Multiverse: by Nick Venomz (best books to read for beginners .txt) 📕

“That sounds good, let’s get going before the horde collapses on us,” I added. The rest of the team nodded their heads. 

We packed our stuff and continued forward. We stopped before we reached HQ, sending Luna and Lee off with tearful hugs. I was scared of them being caught and killed by our superiors. However, their family was more important than their own safety. 

“Goodbye, Luna and Lee. We’ll meet in Celina and begin our new lives. Just make sure to be alive to make the trip.” Garfield said.

“Same can be said to you. We’ll return in one piece, I’m sure of it.” Luna said. Lee stood by her side, nodding her head. “Goodbye,”

***

Luna and Lee reached HQ and attempted to bribe a guard to get inside. However, his partner wasn’t corrupted, instead, grabbing both of them and sending them to a detention room. 

There, Luna and Lee were confronted by their superior, General Floyd. He wasn’t ecstatic to see them, angered by the lack of Warriors. Two of five living members had arrived. 

Luna tried to lie that Garfield Alvarez, Lindsay Harper, and Frances Salinas were killed during their trip to HQ. However, Floyd called her out on her lie. He had his men monitor the radios, learning of Hackson’s death and final message to the Warriors. 

Knowing that most of the surviving Warriors fled, he punished Luna and Lee. He had Lee and his family beaten to death. As for Luna, he spared her out of pity. However, her family suffered the same fate as Lee. She was crushed, mentally drained by the time she was thrown into a decaying prison. She stayed in her cell, undetermined to escape. Her mind was dead.

General Floyd wanted every Warrior dead, sending out his elite group---the 101st---to track down them. Using the 101st as his right hand, he established a Kill List and got his rivals assassinated. Captain Grant, who was in charge of the Iron Hold mission, was one of many that were assassinated. Even so, Floyd wasn’t satisfied. He wanted the remaining three Warriors dead, determined to watch it happen. 

Hello All!

After 2 years, Survival Instincts will be getting a sequel. Plot details are scarce, but a sequel is confirmed. This second installment---revealed as Survival Instincts: Chapter II: Dominance---will be released on Two Page Shorts as a short story. This installment’s success will dictate the third installment.

Thank you for reading my short update about this series. Until next time, I bid you all a good day!

“You need a weapon?” Vulcan, a talented blacksmith, asked. Vulcan was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his early twenties with strong black hair that resisted old age. His skin was also keeping up a youthful appearance, not flabby or loose. 

“I want the sword that you promised,” Kiran said.

“You really want it?” Vulcan asked him. He turned around, facing away from the counter, and reached into a large bronze chest. 

“The Dragonripper Sword.” Kiran muttered.

Vulcan brandished a carbon-black sword with red and blue circles embedded in it. The red and blue circles formed a variant of the ying-yang symbol. 

“Known under the names of the Sword of Blood, the Sword of Chaos, and the Revenge Taker. Three names that can be discarded once you realize its true name - Dragonripper.”

“Yeah, I get it. A sword of old. An immortal’s subordinate created this sword, passing it down his bloodline until it disappeared from history. Now it’s in your hands.”

“Correct-” Vulcan chuckled softly to himself. “-it was a pain to locate and capture this sword, but I believe it was all worth it. Now it can fulfill its original purpose of taking revenge.”

“Great, now I can slay Holocene without breaking a sweat,” Kiran whispered.

Vulcan shook his head, looking away from Kiran. “I wonder if God would be disappointed by your actions.” He asked.

“My god would be pleased by me. Hell, he’s the reason why I’m here.”

“Oh, yeah. You said that your god wanted you to kill Holocene as revenge.” He glanced at Kiran’s attire. “I admit that if your story’s true, then it’s impressive. However, I never knew you before now, so I can’t confirm anything.”

Kiran shook his head before asking for the weapon. Vulcan let out a large sigh before handing the weapon to him. “Here’s one thing that I can confirm. Holocene isn’t a nice person, you could say. Pure evil, is what I would call her.”

Vulcan nodded his head. “I knew she was when I first laid eyes on her. A remarkable beauty who dragged around a new man every month to steal their gold and time. She ran past my store over and over, having her boyfriend at the time purchase more and more stuff. I found her… disgusting.”

“You and me both,” Kiran muttered while inspecting the sword. “That’s why I'll end all of her misdeeds with one strike.”

“Good luck,” Vulcan said as Kiran turned around, taking a step away from him. 

“Luck scorned me. I’ll be better on my own.”

***

With gods and reincarnation confirmed, Tracy worked to contact Achilles or any other god who would heed her call. She needed a god or goddess to aid her in her mission. Her mother was dying in the hospital, inflicted by a curse. Without the Heavens obstructing death, her mother couldn’t live past three months. 

However, if she contacted the gods and goddesses overlooking this world and asked for their existence and mercy, her mother could be freed from the curse and escape the Grim Reaper’s grip. Even so, contacting them would serve as a larger problem that could only be solved with the help of Kiran. He had a conversation with Achilles, which means it was possible for mortals to communicate with these immortal beings.

As for the moment, she prayed and prayed for an immortal being to assist her. Only when all of the other options evaporated, would she search for Kiran and force him to help her. For now, however, she prayed and sacrificed water and ounces of her blood to the beings watching over them.

***

Kiran perched himself on a roof that overlooked Holocene’s apartment. The Dragonripper sword rested on his back, inside a scabbard. 

Kiran watched as the sliding door of the apartment opened, revealing Toraku. Toraku stepped outside, smoking a cigarette and staring off into space. His eyes looked tired, clearly afflicted from his time with Holocene. She was sucking his soul out of his body by being his side.

“I didn’t grab a bow nor am I proficient in it. I’ll have to strike while in arms reach of them.” He muttered to himself. He lowered himself onto the fire escape, right under where he perched himself. 

He glanced at the apartment, watching as Holocene opened the sliding door and walked up to Toraku. Kiran couldn’t hear what the two were talking about, but he could tell, by their stances, that Toraku was an obedient puppy following Holocene’s every order. He was doing whatever Holocene wanted, even killing his best friend in the process. 

Kiran spat on the ground in front of him, disgusted by Toraku’s actions. “I should’ve killed them both when I had the chance. I’m so dumb to never realize what was happening in front of me.” He played a scene in his head where Kiran and Holocene were enjoying their night together at a 5-star hotel until Toraku appeared out of nowhere. Then, for some reason, Holocene would grow tired and rest in her room. Toraku also disappeared for a few hours while he would go and gamble. Never did he believe that Toraku had departed to Holocene’s room, taking advantage of the loud noises to do deeds that Kiran never did. This made him angrier. 

Holocene led Toraku back into the apartment, closing the sliding door behind them. She glanced up at the building Kiran was standing at before taking her eyes off it and towards Toraku. For a split moment, she looked bored and tired. This same sight reminded Kiran of their last days as a couple. She would get tired of playing with a single man for too long, disposing of him before going for another man. This meant that Toraku would be disposed of soon.

To confirm his thoughts, a half-hour later, he had reached the ground. He turned away from the apartment complex, about to leave when a voice stopped him. He glanced around his shoulder and noticed Holocene talking to a new man, a bear beastkin. The man looked wealthy, wearing an expensive-looking tuxedo. He looked leagues better than Toraku or Kiran.

“Another man so soon,” He muttered under his breath. “You’ll survive today, but I have a plan to deal with you.” Kiran ran off, planning a way to leave no evidence while making sure that somebody took the fall for Holocene’s death. An extravagant plan was brewing. 

TBC...

Tasu and his friends awaited the first punch as the other side did. Neither side wanted to throw the first punch and catch all of the blame. If the boys---whose ages ranged from 8 to 13---swung first then the sisters had valid reasons to scold and punish them. However, if they provoked Tasu or any of his friends into swinging then they could escape the blame.

Even so, the leader of the group---a dirty tanned-skin human with blond locks---wanted to claim the title of ‘Best Fighter’ in the orphanage. He wanted to take it away from Tasu, who earned it by beating up the previous Best Fighter and putting him into the clinic. 

“Forget this waiting game, I’m going.” The human, Zack, muttered to his friends, before throwing a punch at Tasu. Tasu expected the punch, grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward. With Zack closer---using his empty hand---he grabbed his neck and threw him to the ground.

Tasu glanced up at Zack’s friends, glaring at them. “You’re going to follow his lead? What? Are you the previous principal’s disciples?”

Tasu’s words shocked Zack and his friends. The audience that was watching the fight let out a simultaneously audible gasp. What Tasu said was extremely disrespectful and painted the people the comment was directed to as monsters. 

The previous principal that ran the school---seven years before Angelica arrived---was hellbent on excluding every race aside from humans. He ran the orphanage how he wanted to, tormenting orphans---that had nothing