The spiral staircase creaked with each step. Our footsteps echoed off stone walls that looked older than civilization.
"Please tell me there's a bottom to these stairs," I said.
"Technically, yes." Marcus's voice floated up from below. "Practically? We haven't found it."
"What do you mean haven't found it?"
"The stairs keep going," Elena said behind me. "We stopped exploring at level seven."
"Which level are we going to?"
"Three. That's where the machine is."
My percentage flickered. *54.3%*
The air got colder as we descended. Older somehow. Like breathing in history.
"Found this place by accident," Marcus said. "1897. A Habsburg duke's wine cellar collapsed, revealed the first level."
"And nobody noticed a massive underground complex before that?"
"Oh, th
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Orion's Rise: From Zero to Hero in Two Worlds Chapter 20
"Whatever you do," Seraphina said, adjusting my collar, "don't mention the war with House Vex.""There was a war?""Three, actually. The last one ended Tuesday."We stood before a shimmering portal in her apartment. My percentage read *60.1%*"Any other family secrets I should know about?""Just the usual." She counted on her fingers. "Don't stare at Uncle Dominic's third eye. Don't ask why the portraits move. And whatever you do, don't eat the blue fruit.""Why not?""Because it's not fruit." She grinned. "Ready?"I wasn't. But I stepped through anyway.The portal spat us out onto marble steps. I stumbled. Seraphina landed gracefully."Welcome to House Lira."I looked up. And up. And up.The mansion defied physics. Towers spiraled imp
Orion's Rise: From Zero to Hero in Two Worlds Chapter 21
"The last time House Vex smiled like that," Seraphina said, yanking open a hidden door, "three realities collapsed and Tuesday became Friday.""That's bad?""Friday's were never meant to exist." She pulled me down spiral stairs. "They're an accident from the first war."The stairs descended into darkness. My percentage hummed. *62.3%*"What was the first war about?""What else? Power." Her laugh echoed wrong. "House Vex wanted to control the machine. House Lira said no. House Magnus chose sides.""Which side?""Both. That's why they don't exist anymore."The stairs ended at a metal door. Symbols crawled across its surface."The machine room's down here?""One of them." She pressed her hand to the door. "Each house has one. They're connected. Or were, before the split."
Orion's Rise: From Zero to Hero in Two Worlds Chapter 22
Reality crashed like a broken mirror, but I didn't.Everything else stopped existing. The house. The garden. Even Seraphina. But somehow, I stayed aware.My percentage felt wrong. Not higher or lower. Just... sideways. *64.θ%*In the nothing between realities, I wasn't alone.The beast floated there too. Not hunting anymore. Just... watching.It didn't look like geometry now. More like a thought having another thought."You're not what I expected," I said, though I didn't have a mouth to speak with.The beast's consciousness brushed against mine. Like static electricity, but made of memories.*Hunt/Protect/Test/Choose*The concepts hit me all at once. Images flooded my mind.I saw reality through its eyes. Not solid. Not fixed. A living thing, growing, changing, breaking, healing."You're not trying to kill me?"*Fix/Balance/Guard/Choose*More images. System beasts rising from reality's depths. Hunting broken things. Healing wounded spaces."Then why chase me?"*Different/Change/Evolv
Orion's Rise: From Zero to Hero in Two Worlds Chapter 23
The sound of glass breaking echoed through the halls, followed by a string of creative curses that would've made even House Vex blush.Orion peered around the corner. To find Seraphina surrounded by shattered remnants of what used to be test tubes. Her usually pristine lab coat was splattered with something that glowed. An alarming shade of purple."Don't," she warned without looking up. "Don't even start.""I wasn't going to say anything," he said, failing to hide his grin. "Though I have to ask – is the purple stuff supposed to be eating through the floor?"She glanced down, swore again, and grabbed a neutralizing agent from her belt. "This is what happens when you try to stabilize quantum fluctuations with outdated equipment." The purple substance fizzled and turned clear as she sprayed it. "The machine keeps changing the rules on us.""The machine, or the beast?" Orion leaned against the doorframe, careful to avoid the slowly spreading puddle."Both. Neither." She ran a hand throu
Orion's Rise: From Zero to Hero in Two Worlds Chapter 24
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The clock on the wall ticked backward for three seconds, and Jared was the only one who noticed.He sat in his usual spot near the window, trying to focus on Mr. Novotný's lecture about the Cold War, but the numbers on the clock kept dancing. They'd move forward normally, then skip back, like a broken video file.Tap. Tap. Tap.His pencil hit the desk in an uneven rhythm. Ryan, sitting next to him, shot him an annoyed look."Dude, you okay?" Ryan whispered. "You've been weird all morning.""What's weird about being bored in history class?" Jared muttered back, but his voice came out wrong - like there was an echo underneath it.Ryan frowned. "Not that. You walked straight through Petra earlier without even noticing her.""Through her?""Past her," Ryan corrected quickly, but Jared had caught the slip. Had he actually...? No. That wasn't possible.The fluorescent lights overhead flickered, but when Jared looked up, they were steady. Just like they'd been steady when he thought he saw t
Orion's Rise: From Zero to Hero in Two Worlds Chapter 26
The strange sparks had faded by the time the final bell rang, but Jared's hands still tingled like they'd fallen asleep."Hey," Tomáš called out across the parking lot. "We're heading to the mall. Some middle schoolers have been acting tough lately. Want to help put them in their place?"A month ago, Jared would have been right there with them. Now the idea made his stomach turn. "Pass. Got stuff to do.""Since when do you have stuff to do?" Martin chimed in. "Come on, man.""I said no."Jared turned away before he could see their reactions. The walk home took him past the park, where fallen leaves skittered across the path like they were trying to spell something.That's when he saw it.A letter, hovering at eye level, completely still despite the autumn breeze. Its envelope was a deep purple that seemed to swallow light, marked with a seal he'd never seen before but somehow recognized: a twisted tree wrapped around a sword.He reached for it, half expecting his hand to pass through
Orion's Rise: From Zero to Hero in Two Worlds Chapter 1
“Did you seriously wear that today?” Jared's voice was as sharp as a knife.Piercing through the noise of the hallway. I could tell he was talking to me without even looking up.He always was.I continued to walk.Fixing my eyes on the marked floors of the school hallway. Maybe if I ignored him, he’d get bored.Maybe this time, he’d just… stop.“Hey, Sergio,” he called again. Louder now. I could hear the sound of his footsteps following me. "I’m talking to you. You deaf, or just stupid?”I sighed. “Both, apparently.”Too late to take THAT back.I felt bad as soon as the words were spoken.He grabbed the back of my collar.And pulled me to a halt.His hot breath hit the side of my face.Smelling like whatever he had eaten for breakfast. "What was that?”I swallowed hard. “Nothing,” I said, trying to shrug out of his grip. “Just—nothing.”Jared let out a low chuckle, and his grip loosened. “That’s what I thought. Nothing. Just like you.”I could hear his friends laughing behind h
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