Noku was walking home from the store one day until it all changed. Not remembering anything about how he ended up in some hospital full of Dokas, people who looked somewhat like humans but with blue skin, antennas, and slime coating their skin. Noku runs from the hospital for what seemed like an eternity until he ran into other “humans” only to discover he is in the same time period but on a different world. Follow Noku’s journey as he unravels mysteries of his new world and tries to go home to deliver his groceries to his mom.

WARNING! WARNING! DONT READ! DONT READ! DONT READ! THIS IS JUST TESTING! TESTING!

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ 

FLIP THAT TABLE. 

┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ) FLIP THIS TABLE. 

┻━┻ ︵ ＼\('0')/／ ︵ ┻━┻ FLIP ALL THE TABLES 

ಠ_ಠ Son...ಠ_ಠ Put. 

ಠ__ಠ The tables.

 ಠ___ಠ Back. 

(╮°-°)╮┳━┳ (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ NEVER!!!! 

Devil author: Helline

So we tried to explain how each Link app works and looked up the quests. We were unanimous in that the games and dungeons we will look it up when we don't found anything new in the wildness and have a better grasp of the weapons we chose. And our destination still end up in the workshop to acquire the jobs.
Tomas: 'So this are the three lists? There is basically one for everything.'
Mike: 'That's the gist of it. So the lists are:
Must: herbalist, miner, woodcutter, butcher, sailor, fisher, hunter, camper, beast-rider and first-aid.
Basic: scout, merchant, video-maker, alchemist, carpenter, blacksmith chef, tailor and artist.
Advanced: Farmer, jeweller, seer, vehicle-maker, repair & maintenance, designer, 3D perspective, accessories, wine-maker, Pastry & desserts, bone-smith, architect, locksmith, talisman-maker, musician, dancer, sculptor, painter, drawing and writer.
It would be nice to get most of them or at least the ones that are useful as I don't think I will not start singing anytime soon.'
Zack: 'That would really be fun to see, hahaha'
Mike: 'So you don't want to be able to stand tomorrow?' in a suggestive tone.
Zack: 'Chee, so now I can't make fun of you?' in a joking manner.
Mike: 'I think you made sufficient fun of me for today.' Said in a teasing tone. 'Let's start! Tomas you should go to the butcher workshop before it starts to pack up.'
Tomas: 'Okay, were are you going then?'
Zack: 'We might start with the beast-rider we will be there for some time so you can catch up.'
Tomas: 'By the way, how I learn to butcher without a game to cut?'
Mike: 'There is a virtual simulator at the end of the workshop.'
Tomas: 'Nice! Bye.' As he leaves for the butcher workshop.
Mike: 'So you want to start with beast-riding?'
Zack: 'Yes, it would be fun. I have never tried and I have never tryed horse riding so I am a complete beginner at it.'
Mike: 'Then I would have to teach you. That would be fun.'
Zack: 'So are you going to help me or to get fun out of me when I fall?'
Mike: 'Of course it would be both!'
So they went to the beast-riding workshop in the simulator part and Mike really kept his word, since he taught Zack the best he could and at the same time he had the best time ever laughing. Just as they finished Tomas appeared and finished the riding part in less than a minute.
Zack: 'So you already knew how to ride an animal?'
Tomas: 'Yes, I went horse riding as a kid with my family as they said it was a must-know, and since it's quite similar to a horse it was quite easy. What I don't understand is how come you took up so much time?'
Mike: 'Oh, I got it in the first minute but Zack was so bad at it that he kept falling off in every 2 meters hahaha.'
Zack: 'Well, it was my first time. There were no helping it.' Said pouting.
Mike: 'But is quite similar to horse riding and when I learned I only fell off once and that was because I was distracted.'
Zack: 'Well, can we go to the next one quickly.' In an impatient tone to get out of the current conversation.
Tomas: 'So how about we go to camping first?'
Zack: 'Let's go!' in an impatient tone to make sure Mike doesn't mention beast-riding anymore as he drags him outside.
Mike: 'Okay, okay. We lost a lot of time here anyway.'
The next stop in camping went quite quick as all of them had some experience. They went smoothly from the hunter workshop to the woodcutter, from the miner one to the first-aid workshop. So they only had left the herbalist, the fisher and the sailor.
Zack: 'So let's go to the herbalism, it would be the quickest as the other two will be more demanding.'
Mike: 'That would be a nice idea.'
Tomas: 'What's demanding about fishing? You only have to throw the bait and wait with the fishing rod.'
Zack: 'That's the problem, you have to dive and kill a fish with a spear.'
Tomas: 'What!!! Fishing without a fishing rod? Now that would be challenging.'
Mike: 'And you better learn well since afterwards we are going fishing in the wildness.'
Tomas: 'Now that you mention you said something about a river for the evening.'
Zack: 'Yes, we will try to fish in a river. So I suppose that would be easier than in a lake.'
Tomas: 'Then let's go to the herbalism first.' As soon as they arrived and saw that the test was an actually paper test. 'Are they crazy? They want us to remember every herb?'
Zack: 'Not exactly, have you not looked at the test? You have to separate between toxic and non-toxic, afterwards you have to separate the ones you can eat directly. It's for your survivability so you don't get poisoned when you try to harvest one.'
Tomas: 'Now that you mention you are right, but how you distinguish between them?'
Mike: 'Oh, that's easy do you see behind the leaves some have spots and some not? The ones with spots are poisonous. Afterwards, the ones who have fruits are edible as well as the ones with white or red flowers.'
Tomas: 'That's a lot much easier! Let's finish so we can go fishing.'
Zack: 'I would recommend starting sailing a boat as fishing it won't be easy.'
Mike: 'That's okay by me.'
Tomas: 'Okay then let's finish them.'
So thanks to the tips that Mike explained, herbalism went quite smooth.
Afterwards as they went to the sailor workshop even though they went quite quickly, they took quite some time in it. So before the end of the afternoon they kept themselves in the fishing workshop as it was quite more challenging as they thought, but at snack time they finally finished.
Mike: 'So we said to go fishing but wouldn't we need a swimming suit and river flip flops as well as a towel?'
Zack: 'So what is the difference in river flip flops and the normal ones?'
Mike: 'The river ones are tied to your foot so they don't fall off and have thicker sole under your foot. Instead the normal ones you can even lose them by walking in the beach.'
Zack: 'So let's go to the Light tower to complete the first job quest and buy what we need.'
Tomas: 'Do you know if all the fruit outside is edible?'
Mike: 'I don't think so, but most of them are. Why?'
Tomas: 'I'm hungry and I still have some fruits in my space storage.'
Zack: 'You only have to open the fruit section of the materials in the library and ask to look for the fruit you have in your hand and it will tell you.'
Tomas: 'That's so much convenient.' As he searched for the first fruit he found and start eating afterwards.
When they arrived at the Light tower they put the hand in the tower and said 'I want to complete all quests I ended.' Afterwards they bought a basic swimming suit, river flip flops and a towel as well a second dagger in Mike and Zack case as they know all too well how useful can be when you are in a pinch.
So they finally went to the wildness as a team for the first time. And decided to with the "who picks it, keeps it" rule when it comes to materials as not to get in a bad mood to distributing afterwards. Meanwhile they had fruit as a snack.

Zack barely survived during the 6 years after Earth connected with the rest of the Universe.
The first 5 years he could do only menial chores for the family as he could do nothing as he was an illegitimate child and his mother died of childbirth.

All changed in the fifth year when the initial planet protection ended and Earth was invaded by Sharkdokin. The next year barely suvived with Mike, a soldier, help which he started to date.

After dying he woke up with a recall stone (a stone that keeps Mike's memories) and a crumbled gem (Mike's last memento). So the first thing he does is return the recall stone to Mike so he can remember him and start planing his revenge on his family.

*I'ts my first novel, so I would prefer some feedback to improve on it.*
*English it's not my first language, so if something doesn't make sense make me know and I will try to correct it.*

I never believed I would have had such a crazy and dangerous two months.
Two months where my house got blown up and I was chased by an army of European short hairs.
Two months where I was repeatedly thrown against walls, electrocuted and even mind controlled.
Two months where my whole view of society changed.
An it all started with the whir of appliances at 12 am.

I am woken up by the soft but persistent whir of electrical appliances. "What in the-?" I mutter sleepily, turning over in my bed and switching on my phone. It's twelve in the morning, and I live alone. I jolt in fear. Burglars? No. They would have taken my phone by now, or the purse lying discarded on my nightstand. The whirring noise continues, sounding suspiciously like... my coffee maker?

The whirring noise stops, replaced by the pouring of liquid. I slip off my covers and swing my feet off the bed, giving off a few silent yawns. Whatever this is, I don't need a mess in the morning. I put my feet in a pair of fluffy bedroom slippers. "I'm pretty sure I turned off the coffee maker..." I say to myself." Rounding the corner the nose grows louder. I put a hand to the swinging door and push it gently, the hinges creaking in protest. A surprised meow rings through the night. "Smokey?"
I flip the light switch and widen my eyes.

Smokey, my cat, sits peacefully on the kitchen counter. My favorite mug is nearby, filled to the brim with the brown creamy liquid. My eyes extend to their limit.

The mug is FLOATING, hovering in the air above his ears.

I stare, mouth agape for several seconds, making full eye contact with Smokey, who looks as red handed as a cat would be. The I do what any human in this situation would.

I scream at the top of my lungs. Smokey, surprised by the sound, bats his legs. I am suddenly thrown off my feet like I am tethered to an invisible rope, slamming into the far kitchen wall. I can hear my own bones breaking, creaking and snapping like logs in a furnace. I slide down the wall, letting out a weak groan.

Smokey rushes toward me, his paws tapping in the AIR. I let out a cough, blood dripping from my lips. "Smokey?" I utter through shaky breaths.
"Oh, man. I am so screwed. How am I gonna get food now?"
I close my eyes and drift off into unconsciousness.

Freelance writer Everly Snow always felt like she had never had an exciting life... Until she catches her Siamese cat making coffee at 12 midnight! 
Turns out all cats are actually aliens, refugees from a long-gone planet, where her cat is heir to the throne. Everly has to juggle her personal life with being hounded by assassins... Who might need a dish of milk from time to time.

I close my eyes and swallow hard, letting my shame wash over me. She's right. I should have. And I didn't. And now we're here. And it sucks.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" I open my eyes, throwing a smile on my face and squatting down as my two girls come racing into the room and jumping into my arms.
"Oh, my girls!" I kiss them all over their faces and dig my fingers into their ribs, tickling them. "I missed you girls so much."
"Daddy, Mommy got me some princess flip-flops. See?" Myra shoves her foot in my face, almost falling over in the process. 
"Oh, they're so nice," I say in that exaggerated response most parents use when their kids get excited about the small things in life.
"Me, too, Daddy." Lina just points at her feet instead of trying for balance.
"Look at that! One Elsa, one Anna. So you don't get them mixed up." They nod excitedly, thrilled that I understand the concept of keeping their things separated. "They are beautiful. But I think maybe we should wear our runners today since we're going to do a lot of walking at the zoo."
"We going to the zoo, Daddy?" Lina asks with wide eyes. "We gonna see the monkeys?"
"Absolutely! As soon as you girls are ready and we have Theo packed up, we'll get going."
"Yay!" they yell and take off down the hall to their room, presumably to change shoes, leaving Mari and I alone and uncomfortable again.
"Theo went down for a nap about an hour and a half ago," Mari says, as I stand up. "I'll get his stuff ready to go and then we can wake him. He should be okay the rest of the day."
"Okay. Thanks." I pick up the box of diapers. "Where do you want me to put these?"
"You can just leave them on the couch."
Reaching for the other bag, I pull out a box. "I, um… I got this for you. I know your other coffee maker is on its last leg, and I know how much you need your shot of caffeine in the morning, so I got you this new one. It has a timer you can set before bed, which is one less thing to do in the morning. And it comes with a reusable filter if you want it so you don't have to keep buying the paper ones…."
"Santos…" she objects, and I know what she's implying without her going any further.
"Mari, please." I blink back the tears I feel in my eyes. I've never, ever been a crier before, but ever since they left, I find it harder and harder to control my emotions. "I know I fucked up. I know it. Every single day, I wish I could change it. Fuck me. Fuck how bad it hurts me. I deserve it. I hate myself for how I hurt you. Please just take the damn coffee maker. I want to know I've at least done something good for you in all this mess. Please."
She looks to the ceiling and swallows like she's fighting back her own tears. "Okay," she says quietly. "You can set it up where the other one is."
"Thank you." I turn and walk into the kitchen, grateful to be in the other room when the girls come racing back in so they don't have to see the emotion on my face. They don't need this to be any harder on them than it already is.
While I set up the coffee maker and dispose of the old one, all three of my girls work together to get Theo's backpack ready for our day out.  I love hearing Mari call out directions and the girls finding what she's asking for. They treat it like their own little scavenger hunt. 
I miss hearing these sounds every day.
By the time the backpack is filled with everything he could potentially need, it probably weighs about twenty pounds. I always used to joke with Mari that she packed too much stuff anytime we went anywhere. But we also were always prepared for anything. Never once did we get in a situation with any of the kids where we didn't have what we needed. It's just one of the ways she's the best mom in the world.
"Look who just woke up." I turn to see Theo laying on Mari's shoulder, eyes still groggy with sleep.
"Hey, my man." I rub on his back and his face breaks out into a grin. "You wanna go with us to see the animals?"
He snuggles in closer to Mari as I just stand there, still rubbing his back as he wakes up. It's the closest I've been to my wife in months and I let myself feel content, knowing the moment will disappear before long.
Sure enough, Theo decides he's ready for the day and pops his head off her shoulder. 
"You ready to get dressed and go bye-bye with Daddy?" At her words, he turns and waves at me, making us laugh.
"Close enough, dude. We'll wave bye-bye to Mommy in a minute."
Within minutes, I have the diaper bag and all three kids in my arms and ready to go.
"You sure you don't want to go with us?" I ask Mari, as the girls race out the door. "Girls! Stay on this sidewalk!" They groan, but comply.
Mari gives me a sad smile. "Thanks, but no. This is your time with them. Have fun."
I nod and give my own sad smile back before turning away. I hear the door shut behind me and take a deep breath. I may have lost my wife, but I will not be one of those dads that stops visiting his kids because it's too hard to be around their mother.
And maybe, just maybe someday I'll convince Mari that it's not too hard to be around me either.

Goalie: a player in the goal whose duty is to prevent the ball from entering or crossing it

See Santos and Mariana DeGuajarado

As goalie of the Texas Mutiny, Santos is damn good at protecting that net. But he never bothered to protect his marriage. 

Letting the fame and notoriety go to his head, he lost the things he loved the most… his wife and kids. Now he has one shot to make it right before losing at this relationship game and he’s determined not to miss this time.

Mariana has been scarred so deeply by Santos’s betrayals, she will carry the wounds forever. After almost ten years of marriage though, she knows him well, and she knows he won’t let go without a fight. Still, she refuses to be a push over. 

Because love is never enough…

Contains explicits scenes and is recommended for ages 18+.
Goalie is created by M.E. Carter, an eGlobal Creative
Publishing Signed Author.

Juked: Volume 1 - When team captain Daniel Zavarro and new single mom Quincy Watson begin to cross paths often, an unlikely friendship evolves. Feelings change. Lines get crossed. Before they know it, they’ve been Juked.

Groupie: Volume 2- My body is no one’s business. So why is Rowen Flanigan making me re-think how I live my life? He’s only a rookie.

Goalie: Volume 3 - Letting the fame and notoriety go to his head, Santo DeGuajarado lost the things he loved the most- his family. Now he has one shot to make it right before losing at this relationship game and he’s determined not to miss this time.

Deflected: Volume 4 - When a new and unexpected development suddenly arises, Tiffany and Rowen realize all their plans are about to become irrelevant. Things will never be the same when their lives are deflected.

These books contain sexual explicit scenes and are recommended for ages 18+.
Texas Mutiny is created by M.E. Carter, an eGlobal Creative
Publishing Signed Author.

Harold Afumba, great great grandson of David Afumba was a slave on the Afumba plantation. Harold, like his great great grandfather, was extremely smart, and was a great reader. Because of David, all of his family after him learned to read and write. Harold was considered a trouble maker to his master, and was constantly caught trying to escape. Recently Harold had not been as active in his attempts, but only because he had a better plan. Having seen a lot of the area outside of his plantation, he mapped out a pathway to get all of the slaves out in one night. He decided that they would steal the plantation's horses, and then ride through the swamp that was west of them, covering their tracks for a few miles. From there they'd follow the North Star to freedom. He waited for the night of the next full moon, a signal he'd set up with the other slaves.
The night of the full moon was a very dreary one. A thunderstorm struck, and so did an opportunity. Harold and the others rushed out to the stables, and loaded everyone onto a horse. Once they all saddled up, Harold took the lead and led them to the swamp. For two days they traveled, eating only what they could kill. Once they made it out of the swamp they began only traveling at night. With the guidance of Harold, they made it two states north of the Afumba plantation, both safely and quickly. Once they made it to the next state, Harold began to get a funny feeling. One morning, while resting up, horses began to close in on all the slaves. On one of the horses was their master. Harold stood, holding his ground.

"On behalf of the president of the United States, I've come to tell you all that you have been freed. Slavery has ended."

"Oh yeah, then what's with the guns?"

"Oh these, well, I was just wondering who could have possibly came up with such an elaborate plan that cost me my horses?!" 

"You're looking at him. What are you gonna do about it?"

"Oh  Harold I'm glad you asked. While the rest of you are free, you Harold owe me something."

"And what's that?"

"YOUR LIFE YOU DIRTY FUCKING YANK!!!"

Harold, knowing he'd be the first to die if they got caught, ran right up to his former master, swinging wildly. He hit him once, twice, and just before he landed anything else, he was restrained.

"You're gonna pay for that one Harold!"

Harold looked up to see a double barrel rifle staring down at him.

"Everyone go! Don't come back for me, go enjoy your freedom!!!"

"Hey boy, the men in your family have always been tougher than anyone else. I believe my father put yours down in a similar way imma put you down you yank!!"

And with a smirk on his face he pulled the trigger, as simply as he'd flip a lightswitch.

What if you could flip white and black with a simple switch? This book explores racism in that exact way, taking you through a history we are all familiar with in a totally new way. With police brutality and racial division taking the front page more often then we'd hop in our world for today, I thought it was my responsibility to use a medium of some sort to promote equality.

Within moments Herah and Co. appeared in a forest.

To be more specific, the group appeared above the forest.

"Shit!"

"The hell!"

"Ash!"

"OH MY GODS!"

Everyone yelled as they began to fall towards the forest floor. Luckily for Herah, her reflexes kicked in and with a flip and quick unfurling of her wings, Herah caught herself before the canopy could engulf her. Unluckily for everyone else, Herah was the only one who could fly so the other three fell into the canopy. The youngling spent a few moments observing the forest tops, looking for anything that could be seen as a threat, before swooping down into the canopy herself.

After breaking through the treetops, Herah found Alex, Max, and the gnome on the forest floor, seemingly waiting for her. After landing, Herah checked everyone over to see if they had sustained any damage from the fall, and after seeing none Herah asked them about it.

"How did you guy's get down here safely?" Herah gave the group another look over," None of you look too durable."

"I lied." Max said.

"I told the truth." Alex said.

"I created." The gnome said.

With those helpful answers, Herah rolled her eyes and asked another question.

"So I know we're in a forest, if my textbooks are anything to go by, any idea where this forest might be?" They youngling asked while looking around.

"Well," Herah found her eyes drawn to an animal that had appeared out of nowhere and was currently hanging from a low hanging branch from one of the trees.

"Huh, a sloth. What strange choice in form."

This comment came from a confused Alex and while Herah had never seen one before, the youngling thought the animal was absolutely beautiful. Before it could make another sound, Herah had snatched it off of its branch and held it in front of her face while smiling at it, her carnivorous teeth reflecting in the creature's eyes.

"You look absolutely wonderful, with your tan coat and cute little snout." Herah said her tone calm and observant, while her words weren't really focused on the sloth, "And look at your limbs, they're so long and furry and have the most beautiful claws attached to them." Herah sat the sloth in the crook of her arms, examining the claws to the best of her ability. "These three little guys help against predators, don't they?"

Herah then put the sloth back onto its branch and watched as it slowly got back into its hanging position. Once finished, Herah began to talk to the sloth directly.

"So Norwe, what did you have to say?"

"You knew that was Norwe?! Why did you pick him up like some sort of pet?!"

Herah rolled her eyes, not even looking at the overreacting human, and said,

"Yes I knew Alex, but he didn't look as threatening as before and I've never seen a sloth, as you called it, so I decided getting a closer look was a perfectly fine thing to do."

"Nice to see you two bonding," Norwe the Sloth said, their mouth, not all opening to communicate these words.

"What the-"

"He is a Maker sis." Alex droned out.

Herah gave Alex a sideways glance, the youngling getting an annoyed glare in return. Herah looked back at Norwe and stated,

"Yeah, no."

Norwe the Sloth shrugged, before dragging itself into a sitting position atop of its branch and holding its arms out towards Herah.

"Carry me."

"Why?"

"You're going to take me to what you are going to be doing."

Herah looked at the other three there, getting a confused shrug from Max, a nervous smile from the gnome, and a terse nod from Alex. Herah turned back to Norwe the Sloth, thought what the fuck and picked them up, holding the sloth Maker in the crook of her arms. Norwe then pointed where they needed to go, and Herah began to walk that way, the others following shortly after.

For a while the group traveled in silence, allowing Herah to appreciate the nature that was so rarely seen by those who weren't hunters from her world. One of the few things that really stuck out to Herah was just how green and red everything was. From the plants, bushes, and small trees that littered the floor to the massive trees, with there numerous branches and vines, that reached up to the sky, all of it was either completely green or had green leaves with red bark. The trees blocked out huge bits of the sun with their leaves, but allowed just enough sunlight to enter, that the traveling quintet didn't have too much difficulty traversing through the forest floor.

Another thing that Herah noticed about the forest was its lacking in something that Herah thought was a mainstay for any massive area with lots of plants. This thing was the forest's seeming lack of life other than the plants. Herah had sniffed the air to check as they were walking and found that the forest had no form of animal scent in it. Which was strange due to how some trees showed scratching in certain areas while the ground was paved as if regularly traveled by something.  Adding to this train of thought, was the fact the group had walked through several clearings that could have only been destroyed by something like an animal, with all plant life in them destroyed and dead. Each one had a pungent rotting smell that caused Herah to use Rompu upon her nose so as to not pass out.

"Hey bro," Max began, Herah directing her thoughts from the last destroyed clearing the group had walked through to the human, "What exactly is a Maker? You mentioned them a few times but have never gone into detail about it."

"Well my wonderful Liar," This answer coming from the resident Maker, "Makers are a group of beings with the capability to create and manage universes."

"No shit."

"The hell, Herah!?"

"That was an obvious statement and you know it."

"But-"

"You should learn to lighten up around me Soothsayer," Norwe shifted in Herah's hold until facing behind the youngling, "I'm not the type of Maker to erase those creations that insult me."

Norwe returned to their original position in Herah's arms before extended their arm to the point in which it could reach Herah's head and began to pet her.

"I find it rather entertaining." Norwe then turned back to Max, "The biggest difference between a Maker and other beings that can create universes is the way in which we do it."

"What's the difference?" Max asked, not too sure of what the answer was going to be.

"Presence."

"What-"

"We're here," Norwe said making it sound as if their voice was meant to have excitement.

The group exited the dense forest and entered another small clearing. This clearing, unlike the others, was filled with living plant life. It had grass and a few peculiar flowers growing around. The plants were peculiar due to the fact that half of them glowed white, while the other half glowed black. The plants grew in no particular order or pattern, with their being groups of only black or white, groups that had a mixture of the two, or just flowers by themselves. In the center of the clearing was a tree.

"That tree looks like a Donneur de Frêne. Wait a second." Herah dropped Norwe, getting a yelp out of the Maker, and pointed at the tree in question, "That is a Donneur de Frêne!"

The tree was quite a bit smaller than all of the other full grown trees in the forest, about half their size in fact, and its trunk was much smaller than the surrounding trees as well. The tree also had a shape that was quite different. The five largest branches of the tree were spread out in the shape of a star, with their grey leaves gathered at their flat heads creating clusters of leaves that looked dense enough to be sat upon.  Above this branches were a slightly slimmer branch that created a large bush as the treetop for the tree. There were a few other branches, the closes one to the ground being about six meters from the ground, each with leaves gathered at their very tips. The tree itself had smooth grey bark with several large knot-shaped objects running along its trunk, no real order or structure to them at all.

"Why is this tree called an ash giver?" Alex asked, being one of the two others there who understood Herah's language.

Herah walked up to the tree and gave it a sound kick. As a result, the entire tree shook, causing the leaves to began dropping ash onto the round, this included Herah.

"We call them as you said, ash giver because these trees have leaves that drop highly flammable ash that tends to seep into the nearby soil, causing local plants around them to become black and white."

Herah then reached up and grabbed one of the knot-like objects on the tree. After a slight pull, the knot came off causing a bit more ash to come off the tree. Herah lifted the knot towards the four others there, who had gathered a fair distance behind sans Norwe. The Maker Sloth currently crawling past her.

"Where I come from its rather dangerous to try to harvest these fruit from Donneur de Frêne if you don't have any type of resistance or immunity to fire or heat, due to how anything flammable will ignite rather quickly on my planet."

Herah gave the air a quick lick, before shaking her head and continuing.

"That shouldn't be too much of a problem here, this planet is too cool to cause any sort of ignitions to the ash naturally."

"Well enough of your talking Artist," Herah turned to Norwe the Sloth, who had finally made it to the tree and was crawling up the base. After that sentence, Norwe said nothing else until they reached one of the branches. After two minutes, Norwe the Sloth had finally reached their branch and was now hanging from it.

"Where was I?" the Maker Sloth began, "Oh yeah, so what you guys will be doing for this trial is protecting this," Norwe gave the tree a slight smack, causing more ash to fall onto Herah, "From a clan of Oni."

"What the ash are those?"

Alex gave Herah a strange stare, probably at her word choice.

"Big, ugly, and cruel Japanese demons."

"Thanks jackass, I definitely know what the fuck Japanese is." Herah sarcastically replied.

"You seem to understand the concept of demons, however."

"Fuck off."

"Excuse me," Norwe's smooth voice interrupted the two, causing Alex to immediately clam up in fright, "Thank you."

"Now this group of Oni you will be facing is very different then you're used to, in the cases of my Liar and Soothsayer, or something you've never faced, in the cases of my Artist and Creator."

The Maker Sloth then sat up and created an image of what Herah presumed to be on overview of the forest they were currently in.

"Exactly 20 centuries, 405 years, 36 months, 15 weeks, 56 days, 30 hours, 40 minutes, and 8 seconds ago, I created life only plant life on this planet. It grew without issue for 15 of these centuries before I introduced the Oni to spice things up a bit." Norwe directed their attention to Max, who was now slightly in front of Herah, raising her hand, "Liar, do you have a question?"

"Um yeah, what's up with the wonky times?"

Norwe the Sloth tilted their head to the side slightly, bemusement at the human's statement somehow clearly communicated through their expressionless face.

"What makes you think that every universe conforms to your ideas of time or even the same laws as yours?"

"Oh."

Norwe slowly waved the human off, saving everyone time by speaking as they did the motion.

"Anyway, the way these Oni spiced things up was through their intense hatred of any plant that doesn't have a certain strand of DNA found in most plants here. That's why those clearings we walked through earlier were wrecked, the native Oni had gotten to them before you arrived."

Norwe then used one of the claws on their arm that still hadn't completed its wave, to tap a small spot on the map that they had created earlier. A purple dot was left in the hand's wake.

"Oh, that's definitely not freaky."

Herah mentally agreed with Max, the pair looking at where a giant purple beacon had appeared in front of where they were facing on what appeared to be a distant mountainside.

"That's where the Oni reside." Norwe the Sloth held up one of their paws "In three days time, these Oni will set out to destroy this tree, and I made sure of this by removing every other tree that didn't have the strand from this planet. It took a while, but I got all of them," Norwe the Sloth paused briefly, "I think. Anyway, it should take them a few hours to reach you after they began their march."

Norwe the Sloth dropped down from the tree onto the ash covered ground. The Maker Sloth then lifted their body into a sitting position and addressed the gathered gifted.

"Now before I go, I need to tell you the two rules I have for Recompense."

The four gifted all perked up in response to this, none really knowing that there were rules to the acts.

"No killing of teammates and no attempts to escape. That's all." And with those words, Norwe the Sloth disappeared.

With the Maker now gone, Herah heard Alex release a breath. Herah turned to face the human, everyone else there already doing the same. Alex seeing that all attention was on him began to speak,

"Well if we're going to be working together, we need to be able to coordinate ourselves properly."

Herah had an itching feeling of what was about to happen.

"So we're going to need a leader."

Herah held up a hand.

"What?" Alex replied, clearly not amused.

"I know what you're going to say, so tell me," Herah pointed at Alex, "You don't plan on trying to lead us, do you?"

"What's your problem with that?" Alex said, a noticeable air of restraint in his voice.

"What, have I not gotten across the point that your bitchy behavior from not even a minute ago pissed me off? I'm not following someone who seems to lose all of their willpower at the drop of a hat."

"I show the respect that someone of Norwe's status deserves, unlike you!"

Herah growled back at Alex, before pointing an accusing finger into the air.

"Respect is earned not given, and that Maker Sloth hasn't done shit except show themselves as someone who obviously doesn't deserve to have the power that they do! They erase the universe of the loser of this bullshit tournament just because they think it makes for proper motivation and entertainment!"

Herah then took her raised finger and jabbed it at Alex, her expression becoming all the fiercer as her anger was fully directed towards Alex.

"And I know you know this, but you're so weak-willed and minded that you'll just roll over if it means survival. Why? Why are you so afraid of speaking your Flamme forsaken mind, you fucking bitch!"

Alex began to humorlessly laugh, stomping up to Herah with contempt in his eyes. After reaching her, Alex gave Herah a vicious smile, his eyes looking up at Herah with twinges of amusement. In response Herah glared down at him, her expression filled with anger.

"Why the fuck should I share my mind with fodder?" Alex said, his smile becoming all the more menacing at the words that left his mouth.

Herah let out a snarl, grabbing the human and lifting him up to her height. Alex mirrored Herah's expression even as the youngling began to shout,

"You lack the surprise you had when we first met, do you really think you can take me now?"

Before the two could get any further, Max walked up to Herah and put her hand on the youngling's scaly arm.

"Now guys," Max began, "Let's not get into any fights with each other. You two obviously need to cool down, so why don't we separate for a bit and meet back here once both of you have chilled out?"

Herah almost didn't listen to Max's words, but one of her damn smiles left the youngling unable to feel any sort of anger.

"Okay Max," Herah took a deep breath "I'll do exactly that."

With those words, Herah dropped Alex, turned away from the group and began to go her own way.

Chink!

Chink!

Herah paused at the soft sounds of metal bouncing off of metal was heard approaching her. Herah turned back to see the gnome running towards her causing her brow to raise as the small creature stopped in front of her. The Cendreux stared down at the gnome, the small human-like creature staring back up at the youngling.

"Though you don't seem to know a lot, you do seem to wear your heart on your sleeve." The gnome gave Herah a shy smile.

The gnome then looked away, twiddling their thumbs and feet.

"Plus, it's a bad idea to just hang out by yourself here. Never know what might get you."

Normally, Herah would have felt insulted by the implication that her skills weren't up to snuff, but the way the gnome acted reminded Herah too much of her younger self for the youngling to be irritated.

Herah softly sighed, before asking,

"If you're coming with me, I can't keep thinking of you as "the gnome". What's your name?"

"I'm Owen, Owen Vulcan." Owen shyly stated.

Owen held out their hand, "Nice to meet you."

Herah shook Owen's tiny hand with her much larger one, the one unoccupied by the fruit from earlier. The youngling's grip and shake much gentler than how it normally was.

"I'm Herah, Herah War Hej."

Then Herah released his hand and began to leave, the gnome following suit as Herah finished her greeting.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well."

Jordan's POV

After School ~ ~ ~

I walk to my bike when school lets out waiting for Braden to appear.

 I can hear the birds singing, and the feeling of the cool air brush across my face every few seconds makes me feel as though all of the worries in my life have just gone away. I love this feeling.

Snuggling into Bradens sweater longing for more warmth and protection against this cold I hear Braden coming towards me.

"Hey Jordan." Braden said, sounding excited with a grin on his face that made me smile.

"Hey" I utter hoping that he thinks this blush on my face is just from the cold and nothing else. "I- cant I hang out at your place for a bit, Y'know Just until my dad falls asleep?" Turning awaye slightly because I didn't want him to see how hopeful I was that he would let me.

"Why do you look so nervous to ask that it's not like I would just let you go home to him." Braden said, now looking as though I had just offended him in some way. Witch made my eyes widen and caused a small sad smile to appear on my face but before I could corect him he started talking again "Look ok, You are my best friend and I would never let someone hurt my friends if I had a choice, especially if that friend was you ok." Braden says releasing tension in his shoulders I didn't know he was holding. 

"I'm sorry." I said awkwardly as I scratched the back of my neck. 

"It's all good really, I was just upset that you thought that you were being a burden to me is all." slowly shaking his head he exhales a breath. "Anyway it doesn't matter, come on let's start heading on this edventure you were talking about." 

"Ok, where do you want to go first?" I said as I started walking with my bike beside him.

"Well first I want to go pick up my bike so then I don't make you walk that thing the whole time," He said with a laugh that made my stomach flip. "Then we are going to go and get some dinner from a store or something, Then I'm going to bring you to my secret hideout up on park hill." He said smiling and looking forward as I saw his eyes sparkle a bit. 

GOD WHY! 

Some Time Later ~ ~ ~

We arrive at Bradens house and I can see his dad working in the garage leaning over the front end of a car as we walk into his driveway. Mr. Devins looked up noticing our presence causing him to wipe his hands off and call us over "Hey boys, what ya up to." he said with a curious grin on his face that reminded me of Bradens.

"Oh I was just getting my bike, me and Jordan are going out for a ride if thats ok?" Braden said with a hopeful face which made me realize I was staring at him. 

Quickly turning my head into Mr.Devins direction I smiled and said "Yeah what he said." which made him laugh. I don't get what was so funny but I just went with it and did a sort of awkward~laugh thing. 

"Check with your mum first, Braden, you know I'm not the rule maker around here." Mr. Devins said with a grin. "She should be in the kitchen making dinner, speaking of which you should tell her to make yours to go."

"Sure thing dad, thanks." Braden said as he started to walk away, I of course followed him. 

"Do you think she will let you?" I said looking at Braden as he too decided to look my way.

Braden's POV

"Check with your mum first, Braden you know I'm not the rule maker around here." my dad said with a grin. "She should be in the kitchen making dinner, speaking of which you should tell her to make yours to go."

"Sure thing dad, thanks." I said as I started walking off as quickly as I could hoping that she would let me. But you never know with her. 

"Do you think she will let you?" Jordan said as I looked down at him. My gaze met his and he instantly pulled away and I could see a slight hint of rose powder across his face. 

Sometimes I wonder what is going on inside of his head. "I don't know, you know how she is sometimes." I say looking forward again, as I did I can feel jordans eyes drift back to me causing me to smirk as I feel a ting in my chest which I force myself to ignore.

"I Suppose so" Jordan says with an awkward laugh.

As we enter my house I can hear my mum in the kitchen humming a song which by the sound of it is put your head on my shoulder by paul anka. 

Appone noticeing our presence my mum stops humming as we walk into the kitchen. "Hey Mum" I say trying to be as polite as possible so then she will let us go.

"Oh Hey Breden, how was school?" she says not even caring that I had brought Jordan along with me.

"Oh you know same old same old" I say shrugging.

"...Love the detail Braden," she says exaggeratedly, "How about your day Jordan?" She says now paying her attention towards Jordan who was standing closely beside me. 

"It was ok I guess, we have a new exchange student coming from england next week and I have to show her around." Jordan says with a smile on his face that made my heart flutter.

"Well that sounds fun I hope you become good friends" My mum says with a toothy smile plastered on her face. "Anyway," she says as she puts her hands together "I'm guessing that I'm making two meals to go?" She says smiling.

 

"Yep... but how did you know that we wanted to ask you that?" I say with a confused look on my face.

"I have eyes everywhere." She says with a wink that made me reevaluate my life choices.

Me and Braden grave a couple small blankets that Braden insisted we should take. Braden also grabbed a new sweater for himself even though I insisted that it was fine and he could just have this one back. We started heading out right after his mum gave us both a container with dinner in it and we said that we would be back late at night so to not worry about us if we don't get back when it's still light out.

I'm surprised that they just let us stay out till dark without even wondering where we were going when we said that we were exploring.


It was already sunset. The sky was red as the sun slowly disappeared and welcomed the moon. The night hit as the stars twinkled covering the dark and lonely sky.
"Oh! Nature, I can't even describe you.", Ren said lying on the ground.
Soon, the moon was seen on the sky as it shone bright stealing the charisma of the sun. "Oh my god, Imma stuff you in my pocket and hide from this world."
"Let's go.", Alder said in an official manner. Ren be like - SOMEONE CALL MY LAWYER. IMMA SUE THIS DISTURBING DUDE. "You had one job.", Ren mumbled under his breathe. Yeah, his words sometimes doesn't make any sense.
Alder heard him and responded, "I also design softwares. I have two jobs. Haha. Jokes on you." Let's not talk about Alder.
"Legends has it - Long time ago (as in 17th century), Bhxngarh was a lively place (state). The queen of the state was a very beautiful woman. Many people of different states had their eyes on her including kings, princes and other peasants. Likewise a black magician too was blown away by her beauty so he tried to do some black magic stuffs on the cosmetics of Queen Ratnavati (maybe princess, I don't know) to make her fall in love with her.", Bluebell reported.
Ren cut in, "I didn't know such things existed. Need to try one someday." Lily smacked him on his head and signaled Bluebell to continue.
"But the situation backfired on him. They say that Ratnavati also knew some black magic stuffs and smelled something fishy about her perfume. And after some investigations, she smashed that bottle of perfume on a big stone boulder."
"Talk about wastage.", Lily cut in. "Yeah, she should've gifted her.", Ren added. Lily again smacked him on his head. Saffron and Alder were quiet as if they don't exist. Saff literally doesn't exist but ... whatever. He was quiet all the time. 
"Then, the stone boulder possibly fell in love with that magician and hit his head.", Bluebell continued.
"I can relate. Love hits hard.", Finally Saff gave a clue of his presence. "Please continue."
"Then, the black magician gave a curse that Bhxngarh landscape will fall at its lowest and no soul will survive. And likewise happened, so it is said to be haunted now.", Bluebell completed her report.
"Oh wait, if it was in 17th century then why are we here? The system collapsed only a hundred years ago. They should be in their home right now.", Alder shook his head.
"What if they are free spirits?", Saff asked. "Then its going to be a difficult job shooing them home.", Alder replied.
"Um why, I mean how?"
"Remember that century old war! What if they were on the evil side? What if they also know other techniques than special gangster style slow motion kick flip ninja technique?"
"Woah, how do you come up with such names?"
"And what if the other race are here too? We're surely a goner.", Ren was scared. "No problem. I've got this", Lily said and drew a star in the air. It started glowing red and slowing became darker as it changed into garnet colour. It was first time Lily felt such dangerous aura. Ren joined his hand and closed his eyes. His body started glowing golden. Cold sweat dropped down his forehead. "Six hundred and One, two - forty three souls.", Ren counted.
"It seems many of them returned to their home or in void.", Alder sighed. "But Six hundred and forty three, are you kidding me? Check once again. It may be a mistake." Ren nodded and again counted. He then opened his eyes and said, "Oopsie, I was more mistaken.", Ren stuck his tongue out. "Told ya.", Alder cheered up and everyone sighed with relief. "Its actually six hundred and forty two. I counted Saff too that time. Silly me.", Ren winked at four of them. "Whaaaaat?", They all shouted in unison except for Ren. Their jaws were touching the ground. Aye, close your mouth or a house fly will enter and misunderstand it as it's home.
"Can we not enter?", Saff asked trembling. "We are ghost hunters and we will send every single free spirit to their homes. After all, its our job.", Alder sensed a worthy hunt. Bluebell and Lily inhaled. All of them entered the fort at once ignoring the WARNING sign outside.
The sign maker be like - Am I a joke to you? Nah, just kidding! Its their job, bruh!
As soon as they entered, Lily ad Bluebell felt that something was choking them. Lily is a sister and Bluebell is a priestess. They are literally the symbol of the pureness so the dark auras and an entire mob of evil spirits was a bad news to them. Soon, they both fainted and laid on ground as their bodies faded in darkness.
"What happened?", Alder shouted out his frustration. But before long, Alder and Ren were also found lying on the ground, unconscious.
***
Alder opened his eyes as he saw a familiar ceiling. He was on his house, on his bed, sleeping soundly. He looked sideways to confirm his surroundings. He saw Ren on his sofa sleeping soundly too ...or maybe soundly unconscious?
"Oh, you are finally awake?", Saff asked as he brought delicious looking chicken soup with him. "Why are we back in NY? I mean, how?", Alder asked out of confusion. Saff glared at him and sighed. "Let all of us wake up first. By then, eat this.", Saff handed him the soup.
Alder finished all that and looked blessed. "Were you some kind of chef or what, before you died?", Alder was feeling warm and cozy. "Oh no! I possessed the chef of the hotel across the street and made him do kitchen stuffs."
"Woah, you can control his body and at the same time he can also control his actions? Look what we've got here, improved version of 'special gangster style slow motion kick flip ninja technique'."
- To be continued

Since the first case of paranormal activity, a century had already passed. But still, there was no way of stopping the lost human souls from attacking humans.
And because of all this chaos, different types of priests, ghost hunters, self- proclaimed psychic mediums and paranormal investigators came into limelight. They would hunt ghosts (lost souls or evil spirits) in order to fulfill their stomach. They were recognized as the 'Ghost Hunters'.

"We are ghost hunters and we will help every single free spirit ascend to their home."
"May thy soul reach its destiny
Sweetest of the heaven or
Deepest of the hell
May thy karma guide you to your home."
"ASCEND!"

"Ascending all the free spirits to their homes? Well, I wish you good luck on that."


- Its ME :-) Find ME


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