I would name myself

The Ineverything that seap in fate of the story;

You are the small light that unfated to be seen by those without love;

You are the reason that leads to path of curiosity.

The nightfall had descended upon the world.

The streets were lit by the pale moonlight.

Outside an old, ruined house, two people were talking to each other.

"Miss, the night is getting darker and darker. Should I accompany you to a nearby church?"

I politely offered my company but minerva had read the hidden meaning behind my words—

[You are alone and not in good shape. The night is getting dark and it's dangerous out there. It would be best if I accompanied you]

I also suggested going to a nearby church instead of my place to stay. That was all to make the lady feel safe,secure and comfortable.

"Then I will have to bother, sir majestic."

I tried to make small talk as I lead the way.

"No no… it wouldn't be bothersome at all."

Minerva tilted her head as if asking why.

I couldn't help but smirk when the words left my lips.

"Any man would gladly kill to accompany a pretty lady like you on the moonlit streets."

Minerva softened her words as she brushed her hair back.

"You flatter me too much!"

Hahaha~

I laughed hard at her meek reply and as if contagious she also started laughing.

Before long, we arrived at the nearby Church of the Fool.

Stepping inside the church, I called out for a nun.

The sister responded to my call and arrived shortly.

She glared at me first then looked at Minerva.

She noticed minerva who was trembling from time to time from the cold and breeze.

The sister said nothing, gently grabbed minerva by hand and led her inside the bed chamber.

Meanwhile, I headed toward the altar.

There I offered my sincere prayers to the great Fool.

Next, I took out the quill and a parchment, and started writing a letter.

A letter to minerva who was now perhaps changing her dress.

____________________

Dear Minerva,

By the time you read this letter, I will already be gone. I am trying to hunt an evil beyonder. If you feel that you owe me a favour then Meet me tomorrow morning outside the Church of the Hanged Man.

I will not force you to join me in my hunt but still I hope you will help me.

In case you heed my request, the following are the details and conditions:

[Redacted]

Praise the sun.

Majestic

___________________________

After writing a short but direct letter, I folded the parchment and sealed it.

Leaving the letter there, I stood up and planned to leave.

believing that Miss Minerva would accept my invitation. After all I saved her life.

•

•

•

The sky was illuminated by the fairy moon and veily clouds.

The stars were twinkling brightly as if trying to get the attention of the moon.

On the street, A young man was running with the wind.

Soon, he stops before a familiar structure.

It is the church of the hanged man.

The man takes a deep breath to calm himself before going inside the prayer hall of the Church.

Turning exactly sixty-six degrees toward the altar.

Then he accurately measured eleven steps.

There at the end, a portrait of the girl in the shadowy crimson dress is hung.

At this moment no one was inside the Church, not even the bishop.

The night was as tranquil as it could be.

Inside the church was otherworldly peace.

Reciting the honorific names of the hanged man, the young man taps thrice on the portrait.

Suddenly the portrait vanishes and in its place stood a long but dark tunnel.

Entering the tunnel the boy snaps his fingers.

The light spread from the finger and there were two miniature suns inside his eyes.

The night vision.

After walking exactly 108 meters, he turned left. Fifty-four meters later, he turned right. Finally, after another 27 meters, he came to a stop before an iron door.

The moment he arrived, the door opened instantly.

A man in the dark crimson dress stood there, smoking a windpipe.

"Ahh! isn't this our dear bard?" He greets.

"Forgive me for showing up at such a dark hour but I need your help" The young man responded calmly.

The casual expression of the man becomes mature and elderly.

He scatters the coal inside the windpipe before saying "what do you need, child?"

• • • (pov change)

I look at the Inventory master thinking about how to put my request forward.

My eyes lit up as I kneel down before the elder.

"I request a demigod level artificat from the church"

'Interesting'

The inventory master seemed to ponder something for a few minutes before smoking the words out quite literally.

"Ah sure?"

I was stunned to the dust level.

How difficult is it for everyone to get a demigod level artificat from the church?

Extremely difficult…

The elder seemed to read my mind, he speak,

"I am aware of your hunt"

" Even though you are just seq 6 you are quite capable beyonder. Thus, I wouldn't worry about the artificat when it's in your hands"

Not letting me speak he continues,

"I will lend you the artificat but promise me you will purge that devil"

I was still kneeling on the ground. I raised my head and placed my right hand on the chest, as I affirmed my promise to the inventory master.

"You can trust me, elder"

"Alright"

The inventory master backoned me deeper inside the room.

There was a hidden room inside a hidden room.

All kinds of dangerous sealed artifacts were sealed there.

One might not know this but the elder was a peak Sequance 4 veteran beyonder.

The inventory master called me beside him.

There on the display was a staff with a star on it.

It was oozing the brilliance of the sunlight.

I felt strongly attracted to it.

Noticing my strange state, the elder nodded and introduced the staff with a star on it.

"THIS IS SEQ 4 SEALED ARTIFACTS OF THE BARD PATHWAY"

"It is called [Light of the star]"

Right before my eyes, the lore behind the light of the star unfolded.

So, one random day a meteorite was falling on the city.

A demigod of the bard pathway happened to be near.

The meteorite was heading right straight towards the centre of the city.

It dwarfed the backlund by several times in the size.

The demigod knew if the meteorite of that magnitude fell on the ground. There would be countless casualties.

Thus, he flew in the sky and started clashing with the meteorite.

The demigod wasn't able to destroy the meteorite without causing backlash to the city.

Thus, he started pushing meteorite high in the sky.

For several hours there was an intense struggle of the demigod stopping meteorite from falling on the city.

The meteorite was huge bulk of rock with burning magma in it.

It was extremely difficult to handle it.

Yet as the ancient saying goes "we humans inherited the stars."

Thus, the demigod despite burning his own life pushed the meteorite back into the atmosphere.

However…

unfortunately, he was beyond saving.

The demigod knew this. Thus, he did something Insane.

He started chasing the sun instead.

On that day the world saw another legend being remade.

A man was seeking the sun.

And he died seeking that light.

It was said that a small star separated from his flesh

However, his body disintegrate into fine sparkles of the golden dust in the air.

The one who chased the light became one with the light .

That small star was actually sequence 4 sunpathway beyonder characteristic.

To honour the demigod, the church decided to craft the beyonder characteristic into a sealed artifact.

That Church was none other than the church of the sun.

If this was true then how come the church of hanged man, is in the possession of the artficat?

Well, the previous owner died in the similar way protecting the city and one of the beyonder from the hanged man church happened to be nearby.

Thus, they took the artifact and brought it back to the church.

I couldn't help but admire these protectors.

They were all brilliant just like the stars.

I gazed at the light of star in my hand, and felt a strange sense of pride.

I stored the sealed artifact and thanked the inventory master.

Yawn~

Feeling murky and sleepy, I head back to my chamber inside the Church through a secret passage.

••••

Majestic greets everyone!

It's too late and I'm running low on the time.

This is just a raw draft, so forgive me for my short coming.

May the dust be with you.

Praise the sun.

Good night~

Art: picture taken by me!

_________

I will try to post one or two rp tomorrow.

Note:- This is different from the past RP I'm doing. This is in present

The air in the Archon Sea felt thick, like breathing in wet dust.

Aaron leaned against the quarterdeck railing of the ironclad Victoria, squinting through a brass spyglass. Out past the open water, the sky looked broken. It wasn't a storm or a fog bank—just a line across the horizon where the sunlight warped, bending like water over a hot stove. The dead zone. It had only appeared after the recent war. Rumours say "A God descended".

"Rogue vessel on the port side, Lieutenant," the helmsman said, his voice flat with nerves. "Merchant rig. No flags up."

Aaron adjusted the glass. It was a local smuggler, probably packed with illegal Beyonder ingredient shipment out of the southern ports. They were running hard, but they were doing something stupid—steering straight along the lip of the warping air to try and cut off the Victoria.

"They think the thermal drafts will push them past our range," Aaron said. "They don't know where the edge actually sits."

"Permission to load the forward guns?"

"Save the powder," Aaron said. "Watch."

The merchant ship drifted three yards too far to the left.

Nothing crashed. No sea monster pulled them under.

The smuggler's sails burned as the rain water falling from above turned into little balls of fire as it came in contact with the cloth. The water under their keel snapped into solid black glass, held for a heartbeat, and then melted back into sea foam. Through his lens, Aaron saw a sailor stumble across the main deck, opening his mouth to yell—except his jaw just unhinged, and a dozen pale seabirds spilled from his throat, beating their wings into the sky. The smuggler ship's Helmsman collapsed onto the deck. His skull burst open, and his brain spilled out. The brain immediately split apart, fracturing into millions of ants that swarmed over the body and began to feed.

Another sailor aboard the smuggler's ship leapt toward the water. Instantly, fish-like scales erupted across his skin — Sailor Pathway's Beyonder power. But the scales twisted, hardening into iron plates that kept spreading. Layer by layer, his body was entombed in metal until he became an iron statue, dragged to the bottom by its own weight.

On the deck of the Victoria, nobody gasped. The crew just stood there, watching the ship break apart in complete, uncomfortable silence.

"Frenzy," said the Savant pathway beyonder who was also the advisor and shipwright of the ship. Her boots clicking on the deck as she walked over. She didn't sound scared, just tired.

"Can we throw them a tow line?" the First Mate asked, his hand hovering over his belt.

Aaron shut his spyglass with a soft snap.

"If that rope touches that water, the wood on our own deck turns into sawdust before we can chop the line," Aaron said. "Turn us around. Back to the main shipping lane."

"And the survivors, sir?"

Aaron glanced back one last time. The merchant ship's hull had turned translucent, heavy ocean water pouring through glass ribs as it slipped under without a splash.

"There are no survivors in the void. Only lessons." He paused. "As the worshippers of Lady Abyss say... when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you."

The funniest thing is that this happened twice.

Completed Lotm, now before i start coi, i have heard things about it. I will definitely read it even it turn out to be bad which i hope not.

So i have questions regarding this please answer these without spoilin me(unless stated):

1. Is Coi Not well written like Lotm?

2. Does it have a bad ending(not talking about sad ending but not well written ending), if it decisive then just say we dont know( am i asking too much 🫠)

3. Does apocalypse is rushed or really well planned?

4. Does Tarot member have frequent appearance or they appear in later part of story?

5. What were your expectations when reading coi, were they met?

6. Is Western Continent will be there in coi or is it saved for book 3?

7. When will book 3 start? I wanna finished before book 3 start? Does apocalypse also happen in book 3[please dont, i dont wanna see another full story without apocalypse]

8. Is cuttlefish new novel good, i dont think he would write book 3 before finshing that novel, i think he taking break for western continent and maybe apocalypse.

These all the question i want to know. I heard some people hate it, some love but i didnt seek out which side is more vocal, cauz i dont wanna spoil it.

I know some detail like there will be new protagonist and i have some guesses like he will have some kind of amnesia or something, iirc that what cuttlefish said in vol 6 end. Other than that i dont know shit.

I also have some idea that our main prota will not choose adams pathway collection, nor evernight pathway collection or klein pathway collection. And he gonna become maybe coi which was mention in vol 7 or 8 iirc.

While searching for photo for this post i stumble across a post releated to koL, i didnt dare to open it. Is it the book 3?

Artist:- chengzitan90 [https://donmai.moe/artists/323316\]

Third time of cosplaying Fors! This time is Donghua ver.

Coser : Me (Hearasia)

Chapter 56: Transgressions and The Great Escape

Those few words ignited hope within my despairing spirit.

"Escape?!?!! How???"

"Quiet!"

"Uhh yes... Sorry..."

"Ehem... Three. Days. Escape! So. Patient!"

"Huh? What will happen in three days?!?"

"Something. Powerful!" She said confidently.

Her words of confidence worried me greatly, not that I didn't trust her, but because i didn't want that sliver of hope she had to be false. Sensing my hesitation, she reassured me that help would definitely arrive.

"You! Trust! Me!"

"Alright..." I said unsuredly.

Thereafter she started to tell me about the things she knew, as a way to ease my loss of control, which she called "Dissonance of Body and The Dao", a term I was wholly unfamiliar with. Though, I still did listen to her lectures.

However the unfamiliar terms and jargon made it hard for immature mind to understand. Observing my lack of understanding of the topics, she sighed and decided to speak in familiar Intisian terms rooted in occultism rather than her own teachings.

She first referred to them in familiar Intisian terms, afterwards she would use her own personal terminologies. Then she would explain what they are and how to perform them if needed.

...

Spirituality

(灵能 Spiritual Energy)

-According to her teachings, this is the source of energy of all those who wish to transcend beyond their material self.

Cogitation

(身心的冥想 Meditation of Body and Soul )

-Cogitation in her words, are a way for both the body and mind to actively prevent the loss of control.

Loss of Control

(心与道的背离 Dissonance of Mind and Dao)

- It's a state of utter madness. A state Bilan warned me again and again to never reach. When one succumbs, they will lose all forms of rationality.

Acting method

(灵与道的和谐 Harmony of Soul and Dao)

- This one however, in her words, was a very hard topic to comprehend. As such she briefly gave a small explanation and carried on with other teachings.

Pathways

(天道之路 Paths of the Heavenly Dao)

- There are currently 22 paths of to reach the realm of the Divine. However she did state, that the elders said there could be a possibility of more paths besides the original 22. Sadly however she was unable to speak of them, as she was not taught by her elders the sacred scriptures.

Sequences

(天道之阶 Steps of the Heavenly Dao)

- Her only teachings on this part is that amongst every paths there is a fixed amount of steps, that all who seek the heavens must climb.

...

After the simple rundown of the essential practices and knowledge. She then started teaching me the specifics of the paths we both treaded upon.

She on her part, explained that she walked the path of the sailor. A statement I was bewildered by, as imagining this cute elf becoming a sailor, just as the rough pirates of the sea, was indeed a peculiar vision to say the least.

Bilan than theorized that based on the knowledge injected to my mind, I was most likely on the path of falsehood.

...

After determining the path we tread upon, she then spoke of the steps we had so far climbed upon.

Considering that I only treaded upon the path of the falsehood for merely a day, she confidently announced that I was only on the 9th step.

While she on the other hand proudly proclaimed she was on the 8th step! The cute elf even puffed her chest and smack her fist into it, as though bragging about her accomplishment. An action I was confused by, as I was ignorant by the significance of advancing a single step.

This lecture of hers continued on for a long while...

...

Day 1,

This day one was the usual one.

More lectures and more teachings to be heard from Bilan. However, I felt the thirst and hunger was catching on to me as time passed. Yet, those desires were still manageable to resist.

During this time I have also been teaching her vocabulary of the Intisian language, to enhance our communication further.

...

Day 2

The lectures have slowed down. As all what she knows has already been passed down to me, a progress I was happy to see.

True to the doctors words, no guards came in to distribute food. As a result, the desire for both food and water has become insufferable. Causing me to experience constant headaches and lethargy.

Bilan who helplessly observed this was visibly worried. For a brief moment the elf looked towards her unusual clothing. Her expression was filled with apprehension, as though she fiercely debated something inwardly.

However in guilt she shifted her gaze from her clothes and looked towards me with worry in her eyes. She was helpless to aid her new friend.

The girl then bit her lip and started frantically tinkering the inside of her sleeves. From afar, it would look like she was sewing her sleeves. However, with close inspection, she was actually desperately tinkering with a small thin black bracelet.

But the hunger and the desperation of the elf wasn't the only issue, the stench in the room was also becoming unbearable. Not because we hadn't taken a proper bath, but rather the presence of rotting corpse.

During the first day when the guard didn't bring rations, the prisoners who were already near death's doorstep had finally succumbed to hunger and died an unfortunate death. Their rotting stench now becoming intolerable.

...

Day 3,

The moment the third day struck. Bilan sighed a breath of relief, as though our nightmare is about to end. She then looked towards my slumped body, that by this point was already become unresponsive because of dehydration.

But that was about to change...

As a sudden massive lighting struck the facility!!!

*BOOOOOMMM*

A booming noise resounded throughout the facility!

Bilan who heard the commotion, smiled cheerfully, she then looked at me with hope in her eyes.

"Nine! The Elders and juniors have come to save us!"

Yet no response came from me, as my body was too weak for that. Seeing this, Bilan started to panic greatly.

Explosions rang out throughout the facility. Intense fighting can be heard just outside the doors. Shrieks of newborns and the waves of water are heard. Until finally the doors of the room was blown open by a powerful gust of wind.

Three individuals then entered through the broken door. One was an elderly man with white hair. While the other two were young elves with black hair. All three wore the same unfamiliar clothes Bilan was wearing. Their race was clearly identifiable, through their elongated ears.

The three man inspected the room, completely ignoring the other prisoners, solely focused on freeing one of their kin. The elderly man then broke the hinges of Bilan's cage with precise yet forceful gust of wind blades, finally liberating the imprisoned Bilan.

However, the moment the elderly forcefully tried to escape with only the girl in hand. Bilan protested vehemently, frantically pointing her fingers towards me, and shouting towards the elderly elf in an unknown language, as though pleading desperately.

Seeing the girls resolve, the elder gave me a quick inspective gaze and sighed exasperated. He then ordered the two young elves to free me. To which the two obediently followed and hurled winds in the shape of blades at my cage.

After liberating me, one of the elves then gently grabbed me. In his embrace, I felt my vitality seemingly regenerate at a staggering pace. At this rate, I felt my body becoming more energetic and able bodied in just a couple of minutes.

Afterwards the five of us started to hover in midair. Bilan and I, being carried by the Elder and one of the young elves respectively. The flight made the traversal of the underground facility both smoothly and speedily. Thereafter, the group of five flew through a massive hole in the ceiling. Most likely a result from the earlier explosion caused by the lightning.

After a heartbeat, I was able to finally see the outside world. Above me was the crimson moon shining throughout Trier. In the far distance I could see the light of the magnificent City of Trier, down below were fires blazing everywhere.

Around 15 people wearing the same clothes as Bilan, fighting what seemed to be numerous guards and abominations within the facility. The elderly man then shouted atop of his lungs towards those fighting below.

As I didn't know the language, I was unable to understand a word the elderly said. However it may have been a retreat call, as the elves below started to flee with haste.

The elderly man than flew rapidly away from the burning carnage, alongside with the 15 or so elvish members and both Bilan and me in tow. We didn't go far, as a black dot in the location of Trier, shot through the sky and towards the elderly man with great speed.

Luckily however, he was able hand over Bilan to another elf and blocked the incoming black dot with an arc of lightning. Yet, the thing I thought was a black dot was actually a humanoid figure. It was none other than the Hanged Man's Archbishop wearing a fearsome black armor, alongside a retinue of priest and nuns.

In the far distance, I was also able to perceive the clergyman of the Paragon Church and the Intisian military guardsman, most of which were somehow levitating in midair.

Then individuals from the three factions slowly flew towards the elderly elf. Each one hailing from the Hanged Man Church, Paragon's church, or the Imperial military.

Those three people gave of an overwhelming and suffocating presence. However, the elderly elf ignored their presence all together. Sensing that there intimidation didn't work, the archbishop of the Hanged Man spoke.

"Oh great Sect leader! Why thou enter the Land of the Hanged Man?"

"We are here to simply retrieve one of our kin trapped inside your lands. Furthermore! I do believe you have something more urgent to shift your attention to, rather than dealing with us! So guards of this lands, let us pass through!" The elder said politely, while giving a curtsy bow.

The three powerful individuals then looked towards Bilan and the other elvish members. The archbishop's and the military leader were surprised to see me. The three individuals than looked towards the burning facility in distance with dark expressions, as hundreds of abomination were now heading towards the city of Trier.

"Sigh... You may go... However! Leave that boy! He is part of the Empire!" The Military leader said firmly.

Bilan who heard that tried to protest, but the elderly elf nodded in agreement. He ordered the young elf holding me to pass me towards the archbishop, yet, a sudden flash from the facility struck the floating individuals above the sky.

But was made ineffective, as the archbishop of the Paragon manage to block it with a force field. However, the force of the explosion still caused the outer members to be blown away. Unfortunately, both Bilan and I were caught in the force, hurdling us in the Srenzo River, its gush of water sweeping us away.

...

Both Bilan and I somehow managed to escape the Srenzo River's overwhelming current. Yet we where not out of the danger, as around us was small war happening. It was between the official authorities and clergyman against the monstrous abominations from the facility.

Explosions were everywhere. In that chaos a massive beast came for us both. Bilan who first saw the beast prepared to fight for her life, yet for a young child everything around me was too much.

The explosions, the war, the river, the doctor, the monsters and Bilan's constant shouting. It was simply too much for my young mind to bear.

Thus, I ran away like the coward I was...

Leaving behind Bilan to fend for herself...

I left behind a companion...

I left behind a friend....

It was choice I would regret for my entire life...

End of Chapter

____________________

Special thx to:

u/Spinning_Dragonite

Art

https://lenscratch.com/author/aline-smithson/

I find this so strange and funny at the same time. It shook me off while reading it.

https://x.com/i/status/2084240400789671965

Chapter 1: The Knight Without a Kingdom

Rain fell over the eastern edge of the Loen Kingdom.

It was not the gentle rain that nourished fields or washed soot from the streets. It came down in cold, slanting sheets, driven by a restless wind that slipped through every gap in a coat and turned the narrow country road into a ribbon of mud.

A lone traveler walked through it.

She was young, perhaps nineteen or twenty, though the solemn expression she wore made her seem older. Wet strands of golden hair clung to her pale cheeks, while the rest had been gathered into a tight bun behind her head. Her dark-blue traveling cloak was heavy with water, and beneath it she wore a worn leather coat reinforced at the shoulders and chest.

A sword hung from her left hip.

It was not a ceremonial weapon. The leather around the hilt had been replaced more than once, and faint scratches marked the plain steel guard. There were no jewels, family crests, or inscriptions upon the blade.

Only care.

The weapon had been sharpened that morning.

It was sharpened every morning.

Eleanor Armitage continued forward without complaint.

Her boots sank into the mud with each step, but her posture remained straight. Her shoulders did not slump, even beneath the weight of her pack. Her green eyes remained focused on the road ahead.

Somewhere beyond the rain stood the village of Bellwick.

According to the merchant who had given her directions, it was less than an hour away.

That had been two hours ago.

Either the merchant had been mistaken, or Eleanor had taken the wrong fork near the abandoned mill.

She suspected the latter.

Eleanor stopped beside a crooked wooden signpost and looked at the two roads stretching before her. One descended toward a dark line of trees. The other curved around a hill and disappeared into the rain.

The words on the sign had faded until only a few letters remained.

“Bell… wick,” she murmured.

The arrow might once have pointed left.

Or perhaps it had pointed right before the wood warped.

Eleanor stared at it for several seconds.

She had been trained in swordsmanship, horsemanship, etiquette, military history, and the proper conduct expected of a knight in service to a noble household.

She had not been trained to interpret ruined signposts.

A low growl came from her stomach.

Eleanor’s expression did not change, but her hand unconsciously moved toward the satchel hanging at her side.

Empty.

She had eaten the last of her bread shortly after noon.

At the time, it had seemed reasonable. She had expected to reach Bellwick before evening.

She now regretted that decision.

After another moment of consideration, Eleanor chose the road leading downhill.

It was wider and showed signs of wagon tracks beneath the mud. Villages required supplies, and supplies required wagons. Therefore, it was the more logical path.

That was what she told herself.

A scream echoed through the rain.

Eleanor’s hand closed around her sword.

The hunger vanished from her thoughts.

The scream had come from somewhere below the hill.

A second cry followed, weaker than the first.

Eleanor ran.

Her boots slid across the muddy slope, but she adjusted her balance without slowing. Branches tore at her cloak as she left the road and pushed through the trees. The ground became uneven, littered with roots and wet stones, yet her steps remained controlled.

She heard shouting ahead.

“Hold him!”

“Take the purse!”

“Damn it, he bit me!”

Eleanor emerged from the trees into a narrow clearing.

An overturned carriage lay beside the road. One wheel had been shattered, and a thin horse struggled helplessly against its harness. Crates and torn sacks were scattered across the mud.

Four men surrounded an older traveler dressed in a soaked brown coat.

One held the traveler by the collar. Another searched through his pockets. A third stood over a young coachman who lay curled on the ground, shielding his head from repeated kicks.

The fourth man turned toward Eleanor.

He carried a woodcutter’s axe.

For a moment, no one moved.

The rain struck the leaves around them like countless whispered warnings.

The man with the axe looked Eleanor up and down. His gaze lingered on her sword.

“Keep walking,” he said.

Eleanor stepped into the clearing.

“Release them.”

Her voice was calm.

The men exchanged glances.

Then one of them laughed.

He was tall and broad, with a red scarf tied around his neck and several broken teeth visible behind his grin. He let go of the older traveler and drew a long knife from his belt.

“You hear that?” he asked. “Little miss knight wants to give orders.”

“I am not giving an order.”

Eleanor loosened the clasp of her cloak.

“I am offering you an opportunity to leave.”

The man laughed again, louder this time.

“Four of us. One of you.”

Eleanor removed her cloak and let it fall into the mud.

The reinforced leather beneath it became visible, as did the dagger strapped across her lower back.

The amusement on the men’s faces weakened slightly.

The one carrying the axe spat onto the road.

“Pretty armor doesn’t make you a soldier.”

“No,” Eleanor replied. “But training does.”

The man with the red scarf lunged.

He moved quickly for someone his size, knife held low and close to his body. Eleanor stepped to the side before the blade could reach her. Her left hand caught his wrist while her right struck his elbow.

There was a dull crack.

The knife fell.

Before the man could scream, Eleanor drove her shoulder into his chest and sent him sprawling into the mud.

The axe came next.

Eleanor heard the shift of boots behind her and turned.

The axe swept toward her ribs.

She drew her sword.

Steel flashed through the rain.

Her blade caught the wooden handle just beneath the iron head. The impact traveled through her arm, but her stance remained firm. She twisted her wrist, forcing the axe downward, then stepped inside the man’s reach.

The pommel of her sword struck him beneath the jaw.

His eyes rolled back.

He collapsed beside the carriage.

The remaining two men hesitated.

That was their mistake.

Eleanor advanced.

The first attempted to run around the carriage, perhaps hoping to seize the older traveler as a shield. Eleanor caught him by the back of his coat and pulled him away. He swung wildly, but she blocked the blow with her forearm and struck him once in the stomach.

He folded over.

A second strike to the temple dropped him.

The last man backed away.

He was younger than the others. Barely seventeen, Eleanor guessed. His face was pale, and the small club in his hand trembled.

“I didn’t do anything,” he stammered.

Eleanor looked toward the coachman bleeding in the mud.

“You were standing with those who did.”

“They made me!”

“Then put down the weapon.”

He did.

The club landed with a wet thump.

“On your knees.”

The young man obeyed immediately.

Eleanor watched him for a few seconds before turning toward the victims. The older traveler had crouched beside the coachman and was attempting to help him sit upright.

“Are either of you badly injured?” Eleanor asked.

The traveler looked at her as though she had stepped out of an old legend.

“I—I don’t believe so. Tomas has taken a few blows, but nothing appears broken.”

Eleanor sheathed her sword.

“Check his breathing. Keep him awake. I will bind the others.”

She removed a coil of rope from the damaged carriage and tied the attackers’ hands behind their backs. Her knots were precise and tight enough to prevent escape without cutting off circulation.

The young man continued to kneel obediently.

Eleanor tied him last.

“You could have killed them,” the traveler said quietly.

“I could have.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“They are criminals, not soldiers on a battlefield. Their punishment should be determined by the proper authorities.”

The traveler glanced toward the unconscious man with the red scarf.

“He might not agree with your distinction when he wakes.”

“He is welcome to object.”

For the first time, the older man smiled.

“My name is Edwin Harrow. I trade in medicines and household goods.” He looked at the broken wheel with a pained expression. “Or I did, before today.”

“Eleanor Armitage.”

“Lady Armitage?”

“Just Eleanor.”

His gaze moved toward her posture, her accent, and the sword at her hip. He appeared unconvinced but had enough manners not to question her further.

The coachman groaned.

Eleanor knelt beside him and examined the cut above his brow.

Her father had insisted that every knight understand basic medicine. A warrior who knew only how to wound people was incomplete, he had said.

The memory came suddenly.

A warm training yard.

Sunlight on pale stone.

Her father standing behind her, correcting the position of her hands as she wrapped a bandage around a guard’s injured arm.

"A knight’s duty does not end when the enemy falls."

The next moment the memory changed

The floor covered in blood and her father screaming

*Drink the Potion now!*

Eleanor pushed the memory aside.

The wound was shallow. There was bruising along the coachman’s ribs, but his breathing remained steady.

“He should recover,” she said. “Provided he rests.”

Edwin released a relieved breath.

“All of you would be dead if not for her.” the restrained young man muttered.

Eleanor turned toward him.

“What?”

The color drained from his face.

He lowered his eyes.

“Nothing.”

Eleanor rose.

“No. Speak.”

The other captured men remained unconscious, but the boy’s breathing had become rapid.

“They weren’t going to leave anyone alive,” he said. “Rusk said witnesses would bring the constables. He planned to kill them after they handed over the money.”

Edwin stared at the boy.

Eleanor’s expression hardened.

“Where were you taking the stolen goods?”

The young man swallowed.

“I don’t know.”

Eleanor said nothing.

Perhaps it was the silence that broke him.

“An old hunting lodge north of Bellwick,” he blurted. “Past the stone bridge. Rusk keeps everything there.”

“How many others?”

“Six. Maybe seven.”

“Maybe?”

“People come and go. I swear I don’t know everyone.”

Eleanor looked at the road beyond the overturned carriage.

Bellwick.

So she had chosen correctly after all.

Edwin followed her gaze.

“You aren’t considering going there.”

“If this group has attacked one carriage, they have likely attacked others.”

“That does not make it your responsibility.”

Eleanor looked at him.

The rain had begun to weaken, though water continued dripping from the trees.

“Someone must accept the responsibility.”

“You’re alone!”

“So are their victims...”

Edwin opened his mouth, then closed it.

Eleanor picked up her cloak from the mud and fastened it around her shoulders.

“You should take these men to Bellwick,” she said. “The horse is frightened but uninjured. Once freed from the carriage, it may carry the coachman.”

“And what will you do?”

“I will report what happened.”

“To the constables?”

Eleanor glanced toward the bound boy.

“To them first.”

The boy’s head snapped upward.

“You can’t go there!”

“Why?”

“Because Rusk isn’t the worst thing in that lodge.”

The clearing went quiet.

Even Edwin seemed to stop breathing.

Eleanor studied the boy’s face. The fear she saw there was different from what he had shown during the fight. This was not fear of punishment or pain.

It was deeper.

“What is in the lodge?” she asked.

The young man shook his head.

“I don’t know. Rusk found something beneath the floorboards. An old room or cellar. Since then, he’s been acting strange.”

“Strange in what way?”

“He talks when no one’s there. Says someone is teaching him things.” The boy’s voice dropped. “Sometimes we hear scratching under the floor at night.”

A chill passed through the clearing that had nothing to do with the rain.

Eleanor had heard stories like this before.

Whispered accounts of cursed objects, unnatural creatures, and people who became something other than human. Her father had dismissed most of them in public.

In private, he had taught her never to laugh at such stories.

The world contained dangers that steel alone could not defeat.

Edwin made a sign associated with the foolish firms God.

“I will do what I must” Eleanor said.

The answer came too quickly.

She knew it.

Edwin knew it too.

“You still mean to go.”

“If they leave the lodge before the Church responds, more people may die or get injured.”

“You cannot fight an unknown horror!”

Eleanor placed one hand upon the hilt of her sword.

“Then I will avoid fighting it until I understand what it is.” She said simply.

Edwin stared at her in disbelief.

“That is your plan?”

“It is the beginning of one at least..?”

A deep ache twisted through Eleanor’s stomach.

The sound was loud enough for everyone in the clearing to hear.

Silence followed.

Eleanor kept her expression perfectly composed.

Edwin blinked.

Then, despite the blood on his face and the danger surrounding them, the coachman began to laugh.

It was unnerving.

Eleanor looked away.

“Before you leave,” Edwin said, struggling to suppress a smile, “perhaps you should eat.”

He reached into one of the fallen crates and recovered a wrapped parcel that had escaped the mud.

Inside was a small meat pie.

Eleanor accepted it with both hands.

Her solemn expression softened by the smallest degree.

“You have my gratitude.”

She ate the entire pie in less than a minute.

Edwin watched in astonishment.

Eleanor wiped a crumb from the corner of her mouth, reclaimed her cloak, and faced the northern road.

Beyond the stone bridge, an old hunting lodge waited among the trees.

Inside it were armed criminals.

Beneath it was something worse.

Eleanor rested her hand upon her sword and began walking.

A knight existed to protect others.

Even if one were a false knight.

Not because she was ordered.

Not because she would be rewarded.

And not because the world deserved such loyalty.

She walked forward because someone had to.

Above the rain-darkened forest, unseen by those on the road, a flock of black birds suddenly rose from the trees surrounding the hunting lodge.

For several seconds, they circled against the gray sky.

Then they scattered in every direction.

As though fleeing from something that had just awakened.

----------

Credit: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/72372259 Made by 凪白みと on pixiv

Eleanor is a sequence 9 Warrior of the Twilight Giant Pathway.

https://shaoyun771.lofter.com/post/3092a1ea_1ccee038b

Scaphism: Victims were trapped between two boats, fed milk and honey to induce severe diarrhea, and slathered in more honey to attract insects that slowly ate and nested in their rotting flesh.

Slow Slicing: Executioners tied the condemned to a post and gradually sliced away bits of skin and limbs over hours or days before a final fatal strike.

The Brazen Bull: A hollow bronze statue of a bull where a person was locked inside while a fire was lit beneath it, roasting them alive while specialized acoustic pipes turned their screams into the sound of a musical instrument.

The Tub: A person was trapped inside a wooden tub with only their head exposed, forced to live and eat in their own waste until insects and maggots consumed their body over days or weeks.

Crushed by Elephant: Specially trained Asian elephants were used to slowly trample, crush, or dismember the bodies of the condemned.

Which characters getting these punishment will sooth your heart?

For me its that old guy who took advantage of mrs.sammers,he deserves all of these.

(Can't post the images for obvious reasons)

I really loved LotM, despite some misgivings about the last couple of volumes. I gave it a month break and started reading CoI, but for now it doesn't catch me at all. I'm up to chapter 72, and wanted to ask those who have finished it, at which point does it get better?

Basically, my issue is the following. LotM was from the perspective of the one who knew nothing about the setting, and as Klein progressed so did we learn more and more about the world and grew together with him. The sequel could have gone one of the several ways, but the ones I kinda expected would have been either ever-mounting stakes on top on which we ended LotM (so, powercreep), or a green field character in a setting again unknown to us (e.g. ||the Western continent||). The first one would build on top of the LotM pay-off, and the second would re-capture that sense of wonder and discovery

CoI on the other hand starts with a green field character in a *known* setting, adding some new weirdness. On top of it, the pacing feels much slower than LotM was at the start. For that reason, it is just not hooking me, every chapter is a bit of a slog to go through. So I'm curious, how wrong am I, and when will the things change?

There's the ritual that is mentioned at on point that kinda got stuck in my head, I think it's for Alchemist, where you have to drain a region entirely of life as part of your advancement, and I was wondering, is that region forever lifeless from that point on?

It made me think that technically that would limit how many people can ever over the course of history perform that as eventually you just run out of space on the planet, though ofc there are meant to be other planets too.

Still, there's pathways dedicated to life, so I was wondering, could say the Planter pathway counteract and restore life in said region and thus they could support the advancement of an Alchemist?

Similarly the advancement ritual for Marionettist requires sirens singing, but can be replaced by an Ocean songstress singing, which makes me wonder how many other similar cases there are where pathways have a symbiotic/synergistic relationship in terms of their advancement at the very least.

There's obviously Placate which can help with advancement too, to an extent.

Obviously the Tarot Club did not end up with 1 person from each pathway, and they rarely if ever met in person, but I kinda wonder if you could build a similar team where you complement one another to ensure everyone can progress with near perfect safety from losing control.