EdgeCases

DRR Book 4, Chapter 47 — Realignment

According to Novi, we have exactly an hour to do this. How she knows all this is apparently a matter of her Path of Sight. She can see into the underlying truths of reality, she claims, in a way that's not dissimilar from how my Thread of Insight ...

Just Add Mana 2 — The Art of Attunement

Despite Akkau's apparent desire to take Cale... somewhere, the dragon seemed incredibly resistant to the idea of using a teleportation spell to do so. Cale didn't really get it, considering he'd already used one not so long ago. Maybe he ...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 46 — Beat 'Em Up

There's a fun little trick Guard and I have learned about our respective abilities—specifically, in my ability to Anchor and in the chains he likes to use. It's a sort of intrinsic synergy, something we encountered while we were sparring in the ...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 45 — Talented Dispute

Versa was starting to regret her decision to fight on Ethan's side.

She was, of course, sure that her past self was correct in her assessment of the newest Trialgoer's capabilities. That didn't change the fact that fighting Teluwat was terri...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 44 — A Difference in Time

Filian was nervous. As far as his memories went, that wasn't particularly unusual for him. His "father" was volatile at the best of times, and while he remembered plenty of good moments with Teluwat, there were plenty among them that were...

Just Add Mana 1 — Mana Overload

Synopsis:

The more lives you've lived, the more mana you have, and Cale has lived too many lives to count.

At this point, his core is closer to the magical equivalent of a nuclear reactor. The downside to this is that ...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 43 — Possibility and Sacrifice

"Ethan," Ahkelios says quietly. I try to look at him, though my vision is blurry from Firmament use; I can't quite focus through it all. Not a lot of time has passed, but the strain of keeping Field of Immortality active has been increasing with e...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 42 — Tree of Death

This isn't the first time I've encountered Firmament like this. I've seen it once before in the Empty City, used to create an Abstraction for the express purpose of killing me. I'm not surprised the Integrators have somehow managed to build it dir...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 41 — Life and Death

Author's Note: Just a quick pre-chapter note! Chapter 39 was posted as an extra off-schedule chapter, in case anyone missed it!

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DRR Book 4, Chapter 40 — What Hides Within

The first Compressive Pulse I throw against the other Ethan explodes with so much force it hurls him back down the tunnel he emerged from, obliterating half the chamber wall in the process.

It's not enough to stop him, of course. It wouldn't...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 39 — Time After Time

Ethan was using Temporal Link a lot, and it put a surprising amount of strain on Ghost, considering what he was trying to do.

He didn't mind it. Whatever Ethan was up to, he was fighting something incredibly dangerous; Ghost didn't ...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 38 — Collapse

Premonition as a skill has saved my life countless times. I've never seen it react like this—the thing is in near-panic, to the point where it's almost difficult for me to think through the level of danger it's pouring into my skull. I have to s...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 37 — Presentation

A clump of vines sporting distorted, screaming wings of crystal launches itself at me. I grit my teeth and summon a Force Construct to block it. The wings themselves can't get through my armor, but they resonate with a sound-based skill that I thi...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 36 — 'Neath the Wooded Shrine

It doesn't take us long to find the chamber where the Seed is kept. In fact, it almost feels like the Sewers are rearranging themselves to make it easier for us to get there. I can feel the rumbling beneath my feet; the movement of stone; even the...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 35 — Ghostly Recurrence

Ghost had no idea how he would feel when he saw his old friends again. A small part of him was worried about it, but a greater part of him was mostly excited. To think Bimar and He-Who-Wanders were still alive after all this time! Sure, they would...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 34 — Sibling Rivalry

I'm met with a familiar scene when the Tear finishes materializing around me. A lizard points a blaster at another one of her species, someone that looks pretty much like he could be her brother. It trembles in her grip.

"I'm sorry," she say...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 33 — Worst Place to Have a Picnic

I try to put that last revelation out of my mind. Adeya and the others, thankfully, understand the reason behind the delay once I explain what happened. "Just let us know next time," is all she asks.

"Will do," I agree.

They'd figured ...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 32 — Knock-On Effect

A spark blossoms in my mind and unfolds into a temporal map.

For the first time, I have a location. I know exactly where to find an echo of a Trialgoer in the moments before they end. According to the relic, though, I won't have much time to...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 31 — Teardown

The more Versa tells me about the Great City of Palus, the more I appreciate the effort she put into coming here to warn me about it. I've gotten an overview from Guard before, but not in this much detail—Teluwat keeps most things about his Grea...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 30 — Convergence

Kauku was, all things considered, relatively pleased with the way his plans were proceeding. Granted, the word relatively was doing a lot of work in that sentence.

The seal he'd put over himself was inconvenient, to say the least. H...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 29 — First Meetings

I decide to try starting with an explanation.

"I'm a Trialgoer like you are," I say.

She narrows her eyes at me. "Likely story."

Like before, a dagger made of Firmament materializes in her hand, and she flicks it toward me in a n...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 28 — Physical Mastery

The Physical skills present a bit of an easier choice than the Astral one, thankfully. I prefer avoiding damage rather than tanking it, and while defending others is a good use of my Body skills, Eternal Moment by itself has defensive capabilities...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 27 — Energetic Associations

Adeya wasn't kidding about the Sewer's monsters mostly attacking in waves. I'm not sure what to make of it, but after we clear the Root Acolytes, we aren't bothered by monsters again for a while—long enough, in fact, that we have time to make it...

DRR Book 4, Chapter 26 — A Murder in Carusath

The worst part about the loops, Naru reflected, was the fact that he had no idea when a reset would happen. For all his desperation to get into them, now that he was actually here, he'd realized one painful truth:

Time loops were boring.