thanh.nguyenhoang.1403@gmail.com
Stories
168
Chapters
1,512
Words
3.2 M
Comments
0
Reading
11 d, 4 h
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The concussive wave of the explosion does not merely shatter the heavy reinforced glass of the balcony doors; it physically negates the atmospheric pressure in the room. The sudden, violent vacuum pulls the oxygen from my lungs. A gale of freezing air from the eternal eclipse howls into the sanctum, bringing with it a squall of razor-sharp obsidian shards. I throw my weight forward, driving Iria to the Persian rug behind the solid mass of the heavy oak desk. My broad shoulders act as a physical shield…-
12.4 K • Completed
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I turn my back on Iria and nod to the guards. "Lower your weapons," I command, my voice slicing through the chaos. "Stand your ground, but do not touch her." The guards freeze, the confusion radiating off them like heat. I step toward the wall, overriding the command sequence I had previously set for the fortress. I activate the primary mechanism of the northern postern gate. A deep, grinding groan of ancient metal echoes from the far side of the castle. "The gate is open,"…
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12.4 K • Completed
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— Before the River Turned MARINA Five years before the river rises to swallow my boat, I draw the line that teaches it how to disappear. The survey tent shudders beneath Amazon rain. Water drums against the green canvas, leaks through three patched seams, and gathers around the legs of my drafting table. My maps are the only dry things in the room. I lean over the vellum and connect two brass markers with a stroke of black rain-ink. The ink smells of ozone and crushed stone. It settles into the page…-
12.1 K • Completed
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MARINA The sounding line snaps tight enough to slice skin. I drop the nylon rope a second before it takes my fingers off. The aluminum canoe lurches violently to starboard. This tributary wasn't supposed to have a current this deep, nor a pull this aggressive. According to the satellite data I compiled three days ago, this bend of the river should be sluggish, shallow, and entirely predictable. It is none of those things. The water boils around the hull, thick and the color of steeped black tea. I…
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12.1 K • Completed
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CAIO The transition from the mortal river to the Encante does not happen with a splash. It happens with a bone-crushing pressure, a sudden vacuum that steals the air from my lungs and replaces it with the heavy, electric taste of ancient magic. The vertical wall of water spits us out. I hit a massive, submerged mahogany root and roll, my human form taking the bruises, absorbing the impact before I drop onto a bed of slick, black mud. I crouch immediately, water draining from my clothes, my eyes…
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12.1 K • Completed
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MARINA The Encante is not an empty tomb. It is a breathing, rotting bazaar. Caio leads me deeper into the hollows beneath the inverted river. We walk on pathways woven from calcified roots, suspended above dark, sluggish pools. Around us, the shadows detach themselves from the petrified wood and take shape. Figures draped in scales, pale flesh, and bioluminescent algae barter in the gloom. The air is thick with the scent of stagnant water and blooming night-jasmine. I keep my head down, clutching the…
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12.1 K • Completed
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CAIO The river fractures into three identical rushing currents, a chaotic spiderweb of false paths spawned by a single drop of her ink. I do not hesitate. I grab Marina’s elbow and drag her toward the leftmost channel. The water here is shallower, thick with dead algae, but it pulls in the right direction. The scraping of the court guards’ armor fades behind the roar of the multiplying tributaries. We wade deeper into the submerged root system. The bioluminescence dies away, leaving us in heavy,…
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12.1 K • Completed
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MARINA The hollow beneath the petrified mahogany is dry, insulated from the rushing inverted rivers of the Encante. It smells of dust and ancient, dormant wood. I sit on the cracked mud, the heavy leather tube resting on my crossed legs. I unbuckle it and slide the drafting vellum out. I lay it flat against the dirt. Caio stands by the entrance of the fissure, a massive silhouette guarding the narrow opening, his throat bruised and smeared with dried blood where he tore out his own magic to prove I was…
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12.1 K • Completed
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MARINA The pulsing amber light from the rain-ink illuminates the cracked mud of the hollow, casting long, sharp shadows across the petrified mahogany roots. The light is a beacon. I drew a line upward, attempting to forge a physical exit through the bedrock, and the ink reacted not by binding the water, but by broadcasting our exact location. The ground beneath us shudders. A low, grinding sound—the noise of immense water pressure shifting against stone—echoes through the dry cavern. It is not the…
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12.1 K • Completed
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MARINA The siren's cold declaration echoes off the petrified wood. We sent the current to pull you to her boat. Bring the leather tube to the deep. Caio stands in the shallow water, his broad shoulders rigid, his eyes dark and empty. He doesn't deny it. He doesn't move. He was the bait, shaped by the court's manipulation, unaware of his own role until this exact second. I look at the heavy vellum map in my hands. The amber ink pulses, a beacon calling the court's magic to seal this place forever. If I…
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12.1 K • Completed
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