Showing results by author "William D. Arand" in All Categories

Ash's life is anything but normal these days. Having understood his Dao, he's grown in power. In this world of martial arts, only the strong and the ruthless survive. Utilizing the Hall, the voice in his head that calls itself Locke, those who have aligned with his faction, and all the powers available to him, Ash has begun his own journey of Cultivation. Except that as a Fated One, his journey is a narrow and winding path between two cosmic forces. Arriving at a world similar to his own, Ash has found a modern realm filled with all the things one would expect.

Dominic's world had been a fairly simple life. To live his life to the best of his abilities, gain experience, level up, and strive to enjoy himself as best as one could in a backwater. Which, while tough on its own, was made infinitely harder by his father being the local executioner. All of that becomes infinitely worse when his entire family is murdered. Now he's the King of a nearly non-existent royal family. The Dukes have all sworn vassalage to him, and are working together with him to stop a brand-new threat to Dolphen.

An existence spent being forced to kill others to satiate a monster. Where the only thing to look forward to was the blessed, if brief, period of time between paying that bribe. Except that very same monster is and isn’t Rene. It just happened to live inside his own mind and force him to do what it wanted.

Alex is dead. Dead, and apparently with a one-way ticket to a place that only the worst of the worst go. All for a simple choice he made about a product his company owned. Damned for all time. Luckily for him, he's about to be given a chance. Another choice to make. He can return to the land of the living, though his soul would belong to another. Except the world he's being sent to isn't the same one he came from. It's not even a similar period in time, but from something long past in history. The dark ages.

Reports to write, forms to fill, coffee to drink, leads to run down. Gus’s life had been a tedium and boredom he’d grown comfortable with. One that he sought out after he’d come back from his tour of duty. That was before Melody, a contractor, more or less blew his life up as if it were a building packed full of C4. Then she pranced around the ashes of it like it was the end of the world and was conjuring up the end times herself.

Wayne dreamed of piloting a thirty-foot-tall walking robot that was closer to a battle-tank than anything else. They were called Walkers. They were armed with laser cannons, rockets, missiles, and heavy kinetic weapons more similar to artillery pieces than guns, and everything that went with that. Unfortunately, he had been declined military service. His only avenue left to become a Walker Pilot was to make it happen all on his own. Under his own power. With his own hands. Literally. Working his fingers to the bone, saving all he could, and digging through junkyards and salvage pits,

Runner and company have safely left the city ahead of the siege. Completing their class promotions with barely any time to spare. Unfortunately Runner hasn't discovered the password he needs to begin the logoff process to save the 400,000 or so crewmates left alive in this game where dying truly means death.

At the best of times, Jeremiah could be described as a vengeful man. In the worst of times, one could call him a monster. The reality, though, was that he was a monster hunter. Or that's how he liked to style himself. In a world of creatures that went bump in the night, few fought for humanity. Fewer still put humanity first. Fighting with sword, blade, or word, their numbers were insufficient. Those who did did so from places and situations that the world didn't appreciate or condone. That they'd actively disavow and ignore.

Reports to write, forms to fill, coffee to drink, leads to run down. Gus’s life was a tedium and boredom he’d grown comfortable with. One that he sought out after he’d come back from his tour of duty. A detective in the paranormal investigations department. A job he could work day in and day out in relative peace. One cold and forgotten cup of coffee at a time. It was an environment that made some sense to him. At least in comparison to civilian life where almost nothing did. On top of that, it gave him a chance to hide what he was from the rest of the world.

An existence spent being forced to kill others to satiate a Monster. Where the only thing to look forward to was the blessed, if brief, period of time between paying that bribe. Except that very same Monster is and isn’t Rene. It just happened to live inside his own mind and force him to do what it wanted. Rather than being an actual Monster. That was Rene’s entire life until a fateful day changed that. A day that the career as a hitman for hire built on the Monster’s needs will end. Where Rene will be forced to atone for his actions. To be held accountable and judged.

Warner spent his days like no one else. He got up, went to work, forced people to balance their scales - either through taking lives or forced penance - went home, spent time with his daughter, slept with one of his girlfriends, and went to sleep. Only to repeat the pattern over and over and over. Life was the furthest thing from mundane that it could ever be.

Have you ever woken up, rolled over, and thought to yourself, "I'm pretty sure I'm working for a Super Villain?" If you haven't, then maybe you're not the type of person to work for a global corporation. Edmund, however, is just such an individual. He had worked for Legion and his mentor and savior, Felix Campbell. Now, though, Edmund is swapping employers.

Wayne dreamed of piloting a thirty-foot-tall walking robot that was closer to a battle tank than anything else. They were called Walkers. They were armed with laser cannons, rockets, missiles, and heavy kinetic weapons more similar to artillery pieces than guns, and everything that went with that. Unfortunately, he had been declined military service. His only avenue left to become a Walker Pilot was to make it happen all on his own. And he did just that. He became a true Cavalier, was wounded, gained squad mates, and founded the House of Hesh.

In a world full of super powers, Felix has a pretty crappy one. He has the ability to modify any item he owns. To upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game. Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities. With that in mind, Felix settled into a normal life. A normal job. His entire world changes when the city he lives in is taken over by a super villain. Becoming a country of one city. A city state.

Have you ever woken up, rolled over, and thought to yourself, "I'm pretty sure I'm working for a supervillain?" If you haven't, then maybe you're not the type of person to work for a global corporation. Edmund, however, is exactly that kind of person. He had worked for Legion and for his mentor and savior, Felix Campbell. Now, though, Edmund is working for himself—and for the universe as a whole. He's leaving everything he knew, everyone he knows, to set out into the literal unknown.

Warner’s life had changed when his daughter had been nearly fatally injured, plunging Warner into a world of paranormal creatures, monsters, and magic that he’d never known existed. Then he came out the other side as the arbiter of Retribution. He now personally hands out justice to any and all he comes across.

Ash's life is anything but normal these days. Having discovered his Dao, he's grown in power. Grown to the point that others are now aware of him and that he could be a danger. In this world of martial arts, only the strong and the ruthless survive. Everyone else is merely a stepping stone on their path of Cultivation or an obstacle to be overcome. Or knocked down. It's a world where the strong rule, and the weak die.

Reports to write, forms to fill, coffee to drink, leads to run down, organized crime syndicates to break. Gus’ life had been a tedium. That was before Melody, a contractor, more or less blew his life up as if it were a building packed full of C-4. Then helped him make a new life, which he himself ended blowing up. A cushy new job with the FED, thrown out the window with a single gunshot. All based on an assumption of who was working for who, and that he’d been on the wrong side of the equation.

Have you ever woken up, rolled over, and thought to yourself, “I’m pretty sure I’m working for a Super Villain.” If you haven’t, then maybe you’re not the type of person to work for a global corporation. Edmund, however, is just such an individual. He works for Legion: a corporation of unimaginable reach that he barely understands, a corporation that seems determined to put itself smack dab in the middle of a brewing civil war between Super Heroes and Super Villains.

He has the ability to modify any item he owns; to upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game. Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities. At least, that was until Felix leveraged a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give himself a great deal of points. Investing in Super Heroes and Super Villains and owning them. Using them, Felix built up an empire: an organization by the name of Legion.