“Ailan,” whispers seized Aden from an unknown dimension. As if the voices had breached some sort of barrier and has now filled his ears with hisses and sneers. “Ailan,” and other words he could not recognize anymore; it just kept going. His eyes had not recovered from the flash. But he knew anyway, that he wasn’t there with Agapito and the others anymore. This was one of those… memories.
The air around him had begun to change. And the voices drew closer. Whispers… of women. Or just one. Repeating his name. Ailan. The bright flash from the torch had now turned into a darker shade. Now a burning orange, as his vision dazed from the watching himself be sucked in to another… vision.
Then there he was… in another space and time. In another state. He felt like the wind. Just passing through the plane invisibly, but seeing all. Aden saw—and was now witnessing—some sort of ritual. A far away place, he knew.
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
God Hounds Chapter 30: Nukasuni
There was chanting at first. Voices from tribal choirs seemed to circle him invisibly. Hallucinations of the forest. An illusion; and he hoped that the rat was too. But they were nonetheless there. And their chorus had demanded a fight. Had demanded an end.Gradually, the choir grew. Accompanying the humming voices were progressive drums that echoed across the air. All that, but Aden knew he was alone.The darkness continued to worry him. If the beast was going to pounce, he knew he wouldn’t be ready. He didn’t know where. But Aden could feel it. Waiting. Stalking. Looking for the right time.He had stopped shouting for Agapito’s name or Edgar’s. They weren’t going to come. This was his fight. So he gripped his blade tightly, leveling it to his head—preparing enough force and angle to cut through the rat’s eye with just one push.He wheezed through the process, the beating of the drums and the humming of the
God Hounds Chapter 31: Tadya hadj'ayer
The forest was filled with noises within the shrubberies. Gasping, wheezing, looking for air as they squeezed through the forest darkness—trying to find their long-lost target. “Come on!” Aden shouted. “Almost there!” Almost where? He had only heard the rat’s noises but he still couldn’t pinpoint how far… or how close.More sounds emanated from the forest as Aden watched the tall plants and branches fall apart beneath him with his ritual blade. They had hit it. Again. With an arrow. And with enough desire to just end the night and the hunt, Aden and the others were chasing it down.The dog relied on its instinct, on its senses. The beast’s blood was putrid enough for the hound to detect it and stream it with his noise. Between those gaps for air, and those wincing from the shrubberies, another voice like thunder disseminated in the air. Aden wasn’t sure if the others heard it, too. But it was there, for him.
God Hounds Chapter 32: Never About Being Ready
Ailan Dei Kastrel. Datu of the goddess Ledanai’i. The goddess of domination. He looked at the orb positioned rightly below him, with shaking hands. He had to do it, he thought. Otherwise Ledanai’i would just keep coming for him. He had to kill Dante, and the others. But honestly, he knew, Dante in particular.At least if he leaves the tribe of Leadanai’i for good, there was a fighting chance. He had already resurrected Nukasuni from the void’s grave. All that was left to do was to commit to it. What was one soul more to him, right? What was one more death to the champion of the goddess of domination?Everyone had gatherer within the temple walls. A secret location Ledanai’i had purposefully made for them, where—with one push of the stone button—Ailan could end it.After all, everything had gone according to plan, hadn’t it? Ailan asked himself. The ‘hypnosis’ of it all. The manipulation. The mental illu
God Hounds Chapter 33: But That Was A Long Time Ago
Maria looked over the sunset that shined thoroughly on the village’s overlooking bluff. Aden—Ailan—didn’t understand, she thought. To the man beside him, this was the second or third time they met here on the bluff. To her, this was one of many. With Ailan. She let the morning breeze pass through her for a second, as she thought of what to say. It was approaching noon. Pretty soon, Aden—once again—would need to go. She felt like she was talking to a different person right now. And she was begging, in her heart, for a way to carve Ailan Dei Kastrel out of him. How she felt about him… was still there. And Ailan hadn’t died… but the memories. She hoped, that at some point while they were in that forest: Aden remembered the same memories as her. She looked to him, smirking—squinting and turning away from the sunlight. Maria crossed her arms, “Why delay?” she asked. It was the only words that came to her mind. It had been hours since Aden came back from the hunt, and they
God Hounds Chapter 34: The Things I Want To Keep
Even if the day was blessed with a weather and a kind of sunlight that would only come at least once a month, even if the village and the forest, and the mountains, had it pleasant; wherever Aden went—it seemed—something else would always follow. As long as Ailan and those who knew him were still alive, uncertainty would always be there for him. Leven stepped out of the black car on the privilege of pressing sunlight. His sunglasses gleamed against the pleasant rays as it also hid the agenda in his eyes. Still, though, his smile and just the fact that someone else—someone other than Aden—was there gave it all away.Leven approached the old, overgrown, yellow house on the side of the highway within the forest. It had remained as conforming to the woods as it should be, and they had preferred it that way. Leven’s grin, however, had easily changed things. Easily changed the air.Abel stepped out of the house, the wooden stairs creaking at the
God Hounds Chapter 35: Two Souls
The forest. The forest of the ancient, resurrected dragon, had remained at peace, still. The anciency intact and the silence and the solemness remained. The clouds were still gray, but it had still perfectly completed the green under. The cave had remained with its purpose. To keep Aden safe, while everything ravaged on. A fight he did not even know the scale of. A war to end all things—or to fix it.Aden had almost curled up so hard that he would almost hit his head on the ground. He continued to grit his teeth and close his eyes in constant pain. Unimaginable pain. It wasn’t in his body. It was sort of... mental. His soul was reshaping. Purposely burning to become better. It was how he explained it. It was how the void had taught him to explain it.Everything was coming back to him. He in no sense a god, but he felt like he was slowly learning how to be one—with all the memories, knowledges, and power that was coming back to him. Aden, it seemed, wa
God Hounds Chapter 36: Time
The afternoon birds sang across the now-timid wind moving across the forest. Their tune—their chirping—now set to a mood of watching? And waiting? It gave off thee sense that the forest itself was humbly the audience of Leven and Aden. In the distance, a faint sound of the river could be heard. Then the occasional bend of the trees and the flow of the leaves as the wind met them. Light seeped into the forest cave.Then the handgun sang. The cave boomed with the gunfire’s vibration, and the singing birds were now sent flying away. The distant sunlight from the sun, now challenged by the simple break of gunpowder.Leven’s eyes had widened. He unconsciously had parted his lips… as if to say: How could you? Almost instantly. As he watched his own blood spray away from his body, onto the fresh flat floor of the temple. Aden pulled the trigger again.The shot whizzed through him, piercing Leven’s lower chest. He stumbled down and c
God Hounds Chapter 37: Urrutia
The Kadlum clan was practically the Urrutia clan. For so long, decades and generations long, it was the Urrutia that had always kept the tribe safe. When it was time for Alice’s father to take the place of Datu, the circle of the tribes was at its peak of peace and unity. The peak of understanding. Alice could still remember the day he held her hand when she was just a small child, as they went to one of the most important tribal councils in her father’s life. At the time, she had no idea. But she remembered and realized now. That was the day the clans properly agreed on peace and unity. An agreement to halt their own advances and intentions for the throne, and live as equals instead. The gods would live in prosperity and take on different cities and areas around the place to take hold and flourish. And they were going to do this, until a better way would be established to put a god on the throne. They were starting order. But little did poor Alice know: she was one of t
Latest Chapter
- God Hounds Epilogue
- God Hounds Chapter 68 – Blood
- God Hounds Chapter 67, Part 3 – Throne
- God Hounds Chapter 67, Part 2 – Throne
- God Hounds Chapter 67 – Throne
- God Hounds Chapter 66 - Corruption
- God Hounds Chapter 65 – Goddess
- God Hounds Chapter 64, Part 2 – The Island
- God Hounds Chapter 64, Part 1 – The Island