In basic physics, I know for a fact that oxygen is required for combustion to occur. The exchange of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen ions exude a fuck-ton amount of energy, and thus, heat and fire burst forth with the resulting compounds being carbon dioxide, and water of all things. Well, at least I think that's how the stoichiometry is supposed to work for combustion. In any case, the lack of oxygen in the air would result in a complete cessation of the chemical reaction that enables fire. It was essentially common knowledge for anyone smart enough to go through high school. So what happens when living, breathing organisms get stuck with a roaring flame in an enclosed space with limited or poor ventilation? We suffocate. That was simply the end all be all for anyone trapped in a building fire as big as this one. There was a reason the fire departmen

Fuck me... "You survived. Quite hardy for a worm." While I didn't expect for the situation to be at all good, I at least hoped that we still had a fighting chance at getting out of this hellscape alive. The fact that Love and Livia were sprawled out across the ground covered in papers was not the sight that I wanted to see the moment I had finally managed to finish my climb back up here. Shit... Now, what do I do about this? "As you can see, your companions have fallen," the lord of the flames conveniently pointed towards my allies' bodies, completely uncaring about the state of absolute ruin that the library has now become. "I know not where the other intruder went, but they'll be dealt with shortly after I'm done with you, worm." I raised an eyebrow at that sta

"What's taking them so long?" In the middle of the town hall, Lace paced back and forth across her main office as she let her nerves and anxiety take root. While being the leader of the medical corps was usually a nerve-wracking experience with the constant fight against life and death, nothing could ever compare to the burning dread of not knowing just what happened to the people that you care about. Not that she was worried, of course, but the fact that she had heard nothing from them for this long was starting to make her think that something did go horribly wrong. The last missive her sister sent her was also doing nothing to alleviate the growing fears. The Emperor had apparently laid down an ultimatum on the Prime Thirteen to wipe them all out before the month was over. While she knew that Love wouldn't really care, and would actually defect come the time of the attack,

The world between the living and the dead had always been some sort of myth to me. Until I actually died the first time and saw that endless expanse of darkness and non-space, I always thought that nothing was waiting for humanity after we've perished from our own scientific hubris and lack of fucks for the future generation. I mean, sure, I was born and raised in a religious family complete with spending a lot of hours being a regular choir member, but despite the constant preachings and hours upon hours of sitting through sermons, the conflicting ideas in the scriptures were simply far too glaring for me to ignore to the point that I was essentially agnostic in all but name. It was kind of scary, having the vast majority of your family and immediate social circle be religious. The moment they realized that I wasn't really a believer anymore, I was pretty sure that they'd ship me to the nearest minister to give me a good talking to.

"So, we are all in agreement then?" I feel like I'm forgetting something again. "How're you feeling, Sis?" It's been a few days since I first woke up in this damn bed, and at this point, it's starting to feel more like a prison instead of the supposed comfort it's supposed to be as I found myself shackled to the same damn room twenty-four hours a day. I gave Livia a brief nod of recognition as she poised the spoonful of liquid nutrition towards my mouth. Even after a few days of recovery, my throat and jaw were somehow still sore enough to prevent me from speaking. I could chew some basic stuff, but it'd aggravate my healing jaw bone enough that I'd be back to square one in terms of recovery if I did it. Couldn't do basic sign language either since my limbs were in an even worse off state than my head at this point.Read more