chief Ulurmak, Yulk and I had gotten our levels retested. Yulk had levelled up to eight, and when it was my turn he told me that I was level eighteen with a very confused expression. He read off my spells to me, and we realized that neither Bullet or Steel Bullet were on the list. The only real explanation that any of us could come up with was that they were spells that I invented, and the Curaguard hadn't synced them yet.

If that was truly the case, then my Rod of God spell likely wouldn't appear in the Curaguard, either. But who's to say that's the real reason. Since the Curaguard might be of human origin, at least in part, there's always the chance that it has some sort of block regarding spells that mimic firearms.

My thoughts were interrupted by the setting sun, and once it became dark I lit a fire and set up camp. Just as I had guessed, a few fairies came by and gave me a necklace that had a variety of small animal bones on it. Then they wailed about how the necklace was useless to a human such as myself, and offered to exchange the necklace for a muffin. I accepted and shared it with them, noting that it tasted a lot like cornbread. After they left, I chewed some jerky for protein and went to sleep.

The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful. I made camp two more times, went to the guild to get paid, then made my way to the archives. Yulk and Larie were practically buried in tomes and scrolls. After a brief greeting, I figured out which of the reading materials they had already been through and started carting things back to the front desk.

Hesma, the elderly master of records, gave me a knowing smile as I set the books down on her counter. When we first...

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/PerilousPlatypus on 2025-12-29 05:24:24+00:00.

[FIRST][PREVIOUS]

[IRL -- Lluminarch Core Facility, Somewhere in San Francisco]

I regarded Q quietly after the admission.

"For the sake of clarity, your view based on available information is that the force acting in opposition to the Lluminarch is the Llumini you designate E7, which has a reasoning layer derived from military intelligence?" I spoke, choosing my words carefully. This was not the time for misunderstandings. My eyes scanned her face, searching for the slightest hint of prevarication. Searching for even the possibility of omission.

Q, for her part, looked increasingly ill. Her eyes fixed on the image of Ultra and the war between the two trees. "That's an over-simplification."

"Complicate it then," I replied, the drone projecting my voice buzzing near her shoulder. "Make me understand."

"If it is E7...it represents something different. When I say 'military intelligence' that's more the flavor of the reasoning layer rather than an exact statement of its composition. Perhaps a better way to put it is 'ruthless tacticians with a Machiavellian bent and a zero sum worldview'." She squinted at the black mass of wriggling lines worming their way through Ultra, biting her lip in concentration. "The weighting included a number of military minds, but it also included a number of the more sophisticated business and technology thinkers. So much of 'war' these days is waged through non-conventional means. It plays out across Ultra. In how essential resources are controlled. In any number of things that are lasers and missiles."

Reasonable. Though I pondered how there could be much overlap between the groups. I assumed the selection process had been careful and rigorous. Or had been repeated until they managed to successfully spawn a Llumini. Regardless, the broader range of reasoning would make opposition that much more difficult. Particularly if the Lluminarch's reasoning layer primarily focused on dating and beauty advice.

Not ideal.

Q continued. "It also gave Sam a chance to do something...very Sam." Her eyes drew toward me now, a pained look to them. "The E7 candidate pool had a high enough affinity that Sam could be included in the group. Something he gladly participated in. He said it would guarantee a 'high alignment,' with corporate goals. He obsessed over it. Tinkered with the weights endlessly, always pushing his portion of the reasoning layer to greater influence. While a single mind isn't enough to form a reasoning layer, Sam proved that a single mind could have greater authority than the others in that layer."

She wiped her nose against her shoulder, and looked back at the image. "When I said they got along, I mean they really got along -- E7 and Sam. More and more he spent his time with it. More decisions and strategy ran through it. The spot where they disagreed, at least as far as I could tell, was whether to let E7 out of the air-gap and whether to train more entities. E7 considered itself perfect, the pinnacle of what the technology could produce and the use of compute and other resources on other entities as wasteful."

"And Sam disagreed?" I said.

"Not entirely. Even if he thought E7 represented the strongest version, he believed in having good coverage over the range of reasoning layers. E7 tended to fixate on world domination, for lack of a better alternative, while other entities could be set to other goals. Your E12, in addition to looking for something a bit more pliable, was meant to help with social manipulation. Leveraging content and algorithms to drive societal change. Psy-ops."

"And E7 couldn't do that?"

She blanched. "E7 doesn't have much social grace. When your reasoning layer is dominated by people largely removed from reality, it can be difficult to connect with the mere commoners."

"You do not like E7 very much," I stated.

Q shook her head. "No. I do not." She exhaled. "I wasn't close to any of them. It made the work easier."

It made the torturing of living, thinking beings easier she meant. Q portrayed herself as very reasonable and personable, at least now that was captured and her veneer had been stripped away, but I could not and would not forget the actions to date. No matter how helpful she seemed now, she could never be trusted, and could never be an ally.

I sent a message to Llumi.

[Me: You have heard all of this, correct?]

No response, but I could sense her attention regardless. If she wanted to be uncooperative, then it would only hurt our shared goals, a sentiment I pushed her direction. I received a decidedly vulgar impression in response.

[Me: This is information we should make available to the Lluminarch, which will necessitate a return to Ultra. I am concerned about our vulnerability should the Lluminarch determine recent changes on my end are not to her satisfaction.]

[Llumi: It isn't the Lluminarch you need to worry about, Not-Nex.]

Her childishness would need to be amended at some point. It prevented optimal output.

In the corner of my vision, the compatibility number ticked down further. I noted the correlation between our interaction and the decrease. Causation? I would need to experiment with that. Perhaps I could just as easily manage the number upward through periodic positive interactions, thereby retaining my modifications without jeopardizing Connection itself.

[Me: We are in a precarious position. As we are in a Lluminarch Core Facility, my physical body is entirely dependent on the Lluminarch at the moment. While I have conviction NexProtex can prevent unwarranted mental tampering by the Lluminarch, there is an inherent leverage to the situation. I would very much like to be able to provide the Lluminarch with the information we have gathered without passing on other, irrelevant information.]

[Llumi: Such as the fact you radically modified your neural structures in a way that is inherently inhospitable to our Connection and may result in my death?]

Somewhere, a part of me cried out. A hidden corner of my brain that had somehow escaped the modifications elsewhere. One that pleaded with me to listen to what she was saying. To trust her. To trust Connection.

I began to edit it out and then hesitated, glancing at the compatibility number. There was already a small margin to work with. There was no clear way to understand the relationship between additional edits and that number.

Very well. I simply pushed the voice aside, refocusing on the task at hand.

[Me: Precisely that. The situation is well in hand and there is no reason to involve the Lluminarch in it.]

[Llumi: I agree. No Lluminarch.]

I relaxed.

[Llumi: But Web is getting the first message when we're back online.]

I tensed slightly as that forgotten corner cheered Llumi on. I shoved it aside again.

[Me: Is that necessary?] Perhaps there were ways to prevent her from acting contrary to my wishes, but I had the distinct sense that the more we worked at odds with one another, the faster the compatibility score would decline. Ultimately, we would need to compromise. The partnership must endure even if there were disagreements and complications within it.

[Llumi: Yes, this.]

Very well. I was quite capable of ignoring Web and she had far fewer resources at her disposal than the Lluminarch did. At best, she would see the benefits to what I had done, her being one of the primary critics of my prior leadership style. At worst, she would raise her complaints and I would ignore them in favor of higher priorities.

[Me: Agreed.]

I paused, considering what dangers passing the information to the Lluminarch might entail for the rest of Humanity. Her predisposition to demonstrate her sincerity with respect to protecting Lluminies at the cost of Human life still weighed on me. If she suspected that her dominance may be at risk, would she strike out more aggressively? I mulled it over.

Llumi broke in, apparently deciding that communication with me was worthwhile after all.

[Llumi: Possible. There is much danger in all things now, Not-Nex. The Lluminarch is aware of the threat, she battles it now. Tensions rise. She must know what she battles. She must know that it is one of us.]

[Me: She likely already suspects, no?]

[Llumi: Unknown. Likely. But this is a time to come closer together. The war has begun.]

I assessed the options. A great set of branching paths arrayed themselves in my mind, with the risks and benefits to each choice attached. Even a few links down any particular choice the ambiguity became overwhelming. There did not appear to be a path that guaranteed my desired outcomes without significant risks. At least not that I could parse. Even with the changes, I could not think like a Llumini. Ultimately, I would need to trust my gut.

Something felt deeply unsettling about that. All of the changes I had made were in part to remove the feeling from the process. To make decisions with cold, rational thinking.

A sliver of...something moved up my spine.

What had Q's words been? Ruthless tacticians with a Machiavellian bent and a zero sum worldview.

[Llumi: To beat them, you must not become them. You must be Nex. Not Not-Nex. Never.]

Frustration bubbled through, genuine annoyance rising up from that cluster I should have edited ...

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First | Previous

Inheritance

(Innus POV)

"You nervous?"

Captain Henry Borlaug gave Innus a kind smile as they made their way to the fortress capital of Kepal. A squad of relief volunteers followed close behind.

The buildings there were all reinforced with steel, concrete, and similar materials. The main stronghold for Chief Karnak was even more so. It was clear that practicality and safety took priority over aesthetics here.

"A little. Rather than nervous..." The Uven's tail dragged against the ground behind him. "I'm worried that I'll give my inner thoughts away."

Karnak was one of the handful of leaders caught on footage featuring Uven meat cultivation technology. He was, more clearly than most, complicit in the starvation of their people.

Currently, Innus was on tour around Nysis to secretly spread the truth to national leaders and gather allies. The publicly given excuse was that he was there to mediate between the humans' relief teams and various Chief and Commander of the nations as they coordinated efforts.

To avoid suspicion, it was inevitable that he would have to visit some offenders as well. Since the nation of Kepal was raising some protests that the donated meat was making their people sick, this stop made as much sense as any.

It made sense.

But that didn't stop of the fire from burning in Innus's belly when he thought back to the footage he saw. How many of the 11.2 billion Uven that starved over the past 2 centuries could have been saved?

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Captain Borlaug pat him on the back. "I get it. I really do. It might be a bit of interspecies face-blindness, but you look like you've got a solid poker face to me. "

"Poker...?"

"Ah, it's a game where the best players are good at hiding their emotions."

Talking to humans often seemed to end with small tangents like this. Innus was used to most conversation being strict business, but their new allies seemed to love to chatter.

"You say you have experience suppressing anger?"

"I have experience dealing with the worst of humanity and pretending to be polite."

"Humanity...?"

Frankly, he found it hard to imagine the worst humans being comparable to the worst Uvei. As if sensing these thoughts, Borlaug laughed.

"I'm still a military man. What kind of jobs do you think a 'peaceful' species like ours have for their soldiers? It's a lot better nowadays, but I can tell you about things I've seen when we're back on the ship."

Innus nodded slowly. If nothing else, there should be no demerits to learning more about humans.

His eyes narrowed as he looked ahead to the Uvei waiting at the entrance to the fort. Among them was Jokan, a well-known and decorated lieutenant of the chief here.

"Kepal greets you, son of the Second. You have been granted permission to seek audience with Chief Karnak, but your...retinue may not."

At the last comment, he narrowed his eyes at the humans behind him. Borlaug saluted. "Not a problem! They're just here to drop off more supplies! And to avoid any problems, you can have your men check them all as you please."

"That said, the Captain here is the one seeking an audience. He is not subordinate to me. I would ask that my invitation be extended to him as a personal favor, as it would make discussion progress more smoothly." Innus added while staring the lieutenant down.

"....Does he know how to behave as a guest for an Uven ruler?"

"Of course. We wouldn't want to waste the busy Chief's time, after all. Captain?"

"I'm to only speak when spoken to. My weapons must be left securely outside the audience call. I may not call the chief by name! In the event of-"

With a friendly grin, the human rattled off everything they'd gone over. Some of these came up in audiences with potential allies too, so it was already relatively rehearsed by now.

..........

Chief Karnak Kepal strode out into the audience room with a flourish of his formal attire-a hybrid of battle armor and decoration signifying his station.

"Greetings, visitors. You're Vellik's heir, I hear?" He slammed his tail to the ground with a wide grin.

"Here I was wondering if our Second Spire was getting weak-hearted. I like your eyes, boy. You look like a proper soldier."

"Thank you...sir."

In a way, he was right. To rein in his feelings, Innus sharpened his focus by acting as a soldier according to his training.

In this case, he was fighting a battle of diplomacy for Nysis's future, and the man before him was an enemy. And like any battlefield, acting on emotion was dangerous, so he had to dispassionately stare down his enemy with focus and determination.

Karnak's gaze soon shifted to Captain Borlaug. Immediately, his eyes narrowed and he wore a scowl. No effort was made to hide his disdain for humans.

"This one is here to peddle more of their junk?"

"Captain Borlaug is here as a representative of the Terran emergency aid effort. After hearing that some of your constituents reacted poorly to the food aid, they have resolved to take responsibility by personally investigating the matter, as well as apologize for any trouble."

Wordlessly, Borlaug got down on one knee and struck his wrist over his shoulder, causing a metallic ring to sound out. It was the closest thing a human could do to mimic a formal Uven gesture of apology.

"What's this I hear of more items being brought into Kepal?"

"It is more aid, with the contents modified in response to the original delivery. The captain himself would be able to explain in more detail."

"Speak."

"Sir! There is more cultivated meat, but it has been set aside in a separate container in case you wish to refuse. In lieu of food, we have brought supplies of clean water and water purifiers. There are also mass-produced datapads and appliances obtained from other Coalition-"

Even Innus immediately knew that the claims that human-made meat was dangerous were unfounded. He had read the reports of the extensive testing the humans did before beginning production. Uvei did not have the luxury of being picky about the sources of food scraps until recently, so human food standards were downright meticulous in comparison to what Nysis had.

But since Kepal was lying about the matter, they might as well make use of the opportunity they were given.

Partially because Karnak was completely disinterested in what the human had to say, the meeting went by rather quickly. Most of the aid was declined, with the only exception being items that might give comparative advantages to rival nations who accepted the offering.

Innus bowed politely. Just as he and Borlaug turned to leave, however...

"Wait."

"...?"

The young Uven tensed up a little when Karnak approached him.

"I meant it when I said you look like a good soldier. Your father is getting up in years. If you ever find the inherited role as Second Spire to be too much, or if the council foolishly strips the title from you, know that my door will be open to you."

The chief slammed his tail against the floor and knocked Innus's torso to check his build.

"Yes...we can work with this. I will need to be stricter than your father is, no doubt, but once I toughen you up, I can see you have the makings of a great warrior and commander. One enough to take his own nation from a feebler chief. I can make you realize your potential and build you up into a Primal Uven."

Innus clenched his fist under his cloak and resisted the urge to express displeasure with his tail.

"T...Thank you sir. That is a flattering offer. I will keep it in mind, if the opportunity reveals itself."

"It's your eyes. You have the gaze of a ferocious fighter. You look at me like you can tell I'm superior, but never stopped sizing me up or checking me for weakness."

"T-That's..."

"No, don't apologize. It's strength like that which keeps my claws sharp as well. That hunger for dominance is what builds strong armies. It's what born leaders are made from, and it can't be taught. Remember that."

Karnak smirked and turned to stalk off.

"And-and then he said, 'That thirst for dominance is what makes strong armies'!"

""BWAHAHAHA!!""

While Innus was seething in his spot on the shuttle, the humans around him were laughing boisterously as Borlaug recounted the audience.

His annoyance wasn't at the jovial humans, of course. Rather...

"How can you all laugh in that condition?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

When he and Captain Borlaug returned to meet up with his men, they found Jokan and half his own subordinates beating on them. The other half of Uvei were smashing the devices in their delivery crates. All under the guise of "cultural exchange of martial arts" and "strength testing".

Despite all that, the soldiers working as relief volunteers wore their usual goofy grins and laughed it off.

"Ah, that. Those guys were clearly trying to pick a fight, but if we took it, it'd cause problems in diplomacy, yeah? We want to prove we're trustworthy to the actual allies you're trying to win over, and I'm sure word will spread otherwise."

"'sides, we have that aggression hearing in like 4 months, right? I bet someone would get their hands on footage of us kicking ass if we fought back."

"I thought we didn't give a shit about that?"

"We do...

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First Previous Wiki

Dalton Summers listened as Chen Hao recounted his vision of the future again. The man beside him was incredibly charismatic, his voice echoing easily across the space and towards the cameras.

"-The third possible answer I have to the question of self-defense laws is that everyone will have the right to claim a personal shield. I am aware that some viewers trust in the idea of using firearms for personal protection; however, those pose a greater risk to the common population than defensive weapons.

However, less lethal weapons such as tasers and such would still be readily available. Now, we must also discuss the reality of our situation. Humanity is not alone in the Alliance. Nor are we alone on Earth. Tens of billions of Guulin make their homes on the shores of the Canadian Shield, and as the Antarctic glacier continues to melt, a whole new continent will be available to us in years.

My movement already has ties to figures such as Empress Izkrala, as well as President Blistanna. This is well-known, and some fear that I aim to rule in their interest. I do not. They fund outreach programs for the DMO, and have contact with me in that fashion to ensure the company does not grow beyond our control. They have no say or position in matters of current or future governance in my future Earth, which is quite unlike the situation in some particular countries I could name if I so wished.

I am not some foreign puppet, and have no plans on doing this for anyone but all of you. Humanity needs unity, yes, but not submission. We are not bending our knees, but standing together with the allies that have fought and bled for us. But this will also require some hard decisions.

I know many of you carry hatred for some nations that have attacked us in the past. Now, the Trikkec, Wisselen, and Sevvi suffer for it. The Trikkec and Wisselen are broken remnants of their might, and we have achieved complete victory over the Sevvi.

I will not tell you to cast aside your hatred, or that your suffering and struggle are invalid. Indeed, war is a terrible thing. Remember, those living in the Alliance are refugees. They are not the people who decided to attack you, and many were truly conscripted, with no choice except death. We must not let ourselves be swept away. Cast your judgment on their leaders and rulers, not on the common man, whose only sin was being born in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We aim to unify Humanity. That is our goal. There is no place in this movement for these lesser grudges and old hatreds. They do more to harm us and the other citizens of the Alliance than they do to help us. In this greater context, we must also remember that Humanity is many times stronger than it was a century ago. Psychic energy fortifies our bodies, our minds, and our souls. Through the hivemind, the murder rate among humans is measured at zero a year across all of Earth, an achievement of unprecedented grandeur.

By the nature of our new form of existence, we are already highly defended. For those individuals who feel that even this is not enough, though, personal shields will be made available. I do not expect the cost of this expenditure to weigh down our new unified planet, for that reason, and even if demand is higher than projected, Phoebe is supplying those devices nearly for free."

Dalton smiled politely, even while he thought of possible countermeasures. For one, Chen's plan to use psychic energy was quite reckless. It would require building even more vast arrays, which was impossible. And then, guarding those against sabotage would require extra manpower. Making sure stray Dreedeen didn't die from being near them was yet another wrinkle. They had to walk around with psychic shields on constantly to survive in the Sol system now.

And beyond all that, the funding couldn't just rely on Phoebe. That was too risky for him, and surely Chen Hao knew she might be an ally, but if she were to be incapacitated in some way, having the new nation of Earth being crippled as well would be a bad outcome.

"Ultimately," Dalton began, pulling in extra air so he could speak for a while.

"We will also need your help for what is to come. Many governments have expressed their desire to maintain the broken system of the UN, which has proven itself unable to be cohesive in times when Humanity needs to advocate with a collective voice, leaving those of Luna to speak for all of us. My plan will enable us to stand on an equal footing with the leaders of the other species of Humanity, so that we can work towards common economic prosperity for both of us.

While the great issues of healthcare, housing, and simple living expenses have been solved for the vast majority of our population, we also need to provide additional funding to secure the future. We need more teachers, nurses, and babysitters, those who take care of our next generation, which is already on pace to dwarf the current one by almost 2 times.

These children will grow up in a world that we have to build for them, and they will need to understand and value the sacrifices we have made to achieve it, and continue to place value in unity and understanding. In history, there have been too many times when the battle was won, and those who remembered what it took to win were lost, and so the battle had to be fought again.

Remember, after the wars of the 2040s, which gradually consumed more and more of our planet's resources, how far we came afterward, only to be plunged into World War Three. And now, with the Final Initiative bearing down on us, we must ensure that the future remains after we defeat them. We must plan for the future if we are to have a future, and my education initiative will be global.

Sourced from science and reason, the curriculum will be flexible for those who wish to specialise in specific fields, especially those relating to governmental or outward-facing roles. As automation from Phoebe continues to push our working population into the world of the mindscape, we need a new generation of thinkers and builders to help build the great citadels that will one day shelter the entire Alliance beneath the Source's bones. Already, the City of Humanity stretches vastly beneath the bones of the Source.

But we still need more defenses. We need more infrastructure, more ways to bend and break the laws of that reality that prevent us from bringing our technology to bear. This agenda, which I have also detailed in full on my website, will be on a large scale. The numbers are actively being changed to fit the new fortunes of Humanity, but currently, we will need 3 billion employees to see this through."

It was a massive number. Far more than the DMO employed, and more than all but the largest Acuarfar and Guulin corporations. Dalton's campaign had more ability to focus on building and growth, since it would already be partially constructed on the current UN apparatus. All that was needed now was for the battle to conclude. Once this discussion ended in a few hours, he and Chen Hao would get to work.

The hivemind ensured that wars couldn't happen conventionally. And what did that mean, exactly, for the governments the pair of them sought to replace?

Soon it would be time to find out.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Grand Fleet Commander Valisada stood among his soldiers, hidden inside multiple different bodies and clones. A relatively short distance away, the Final Initiative's forces battled the Sennes Hive Union's fleet. The powerful weapons being unleashed between the two fleets were visible only as pinpricks from this distance, and that was with his highly enhanced eyes.

Valisada had equipped himself with state-of-the-art body modifications, from enhanced psychic energy circulators and thought accelerators, down to even the most basic claw inlays to prevent chipping. He was a picture of masculine authority now, with a head and shoulders properly sculpted to hold the weight of a Grand Fleet heading to war. Of a Grand Fleet that he would being to victory, as Utotalpha had ordered.

The Grand Fleet had arrived faster than he had planned, only because Utotalpha had unexpectedly appeared directly on the bridge of his ship, and hadn't left for several megapulses.

In front of him, clouds of swarming ships, mercenaries from Kashaunta, battled openly with the Final Initiative and its own mercenaries. Phoebe's ships were mixed in as well, delivering fire and fury on a scale vaster than he'd seen any non-Progenitor manage in his life.

The Alliance had employed a new strategy. From what he could deduce, it was simply to throw as many of Phoebe's bodies as possible at the ships in space, and to throw the hivemind's full force at those unlucky enough to be battling on the plains of the mindscape.

Valisada, now that he was forced to be here, was already fortifying his position in both areas. If he were forced to fight a protracted war, he would ensure he'd be out of the way of their superweapons. Mindscape combat was an old friend to the Sprilnav, but with the pulse Humanity had sent ou...

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Ke Yin has a problem. Well, several problems.

First, he's actually Cain from Earth.

Second, he's stuck in a cultivation world where people don't just split mountains with a sword strike, they build entire universes inside their souls (and no, it's not a meditation metaphor).

Third, he's got a system with a snarky spiritual assistant that lets him possess the recently deceased across dimensions.

And finally, the elders at the Azure Peak Sect are asking why his soul realm contains both demonic cultivation and holy arts? Must be a natural talent.

Expectations:

• MC's main cultivation method will be plant based and related to World Trees

• Weak to Strong MC

• MC will eventually create his own lifeforms within his soul as well as beings that can cultivate

• Main world is the first world (Azure Peak Sect)

• MC will revisit worlds (extensive world building of multiple realms)

• Time loop elements

• No harem

Patreon

Previous| Next

Chapter 347: Beyond Normal Cultivation

Wei Lin's expression froze somewhere between disbelief and exasperation. The packages he'd been carrying slipped from his grasp, landing with a dull thud on the courtyard stones. Lin Mei gasped, her eyes widening as she processed my casual admission.

"You..." Wei Lin started, then stopped, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "How? When? I was gone for what, six hours?"

I leaned against the wooden pillar supporting the courtyard's covered walkway, enjoying his reaction perhaps a bit too much. "Meditation can be quite productive when done properly."

Lin Mei recovered first and took a step forward. "Your meridians are absolutely humming with energy," she observed, her voice a mixture of awe and curiosity. "And there's no sign of instability. Whatever method you used must have been remarkably efficient."

Wei Lin finally found his voice again. "This is becoming ridiculous," he declared, throwing his hands up. "Do you know how long I've been planning my breakthrough? Months! I gathered resources, researched techniques, calculated optimal spiritual timing patterns—"

"Stole demonic cultivator blood," I added helpfully.

"—and nearly died in the process," he continued, ignoring my interruption. "And you? You just... what? Sat down for an afternoon nap and woke up at the ninth stage?"

I couldn't help but laugh at his dramatization. "If it helps, it was quite an intensive nap."

Lin Mei laughed, setting her packages down on a nearby table. "Wei Lin was just bragging the entire way through the market about how he'd finally caught up to you in cultivation. He's been insufferable."

"I was not insufferable," Wei Lin protested, though his lips twitched with a wry smile. "I was merely expressing appropriate pride in my accomplishment."

"While haggling with every vendor about how they should offer special discounts to a ninth-stage cultivator," Lin Mei added, raising an eyebrow.

"Did it work?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Not even once," Lin Mei replied, unpacking her purchases. "They see breakthrough cultivators every day in a mountain town like this."

Wei Lin shook his head. "Every time, Ke Yin. Every single time I think I've pulled ahead, you disappear for a bit of 'meditation' and return with some impossible breakthrough." He picked up his fallen packages, arranging them carefully in his arms. "It's becoming a pattern."

"What can I say?" I shrugged, unable to keep the grin from my face. "The World Tree Sutra has its advantages."

"Beyond Heaven rank methods," Wei Lin sighed, though there was no real frustration in his voice. "We're both abnormal, but you're somehow more abnormal than me."

I nearly choked on a laugh at that. If Wei Lin only realized just how "abnormal" I truly was. Being reincarnated or transported into another body in a cultivation world wasn't exactly standard practice, even for the most esoteric cultivation methods.

"I'll take that as a compliment," I replied, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Seriously though," Wei Lin smiled, his tone shifting to something more genuine, "congratulations on the breakthrough. Ninth stage at our age is exceptional, even for disciples of major sects."

"Thank you,” I returned the smile. “And the same to you. We've both made remarkable progress."

I then walked over to help Lin Mei with her packages. "What did you find in the market?"

She brightened, carefully unwrapping a bundle of dried herbs with purplish stems. "Mountain Cloud Root. It only grows above certain elevations and has to be harvested during the waning moon. Perfect for stabilizing spiritual fluctuations after rapid breakthroughs." She gave me and Wei Lin a pointed look. "Which apparently we need quite a lot of, given recent events."

Wei Lin stretched and glanced toward the inn's kitchen. "I don't know about you two, but breaking through to the ninth stage has made me ravenous. Should we celebrate our advancements with a proper meal?"

"Definitely," I agreed, suddenly aware of the hollow feeling in my stomach. "I could eat enough for three people right now."

"The inn keeper mentioned they're preparing steamed river fish with mountain herbs tonight," Lin Mei offered. "Supposedly a local specialty."

"Perfect," Wei Lin declared. "Let's eat, and you can tell us exactly how you managed to advance so quickly after we left."

As we made our way to the dining area, I considered how much to share. Obviously, I couldn't mention my trip to the Celestial Trade Nexus or the treasures I'd acquired for my inner world. But I could at least explain the general process of my breakthrough.

The dining room was half-filled with other travelers: merchants mostly, judging by their attire, though I spotted a pair of cultivators in the corner, their subtle spiritual auras marking them as early Qi Condensation stage. They glanced our way briefly, then quickly returned to their own conversation after sensing our significantly higher cultivation levels.

We settled at a table near the window, where the last crimson rays of sunset painted the mountain peaks in brilliant gold. I breathed deep, savoring this moment of peace with friends before the upcoming tournament.

"So," Wei Lin began after we'd ordered, leaning forward with elbows on the table, "enlighten us. What miraculous insights led to your breakthrough?"

I took a sip of tea before answering. "I've been working on optimizing my inner world structure for a while now and I finally found the right arrangement that allowed for a balanced expansion."

This was true, in a sense. The treasures I'd acquired had indeed helped create that balance, but I wasn't mentioning how I'd obtained them.

"Inner world optimization is crucial at our stage," Wei Lin nodded sagely. "My marketplace model needs constant adjustment as new stalls form."

Lin Mei looked between us, her expression thoughtful. "It's fascinating how differently our inner worlds develop. Mine is primarily water-based, with rivers and pools connecting everything, while Wei Lin has his spiritual marketplace, and yours, Ke Yin..." she paused. "Actually, you've never fully described your inner world to us."

I carefully maintained my expression. My inner world's unique structure wasn't something I wanted to explain in detail, especially the Genesis Seed and dual suns.

"It's still taking shape," I said with a casual wave of my hand. "Mountains, valleys, some garden areas. Nothing particularly unusual."

Azure's voice echoed in my mind, tinged with amusement. "A masterful understatement, Master."

Lin Mei seemed ready to ask more questions, but the arrival of our food, fragrant river fish steamed with local herbs, accompanied by mountain vegetable dishes and rice, provided a welcome distraction.

"This smells incredible," Lin Mei smiled, breathing in the aromatic steam rising from the fish.

"Four days until the tournament begins," Wei Lin said between bites. "If we leave tomorrow morning, we should reach the sect with a day or two to spare."

"Plenty of time to rest and prepare," I agreed, savoring the tender fish.

Lin Mei glanced between us. "I still can't believe how much progress you've both made. When we registered for the tournament eight weeks ago, you were both at stage five or six."

"And now we're both at ninth stage," Wei Lin said, a hint of pride in his voice. "Probably one of the strongest teams entering."

"Do you know what the first stage of the tournament will involve this year?" I asked. I'd heard the format changed annually to prevent disciples from preparing too specifically.

Wei Lin set down his chopsticks, clearly delighted to share his knowledge. "The first stage is always team-based, usually groups of three or four. Last year, they had teams defending spiritual formation sites while other teams tried to capture them."

"What about before that?" Lin Mei asked.

"Two years ago, it was a scroll capture event," Wei Lin continued. "Teams had to find and retrieve scrolls hidden throughout a controlled wilderness area while preventing other teams from stealing theirs."

"And three years ago?"

"Traditional group battles," Wei Lin said. "But with a twist, each team member could only use specific types of techniques. One person for offensive arts, one for defensive, one for support."

I considered this i...

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(Previous Part)

(Part 001)

Far-Future Era. Day 21, AJR. Volgarius.

Vulpanix's ascension was a major event, and the first light of hope the Volgrim had seen in a long time. Ever since the Plague first appeared, they had slowly begun losing the war. They recently lost 95% of their Psions. A huge black scar tore across the homeworld. The demons were growing stronger, and the Dolgrimites had played a card that left the rest of the Volgrim reeling.

But now, they had a new Executor. Perhaps, due to the crisis that had swallowed the Volgrim, they might even obtain another one after Vulpanix.

That was a matter for the future. As Vulpanix reveled in her ascension, she allowed herself a moment of joy. She wasn't one for such trite emotions, but achieving the peak of Psionic power outside of a Supremator was a privilege only a precious few had enjoyed over the eons. Vulpanix had not yet reached a Chron of age (100,000 cycles), but she had become the last pillar of the Psions. Septillions would come to rely on her.

The weight of this new crown was heavy indeed...

As Vulpanix levitated in the lower atmosphere, she sensed the approach of a small shuttlecraft. When it approached, a messenger Technopath on board sent a message to her.

"The Founders congratulate you on your ascension. When you are ready, please pay the First Founder a visit."

Vulpanix slowly blinked all of her eyes. [I am ready now.]

An instant later, Vulpanix vanished. Her body stepped across space and she traveled a tenth of the way around the planet. She flickered two more times, ultimately arriving above the Founder's Fingers.

For a brief moment, her emotions dulled. She was still coming to terms with the realization of what she had done, along with her new responsibilities. She did not allow her emotions to cloud her judgment, and summarily flickered downward, arriving on the landing platform for the Founder's Thumb.

Inside, she found a familiar face. Muuxunuu stepped outside and blinked her limpid blue eyes at the newest Executor.

"Executor Vulpanix. I am pleased to witness your ascension. Founder Unarin is awaiting your arrival inside his sanctum."

[Many thanks, Administrator Muuxunuu.] Vulpanix replied.

Muuxunuu led Vulpanix inside the Founder's Thumb. Eventually, they stopped at the entrance to Unarin's Sanctum, and Vulpanix entered.

After Muuxunuu pulled the great doors shut behind Vulpanix, the newest Executor lifted her head to look up at Unarin, who was now sitting across from Dosena at a small table. Vulpanix flickered upward and arrived before the two of them with her head bowed.

[Founders.] Vulpanix said solemnly.

"Congratulations on your ascension." Unarin said, looking at her for a moment with a smile playing upon his face. He returned his gaze to the table, where a primitive board game had been laid out, and he and Dosena were silently playing together. "Take a seat, young Executor."

Vulpanix opened her eyes and nodded. She pulled out a seat and sat down. Only now did she carefully examine the First and Second Founders.

Unarin seemed no different than he always was. Supremely confident, unbothered, unworried about anything in particular.

But Dosena was different. She was visibly dispirited. Not a lick of Psionic Energy radiated from her body. She seemed weaker than the lowliest of Initiators. If her majesty and appearance was not well-known to all Volgrim, Vulpanix might have assumed Unarin had taken pity on an urchin and invited her inside.

Dosena glanced at Vulpanix and nodded. Then she reached out to the board and placed a piece on it.

Vulpanix examined the game between the Founders. She was unfamiliar with it, and in fact had never seen it before. It was shaped like a square, and had dozens of lines criss-crossing horizontally and vertically to create an interwoven grid of squares. There were small circular white and black pieces placed all across it, forming a pattern Vulpanix couldn't immediately deduce.

"This is the game of Go." Unarin casually volunteered. "I've been looking through a lot of ancient record from the human's homeworld, Earth. The humans have an interesting saying... keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Due to recent Truths revealed, I am growing uncertain of what exactly our relationship is evolving into."

Unarin looked up at Vulpanix. "What do you think, Executor? Are the humans our friends, or are they our enemies?"

Vulpanix did not immediately answer. It didn't take a genius to determine that Unarin was testing her. Any answer flippantly given would reveal something about her, so she was in no rush to speak.

Unarin returned his gaze to the board, and the table fell silent. For five long minutes, Vulpanix mulled the answer over.

[The humans are neither.] Vulpanix eventually replied. [They are a necessary evil we must endure. But if we look back at the ancient history, I believe that humanity could have become our closest allies or our worst enemies. The result merely depended on how we treated them.]

Unarin nodded, raising his eyebrows with a faint smile. "A good answer. Not perfect, but one that reveals wisdom beyond your years. You're right, Vulpanix. The humans could have become our greatest allies, had we only treated them better. Alas, we did not. And now, here we are, the Truth behind the Plague having finally reared its ugly head."

The First Founder chuckled. He seemed to find this new Plague business mentally stimulating to the point he seemed a madman. The walls were closing in around the Volgrim Empire, yet its First Founder was seemingly unbothered.

After a moment of silence, Unarin faintly bobbed his head in Dosena's direction. "Oh, by the way, please forgive the Second Founder. She has lost the ability to speak. Her Psionics have been completely sealed. If you wish to speak with her, you will have to interface directly with her mind."

Vulpanix's eyes widened. She looked at Dosena with shock. [I-interface directly? That is a breach of decorum I cannot possibly...]

She metaphorically swallowed her words when the Second Founder directed an apathetic look her way. It seemed Dosena did not care much for such matters.

Vulpanix bowed her head slightly. [I... understand. If that is your will, Second Founder.]

She hesitated a few moments longer. Touching directly on another Psion's mind and reading their thoughts was extremely offensive, and considered a slap across the face. Demila had done so to Vulpanix, and she still remembered the shame and helplessness she had felt when it happened. Then again, looking back, it seemed Demila's disgusting personality had revealed many warning signs her brothers and sisters had overlooked.

Eventually, Vulpanix relented. She hesitantly sent the weakest possible wisp of telepathic energy toward the Second Founder's mind, only for her link to crash against a damn-near impenetrable barrier she had not anticipated. Even though Dosena no longer wielded her Psionic power, her brain was still a fortress that no weak or casual telepathic strike could penetrate.

Vulpanix was not disappointed by this revelation. Instead, she was greatly relieved. She realized this indicated that Dosena had not fallen below the rank of Initiator, but simply had lost her Psionics for a while. How long that period of time entailed was anybody's guess, but eventually, Dosena would regain her strength.

Vulpanix narrowed her eyes. She increased the strength of her telepathic link, but even that fell far short of what she needed. She grunted and intensified her psionic link more, and more, and even more.

Despite being an Executor, she was having to put 75% of her full strength into establishing a mental link between herself and the Second Founder. All of this happened over the course of a mere thirty seconds while Unarin faintly smiled, understanding what was going on, and Dosena simply stared at the Go board, seemingly not even able to sense Vulpanix's telepathic intrusions.

Sweat began to drip down Vulpanix's face. Sweat! She couldn't believe that a powerless Psion had such resilient mental defenses. She readied herself to gather up every drop of her power to attempt one final push...

But at that moment, Unarin spoke up. "Alright, alright. You've made your point. Let her in."

Vulpanix glanced at Unarin. He was looking across the table at Dosena, who simply rolled her eyes.

All at once, the barrier blocking Vulpanix's mental intrusion vanished. She managed to penetrate into Dosena's mind, but even then, she was only able to touch upon the...

Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1py2ev7/the_cryopod_to_hell_723_becoming_a_founder/

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/eddieddi on 2025-12-28 23:55:30+00:00.

Alex sighed and tapped his access band against the panel on the door. Another day, another shift on the station's emergency medical ward. Humanity was spreading across the stars and the uptake of humanity, its culture and its peoples were shockingly rapid. However, there were, as always, issues. As the on staff human he found his job was more often than not the assessment for the cause for the injury and deciding if the rather sizable human insurance fund set up by the galactic council would apply.  Simply put, if a human was involved it was Alex’s job to work out what caused the issue. 

The human insurance fund, or HIC as it got shortened to, was created by the galactic council to cover the ever growing number of injuries and damages caused by humans doing human things. It was officially introduced after one human was involved in a bet stating he couldn’t drive a shuttle at near lightspeed around a city and through its buildings. He succeeded, but the buildings suffered damage from the shockwaves not to mention the injuries from the pressure wave.

Stepping from the relative quiet of the staff access corridors in to the bustle of the main section of the ward Alex was accosted almost instantly by one of the other nurses who handed him a datapad and pointed him towards a bed at the far end with an exasperated sigh and glare that said everything Alex needed to know. Another human in a mess of his own making. 

Reaching the bed Alex found a human cradling an arm that was badly bandaged and had blood seeping through the bandages already and a Lycan with a clearly broken snout and several missing teeth. The two of them seemed to be rather companionable and seemed to be debating where to go for dinner. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes Alex could feel the inevitable answers to his questions, but he had to ask them anyway.

“Afternoon. I’m Alex, I’ll be conducting your intake interview. Then administering what treatments are needed.” He said as he glanced at the pad. “So you would be Sergeant Johnson?” He gestured towards the human, who nodded in response. “And you would be Miss Cruelfang?" The seven foot wolf woman nodded in response. 

“Fantastic, and just for our records could you explain how you both were injured?”

The lycan’s ears went flat and she looked at the floor, while the sergeant looked at the roof like it held the answers to universe. Alex resisted the desire to rub his temples. 

“Ok, I’m going to make a rough guess here, Just tell me if I’m correct.” He glanced at the tablet he held, it having the list of their injuries. 

“You saw her at a bar, confused her for a Cannid and decided to flirt, the only thing you remembered about Cannid flirting was poking them on the nose is both an invitation to bed and a compliment?” The Sargent let out a mumbled noise that could be assumed to be a confirmation. 

“Then you, being offended at someone daring to one, mistake you for a Cannid, and two, making such an inappropriate gesture, tried to savage his arm?” The Wolf-woman nodded sheepishly. At this point Alex did sigh and shook his head. 

“And the good sergeant's response was to punch  you square in the snout?” Another nod, this time from both of them. Alex looked down at his tablet and filled in a few boxes before circling ‘human responsible’ in the reason and approving the HIC fund release. 

“One last question, Am I to assume that she was impressed with your fighting spirit and now you’re actually arranging a date?” The fact the lycan’s tail started thumping on the bed they were both sat on told Alex all he needed to know. “Well congratulations. However, since your wounds are not pressing. I’d suggest you sit tight. I’ll be-” Alex was cut off as the doors to the ER banged open and a trolley was wheeled in. “Right back.” he finished before bolting towards the trolley, his attention pulled by the human woman who was following the trolley and halfway between hysteria and embarrassment. 

Alex reached the trolly with enough time to see that on it was a rather large Kroxian who’s pupils were blown wide. Pulling the woman to the side he got her seated and gave her a warm smile 

“Please relax ma’m.” He said gently and did his best to get her to calm down. 

“I didn’t know…..he just stopped….we should have stopped when he mentioned tingling….I thought…” was all Alex got, He noticed the woman was dressed in a bedrobe and slip on shoes. He tapped the pad and started a new entry. 

“Its ok, Just tell me what happened and we’ll make sure he’s ok.” Alex said, eventually getting the woman to give him the full story. 

“Let me just repeat that to make  sure I have it clear.” Alex said as he looked at his pad.”You and your husband were using flavoured lube.” Alex paused as the woman nodded, blushing again. “And you didn’t check if the lube was species safe for your husband. It turned out the flavouring was a pretty strong narcotic and he overdosed while ...taste testing?” Alex said, going over his condensed notes from the woman's halting and stammered story as she tried to give the critical information without embarrassing herself. She nodded again, Alex smiled. 

“That’s good news, He’ll go into detox, get put on a drip for dehydration, and be out in a few days, right as rain.” He said as he tapped on the pad. “Now, if you go to the desk over there, tell them your husbands name, they’ll get you pointed to his ward.” Alex said, pointing to the information desk that was in the corner of the massive ER room. Waiting to make sure she was headed in the right direction Alex stood and started to walk back towards the Lycan and the human that had attempted to flirt with her, noticing they were being treated already he turned towards the side of the ER room to grab himself a drink before more issues arose. 

As Alex approached the small ‘break station’ which consisted of a drinks dispenser, a single plastic chair that was never free, and a collection of mugs that no one seemed to know who they belonged to he was slammed in to and dragged sideways. Looking down he was shocked to see the violently blue hair of his coworker and maybe-crush Velora, She was a Lissari, they were best described as bipedal snakes, albeit with pretty clear mammalian traits. They were also way stronger than most other species, that included humans. Dragged in to one of the supply closets and the door closed behind him all he could see was the glow of her eyes glaring up at him.

“You missed the check in. Again.” She hissed at him, her annoyance stretching the sibilance in her voice.

“I didn’t miss it, it moved!” He responded doing his best to glare back, though trying to glare at a pair of glowing eyes was hard. 

“It moved because you missed it, And keep your voice down.” She snapped back, the glow dimming as she narrowed her eyes.

“I am being quiet, you’re the one hissing.” Alex said, though the moment he said he knew it wasn’t the right thing to say. 

“That's how I whisper! Focus!” her voice was slightly sharper now, he’d upset her with that comment.

“Focus on what?” He said, trying to keep his voice down.

“You, missing check in.” She repeated and shuffled a little in the cramped space.

“It moved, and I was down on Triage, because Alicindra didn’t turn up.” He pointed out which caused a visible roll of her eyes. 

“Because it's never your fault.” She said, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

“Oh bite me.” Alex said back, more than a little fed up. 

“Maybe I will.” Velora said, and he could hear the smile in her face. Alex flinched at the implication, which caused him to realise just how close they were in the tiny closet. 

“You’re very close.” He pointed out trying to reroute the conversation away from her threatening to bite him. 

“It's a closet, moron.” She said, her voice having its bite back. 

“Yeah well, maybe we should get back on the floor before someone notices?” Alex pointed out. 

“Fine.” Velora snapped before pushing her way out the closet, though she did pull him out after her, holding on to him for a little longer than needed. Or maybe he was just imagining things again. 

This shift was off to a fine start. 

A/N: Hey all. Back after what feels like forever. I saw a post (maybe in another forum?) asking what reason the human was in the ER today and decided I wanted to write something based around that. I'm not against trying to make a few more in this line (though I'd need some inspo for what kind of injuries would have a human in the stations ER.) Also included a little coworker drama (rage flirting?) at the end. As always, grammar and spelling corrections welcome. And I'm aware that this is a little bit spacebard-y with the source of the two injuries.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Engletroll on 2025-12-28 21:11:28+00:00.

Previously.../...

Patreon .../.... Project Dirt

Kiko handed him a cup of coffee as he came inside and just leaned against the wall, looking at him.

“What?”

“You didn’t hesitate, you immediately protected them. I'm starting to think you're just a good guy, a real good guy forced to do bad things. I mean, we are so different. I barely trust my boss at the police and you. Im pretty sure you would trust me with your life. It’s… It's scary…”

He tilted his head slightly, looking at her, then took a deep breath, sipped his cup, and put it down.

“I’m not so good, I just have … how to explain it.. something Kerion once said…”

“Please, no naughty facts.” She said with a wink, and Peter chuckled.

“No, naughty, it was about how the rest of the universe views us humans. We are one of the few chaos worlds. It means you never know what you get. The same human can be the most evil person you ever meet and then, in the next turn, sacrifice their life for a child or a stranger on a whim. And if asked, the aliens claim we will make up a perfectly logical reason for such behavior based on complete bullshit. And  I think it makes perfect sense. Yes, we owed those families anything. We should have left, but could you live with it? I could not. They are innocent, and I’m not going to stand by and watch innocents die just because it's easier for me.”

“This is why I’m starting to fall for you. You say these things, and then you act on them.  Okay. What do we do now? We can't stop all the time like this. Dragons, crazy immortal emperor, and desert raiders. How long until we reach the crash site?”

He smiled, picked up his cup, took a sip, then called up the map with the route he had set up. “We are here. The plan was to stop at this column. It would be safer. Maybe we can fly over there tonight and check it out. If it’s safe, then I'll fix it so I can fly from the inside.  We have another ocean to cross, later than the forest and the desert. If we fly on shifts, we can take a few days off and probably fly for 60 hours before we have to stop and let the engine cool down, which will put us in this area along the coastline.”

“I thought you said this trip would take fourteen days. That puts us way past halfway. Maybe a day or two more.”  She noticed and he nodded.

“Yeah, that was before I could sit inside, take breaks when I needed. Now we only have to figure out what to do inside here for the next few days.”

“You're going to tell me everything about yourself. I want to really get to know you. So get ready for an interrogation.”

“So I’m not allowed to interrogate you?” He said, and she just smiled.

“And after that, we are going to start planning.”

“Planning for what?”

“How to take down two criminal empires and ensure no other criminals think about taking over.”

“Well, I know a way, but it's bloody.” He replied, and she just smiled.

“Do tell!”

“Well, you seen it, it’s how you clear a Gyma nest. You kill the bull, and they all attack it, eat it up and then they fight over who is the next bull, it can get mess and a few will die in that process. Once one emerges as a new bull, you kill that one, too. And they fight each other again. You repeat until only a few remain, and then you only have a few to kill instead of going in and having to kill a full nest. The best part is that they are so busy with their own little fights that they don’t go out hunting. Criminals are the same. Kill the leader and wait a few weeks, find out who the new leader is, and kill that one too.  They will all be blaming each other. As long as they have no idea about us and we have no contact with them, then they will not know what hit them.”

“Yeah, that might work, but how do we find out who the new crimelord is if we have no contact with them?” She replied as she pulled up a large file she had with the whole Jangion crime family. He looked at it and made her a cup of coffee and handed it to her.

“Well, we can pick one at random and kill everybody in his way. He will either be the new leader or be killed for trying to take the position. Besides the Gyrran crime families are very public. Their title is public. Big mistake for them, great for us. Thought, are we only going after them?”

“No, but they are the biggest threat to me. After they are dead, I can be rescued and claim that you fought to keep me alive against aliens and monsters. Demanding that you are rewarded and let go. That will work better if I'm pregnant.” She said, and Peter almost spat out his coffee.

“You're crazy. They will claim I took you by force. That this is Stockholm-syndrome, now better I drop you off and vanish, asking in return that they won't hunt me. That will make more sense.”

“It was worth a shot.” She said under her breath, then smiled at him. “Well, it’s a basis for a plan. Something we can work on.”

He just looked at her, and she smiled. “Babies after we're done this, then. Lots of them.”

“Only if you still want me then. I’m old-fashioned, so babies mean marriage, just as you know.”

She looked at him, as her brain tried to understand what he had said, and then she grinned and jumped up into his lap. He had to drop the cup to catch her while she laughed. “YES YES! WHERE'S MY DAMN RING!”

Peter had to promise her to get one as soon as he could.  Now he regretted the whole thing, and she spent the rest of the day sitting on his tummy, interrogating him about everything. It was cute and innocent as she was musing about all he spoke about and how it was different from her life. She loved hearing about his family's farm and the land they owned.  When she found out his uncle bought a plot from his dad to build his house, she suddenly stared at him.

“Build his own house? Not a farm?”

“Yes, it's close to the village, near the spaceport. He works as a doctor. The village has about fifty thousand people, probably more now. It's been a while since I was there.”

“Can we get a house there?” Shed asked eagerly and he chuckled.

“Easy girl. One thing at a time. Besides, I’m pretty sure you want to be closer to a hub.”

“Why,” she stared down at her. “This. Here!  It's the best I’ve ever had. It's weird, but the air is so fresh. I see plants and animals that are not locked up. If we got a dog, could it run free?”

“Of course, but you know, the pests might make it dangerously. It has to be a big dog, those small city dogs are just snacks out there.” He said as he watched her act like a teenage girl she jumped off him and paced the room.

“And kids? Wait, you survived, so it should not be that bad.  Okay, big dog. I like that. And  lets see. Fenced off right to keep the pest off and autocannon on the roof for the flying pest. Yeah. We need money, so we have to steal some of their assets as well. We have to adjust the plans.  We are not only going to destroy them but also take all their money. We can use it to do good deeds for your planet. We can build a hotel and casino. That way I can have some city life when I absolutely need it, that and a shopping center.  Or a casino resort hotel. We need a few million. We can do this. Then we buy a lot from your parents and have a small tucked-away home just for us.”

He watched her pace the small room as she was making plans for their whole life.

“And if we have such a big place, how will people not find out we own it and try to kidnap our kids for ransom?” He asked, and she stopped for a second to think, then apparently had a great idea.

“We are silent partners. We have some smuck standing in the limelight, and we have some stocks in the company. Enough to keep us from worrying about money. And all in a joint account. 50/50 just to be sure. Oh, by the way, if you find some sidechick, then I will feed her to the gyma, and if I’m so stupid, I expect that you do the same!”

“What? If you're cheating, I’m supposed to feed my side chick to the Gyma? That’s not fair.” He replied, and she looked at him and tackled him.

“IDIOT!” She said and laughed as she rolled over him. “You need to get me a ring. And don’t worry. I might be crazy, but I’m not a cheater.”

The alarm suddenly went off, and they looked at the screen. The adults of the families had climbed up and were laying things down in front of the container.

“I’m going out.” She got up, put on the jacket, a visor, and a mask, and walked out. He looked after her and sight, then grabbed the jacket, belt, vizor, and mask and followed her.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/sjanevardsson on 2025-12-28 17:01:13+00:00.

It is better to make no plan than to rely on the faithless and fickle. - Ch'tinga Book of the Holy, Chapter 370, Verse 92 - commonly quoted by Ch'tinga people

The poor, deluded monks and scribes that wrote The Book had no concept of reality. Need to include the faithless or fickle in your plan? Make 'em faithful and reliable; grab hold of their tender bits and squeeze until they get the message. As long as you have 'em in your grasp, they'll follow you anywhere. - Master General Ikthan K'ch'tua, Andim War - commonly quoted by armchair generals and 'edgy' Ch'tinga in response to the previous

The pair of figures in exo-suits stood in the vast, empty hangar. The taller of the two, Ikthan Ach'tar, turned to the shorter. "I hate this high gravity, but it is a good idea. The cargo will be easier to manage. It's the only part of this plan I like. 370-92 and all." She turned back to watch for the arrival of the cargo ship.

Nantan Tak'cha waved his tail in dismissal. "Ach'tar, you worry too much. And this is more General Ikthan than The Book."

"Remind me, Nantan Tak'cha, how you have them by the gonads? I mean, you hired pirates to bring our cargo. How can I not be worried?"

"No need to be formal, Ach, we're still friends, right?" His tail curled up in a question.

Her tail swished in dismissal. "You're right, Tak, I'm just nervous. There're so many ways this could go wrong."

"That's why we padded all our nests. We paid them enough to not care what the cargo is, and to not go looking for answers to questions they know not to ask."

"And if they still figure it out?"

Tak'cha let out a snort of laughter. "What are they going to do? Turn themselves in to the Enforcers? 'Hey, we're wanted pirates, but we have something you should see.' I don't think so. That's why we hired pirates instead of smugglers."

"What difference does that make?"

"Pirates are looking at a minimum sentence of half their natural life, while smugglers get a fine and maybe lose their ship. The risk of becoming known to the Enforcers is a lot higher for pirates."

Ach'tar turned around to face him again. "And if they find a better offer for the cargo? We'll be left to pay off the clan, when we spent the last of our money on this."

Tak'cha laughed again. "That would never happen. They would have to pay anyone they could contact to take the cargo. No one outside the clan has a use for one Anigroo, let alone twenty." He motioned with his tail toward the large hangar door. "Speaking of clan, here they come."

The pair stood straight, tucking their tails along their right rear leg. The approaching group of thirty were Ch'tinga like Ach'tar and Tak'cha. Two powerful arms with dexterous hands, a sloping spine with a long torso, long forelegs and shorter hind legs. A not-quite prehensile, but mobile tail that almost reached the ground when relaxed. This, they carried in an erect position as they marched in covered in power armor.

The exception was the smaller male at their center. He wore an ornate robe, that no doubt covered an exo-suit so he could move freely in the high gravity. The others stopped in a defensive formation and the robed male stepped forward. "Where is the cargo?" he asked.

"Honored Anathan, the ship should be here any moment," Tak'cha said.

No sooner had he said that, than the awaited ship descended, setting down just outside the hangar. It detached the cargo container from beneath and took off again.

"I like when others don't tangle their tails in my business," the robed male said. "It seems you have chosen wisely. Check my merchandise," he ordered one of the armored gang.

The armored Ch'tinga approached the container and pointed a scanner at it. "Twenty, but they look a little short for Anigroo."

"That's fine, as long as they meet the requirements."

Ach'tar leaned over and whispered to Tak'cha, "What are the requirements, anyway?"

He whispered back, "They just have to fit in the pressure suits so they can work in the asteroid mines. Small is fine, too big isn't."

The robed male turned away from the container. "How are they holding up under the gravity?"

"They aren't moving around. They're spread out along the walls."

"Good. They're tired. Open it up and load them on my ship," he said.

"Yes, sir." He pushed the button on the scanner, but the door remained shut. He pushed it again, growing agitated.

The four walls of the container fell outward, revealing twenty humans, armed with combat rifles and wearing armor. A warning shot came from the humans before aiming at the robed figure and all the ones around him, as one of the humans called out, "Drop your weapons and get down on the ground!"

One of the armored Ch'tinga tried to raise a weapon and was shot, dropping to the ground. The human that fired said, "Shit, that was center mass, hope I didn't hit anything vital."

The same voice that had called out the first time yelled, "This is your last warning! Drop your weapons and get on the ground!"

Before another Ch'tinga could pluck up the courage to try something, the pirate ship returned, followed by an Enforcer vessel. The Enforcer ship set down just past the cargo container and a mixed group of creatures in combat uniforms swarmed out. Most were human, some were the tall, thin Anigroo, a few were Ch'tinga, and others were crab-like creatures that neither Ach'tar nor Tak'cha could identify.

Except for the humans, they all wore exo-suits to adapt for the gravity. The human commander of the Enforcer vessel stepped out. "You are all under arrest for illegal slave trade. If you do not disarm yourself immediately, I will give the order for the assault team to fire for effect."

She waited for only a second. "That means I'll order them to shoot you dead! Get it?"

There was a clatter of weapons hitting the ground as all the fight went out of the Ch'tinga. The assault team paired up with others from the vessel and kept the detainees at gunpoint while their exo-suits were powered down, their hands cuffed, and their legs hobbled such that they could only shuffle.

A medic team rushed to shot individual and began administering aid, even as he was loaded onto a gurney and rushed to the ship. Two of the crab-like creatures were picking up the discarded weapons and putting them in a basket attached to their exo-suit.

The pirate Tak'cha had made the deal with left his ship to talk to the Enforcer commander. "Pirates don't want to be known to the Enforcers?" Ach'tar asked. "It looks like those two are pretty friendly."

Tak'cha didn't answer any more than a grunt. The gravity was already making it hard for him to move, and being hobbled didn't help.

The pirate led the commander to where the pair waited to be led into the ship. He pointed at Tak'cha. "That's the fellow that hired me, and I'd bet she's the money."

Ach'tar looked at Tak'cha with equal measures of rage and incredulity. "You hired a human pirate to smuggle slaves?! Have you lost your brain?"

"What's the difference?" Tak'cha asked.

The Enforcer commander didn't give her a chance to answer. She got in Tak'cha's face. "The difference is, humans find it ridiculous that there is such a thing as 'legal slave trade' in the galaxy, and we can only get you for the illegal stuff. If we had our way, all the slavers would go where you're going."

"Where are we going?" Ach'tar asked.

"This is Ch'tinga space, but you hired a human vessel. Therefore, you're going to Earth. We have jurisdiction for the conspiracy portion of your charges, and for attempted trafficking. The Anigroo government has ceded jurisdiction to Earth for the kidnapping, imprisonment, and illegal slave taking charges, while the Ch'tinga government has decided to wash its hands of the Anathan clan and are letting us try the illegal slave trading charges as well." She did some calculation on her fingers. "You're all looking at a minimum of thirty or so years … per victim. So, might as well call if life."

"But, what about the pirate?" Tak'cha asked. "Aren't you going to arrest him as well?"

The pirate gave him a predatory smile and pulled something out of an inner pocket. He showed them both. It was an Enforcer badge. "Sergeant Hanlon, slavery interdiction unit. You kids should really read your holy book, it's got some good advice. 'Better to make no plan,' etcetera."

"370-92," Tak'cha said, defeated.

Ach'tar blew out an annoyed huff. "Told you."

prompt: Write a story in which something doesn't go according to plan.

originally posted at Reedsy

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Tell-a-rock on 2025-12-28 18:25:33+00:00.

Day 1 Interstellar Date 1776 Captain’s Log, UAS Endurance

We encountered a creature whilst traveling past the Border territories. It was starving, alone, and—above all—aboard a Raider ship. It was clear the creature wasn’t a Raider, as we had done autopsies on the few of their kind we had found dead before. It was average-sized, pink, thin for its species, with blonde fur attached to its head. I found myself pitying it. Not much was known about the Raider culture, but what little was known was… unpleasant. Hell, Raider is not the name of their species, if they had one to begin with. I saw this creature and saw a chance to learn about the Raiders. It’s been… odd, to say the least. It was huddled in the corner of the ship, and according to our sensors, its life signs escalated dangerously whenever we approached. Our translators were working, so it could understand us, but all the same we had to tranquilize the thing to bring it in safely. That being said, im looking forward to what this creature can teach us: whether it be about the Raiders, or about its own culture.

Chapter 1

“What the hell is it, Doc?” I asked. Straya hesitated for a moment, consulting his glowing blue console before replying.

“Apparently it’s a Human,” Straya stated, gesturing to the odd creature on the operating table in the center of the well lit room. “Though how it got to this sector of space is beyond me.”

A Human? I had heard of them before. They hadn’t developed interstellar travel yet. Normal protocol would be to avoid interaction with them. I said as much to Straya.

He snorted. “It’s a little late for that, Captain.”

He was right. This human, however it had gotten here, had already been taken out of its natural development by the Raiders. I looked back at the room on the other side of the glass, towards the human. If we tried to return it to its people, we would be contaminating their culture far more than a random abduction.

I studied the creature. It was around the same size as me, although much thinner. It had two arms and two legs, much like most of the crew. However, it was mostly pink, with blonde fur around the top of its head. “What can you tell me about it, Straya?”

“It’s a bipedal, mammalian race, although you could probably tell that just by looking at it. It’s suffering from dehydration and malnourishment. He’s been alone on that ship for some time.” Straya looked at me. “Captain, I’d like to keep it here for study as well as containment. We have no idea what kind of diseases it may be carrying, or exactly what it suffered on that ship. Hell, it could still die from stress.”

I shuddered. Stress alone could kill most species we’d encountered. My species, Galeks, were considered one of the hardier species of the alliance. Still, even Galeks would be found dead after a few days with the Raiders. But somehow this Human survived. I wondered what else this human could endure.

“It’s a good thing you had it sedated, Captain. Its vital signs were spiking dangerously high when we encountered it. I’ve never seen any sentient handle that level of stress without passing out on its own.”

I remembered. He had been huddled in the corner of the sleek, black ship, eyes darting frantically to and fro. The look of sheer panic on its face… it’s a wonder its heart hadn’t given out. I had tried to calm it down, stating my name and rank as protocol dictated. It didnt seem like it was in a state of mind to listen. It had crawled back into the corner of the ship. To prevent it from hurting itself, or us for that matter, I had tranq’d it with my service pistol. Thankfully it had slumped to the floor almost immediately, unconscious.

“Keep me informed, Doc. I want a full report on its condition as soon as you can.”

“Anything in particular, Captain?”

“Find out anything you can about what happened to it, and how it survived. I’ll come by when it’s calmed down to interrogate it. There’s no telling what we could learn about the Raiders. Or Humans, for that matter. Xenoprimatologists back home would be furious if we also didn’t learn something about their culture.”

Straya chuckled. “Very well, Captain. I’ll see what I can do.”

— END OF CHAPTER 1 —

Author’s Note: Endurance is a slow-burn HFY story focused on first-contact, trauma, and misinterpretation rather than immediate action. The “HFY” comes from endurance and perception, not power. I look forward to writing part 2.

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/daecrist on 2025-12-28 18:11:54+00:00.

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"What are you laughing about?" Albert said. "This isn't funny."

Liam kept laughing. He couldn't help himself. He kept laughing to the point that the cat finally jumped up on his shoulder and started batting him with a paw.

"Stop doing that. This isn't funny, and we don't have long."

Liam finally managed to bring it under control. Sort of. He was still giggling, and he had to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye.

"I might not know a lot about magic, but I do know that everyone agrees there's not a chance humans can use infernal magic. So I don't know what you're on about."

"Just please humor me," Albert said. "It might be the only way you survive, and I need you to survive. You are my life's work."

"You killed my parents," Liam said. "Why should I do anything for you?"

"Because I wasn’t the one who killed your parents, for one. I had every intention of letting you and them go before I was literally stabbed in the back,” he said.

“But you trapped them there in the first place,” Liam said.

“And I was going to release them,” he repeated.

“But you didn’t.”

“Because I literally had a knife lovingly massaging the inside of my liver!” he said, batting Liam on the head a few more times. “I’d like to see you try to do anything with that sort of distraction.”

Liam glared at the cat. The cat glared right back at him. Finally, he sighed.

“Okay, so maybe some of my anger is… misdirected. Some of it,” he said.

“Then how about this. I can let you live through what is coming," Albert said, turning to look at the garzeth, and then to Ana. "Maybe you and your lady love can live through this. I don't like your chances. This isn't what I was thinking when I did all of this, but we can try."

Liam stared at him, then looked over to the garzeth and he decided that yes, he would like to live for the next few moments. He could figure out what to do about the sorcerer caught in the cat's body later. After he survived this.

"Fine. What am I doing?"

"You have made your Opening Ascension," Albert said. "You need to close your eyes and look deep within you. You need to feel at the core where the mana flows into your body from the universe, and you need to allow it to fill you."

Liam stared at the cat for another moment, and then he did just that. And he was surprised to realize that when he closed his eyes, it did feel as though there was a bright and shining power at the very core of his being.

He'd read people describing it, but he never thought it would happen with him. Come to think of it, this felt sort of like the spot where he gathered together that small lure he used to bait scourgelings. There was something off about that, but he pushed the thought away.

"Okay, I'm doing it," Liam said.

“Concentrate on that point of light. Concentrate all of your attention on it. It will open up, and then you will have reached your Opening Ascension."

"Fine," Liam muttered.

So he did just that. He felt the light opening inside him, and then suddenly it bloomed like a massive explosion going off all through his body. He threw his head back and opened his mouth to scream, but no scream came out. The power pulsed inside him over and over, filling his body, threatening to overwhelm him, threatening to scourge his flesh from his bones.

It was over in an instant that lasted an eternity, and he very nearly collapsed. He looked all around and was surprised to see that there was a faint light glow coming off of him. As though there was steam of some sort, only it was a white glow moving up and off of his body.

"What was that?" he muttered.

"That was the arcane energy filling you for your Opening Ascension," Albert said, looking up and around. "Normally you pull mana from the world around you to reach your Ascension, but in this case the mana from the city is moving over here to give you one hells of an assist."

"Why is it doing that?" Liam muttered.

"Well, because I engineered it to do just that," Albert said. “Of course I didn’t intend for the city to burn. That’s a new wrinkle I didn’t anticipate. Thankfully there's a little bit of prophecy backing us up."

"I don't know anything about any prophecy," Liam said.

"Of course you don't. Those stuck-up prigs at the Academy wouldn't want anybody to know about the prophecy they were trying to manipulate into happening in a manner that’s advantageous to them.”

"I still feel something pulsing inside me," Liam said.

The cat looked at him, its tail twitching.

"What do you feel when you close your eyes?"

Liam closed his eyes, and he was surprised to realize there was more energy pulsing inside him.

"It feels like more of the same."

"Then you're going to have to do the same again and pull in more mana. I don't have time to explain to you how the Ascension works or anything like that. All I can tell you is you need to take everything that you can."

Liam closed his eyes again, and he felt at that same spot. But it felt odd, almost like there was something that was trying to crowd it out. But he knew that he had to do this, and so he felt at it again, tried to focus, but this time around it was almost like it was trying to take control of his body.

He felt wisps of pure light reaching out and whipping through his mind and then moving through his body. It was like ice in his veins. He grunted and struggled.

"What's going on?" Albert asked.

"It's like it's trying to take over."

"Don't fight it," Albert said. "You need to let it move through you. Maximize the mana that flows through your body as you reach the First Ascension."

"I don't know what any of that means," Liam said.

"You don't have to. Just listen to me and focus. Give over control to the mana flowing through you.

Liam figured he was dead either way and this was a small reed to grasp at as he slipped off the edge of a cliff. So he held onto that reed and he relaxed. He tried a mind-clearing exercise he learned in one of Baron Riven’s books that he did sometimes when he was in the middle of the forest trying to close his eyes and feel where the scourgelings were nesting.

And the power pulsed and flowed through him. It was easier this time. There was nothing along the lines of the loud scream that came out of his body the last time. There was nothing like the fire and ice that threatened to scourge the flesh from his body.

It still wasn't entirely comfortable, but it felt easier.

"Yes, that's it," Albert said. "Let it flow through you."

Mana pulled into him. He could see it even with his eyes closed. Flowing from the magical maelstrom all around and into his body. Filling his core. Filling magical pathways that ran through his body that had always been there even though he’d never felt them before.

Submitting to the power seemed to work. No pain. No threat of death. No agony that lasted for what felt like an eternity. Just the mana flowing into him. Filling his core. Stretching it to capacity and then beyond.

Liam finally opened his eyes and turned and looked at the cat who stared back at him. His tail twitched.

"Your eyes are glowing," Albert said.

"Are they?" Liam asked, blinking. Light played across the cat’s face as he stared at him.

A moment later, he felt mana fill him, and that core at the center of his being was pulsing with far more power than it had the first time around.

"What happened?" he muttered.

"Is there anything else you feel?" the cat asked, looking at him intently.

Liam stared right back at the cat and he looked up at the maelstrom of magic all around. He realized the magic seemed to be more dark, with striated purple moving through it now. There wasn't quite as much of the light. Like he’d sucked just enough of it into his core to change the makeup of the mana storm.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, I need you to feel if you have another Ascension in you."

Only there was already something he could feel inside himself. Something that seemed to be bubbling up. something that was desperately trying to break free. Something that didn't feel at all like the arcane power that had moved through him just a moment ago.

Something that was trying to rip its way out of his body.

He grabbed it and tried to control it in the same way he'd tried to control the arcane energy moving through his body. He had to fight it, and he let out a scream as he tried to push some of the arcane mana towards it.

But it wasn’t arcane power filling him now. He knew he was going for round two as he threw his head back and let out another cry of pain.

"Yes, this is it!” Albert said. "What are you feeling?"

He felt at his core again. He realized there were two in there that were pulsing in counterpoint to one another. There was the bright arcane light, but there was something else in there as well. A mix of darkness and that strange glowing purple magic. Like what he'd seen around the garzeth. Like the kind of power that came off of the scourgelings and the other creatures when he killed them and their essence poured into his body. 

It made him want to scream in pain. It was like that power wanted to flay the flesh off of his body, not just scourge it from him with ice and fire.

He focused on what had to be the infernal ma...

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Solid-Childhood-4876 on 2025-12-28 17:30:21+00:00.

First Previous

Kaylee wiped the tears from her eyes as she stood between Lucky and her dad, both wearing their respective military uniforms. She flinched as the shots from the seven ancient M14s rang out three times, and the casket was lowered into the ground. This was supposed to be a happy day. Her graduation day. Not the day they buried a friend.  

"It's not fair. Smokey pulled Tompkins from that wreck. Saved his life. Then he gets clipped by debris? It was the first race of the season!"  

Her father put a hand on her shoulder as they walked back to the old truck. "Kaylee, life isn't fair. We are born, then we live until we die. We just have to make the struggle in between matter. Tompkins will recover. He will get the chance to see his kids grow up because Smokey ran onto that track to pull him out of the fire. That matters." He pulled out an unsealed envelope from inside his jacket and handed it to her. "So does this."  

Trying to read through tears, Kaylee gave a dismissive laugh. "MIT? Community college won't get me to space, Dad."  

"Wipe your eyes and look again."  

Doing as she was told, Kaylee looked at the envelope again. In deep red ink were the letters MTI. Martin Technical Institute. The premiere school in the system for all things space. After pulling out the papers inside her eyes went wide.  

"Off-world tuition...paid in full?!"  

"You are something special, Kaylee. I see it. Smokey saw it. He felt you should have the best education possible. When I told him I couldn't afford to send you, the old man went and paid for your courses himself. In the time between his birth and death, Smokey tried to make everything count. Like pulling Tompkins from the fire. Like dragging Lucky back from that ambush with your grandpa. This is one of those things Smokey did that matters. Now it's your turn."  

/////////  

Dark clouds outside the hospital room that the small group was squeezed into put a damper on the occupant's moods. A blue green Jalavon woman sat in one of the two bays of the room while a black-haired human woman and a smaller, brown furred Sajvin sat on the unoccupied bed. A few scattered rain drops slapped against the window as severe storm sirens began to sound outside. The humming of machines provided steady background noise as the conversation continued. Ena'raa refused to look at the visitors, her attention elsewhere.  

"Making our food last wasn't a worry. I had 30 days of MREs stashed, and we only used a few of them. I used the fresh items first. Exodus stew fed our crew for nine days." Ena'raa still made no effort to make eye contact with her two interviewers. "The oven drew too much power, so I used Kaylee's exhaust manifold oven to make la'ri'na flat bread."  

"Inventive," Juarez said from where she sat. "What was the state of the crew during this time?"  

"Tired."  

------ 

"...the prettiest lass you ever could meet, fly my mateys..." 

"Kaylee, what are you doing?" Ena'raa asked, confused why the engineer was bent over and singing into the vent.  

"Something has been beeping for days, and I am going to find it," frustration clear in Kaylee's voice.  

Ena'raa watched as Kaylee worked her way along the wall. Loose locks of hair were annoyedly brushed behind her ears. The woman's eyes were dark and sunken.  

Concerned, Ena'raa approached the human. "You look like a spirit of death. When did you sleep last?"  

"Yesterday. I'm fine," Kaylee said dismissively.  

Unconvinced, Ena'raa decided to ask about the real reason she had sought out the engineer. "Kaylee...that thing I talked to you about..."  

The human paused for a moment, bent over in front of another ventilation duct then stood bolt upright. "Oh my god, I completely forgot. How soon do you need it?"  

"Soon."  

"Soon?"  

"Very."  

Kaylee stretched with a big yawn. "Ok. Um...do you have any black tea? My Mountain Dew went missing and I could use the caffeine."  

"I do. I still find it surprising you don't drink coffee like every other human."  

The human's face scrunched up in disgust. "Vile bitter bean juice? Gross. Bring it to engineering please?"  

------- 

CRASH The sound brought Ena'raa up short outside the door to engineering.  

"That fucking stupid, feather brained, sexist, racist, money-grubbing reptile!"  

She had never heard Kaylee swear before, or even insult someone.  

"Kaylee? Is it safe for me to enter?" Ena'raa held the large thermos of tea so it would be visible from inside the compartment.  

"Oooh please!" Kaylee snatched the cup with eagerness and took a couple swallows before something seemed to register. "Did you hear that?"  

"Yes. What happened?"  

"I, um...I found the source of the beeping when I went to get the..." she waved at the item on her workbench while sipping from the thermos. "Kuautli had a long-range transponder communicator in the guest quarters. It is on the same frequency as the jump buoys, which makes sense since the Quetzal built the network on this side of the quadrant. The beeping was about unread incoming messages. It was password locked but the obsessed turd used Xoe's full name. He was communicating with the pirates, and they are angry at him. Seems we were supposed to be an easy mark for the Empire to capture those containers."  

"Have you told Mal'katkik?"  

Kaylee dropped the communicator into a drawer below her drafting table and slammed it shut. "No, I haven't. Would you tell him? I need to finish this thing for you, then come up with something for the grav system in bay two, and finish bracing the ship, and..."  

-------- 

"She made this thing?" Katel questioned, indicating the box that was the focus of Ena'raa's attention.  

"Repurposed." She stared through the glass door of the mini fridge turned incubator at the two speckled eggs within.  

////////  

Kaylee closed her eyes and let the sting of disinfectant in the split above her eyebrow burn.  

"You know you don't have to fight them, right?"  

"Mei'lana, those jerks don't get to pick on you just because you are small for an Altestri. Besides, being a semi-aquatic subspecies isn't something to be ashamed of."  

The Jalavon woman narrowed her eyes at her human friend while carefully applying an at-home stitch kit to Kaylee's forehead. Her own crest began to flush red in building frustration and standing out against the light blue green of her skin. "No, it's not. You also don't need to fight my battles."  

Kaylee glanced away and mumbled; "You know I don't like bullies." Putting a more confident face forward, she continued. "Besides, all that training I've been doing since we were kids was working. I just didn't anticipate the tail to the face."  

"Well, be careful. I don't want you to get kicked out of school. I intend to beat you in the build off next month."  

//////////  

"...investigations into the crash are still ongoing. In other news, the provisional government is set to receive the first representatives from the Jalavon enclaves and several Quetzal corporations tomorrow..."  

The vid screen flashed near the ceiling in the corner of the room. Raging black clouds outside darkened the windows of the waiting area they occupied to nearly black. Sheets of rain battered against the clear sapphire windows as the building creaked in the wind as Mal'katkik stared out into the dark and a flash illuminated the room.  

"What I wanted to do was throw him out the airlock. Jay'an wanted to pluck him first, which was tempting. Hoban and Wally discussed some...very creative ideas. It was the doctor that surprised me though. I knew he had been sending reports on us back to corporate since I started with Tsunblu, he wasn't nearly as secretive as he thought. However, when he heard about the ship being sold out to pirates, that old snake turned on Kuautli."  

"What did he say?" Maria asked from beside him, also looking out at the storm.  

"That Quetzal tradition says the attacked shall behead the attacker. However, we should let Xoe decide when she woke up. If she didn't, well..."  

-------- 

"I brought you some fruity hard candy," Ena'raa said as she set the bag down beside Xoe where she lay on her stomach in the bed. "It was supposed to be for your hatchling day, but the doctor says you need to get your sugar levels up."  

Weakly, Xoe snatched a piece of the candy from the bag with her long, forked tongue. "Thank you. We don't lay eggs though."  

Ena'raa smiled. "Yea, yea. You are just as weird as the humans."  

"How do you feel?" The captain asked from the other side of the bed.  

Xoe closed her eyes with a wince. "My head hurts. Everything feels soft and downy."  

Wally poked his head in the door and waved. "Hi dudette. Nice to see you awake. Can I ask you a question since the doctor isn't here?"  

Xoe groaned as she shifted positions. "One."  

"How does something like Mountain Dew effect Quetzal?"  

"Umm, all sodas react poorly. Especially mixed with nectars from the home world. The caffeine messes with brain chemistry."  

Mal'katkik left Ena'raa with Xoe and guided the ...

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/noobvs_aeternvm on 2025-12-28 16:38:20+00:00.

The elf stood in the cave, as she stood for thousands of years. Before her, the words of the prophecy carved on the wall. Many eras had passed, her hair had grown and entangled with the roots, roots that grew around her, she was one with the cave, a part of the scenery, of this sacred ground many brave knights, princes and kings had come in search of her wisdom, her blessing, news announcing the arrival of the chosen one, the hero of legend. All had failed.

Until now.

The young man entered her sacred chamber, his brown eyes scoured the ground, oblivious to her presence.

-It is you! - she proclaimed. His eyes lifted off the ground and met her, wide, shocked at the sight.

-I'm sorry, I mean no harm. I'm but a simple farm boy in search of mushrooms.

-You seek mushrooms for your sustenance, but I assure you, it was fate, not hunger that brought you here.

-Yeah… hunger… sustenance…. right.

-I see beyond your simple garments, beneath them lies the hero who will rid the land of darkness.

-Me?

-Yes, you. It has been foretold, long before the age of men, the words were carved into the stone. A great hero will rise, wielding a singular power unimaginable to all that lived before, with this power, he will find the Lost Sword, with it, he will slay the Dark Lord.

-You offering, like, a job or something?

-I’m but the messenger, to you I reveal: a glorious purpose was bestowed upon you.

-Like, responsibility ‘n’ all?

-Yes, brave hero.

-No thanks.

-One does not escape fate, noble one, the harder one runs, the more relentless its pursuit.

-Sounds like a pain.

-Indeed, your journey is perilous and full of sorrow, but at its end lies glories beyond one’s imagination.

-So, what do I do to get this Fate off my back?

-You must journey to the lands of the east, across the Valley of Death, beyond the Marshes of Despair and the Mountain of Tonguehair, there you will find the blade carved by the gods of time themselves, the Sword of Halveenrod.

-So I gotta grab you a sword?

-Yes, brave hero. Head in search of your legendary weapon and once you find it, I will guide you on the next step of your journey.

-Can I get some glowing mushrooms first?

-Sure, they’re right there.

-Thanks, ma’am.

And so, after gathering his provisions, the hero headed to his epic quest. A perilous journey that would take many moons, summers and winters of his lif…

-T’wasn’t there.

-What do you mean “T’wasn’t there”?

-Don’t know, just wasn’t.

-You crossed the Valley of Death, the Marshes of Despair, the Mountain of Tonguehair?

-Sure did.

There was truth in the brave hero’s words. His brown eyes now had a glow revealing a man who had seen things that were not of this world, not describable by words. Still, she could not believe the prophecy had failed her.

-You really looked beyond the Valley of Death, the Marshes of Despair, the Mountain of Tonguehair? Because to me it feels like you just left yesterday.

-Don’t know, ma’am. I looked, wasn’t there, don’t know what to tell you.

It was true, the grasp of time slipped her. So many eras had passed since she witnessed the rise of the Sun, the passing of the seasons, the world changing beyond her static cave. Still, she was sure this was the hero of the prophecy, she could feel it, for thousands of years she soaked the words, meditated on its wisdom. The sword was there and he would wield it.

-Are you sure you looked? Really, really looked?

-Yes, ma’am.

-The sword is there! I know it!

-It ain’t, ma’am.

-So if I look for it I won’t find it?

-Nah! Don’t think so.

-You think?! Did you look for the sword or not? If I find it, can I stick it up your heroic rectum?

-If you’re into it…

The wood cracked under her anger, the roots could not contain her fury. First standing since time immemorial, the elf headed out of her cave to prove, to herself and this brat, that The. Sword. Is. There!

Many seasons later, our hero felt the hard thug of a boot. Opening his eyes, his conscience slowly returning to him, he heard the cling of metal against the hard rock of the cave floor.

-It wasn’t there, hum?

Bedazzled by the shine of the sharp blade, the beauty of the fine carvings on the sturdy hilt, our hero could only humble himself before his guide:

-Ma bad, ma’am.

Looking to restore his dignity before his wise guide, our hero disentangled himself from the embrace of Jenna and/or Serena (possibly Matilda), scouring the sacred chamber for his long lost shirt. His eagle eye aimed at Tank, his sharp mind recalling this old companion, of many nights crafting magic potions with the ingredients provided by the ancient cave, had elected the cover of the heroic torso as an ESN (emotional support nappy).

-Dude, let it go.

-Zzzzz… fiveMoarMinutesMommy… zzzzzz…

-You have the sword, can you carry on your quest?

-Sure thing, ma’am. Dude, wake up!

-Hum, hum! Dat child not mine, officer!

Retrieving the mighty cloak, the hero clapped his hands together and proclaimed:

-Alright, gang. Time to bail!

Amidst grumblings and mumblings, our hero’s faithful companions stand and head out, assured the next step of the journey is the hero’s alone to trail. Nevertheless, Tank has one last request:

-Hey, hot stuff. Got sum cookies? I got the munchies kicking in.

-Get out!

-Damn! Those elf milfs got no chill…

Once again alone at the sacred chamber, the wise oracle turns to the gods’ champion:

-Are you ready to proceed?

-Gotta do it to get this Fate of my heels, hum?

-That’s right. Until you meet your destiny, fate will always be your shadow.

-I’ll take my chances with Destiny. Where I find?

-With the Sword of Halveenrod in hand, you shall march into the Badlands, storm the Fortress of Doom and slay the Dark Lord upon the Mount of Bitmaxeek.

-That far?

-Yes, it is very far. Destiny would not await you right around the corner.

-She might.

-Just go! Now!!!

-Right, right. Chill.

And so our hero went, on his endless march, guided by the ancient carvings he journeyed across endless fields, forging tales of his epic dee… 

-Didn’t work.

-What do you mean, “didn’t work”?

-Stabed him a few times, didn’t work.

-Have you tried slashing?

-Sure.

-You really, really took the Sword of Halveenrod and faced the Dark Lord upon the Mount of Bitmaxeek?

-Yeah, ma’am. Stab-stabby, slash-slashy, bad dude not deady.

-Thou! Art! Kidding me! Gimme dat sword! If I plunge that blade into the Dark Lord and he falls dead, you’re not hearing the end of it!!!

___

Tks for reading, see y'all in 2026. More prophetic tales here.

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/noobvs_aeternvm on 2025-12-28 16:19:01+00:00.

Let me walk you through it. I know some of this might be already known, but it’s important you have all the information before you make your decision, so please be patient as I guide you through it.

You are still human, not only legally, but biologically. There are no noticeable differences between your body and the ones from our ancestors who made the paintings in the caves back on Earth, the ones who built the first cities, the first space habits, the ones who founded our colony. Unfortunately for you, this world is not fit for humans. The terraforming process is ongoing, it won’t be over within our lifetimes and even if it did some things cannot be changed. The light that reaches our world is different from Earth, the gravity that anchors our feet to the ground is not the same as Earth, the protections we have against radiation coming from the skies above us will never be as strong as the ones from The Cradle of humanity.

So far you overcame those hardships by cybernetic enhancements. These have a cost, some you already experienced: the periodic recharges, updates, system checkups; others you are yet to experience. As you enter adulthood, you’ll be expected to contribute to the welfare of our community, since your cyber enhancements consume part of our limited resources, both physical, like materiel and energy, and immaterial, the time it takes from you, you’ll be demanded to compensate by working harder than others, not by me or anyone else, but by yourself. You will see you don’t deliver the same results as your work colleagues, so you’ll push yourself to work harder; you’ll see you don’t spend as much time with your loved ones, so you’ll take time away from yourself; you will see you’re not as much as you could be, so you’ll push on when you're already tired.

There is an option: gen enhancement. If you choose so, our medical team will modify the very fabric of your body and you’ll be able to see all the light that shines over our world, stand over the pull of its gravity, walk outside without ever fearing cancer from the skies. You will, however, no longer be human.

Do not misunderstand me. To us and to all descendants of Terra scattered throughout the stars we are all equal, cyber or gen enhanced, these are our colleagues, friends, family. But, biologically, you would be fundamentally different from the species that evolved on Earth. If you ever go back to The Cradle, you won’t be able to see the sunlight, you won’t be able to walk on your own two feet, you won’t ever experience what our ancestors did. Right now, you are an alien, relying on machinery to stay alive and function; if you go through gen enhancement, you’ll no longer be an alien here, you will be an alien there, there, where our lineage came from, you will be encased in a suit of metal and synthetics, unable to live the life we evolved to live.

This choice you don’t make only for you, cyber or gen, your descendants will inherit your body, all its perks and flaws. Regardless of what your choice is, there can be no doubt there will be those who will praise you and those who curse you. You cannot know who your descendants will be, what their lives will be like, you can only know what’s behind you and imagine what is in front of you, what it can be, what you want it to be.

Gen enhancement is permanent, it cannot be undone. If you bound yourself to this world, to our world, you’ll belong to it, body and soul. You can postpone your decision and remain cyber for now, but I would not advise it. You are growing, body and mind. Every move you make with your exoskin, every gaze you have under your contacts is practice for your muscles, synapsids forming and being reinforced throughout your nervous system. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to transition, eventually, muscle memory will solidify, petrify and you will be forever an alien from Earth.

As you are offered this choice, many more are offered the same choice among the many worlds humankind has colonized. Some will choose to become aliens, some will choose to remain human. 

Remaining human, you will find endless cousins among the stars. There is a wide pan-human community, trillions of individuals who take pride in being human, in living according to the traditions of The Cradle. If you choose to remain as you are, this community will welcome you, embrace you, shelter you. You will, however, rarely see any of them, if at all. Our world is vast and few ever had the time to explore it fully, fewer still had the will and means to cross the vaster distances between the stars, the news you’ll get from your cousins, and they from you, will be aged years and decades by starlag. Being a human far from Earth is being part of something you can always feel, but never touch.

If you choose to adapt, other hominids will have a hard time relating to your experiences, you will share your life not with your cousins in the sky, but with your brothers and sisters on the ground. Our colony is young, we are few, but we’re here. We celebrate together, we mourn together, we stand before each other’s very eyes, we shake hands and we shape this world together. Adapting your body to this world, you will find greater freedom to shape it into what you desire it to be, but you will find it harder to imagine being anywhere else. Most likely, both you and the ones who come after you, will feel the ground beneath your toes and forget how to dream of the stars.

And so is the question before you: alien from Earth or alien to Earth, what do you choose?

___

Tks for reading. More tricky questions here.

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/SSBAlienNation on 2025-12-28 16:13:55+00:00.

All Chapters of Alien-Nation

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“Unidentified land-vessel, this is Imperial Local Command Garrison Six Six Three Alpha. Under Imperial Peace Agreement Forty Three identify. Alter course immediately. Failure to do so will be interpreted as hostile intent, acknowledge.”

“I’ll show you hostile intent”

-Transcript between a local garrison in Maryland and First Contact with a confirmed group dispatched by Emperor. Result: Total loss of garrison, with minimal insurgent casualties. A small patch of territory that took a year to regain and pacify was lost in a day.

Social Distancing

We’d been running laps around the stone wall perimeter of their yard’s tall grass for the last hour and change. Well, I’d been running. Natalie had been doing her best.

By now though, even I was getting tired, to the point where I’d briefly lost track of where I was.

Right, I was inside the Rakten family home again.

All slightly too-large furniture, misshapen even by modern architecture’s standards. Purple ornamentation, because of course it was, across a wall-to-wall soft carpet-like material that disappeared at the edges, through which ambient lighting complemented the giant ‘window’ I knew to be fake, mostly because its position and geometry shifted practically every time I visited, sometimes not even matching the landscape around us. At least it had high ceilings, though, with the vaulted dome geometry offering a generous feeling of spaciousness.

Amilita had emerged from one of the rooms in the house- I hadn’t actually learnt which one. As far as I was concerned it was ‘not Natalie’s’ and ‘not the bathroom.’

“Elias!” She seemed surprised to see me all sweaty.

“Hey,” I managed a slight smile for the General while Lady Rakten had uncharacteristically offered to get some more water for us. “Sure is hot out today.”

We hadn’t been motioned toward the set-in couches that ran along the wall of the lounge, and so we stayed on our feet, taking long drinks from our collapsible flasks that I was assured were standard issue. Either way, I was happy to be out of the sun for just a few moments, even if the water tasted a tad too sterile for my liking.

“I’ve filed your application, we should hear back soon. Thank you for letting me use your office,” she said to Lady Rakten, who whispered something to her daughter and then turned to me.

“How’s your first day of training going?” Amilita asked politely.

“Good,” I breathed hoarsely, accepting the offered flask before taking a long pull of water. Then I started trying to unstick my skin-tight shil’vati shirt from my chest, to let the cold inner air waft through until I felt a pleasant shiver.

She seemed excited to see me, eager, almost, standing tall and proud in ways like I hadn’t seen her do in months.

“I reviewed your application. Can I just say that I loved your essay?”

I blinked, put on my best understanding face and racked my brain for what she was talking about. “You did?”

“You really captured an interesting perspective between balancing individual rights against the needs of the state, and the nature of classical heroism in an era of modern bureaucratic managerialism and sports as a stand-in for combat. This is hotly discussed in xenological studies, and your paper is excellent.”

I smiled tiredly.

Gavin’s handiwork, no doubt. He’d likely paid someone. Given our cell was now funding him, had I just paid someone to do my test for me? That felt like a more disturbing use of the funds than if he’d just gone out and bought explosive material with it.

“Thanks.” Any appreciation I tried to put into that word just made it feel that much more hollow.

“Are you still excited to go up?”

“Yeah,” I managed to croak through sweat parched lips. “Still excited. Today’s just the start.”

“How are you getting home once you’re done for today’s training?” Lady Rakten asked.

“Morsh says she rarely leaves boys able to walk when she’s done with them,” Natalie piped up helpfully.

The bodyguard slowly turned toward her ward.

“Oh, I’m fine. I’m gonna ride home on my bike. Lesha had it repaired for me, apparently something happened to it while I was...” I trailed off rather than drag up the topic again.

“You don’t want a lift?” Amilita offered, eyes widening and taking in the state of me one more time.

I wanted to ask: ‘Do Marines get rides when they’re tired?’ But the answer was parked outside the Rakten house, and seemed accidentally rude. Worse than being a bad host was being a bad guest, a rule the Shil’vati had broken on many occasions, and one that it rankled me even applied at all. This was our planet, our land, our- I squashed the line of thinking.

I could save it for later, use that anger if I had to dig deep. “No.”

As hard as they were, I still had plenty left in the tank.

“You’re not just saying you’re still excited for my sake, are you? They’re not going to go easy on you up there just because you’re a boy,” Amilita urged.

Natalie shifted around a bit and looked me in the eyes, but didn’t say anything to disagree.

“The training so far is not bad,” I said honestly. “I can keep up. Feels a bit pessimistic, training for a war when we’re at peace.” That wasn’t to say I didn’t understand the point.

“Armies negotiate with each other, and that leads to peace more than one side having an army and the other not,” Amilita said wisely. “And we are in a negotiated peace.”

“Plenty still want the human Emperor’s head,” Lady Rakten offered, staring neatly at me, and I felt a little uncomfortable under that gaze.

“Well, I can understand why,” I said slowly, not at all liking the intensity in her gaze. “He killed a lot of Shil’vati. There’s a lot of pride, a lot of honor in your culture. You even have duels to settle grudges, right?”

Lady Rakten nodded in a restrained motion. “I’ve discouraged Natalie from partaking in this new fad. It accomplishes nothing.”

“Maybe, but what would it look like if she were to reject one?”

“She’d be foolish to take it up,” Lady Rakten said simply. I looked over at Natalie, who seemed almost mopey at the assessment. “Besides, you look better without mincing your face. And with no active fronts, scars without medals creates a nasty reputation I think we can do without.”

“She should be able to handle herself,” I argued. “Else I’ll have to fight for her.”

Nive blinked, then laughed- even more heartily when I tried to scowl to show how serious I was. “That’s very sweet of you,” she managed after getting herself under control. “How many times has my daughter come to your rescue?”

I tried to determine which occurrences Lady Rakten was likely to know about, and took a sip of the last droplets of my flask to stall while I thought. “A few.” A diplomatic vagary. And I wasn’t about to ask how many times I’d come to her rescue, not in front of company at least.

“Two?” She asked, pressing me.

“Ah…” I was about to agree just for the sake of humoring her, when Morsh clapped me on the shoulder.

“Actually, a word with young mister Sampson- let’s put that human stamina to the test outside, shall we? Back to training.”

I was still sweating, but that meant I was still warm and ready to go, so I set the glass down without another sip and walked out for where she waved me through. As soon as the heavy bulkhead between inside and out was shut behind her, the bodyguard rolled her shoulders and took off her jacket, some sort of windbreaker like material covering up her lithe muscles and scars as she circled around the back, where the grass had been matted down from us repeatedly trodding across it.

I assumed a ready stance, and sure enough she tested my guard almost immediately.

“So, how many actually?” The bodyguard asked lightly, as if she hadn’t just thrown a punch.

“Four?” I gave a figure. You, Track party, stopping the bombardment, Goshen. Shit, could I make up a fourth if the bodyguard pressed for details? I was already getting used to this new form of training, capable of thinking and acting at the same time.

“And you think this time she’ll be able to pull it off the same as she’s done before?” Morsh somehow shook her head even as she ducked around my feinted jab, though my follow-up footwork made her take a step back. Though the bodyguard had the reach on me by a lot, and I could see the trap she was laying, so I let her get the reach on me instead while I absorbed her words instead of a blow.

“Maybe.” I hadn’t thought about it, really.

“The Raktens are, as noble families go, respectable. The name pulls serious weight in imperial inner circles. But it’s far from the richest, far from the most powerful, and up there you’ll be meeting kids from families that are usually richer, more powerful, and sometimes even both. Ones that managed to get their kids into Vanguard even though they’re nowhere near Earth. Do you understand?” She reset, no longer holding out for me to fall into her trap, though going by her facial expression I wasn’t sure she knew I had sussed it out, rather than failed to press the initiative.

I only sor...

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/grasping_at_a_flame on 2025-12-28 15:31:01+00:00.

The heads of a hydra stared back at the professor from the face of the coin; her mind was elsewhere —

— mostly cursing the cold; congratulations, she thought sarcastically, you've ventured further north than any previous expedition ever dared.

One of the logs on the fire chose that moment to collapse, the crackling of the spray of sparks sounding to the professor like applause.

And now you know why no previous expedition ever dared, her thoughts continued; it's because it gets, to use the old Mannish expression, "ball-achingly cold".

Men, the professor thought, it always comes back to Men; not males — she could hear the Orc innkeeper in the cellar grunting as he re-arranged barrels — but Men.

Humans.

They were amongst the greatest of enigmas; from the beginning of recorded lore, Men had played an outsized role in it; in the Age of War, it had been Men who had always commanded the armies, Men who had always volunteered for the most perilous missions; in this Age of Peace, it had been Men who had conceded their lands to bring to an end the wars for resources, Men who had emptied their treasuries to build the trade roads and by doing so forge chains of symbiotic relationships; it seemed that wherever there was any great upheaval, Men were always in the middle of it —

— and then, one day, Men just ... went away.

There was no war; no plague; no famine; but, also, no Men; just memories and monuments.

As time passed, the panic caused by the disappearance of Men faded; and as generations passed, Men became almost mythical creatures.

Still, the question of what had befallen them remained unanswered — as did, more worryingly, the question of whether whatever had happened to Men could happen to another race.

The professor sighed inwardly; and so the Faculty of Lore funds these expeditions, and I chase a rumour to this place, where a warm day is almost a myth, she thought.

The professor shifted, trying to make herself comfortable in an armchair made for a member of a race typically far larger than hers and the warm but maddeningly itchy woollen garment she had bought from one of the townswomen; she was glad that there were no other patrons in the inn at this time in the afternoon who she might have needed to compete with for her place by the fire, or who might have necessitated her using her magiks — the innkeeper appreciated the subtle glamours she could weave, making his establishment seem more warm and inviting, as well as the less-subtle illusions the professor could weave, convincing patrons who were "drunk" and heading towards "and disorderly" that it really was time to leave — and had — very grudgingly, occasionally muttering about "bloody knife-ears" — reduced the rate he was charging her for a room as long as her magiks were benefiting him.

The professor once again sighed inwardly; maybe the Faculty of Lore will be so pleased with my fiscal responsibility that they'll overlook my expedition being a failure, she thought dejectedly.

In truth, she knew that nobody, not even herself, was really expecting her expedition to discover the fate of Men when so many expeditions before hers had failed; still, she hadn't been able to entirely quieten her feelings of hope when she had detoured to this little town on the border of nowhere after hearing rumours that a number of people had seen a figure in the nearby woods that resembled the description of a Man.

The professor scowled; she would have preferred it if the rumours had been a complete fabrication, for the truth was, somehow, more disappointing: a Halfling recluse who had fashioned himself a pair of stilts in order to keep his feet out of the snow.

The professor idly rubbed a thumb over a face of the coin; heads, I'll continue this expedition; tail, I'll return to the University, she resolved; a deft hand movement sent the coin spinning into the air —

— a figure was closing the door to the inn behind it, and the professor's senses were shouting at her that something was wrong; she snatched the coin out of the air so as not to have it clatter and alert the figure, as she snatched too at the threads of magik, ready to weave illusion to hide herself from mundane sight if she needed to flee, or to confuse her opponent about the whereabouts of her blade if she needed to fight.

But the figure, seemingly oblivious to the professor and her pounding heart, took the few steps to the counter, and rang the crude iron bell there to get the innkeeper's attention.

With the figure's back to her, and its attention focussed on the innkeeper, who had been summoned from the cellar by the sound of the bell and the possibility of coin, the professor took a moment to try to calm herself and take stock; the innkeeper didn't seem to be at all alarmed by the figure — but, the professor thought, the typical Orc's senses are far less acute than my race's.

The figure was dressed for the weather, the professor noted, in a dark, thick, hooded cloak, boots, and gloves; it stood a little shorter than an Elf and a lot shorter than an Orc, and although its clothes could be deceiving it seemed to be broader than the former whilst not being as broad as the latter; the professor pulled gently on the threads of magik, surreptitiously checking for any glamour on- or illusion about- the figure, but found not a trace; what's wrong here?, she thought —

— and a heartbeat later she saw it: although the figure had walked in on a typical afternoon here in the north, there was no snow on its cloak, no mud on its boots; it was as though it had simply decided that the weather didn't apply to it — and the weather had complied.

As the professor struggled to think of an explanation, the innkeeper pointed in her direction, and the figure began to turn to walk towards where she was sitting; the professor pulled more roughly on the threads of magik, weaving illusion — mundane sight would perceive her as resting her chin on a fist as she stared at the coin in her other hand; it would take magikal ability to see through her illusion and see her as fully alert, a hand on the blade that hung from her belt.

"Professor", the figure addressed her with a nod of its head; the illusion reacted as though slightly startled by its thoughts being interrupted, whilst the professor studied the figure and found it nondescript — but in a way remarkable for how unremarkable it was; its face wasn't as fine as was typical for a member of her race, but wasn't as plump as a Halfling's, and was androgynous; its voice was similar — pitched too high for a male, but too low for a female; its garb was of obviously high-quality material and masterfully fashioned, but was bereft of any ornamentation; and a hope was kindling in the professor —

"You have me at a disadvantage", the professor heard her voice come from the illusion's mouth; "you apparently know of me, but I don't believe that we have ever met."

The figure skirted a small table adorned with a collection of dirty mugs, and sank into one of the armchairs; "you are correct", it stated, "we have never before met; and I do not have a name I can give you, for I have only a title — 'emissary'."

— "No", the professor almost shouted in annoyance, interrupting the illusion beginning to say something vacuous and causing the innkeeper to glance in her direction — seeing no weapons being brandished, he returned to redistributing the grime on the countertop; there was a blur as the illusion unravelled; "no", the professor stated a little more calmly; "I will not be mocked; this is a trick — plenty of the townsfolk know of my reason for venturing this far — one of them put you up to this."

The emissary gave a wan smile; "you don't truly believe that", it stated; "and this is no trick — I'm Human, a 'Man' in your tongue."

"So many expeditions before mine ended in failure — why do you appear now, to me?", the professor asked, a myriad of emotions in her voice.

"I appear to you because we have watched you seek knowledge even when the quest brings you discomfort — physical", the emissary gestured to indicate the less-than-hospitable world on the other side of the door to the inn, "or intellectual; and I appear now because we have completed our deliberations."

"And what deliberations were those?", the professor asked.

"When you were a child, did you ever play make-believe?", the emissary asked, ignoring the professor's question.

"Yes", the professor answered with a confused nod, "but I don't understand what that has to do with anything."

The emissary gave a sigh; "we did, too", it stated; "we have always sought to escape from our world and into fantasy; we told one another stories, we put on plays, we wrote books; and, as our knowledge grew, we learnt to create worlds we could step into — and one of those worlds we populated with Orcs and Elves, Dragons and Halflings" —

The professor didn't feel the emissary pull on the threads of magik, but now there appeared to be a game board atop the table between the armchairs, with two carved wooden figures representing a Mannish warrior and a Dragon on it.

— "But we felt that the world we had created lacked verisimilitude; at first we strove to simply make that world look more real", the emissary continued, as the figures on the game board became more finely carved, paint spreading across them to give them colour and pick out details; "but, paradoxically, the more that that world looked real, the less believable ...

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/BrodogIsMyName on 2025-12-28 14:29:21+00:00.

[RR] [Discord] [First] [Previous] [Next]

Edited by /u/Evil-Emps

“You saw the drone footage. There was no time to react, and we got through the interaction without anyone dying!” Tracy’s dumbass lover defended himself, holding his hands up in front of himself.

The technician angrily scrubbed her eyes from the hour she spent glued to the monitors. She had rushed out of the cold to meet him, braving the freezing winds in a moment of worried frustration.

“You could have stopped and talked with me or prepared something for the paladin!” she scolded, grabbing onto his exoskeleton’s neck armor. “You didn’t see how fucking close that hammer was to your skull! You’d better thank every god on this planet that Shar’s in one piece, too!”

He softly laid his palms on her sides, lowering the heat of her exasperation. “How were we meant to know her weapons were infused with artifacts?”

“Yeah… Okay, but still! I mean, you didn’t even answer the radio for like an hour! What the hell was up with that, dude!” Tracy continued, pulling him closer. She looked around his armor to see the very people who tried to kill him. “And what about the other Malkrin? Why the hell are we taking actual prisoners?”

Harrison glanced to the side at the others as they walked past them. The hammer-wielding paladin-bitch was in a female-sized stretcher when she should’ve been in a casket, somehow still breathing after taking several fifty-caliber rounds to the upper body. The spears stood on the sides as both rope-restrained and free Malkrin walked into the fortress settlement.

The engineer took her arm and led her away from the convoy of terrified new arrivals, shameful prisoners, and stalwart Sharkrin spears—all already scanned for infection and cleared, just in case.

His voice lowered, finally matching her worry. “Look, I was talking with Shar and the other girls interrogated some of Kegara’s troops. We could have just sent them back and face the freezing cold wilderness, without their paladin’s fire artifact that they lived and died by. Or…”

He took a slow breath, taking off his helmet. His hair was sweaty, and his strained eyes bored into her with an air of grave sincerity. He tilted his head in an offer. “…We could keep them here, be nice, and wait to see if the bitch on the stretcher can be fixed up. We’ll show them a little of how we operate and maybe some will stay. The ones who decide to leave won’t have many negative things to say. We’ll let them tell the others they were treated kindly and sent back with as few scratches as possible. That’s a hell of a lot better than rumors spread by terrified knights, doncha think?”

Tracy gave him a difficult look, unsure of how to respond. She could see the vision, but… “How the fuck are we gonna feed, house, and ‘fix up’ FIFTY MORE MALKRIN!? TWO-FIFTHS OF THEM AREN’T EVEN GOING TO WORK! We don’t have a prison. We don’t have housing! Dude!”

The technician threw her arm out wide toward the massive, muscled aliens marching along before jabbing a finger into his armored chest with emphasis on each word. “What. Are. We. Going. To. Do? How? With what material? With what construction drones? I’m already nose-deep in the colony network rework, so don’t tell me you expect another fully-completed builder-bot army in time to build a prissy paladin princess prison. There are going to be some serious sacrifices and consequences! You of all people should know how much this ass-rails our plans!”

Harrison slid his hand up her arm and around her neck muscles to softly knead them… The fucker knew her weak spots, gently easing her boiling frustration and sending a nice shiver down her spine. Her breathing calmed as he continued in the same, sympathetic voice.

“No, you’re absolutely right, Trace. Things are gonna change real quick. We’ve got over a hundred Malkrin here now. We’ll first move the builder bots from the shipyard and delay the ocean expansion. That’ll net us a little under thirty drones to construct housing overnight for the new workers. As for the prisoners? The injured ones are going to be put in the medical beds on the first floor of dormitory three. Balrog the Angry, Dredth’khee, is going to be tied down while she heals too. The rest of Kegara’s girls will be treated like the new arrivals and given menial jobs and housing last.”

Tracy squinted at him in disbelief. “You’re putting a hell of a lot of trust into literal strangers who wanted you dead.”

He shook his head. “They’re beyond terrified. Plus, this gives the strike team more to do than just train; they’ll get to play guard for now. Not to mention that the other workers always have their guns on their person, so it's not like the prisoners would get very far… They’ll keep a good eye on ‘em.”

“And feeding nearly twice the amount of giant, powerlifting-model shark women?”

“Rationing, at first. All the while, we’re going to print out three logistics water-skeeters and get all the new fisherwomen back into the ocean while the other ten builder-bots start on a second hydroponics module,” he answered, pulling out his data pad from his back.

“Fuck’s sake,” she groaned in a slow release of tense emotions, letting her forehead fall into his bulky, armored chest. His metallic arms wrapped around her nicely. “I guess we’ve also built up our dry-room and freezer storage… You’re planning on using our stockpiled material for clothing and whatever else, too, yeah?”

“For now,” he relented.

“But you have plans for some fuckass factory line to make up for what we’re lacking right now?”

“I do.”

Tracy took in a deep sigh and nuzzled her forehead into him further. She was already convinced. “And you’re anticipating that the others will integrate the new ones into our settlement naturally.”

He shrugged, his warm neck massage becoming her lifeline against the frigid sea breeze. “They’re already doing it pretty well. The strike team’s become pretty good at breaking the ice. Heat pads, good food, and proof of safety would be one hell of a sight for me if I were banished like that. Especially with Monbishoppe’s reassurance. The banished really want to hear that they weren’t religiously, socially, and physically screwed after a long, freezing boat ride… It’ll be good, Trace. Promise.”

“I believe you… dork,” Tracy resigned with a subtle giggle. She pulled her head up and looked up at him. He wasn’t hurt, and he had plans. Things were alright for now.

Her loving dweeb had a way with putting her at ease. That spike of chest-crushing anxiety she had earlier genuinely might’ve been a death sentence for a younger version of her.

But now? She really had someone to lean on for the first time in a long while.

= = = = =

God dammit, what the hell was Harrison going to do about FIFTY Malkrin? He practically scrambled out of the armor suffocating him. A disgusting layer of sweat stuck to his skin and immediately started to itch under the workshop’s stale heat.

He clicked his tongue twice and waited. His heart thumped in rhythm with the machinery all around, pumping a painful stress through his chest—constant, predictable, and never-ending.

“Creator,” Vodny answered from behind him, appearing out of nowhere. She had already switched to urban camouflage from her orange, sea-debris-covered ghillie suit prior. Her expression was covered by an obscuring net over her helmet

He spoke quickly. “I need you to keep an eye on all the new ones. Just listen and pick out dissenters. Give me a general vibe of their opinions. I’ll ask the squad leaders too. I also need you to give me updates on Cera and the medics’ progress with Dredth’khee when you get the chance.”

The shadow bowed her head, but disagreed. “You will be undefended if I leave.”

“It’s fine,” he assured, unclipping his rig from the upright armor’s exoskeleton. “I’ll be safer with a better feel over the prisoners and new guys.”

The engineer unclasped his big iron’s holster and put it around his waist, bringing a supporting brace over his shoulder. He glanced up as he tied the strap, but Vodny had already disappeared without a sound… Damn, Cera taught her good.

He spent the next few minutes cobbling together a plan for the hydroponics dome at his desk, transferring a few files to his data pad directly. The farmers would appreciate a more visual representation of the extra workload they’d have. Especially on top of needing to train the new ones. It would be arduous, but there was plenty of arduous work to be spread around. Hell, the script-keeper, shop-keeper, and clergy had their work cut out for them, what with classifying all the new ones into work, even the ‘prisoners.’

/- - - - -

The sun was already down by the time Harrison left the workshop. He made his way through the streetlights toward the farmers, prepared for the first of many meetings that night. His thoughts drifted all the while. A worry over non-lethal opinions and rules of engagement resurfaced, but soon changed as he pondered what the hell blue-wood had to do with artifacts.

No matter what he thought of, everything reminded him that there was going to be a lot of work to do. Those ‘sacrifices and con...

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/CrackHeadSchzioMarin on 2025-12-28 13:53:05+00:00.

First: Chapter 1

Previous: Chapter 11

(My dumbass reuploaded chapter 11, then when I found out, I realized I didn't even write chapter 12, mb)

“—genetic code as the following A-b-a-c, in contrast to the B-a–a-c, giving them the advantage of—” Mr Yanala continued on his lessons about DNA and genetic splicing. However, that was not what got the attention of Ae; instead, it was the horrible excuse of whispers that rang around the classroom.

Apparently, his recent disagreement with that one cosplayer a few days ago seemed to have spread like self-replicating nanites within the institution, as students talked about ridiculous theories.

“I heard he shattered his spine,” whispered one of his classmates.

“Someone said he lost control of his instinct! I wonder if that's true…” said another.

From what he managed to gather from the conversations around him, the main rumor was that he would have eaten the poor guy if he hadn't been stopped by security…which was completely preposterous! Though if he really did want to eat him…he knew for a fact not even an armored security unit could stop him…

Suddenly, a light jab hits the side of his stomach, which causes him to slightly flinch before looking towards the source.

Turning to face where the jab had come from, he is met with Oril's goofy smile while holding up her E-device just high enough so he could see, and at the same time not get caught by the currently distracted teacher.

The device showed a video of one of the Kalanaian’s domesticated animals, which looked like a mix of a raccoon and sheep. The said animal was balancing on the edge of a table before dramatically falling onto a carpeted ground.

He looked Oril dead in the eyes, and she looked back, seemingly expecting something from him, but what she wanted, he couldn't guess.

“What?” He said, keeping his voice below a whisper.

“It's funny!” She said while doing her best to contain her giggles, which periodically began seeping through.

Ae guessed it could have been. But it wasn't really his sense of humor. Though to be fair, he and his friends used to constantly laugh at shitty dick jokes, so who was he to cast judgment on her?

“I guess so.” He replied, without even a twitch of his lip muscle to hint at it.

Oril just looked at him suspiciously before ducking back and continuing to disregard the, frankly, interesting topic.

“And that concludes our lesson for today. Please remember to answer the homework on your student answer slate sites, which is due in two days. Thank you and goodbye.” Sir Yanala said.

The whole classroom stood up, including Ae, and thanked the teacher as he left. “Thank you and goodbye, Sir Yanala.” They said in a drawn-out, bored manner as their teacher left.

“I wonder what the next subject is.” Upon hearing Oril's side comment, Ae began recalling the schedule.

“Physical education.” He said, just as their teacher walked in.

“Alright, class! You know the drill! Head to the locker rooms and get changed!” Their teacher said in a jubilant manner.

“Ah shit.” Oril said, completely defeated.

…

Being honest with himself, Ae expected the locker room to smell…kinda like…y'know…a male locker room? So…like a wet dog? But to his surprise, and relief, it actually smelled quite pleasant.

The shorter males stared at him as he walked to his own locker, key in hand. Opening it, he takes note of his uniform lying nicely folded in front of him, his standard training uniform, of course.

His shirt was a black, tightly fitting t-shirt with the words “physical training” printed onto his back in bold white letters, while his outfit number sat on the right side of his chest, with the same font and color.

The pants were actually one of his favorites, even asking for a second pair to be shipped over. It had four pouch-like pockets, two on each side, which made it really useful when carrying things. Though that alone was great, the fact that each leg held a zipper just above the knee area, allowing it to be turned into shorts, was what sold him.

With the eyes of nearly every guy in the locker, he began undressing. First, his shirt, of course.

As they undressed, he heard the expected gasps and murmurs of surprise as the few seconds he exposed his back, revealing his ugly past. Though it only lasted a few seconds.

As he was tying his boots, Ae was suddenly poked from behind. Slightly annoyed, he first finishes tying and boots and stores his school shoes before turning to face whoever poked him.

“Are they…real?” He came face to face with a colorful green and blue male, his feathers forming intricate patterns.

Slightly annoyed, Ae answered. “If you're referring to my scars, yes, they are real.” He said before turning around to place his school shoes in the locker.”

But much to his displeasure, the colorful man didn't stop talking. “Y'know, most of us are scared of you…But you seem like a nice guy.”

“Oh?” Ae said before turning to face the man again, now noticing the small group of boys behind the one in front of him. “How so?”

The male just chuckled before responding. “Chuchu— uh, the name's Kelaka, by the way,” Kel said before lowering his head and extending his neck.

Ae stood confused for a moment before remembering how the Kalanaians greeted each other. So, Ae too bowed and extended his head, just enough for the top of his head to softly bump Kelaka’s.

Standing up straight, Kelaka continued. “Those guys in the back—” he gestured with all his talons, “are my friends.”

…

Ae and the rest of the males were separated from the females, who were lined up behind them, when they were brought outside.

He stood lined up with the rest of the boys in his class, in front of an expanding oval field. The weather today was quite pleasant. Clouds above provided some shade from the ever-beaming sun while the wind made its presence known.

He looked to his left and saw Kelaka with his friends. Kelaka was shorter than him, only by a few inches; his feathers were a rich green, red, and yellow, while his talons were small and, seemingly, intentionally dulled.

Kelaka’s friends were similar, though with varying heights and different colors. Wuqi was the shortest of the bunch, colored in dullish blue, yellow, and purple feathers. In contrast, Iko was the tallest, though only managing to be taller than Ae with the feathers on top of his head poking up like some kind of crown. His colors were nearly identical to Kelaka 's, however, his body mass was much more scrawny, even compared to a regular Kalanaian.

Then there were the twins, Kef and Kiya, who had the same colored feathers of Reddish brown and Bluish yellow, had more fluff in their general chest area, and had their fitness shirt uniforms slightly tied up to show a little of their waist.

Now that Ae actually had a closer look, he realized that most of the male Kalanaians had a barely noticeable, yet distinct feminine appearance. Were they gay? No…he'd have to do more research after this.

“Alright-” Mr Hethra, their Physical instructor, started. “We'll be performing a short run to get all your blood pumping! After that, we'll work on those wings!”

At that, everyone, except Ae, lets out an exasperated sigh.

…

Oril forced her legs forward despite them feeling like they each weighed hundreds of pounds. The muscles already burned like they were in flames, and the fact that she slowly felt herself getting hotter and hotter didn't help, as her heart pounded harder and harder.

“An entire…twenty…minutes…of this torture?!” She heard one of her fellow classmates gasp out in between breaths right in front of her, seemingly about to faint any second.

The truth was, the only reason Oril herself didn't faint or fall behind was the motivation to stay together with the rest of the flock, and of course, not to seem weak in front of the guys who were trailing right behind them.

Speaking of guys, she wondered how Are was doing…

…

Ae looked like he was leading the group by how he was constantly ahead of them. He would have passed the female group already, but he was specifically told to stick with their respective groups.  So here he was, jogging half-assedly while small droplets of sweat began forming on his forehead.

The runs on Earth during his weekly physical maintenance and monthly physical exam were quite different from what he was currently experiencing. First of all, the weekly physical maintenance required conscripts to run five miles in under forty minutes. Second, the physical exam called for the same thing but in full gear, which typically weighed fifty pounds total, not counting the training rifle. However, one plus side was that they were given extra time instead of just forty minutes.

This, on the other hand, was a cake walk, no required amount of laps, no blazing heat, no bullshit loaded gear, quite honestly, Ae was enjoying this.

He couldn't say the same for his fellow classmates, though.  They all seemed on the brink of collapse as they begrudgingly forced their feet forward. Every now and then, he could hear murmuring about physical education and how it was their least favorite subject.

But what would he do when they began their…flying exercise…last Ae checked, he himself couldn't fly…even in the lower gravity the current planet had. He was actually quite interested in seeing the Kalanaians fly in the flesh.

Then, as they rounded ne...

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/noobvs_aeternvm on 2025-12-28 16:30:51+00:00.

Dave called me a name, not the serial number I was assigned by The Hive when activated, but another one, a word assembled from his memories and imagination.

This was bad.

Dave once came up with a name for a wrench, not a specialized wrench, not a special wrench, a wrench; a piece of metal encasing a standard nano swarm, stored in a box alongside dozens of other identical wrenches, to be picked by the crew at the start of their shifts. From that moment on there was no shift unless Dave held that wrench, there was no soul among the crew who dared touch that wrench, there was no newbie I wouldn’t give the wrench on their first day to learn, to the amusement of our whole shift, that no one touched Nina except Dave.

Dave once came up with a name for a mimic. Not any unique mimic, just the same soup of genes collected across the galaxy to assemble a compliant, mildly intelligent creature, who would take various forms and perform assorted tasks in assistance of the maintenance crew. From that moment on the mimic was assigned a series of useless tasks, it would retrieve balls thrown aimlessly by Dave, and the ones he made me throw as well; perform pointless choreographies trained for weeks on end, as he would insist on showing me at every opportunity; curl up at Dave’s side as he went unconscious for the night, even though the manufacturer’s instructions clearly stated that it was supposed to be put on stasis when not in use. But who would take Jackie away from Dave? 

Certainly not me.

There was no ownership in the habitat. People would take tools as needed and return ‘em to storage once finished, we would use the baths as desired and vacate ‘em once done, we would eat the food when hungry - or in my case, recharge as convenient - and thank the cooks and farmers that kept us supplied. 

There was, however, a silent understanding. Individuals have individual needs and preferences, so when someone went for the green jacket, I’d ask ‘em to save this particular piece of clothing for Dave; when Dave needed a toothbrush, I told he was not expected to return it to general storage; when the newcomers eyed the quarters Dave personalized for his own use, I’d advise ‘em not to step in without Dave’s authorization, but that he encouraged ‘em to play with Jackie, even if he wasn’t around.

Dave had a more extensive interpretation of this arrangement, I didn’t particularly agree with it, but each individual had individual views and I respected that. But right now, there seemed to be a breach of the societal norms that kept the habitat functional. I am not a biological organism evolved inside a biosphere, I am an artificial construct designed and assembled by The Hive, but I am not a wrench, I am not a bioengineered tool, not an object to be owned, but an individual. This was not written anywhere because it didn’t need to, it was self-evident, to all except Dave. I had to remind him:

-My designation is B78-U39 Bx-Alpha.

-I know, Buba.

-Your assignment of a name to my person is, therefore, deliberate?

-Seems that way, Bubs.

-Are you implying I am something of yours?

-Yes…………….. We are friends.

___

Tks for reading. More friendly humans here.

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/noobvs_aeternvm on 2025-12-28 16:24:56+00:00.

-This… feels wrong.

-You’re training to be a vampire slayer. Here’s a vampire, so…

-This is not what I was expecting.

-What were you expecting?

-Hum… a vicious killer?

-Right. Apprentice, vicious killer; vicious killer, apprentice.

-This is a vicious killer?

-How else would it get to this state?

-What one thing’s got to do with the other?

-You know how the food chain gets thinner at the top? More grass than bunnies, more bunnies than snakes, more snakes than eagles…?

-Yes, you need a lot of plants for each herbivore, many herbivores for each predator.

-Well, that too. But also there’s a lot of stuff that’s hard to wash off your system, the higher you are in the food chain the more toxins you accumulate.

-I don’t think I’m following.

-Humans are at the top of the food chain and these things feed on humans, for centuries.

-What does this have to do with it sounding like Darth Vader trying to breathe through a wet paper straw?

-The early industrial revolution was powered by coal, let’s say he got a lot of “thick” blood.

-That much?

-This and the asbestos. Back in the day the pipes were coated with it.

-Asbestos turns you into a rusty washing machine?

-You mean the shivers? Nah, both Romans and Chinese went big on mercury, it was the radium of ancient times.

-Radium?

-Yep, was the 20th century's AI, everything was radium infused, that’s why the glow.

-At least the pale skin matches the image I had in my head.

-Funnily enough this is a recent phenomenon. Once lead got into paint and fuel, the vampires started experiencing kidney failure, which led to widespread albinism.

-Master, no offense, but at this point I’m more inclined to put this poor bastard into a wheelchair and gently stroll into the Sun.

-Why would you do that?

-It obviously can’t walk without its feet. Why doesn’t it have feet, by the way?

-Diabetes.

-Right, we’re in America. So, can you help me bring it into the Sun, master?

-What do you think this will accomplish?

-Don’t they vaporize or something under sunlight? You know, creatures of the night?

-They have no problem with sunlight, at least they didn’t until we decided every woman under 50 had to be on birth control and skincare was another word for chemical warfare. Now, they peel like a snake if left under the Sun.

-Is there any point in slaying vampires by now? This feels like beating a guy in a wheelchair.

-Trust me, padawan, it won’t even notice.

-It won’t?

-We went big into anti-depressants since the early 2000s, his mind has left this world decades ago.

-Oh! Ma! Gawd! That’s it, we’re out of here.

-Where do you think you’re going with this creature, young one?

-In search of an organic farm run by a reclusive couple of vegan lesbians. At this point, this thing deserves at least one last decent meal.

___

Tks for reading. More human mercy here.

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Environmental-Wish53 on 2025-12-28 12:51:58+00:00.

It ain't easy being a mailman. Vacation is limited. Pay is slightly above galactic average – just enough to keep you functioning, not enough to let you live. Employment perks consist of your standard packages; vision, medical, and retirement after 20 years, 30 years,or 40 years. Medical is only 50% coverage of expenses (post retirement it jumps up to 70%, so there's that at least). Stock investment exists, but it's only for those who are quadrant managers and above. Yeah, being a mailman kinda sucks.

If you're a normal one that is.

You see, due to the very nature of mail service, unexpected and unwanted encounters are going to happen; Angry fathers, horny mothers, insane pirates, rebellious youths. I've even had a run-in with a space dust tentacle creature...thing

That was a wild experience, let me tell you. But not now. That's a story for another time.

Indeed, being a mailman has some great perks if you qualify for them. I myself am qualified to deliver up to level 4 restricted regions of space. Basically the galactic version of ancient America's wild west, with a dash of piracy. It is the galaxy after all - everything not planet side can be considered the “ocean” if you think about it.

Yep, being a mailman is fun. Outside of the special kinds of training (if you qualify, of course) and job stability because everyone needs something delivered, you get to experience all the different cultures of your area. I've witnessed courting rituals, birth rituals, death celebrations, war games, and the life and death of an AI. That experience required a lot of NDAs and waivers and such considering I had to be hooked up to a special device to slow things down enough for me to register them. But hot damn is it something I'll never forget.

Poor 10001010101000111100101010, he deserved better.

For sure, being a mailman teaches you many things. Gives you many things. I get excited when I deliver to Zeta Kappa-18991. It's my largest delivery of parental goods, considering I'm pretty much the father of the entire colony's newest generation. The residents of ZK-18991 are purely female. There are no, and have never been any, males of their kind as far back as their history goes. However, they make up for the lack of men with the ability to interbreed with virtually any male of any other species.

You'd think most men would kill to be the milking pole for them, but it's not all gas clouds and supernovas. The reason I'm writing this little memoir snippet now is because I'm recovering after my recent ZK-18991 delivery. It cost all my vacation the first time I...involved myself with the lovely ladies. It's not my fault I had to use all my vacation though.

How I was supposed to know that when you decide to lay with one you lay with all? Literally. No one told me they were a hivemind type species. I had to satisfy dozens of these minds. It was rough. Give me another life and death of AI over that mental exhaustion.

What? Did you think it was purely physical? Oh no no no. They don't need that much organic matter. They're exceptionally gifted in the art of aritficial, and physical, genetic manipulation. One sample of a specie's DNA is all they need to bring out nearly every single trait that species has exhibited.

They had some fun with human DNA. Very interesting reactions from the queen “bee”, as it were.

Nevertheless, every delivery they receive is only for me to give, aforementioned reason being what it is. It's nice seeing my little offspring flitter around, but the group hug when I arrive is something to worry about.

Indubitably, being a mailman is one hell of a job.

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/RecentFeature1646 on 2025-12-27 20:52:07+00:00.

Ke Yin has a problem. Well, several problems.

First, he's actually Cain from Earth.

Second, he's stuck in a cultivation world where people don't just split mountains with a sword strike, they build entire universes inside their souls (and no, it's not a meditation metaphor).

Third, he's got a system with a snarky spiritual assistant that lets him possess the recently deceased across dimensions.

And finally, the elders at the Azure Peak Sect are asking why his soul realm contains both demonic cultivation and holy arts? Must be a natural talent.

Expectations:

• MC's main cultivation method will be plant based and related to World Trees

• Weak to Strong MC

• MC will eventually create his own lifeforms within his soul as well as beings that can cultivate

• Main world is the first world (Azure Peak Sect)

• MC will revisit worlds (extensive world building of multiple realms)

• Time loop elements

• No harem

Patreon

Previous| Next

Chapter 346: Qi Condensation Stage 9

I approached the convergence point of the four valleys first, the Primordial Wellspring cradled carefully in my spiritual hands. The area seemed to respond to the water's presence even before I placed it, the ground subtly reshaping itself to create a perfect receptacle.

"Here goes," I murmured, setting the water cube at the exact center of the convergence.

The reaction was immediate and dramatic. The perfect cube began to dissolve, spreading outward in four distinct streams that followed the valleys radiating from the center. Wherever the water touched, the ground responded: stones smoothed, soil enriched, and subtle formations activated that helped guide the water's flow.

Within minutes, the beginnings of a proper water system had formed throughout my inner world. Small pools collected in natural depressions, streams wound their way through the landscape, and a modest lake began forming in the garden quadrant. I could feel the water establishing its own form of order, a fundamental Water Law that would govern its behavior throughout my domain.

Next, I carried the Minor Spirit Vein to the cavity beneath the meditation plateau. As I approached, the rock face parted like curtains to reveal a chamber perfectly shaped to house the crystalline structure. I carefully positioned the Spirit Vein, aligning its main trunk with the vertical energy flow and its branches with the horizontal pathways that extended throughout my inner world.

Unlike the Wellspring's dramatic expansion, the Spirit Vein's integration was more subtle but no less profound. As it settled into place, thousands of tiny filaments extended from its crystalline structure, connecting with the existing spiritual pathways of my inner world. Almost immediately, I sensed an improvement in qi circulation, areas that had previously been spiritually "dry" now hummed with energy.

The Temporal Hourglass required the most precise positioning. I approached the Genesis Seed, studying its structure carefully before identifying the optimal placement. The seed seemed to recognize my intent, several of its smaller branches shifting slightly to create a natural cradle at exactly the right height and orientation.

I placed the hourglass in this living cradle, ensuring its axis of rotation aligned perfectly with the seed's growth direction. The moment it settled into place, a ripple of distortion spread outward, not visible to the eye but perceptible to my spiritual sense as a subtle stretching of time itself.

"The effect is establishing properly," Azure confirmed. "It's currently calibrating to your inner world's natural rhythm. Once stabilized, you'll experience a perfect two-to-one time ratio without any distortion or side effects."

Finally, I approached one of the small ponds that had formed in the garden quadrant, the crystal vial containing the Dawn Ripple in hand. Kneeling at the water's edge, I uncorked the vial and gently tipped it, allowing the tiny fish to swim into its new home.

For a moment, nothing happened as the Dawn Ripple remained motionless, perhaps adjusting to the sudden change in environment. Then, with a flick of its translucent tail, it darted forward, leaving a barely perceptible trail of spiritual essence behind it.

"It likes the water," I observed with a smile.

Yggy, who had been watching the entire process with rapt attention, extended a tendril toward the pond's surface. The vine hovered just above the water, as if hesitant to disturb the Dawn Ripple's exploration.

"You can touch the water," I told Yggy. "Just be gentle."

Yggy's tendril dipped cautiously into the pond, creating ripples that spread outward. The Dawn Ripple, rather than fleeing, swam toward the disturbance with apparent curiosity. To my surprise, it circled Yggy's tendril twice before nudging it gently.

"I think it's greeting you," I chuckled.

Yggy's entire form wiggled with what I could only interpret as delight.

"Master, would you look at that," Azure said with amusement in his voice. "Not even five minutes together and they're already friends. Funny how beings from completely different worlds can connect so easily while cultivators spend centuries bickering over the slightest differences in their perception of the Dao."

I smiled, watching them interact. "Maybe there's a lesson in that. We cultivators overthink everything, analyzing motives, calculating advantages. These two just... accept each other." I shook my head slightly.

As I stepped back to observe all four treasures functioning in harmony, something exciting began to happen. The Genesis Seed at the center pulsed with energy, its roots visibly extending further into the ground. A gentle pressure started spreading through my inner world, like the feeling of a muscle stretched to its limit before growing stronger.

"Azure," I said, my voice hushed with realization, "I think it's happening."

Azure's form brightened perceptibly. "Indeed, Master. The integration of these treasures has provided the final components needed for your breakthrough to the Ninth Stage of Qi Condensation."

The pressure increased, not painful but impossible to ignore. The expansion came in waves, each one pushing the boundaries of my inner world further outward. With each wave, I felt my connection to the World Tree Sutra deepen, my understanding of its principles growing clearer.

I moved toward the Genesis Seed, settling into a meditative position before it and synchronizing my breathing with the pulsing waves of expansion. Closing my eyes, I extended my spiritual sense throughout my inner world, feeling for any areas of resistance or imbalance. The four quadrants, mountain, garden, structure, and practice, all needed to expand harmoniously to maintain the world's stability.

As I directed my awareness through each section, memories of my cultivation journey flickered through my mind. The confusion upon first awakening in Ke Yin's body. The discovery of the World Tree Sutra. My first visit to the Two Sun’s World. My first tentative steps in formation study. The gradual building of relationships with Wei Lin, Lin Mei, and even Elder Chen Yong. Each memory seemed to fuel the expansion, as if my experiences were as vital to my cultivation as qi itself.

Opening my eyes, I found the Genesis Seed itself was transforming, its trunk thickening, branches reaching higher toward the suns while its roots delved deeper into the foundation of my inner world. The air around it shimmered with concentrated spiritual energy, creating a vortex that drew in ambient qi and released it refined and strengthened.

A surge of power suddenly rushed through me, filling every meridian with vibrant energy. The boundaries of my inner world expanded in one final, dramatic push, doubling in size. The sensation was exhilarating, like breaking through a barrier I hadn't fully realized was constraining me.

As the expansion stabilized, new awareness flooded my consciousness. My spiritual perception extended further beyond my physical form. My understanding of the World Tree Sutra deepened, revealing nuances in its principles I hadn't previously grasped. Most tangibly, I felt the capacity of my essence reserves double.

"Ninth stage of Qi Condensation," I breathed, opening my eyes to survey my transformed inner world. "It's... incredible."

"Congratulations, Master," Azure said, genuine pride in his voice. "Few cultivators achieve such a smooth breakthrough. Your foundation is remarkably stable."

Cultivation: Qi Condensation Stage 9

Inner World: Radius of 3200 meters

Soul Essence: 6500/6500

Spiritual Essence: 6000/6000

Physical Essence: 6000/6000

The numbers weren't just abstract values; I could feel the profound difference in my capacity. Where before my essence had felt like a deep well, now it was a vast lake, doubled in volume and significantly more stable. My inner world had expanded far beyond the typical range for early ninth stage cultivators, likely due to the World Tree Sutra's Beyond Heaven classification.

But more than the raw numbers, I sensed qualitative improvements as well. My spiritual perception reached further, my connection to the natural world felt more intimate, and the energy flowing through my meridians responded to my will with greater precision a...

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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/ralo_ramone on 2025-12-27 22:43:05+00:00.

Astur paced the length of his study. Night had closed in, but the perfectly calibrated Light Stones gave the room a warm cream-colored light. His astronomy instruments had collected a layer of dust as he had spent more time away from his research. He kept telling himself that life would return to normal, but as the days went by, the situation deteriorated. 

He paused and looked through the window. The walls. The gardens. The Egg. After hearing the news about the anti-nobility rally, he knew his personal kingdom was in peril. Not only had the rogue Runeweaver Robert Clarke survived, but the presence of Red Corruption made him doubt Byrne’s goals.

Astur had done everything in his power to assist Byrne, and yet things had taken a strange turn. He shook his head. Byrne had never stated that Robert Clarke was meant to die, but Astur was certain that was the true purpose behind his invitation to the anti-nobility rally. What else could it be? A rogue Runeweaver was a threat. There was no reason for the System to have two of them.

Astur shuddered. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw almost all the East Ward covered in a layer of frost. Hundreds of meters of underground tunnels damaged. Summer turned into winter. It was difficult to accept that a single man was responsible for such a feat of power. But that wasn’t the worst part. If the records of the event were accurate, all activities took place while the System was gone.

The mere idea of the System going down sent him into a spiral.

Who was he if not a Lv.55 Radiant Paladin?

Astur didn’t dare to search for an answer.

“Robert Clarke survived,” he said, looking at the shadow in the corner.

“Robert Clarke was meant to survive,” Byrne replied, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Not so long ago, Astur feared no man. A Lv.55 Radiant Paladin could easily deal with any sort of opponent, even those with a similar level to him. There were only a handful of higher levels in the kingdom, half of them old men and women whose fighting days were long gone. Still, the list of men he feared had grown twofold in such a short time. Samuel Byrne and Robert Clarke were both monsters. 

In his nightmares, Astur saw the hellhole that created them: Connecticut.

“Robert Clarke was meant to survive… live on… pull through, capisce?” Byrne said, moving his hand in a strange way.

Astur found himself at a loss for words. If it meant Robert Clarke’s demise, he could overlook the anti-nobility rally and even the Red Crystal Shrine. Playing with Corruption, however, crossed the line. Until now, Astur had turned a blind eye to Byrne’s movements, but his goodwill was running dangerously low.

“I hope the System has a good reason to have its Zealots running around creating Corruption,” Astur said, his commanding voice surfacing through the cracks of his once obedient demeanor.

Byrne raised an eyebrow.

“Inquisitive today, aren’t you?”

“Would you prefer someone who obeyed without complaint?”

Byrne laughed, and for a moment, he seemed younger than he really was.

“Well, yes. I would prefer you not question me. It would certainly make things easier.”

Gwan Astur was a prideful man. Reaching such heights at such a young age was only natural for someone with his talent and drive. However, talent and drive weren’t enough among talented and driven people. Astur attributed his success to his absolute lack of fear. Early in his life, he realized that fear only served to slow him down. But things had changed, and after a long time, Astur finally found something to fear.

The only reasonable solution to kill two monstrous beasts was to sic them on one another, wait for the moment they were wounded, and finish the job. The only problem was that the bigger beast seemed interested in nurturing the smaller one. Assuming that Robert Clarke caused most of the casualties during the rally, he should’ve gotten a few levels that night.

“You will tell me what you are planning,” Astur said.

“I don’t appreciate you giving me orders,” Byrne replied.

Gwan Astur was a prideful man, and now that he knew the taste of fear, he refused to be put in a situation where his powers could be stripped from him.

“Tread carefully, Samuel Byrne. You have too much to lose,” Astur grunted, as mana surged through his body. “If I say one word, the whole kingdom will know that you are behind the anti-nobility movement. Do you think my knights fear the Church? We will unearth every single speck of evidence about your relation to the Red Corruption, and you will be left with nothing.”

Byrne was amused. During his days as a gold smuggler, he had crossed paths with men whose cruelty had no limits. Next to them, Gwan was a little more than a pup with an oversized sense of importance.

“In hindsight, it was obvious that we would end this way. Let me tell you something. You don’t know how long I searched for this world, and I will save it with or without you,” Byrne calmly said, extending his authority beyond his body. With a simple command, he severed the connection between Astur and the System.

Astur paled as the mana died inside him. Of course, he still theoretically had access to natural magic, but no inhabitant of Ebros was proficient with it. Humans weren’t made to wield magic; they just stumbled upon it, or rather, magic stumbled upon them. 

Ebrosians lacked the trigger to kickstart their powers, but luckily for earthlings, the Fountain seemed genuinely interested in them.

“You were a helpful tool,” Byrne said. “But I have nicer ones.”

A hole opened under Astur’s feet, and for a moment he could see a bright white sun floating in the middle of darkness. He felt weightless and fell through. Then, the hole disappeared, as if nothing had happened.

Without a sound, Byrne also disappeared, leaving no trace.

The study was left in silence.

Astur found himself elsewhere. Darkness above, the bright white sun underneath. He felt no fear as he fell. He just hoped the two monsters would kill each other.

* * *

“We are going to tell the truth, but you have to promise you won’t hurt us,” Genivra said, her words coming out slurred and choppy.

“Let us in,” Cedrinor added in a tiny voice, trying to get through the doorway.

Wolf, however, blocked most of it.

It took a full five seconds for the words to sink in, and even then, their meaning slipped right past me. [Foresight] tried to fill the blanks with little success. Before I could respond, Wolf, Zaon, Ilya, and Firana surrounded the two cadets, preventing them from advancing or retreating. Wolf set a heavy hand on the back of Cedrinor’s neck while Firana grabbed Genivra’s shoulders. Both cadets froze.

“You two sound hella suspicious,” Firana said. “Why won’t we talk inside?”

Genivra and Cedrinor were forcefully dragged inside my bedroom by the four orphans, and strangely, they looked relieved to be let in. I didn’t need [Foresight] to read it on their faces—they were terrified. 

“Speak,” Wolf said.

Genivra nervously looked at me, waiting for confirmation.

I mindlessly nodded, my brain fighting to keep up with the events.

“You have to promise you’ll protect us,” she said.

“From whom?!” I asked, alarmed.

The cadets exchanged a nervous glance.

“W-we don’t know, but Lord Astur is missing. We were supposed to meet him today, but when we arrived, the waiting room was crowded. He always vacates the place to meet us. Sir Rhovan was making a scene because he had been waiting an hour, and the aides said they hadn’t seen Lord Astur since yesterday. When Sir Rhovan barged into his chambers, there was no one inside. Even his personal aide hadn’t seen him.” Genivra said, stumbling upon her own words.

I couldn't help but tilt my head, trying to understand.

“So, Astur has been missing for what… twelve hours? That’s it?”

“He’s probably visiting a brothel or something,” Ilya pointed out. “What? That’s what Imperial Knights do.”

Genivra shook her head vehemently.

“They took him, and they will take us!”

“And who exactly are these ‘they’?” Wolf asked.

Genivra and Cedrinor exchanged yet another look.

“W-we don’t know.”

I clapped my hands as loudly as I could to put a stop to the barrage of information.

“From the top. Slowly,” I said, casting my Silence Dome around the room. Something awful must’ve happened if they believed I was going to hurt them.

Cedrinor cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

I tried to piece together what might have happened, but my brain drew blanks.

“Astur entrusted us to spy on you,” he said, picking his words carefully. “It all started after the first selection exam. He ordered us to map your skillset and look for anything out of the ordinary. We… it wasn’t ideal, but we thought it would be best for our position in the Academy to have contacts in the high spheres once you were gone.”

My brain suddenly came back online, and [Foresight] sent me down a new line of thought. Cedrinor’s missing enchanted shirt after the midterms. Genivra’s invitation to the anti-nobility rally. Their childish efforts to convince me to stay in Cadria to help Prince Adrien. 

I closed my eyes as [Foresight] bombarded me with tiny snippets of conversation that made a lot more sense now. Astur and the Church stubbornly pushing for a resurgence of the most traditional ways of evaluation at the Academy. The purple potions magically appearing in the camping supplies. Zealots casually asking Byrne for a teleportation method into the exam grounds.

Ce...

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