The support on this platform for me just yapping about my silly guys is UNREAL. Thank you all SO much, especially those of you who keep tagging me and stuff: you all have made this platform so fun and you’re all so talented and creative! I don’t know what the custom is for milestones on this platform, frankly im still figuring it out in general- but I had an idea while brainstorming this post, so I’ll do that.
If any of you guys wanna comment a writing prompt I’ll try to write a short ( like 5k words max ) story for it. In the unlikely event this blows up like the stupid reblog to read post, then I’m just gonna limit this to when I don’t wanna do it anymore, or if no one puts a prompt, that’s cool too!
TDLR: You all are amazing and I’m so grateful for the progress I’ve made, I’m trying to do SOMETHING as a show of thanks, so if you comment a writing prompt I like I’ll try to write a short story for it
And I wanna give one final thanks to my tag list. You all have been the biggest supporters ever, I genuinely am so grateful for all of you.
HOW OUR WORLD ENDED BONUS CHAPTER - THE FIRST NIGHT
Hello everyone, I said I would post soon, and i was being truthful this time! This is a small prequel chapter, and the first part of my main novel, How Our World Ended. You can find more info and the AO3 links for this, and all future chapters, here!
Now, for the actual chapter!
It is always a point of contention when stories begin. Is it right before everything crumbles? Right as that sense of normalcy that a person feels falls apart? Or is it where that normalcy starts? For is it not as important to know what there is to shatter? I’ve seen many beginnings, and yet I only make notes when it all gets destroyed.
Even just in recent memory, there was the detective who took a life changing case, or the veteran who, shattered by divorce, took up old skills. Both of them, up to that point, were nothing but mild dramas about human life. How fascinating to think about, that one moment that crushes it all.
-The Artist - Entry 2019
The ever-present clocktower loomed over Itzhack, its arms creeping closer together. The smallest of three arms rushed to join its larger brethren at the top of the tower's face. Res clenched his fist. His knuckles quickly lost circulation, their skin turning as white as the bones beneath.
A harsh exile escaped his lips as he looked to the clock's face. He frowned, watching the smallest arm tick ever higher. The wind rushed, blowing his deep black cloak away from the similarly shadowy black pants and shirt he wore.
Res moved his non-clenched hand lower, reaching for the golden handle of the knife strapped to his belt. The blade was sharp and perfectly polished. It was so polished, in fact, that Res could see his moonlit reflection in the blade. A mess of curly black hair sat upon a thin, pristine face.
His eyes, a light blue akin to a summer's sky, were wide. His pupils were small. and his brow furled. This look was one of determination, one of hate– and yet, there was only one blemish on the rest of his face: a small, still developing scar on his bottom lip.
Res took another deep breath and twirled the knife in his hand, switching to a backhanded grip. He quickly swung the knife outward, before stabbing the air in front of him. Res smirked momentarily, sheathing the knife. His smile quickly faded as an ear piercing BONG came from the clock tower. Res flinched as the noise came a second time.
A deep sigh escaped from Res. He put his hands to his face, scraping them down to his chin. As his hands left his face, he moved them to his cloak, pulling a hood over his head. His hands shot to his neck, quickly pulling up a black bandana. It covered the lower half of his face, only leaving a few dark curls and his radiant eyes visible to the world. Now prepared, Res crept to the edge of the alley he stood in.
He scanned his environment. The gravel road that circled the clocktower was nearly abandoned. All the shops surrounding it had their lights shut off. The only notable thing in the square was a skinny man with bright brown eyes. He leaned against the hulking wooden doors of the clocktower, barely illuminated by the moon.
The light blue glared at him from the shadows. Matt had a small patch of ginger hair atop his head. Res crouched down, keeping his eyes locked on Matt. A few minutes passed, Res only taking his eye off of his target to blink. Eventually, another man approached from a western alleyway. The first man groaned audibly as he saw the other.
“ The hell took you so long Gabe? “
Matt angrily said.
Gabe, who had much more faded, gray eyes sighed,
“ Will you keep it down? The only reason I took so long is because it’s a patrol night. Can't have this be taken, now can we? “
Gabe held up a small gray sack. Matt grinned.
“ Is that the stuff?? “
Gabe rolled his eyes.
“ No, it's an empty sack. Yes, it's the stuff, Matt! “
This time Matt took to groaning.
Res nodded to himself and began creeping out of the alleyway. He still kept a keen eye on the men. Matt quickly approached Gabe, snatching the sack out of his hands. He peeked inside, frowning
“ That's not a whole lot. “
Gabe shrugged.
“ Hey, look man, that's all he gave us. Plus, do you know how much even a snort of it goes for? “
Matt nodded.
“ Touche, gold is in the clocktower. The key is under the rock near the door. You’ll know which one. “
As Res was about 20 yards away, Matt extended his hand. Gabe tossed the pouch into Matt's hand. Matt caught it, quickly shoving it into his pocket. He smirked.
“ Pleasure doing business with you, give him our regards. “
Res cursed to himself. His glare stayed determined, but his hands began to shake as he reached for his blade. His heart beat out of his chest, his mind yelling.
“ It’s now or never.”
Res quickly rose to his full height and began sprinting at the men, drawing his blade. They quickly turned to him, their eyes wide with shock. Gabe immediately pivoted and began sprinting out of the square.
The other man reached to his back, unclipping a metal pipe previously hidden by the shadows. Res’ eyes widened as he saw the weapon, but he kept charging. He extended his free hand towards Gabe.
A bright glow began to emit from Res’ eyes as small shards of ice began shooting from his hands. The shards quickly reached him and began tearing through his shirt. Each shard left a small, bleeding, cut. Gabe ran through the pain, quickly escaping the range of Res’ attack.
As Gabe escaped, Res turned his attention to Matt.
A vicious smile painted Gabe's face as the pipe he held hurled toward Res’ head. Res quickly raised his knife wielding hand, blocking the attack. Pain shot through Res’ arm. He cried out, staggering backwards as the knife slipped from his hands. It fell to the ground, metal rattling against the gravel. Matt chuckled and crouched. He put his hands on the ground. Suddenly, as if the earth had given him a blessing, his eyes began to glow.
Res’ own eyes widened. He desperately extended his non-injured arm and began blasting a pillar of solid ice from his hands. Matt quickly threw his hands upward, the earth he had planted them on following. The ice crashed into the rock Matt had pulled, shattering instantly. Despite this, Res persisted with his onslaught of ice.
Matt took his hands off the chunk of earth he had risen. It floated in place for a moment before he pushed his hands forward. The rock suddenly began flying forward.
Res quickly closed his hand, stopping the stream of ice, and dived to his left. He could feel the wind of the rock flying by him as he fell to the ground. The rock exploded against the wall behind him with a shattering roar, the resulting pebbles crumbling to the ground with a pitter patter of thuds. Res quickly rose to his feet. He swore to himself as he saw Matt had stepped a few meters back and knelt again.
Res began sprinting at Matt, who quickly threw up his hands, pushing another chunk of earth forward. Res swerved to the right, nearly dodging it.
As Res grew closer, Matt's face darkened with worry. He turned, running from Res. He leaned down, running his hands across the ground. The ground split, small shards of rock shooting from where Matt dragged his hand. Res continued his pursuit despite the shards of rock digging into his legs. He ignored the pain each shard's impact caused.
Matt, seeing that his deterrent had not worked, turned. His feet locked themselves to the ground like they were roots. Matt slammed both of his hands to the ground. He flicked them upward quickly, sending an onrush of spiked rocks at Res.
Res continued his sprint, putting his arms on top of one another and ducking behind them. He quickly engulfed his arms in ice. The rocks crashed against Res’ frozen arm. The ice shattered, causing the rocks which would have struck Res to fall to the ground. Res quickly closed the small remaining distance to Matt.
He used his momentum to leap, swinging his leg at Matt’s head. They clashed, a loud thunk emitting from the hit. Matt screamed in pain and fell to the ground face first. Res landed, quickly steadying himself. Pain rushed through his legs. Res grimaced, moving to stand above Matt, his arms soaked in a mix of sweat and melting ice.
Matt attempted to plant his hand on the earth by his side. Res quickly noticed his maneuver and raised his hand. He shot a small spike of ice from his hand. It flew toward Matt’s, piercing through it with a loud squelch. Matt yelled in pain. Res leaned down beside Matt.
“ Try one more time and your hand is gone. Am I understood? “
Matt nodded profusely.
“ Good. Now, answer me, and I'll consider letting you leave here. “
Res couldn't see Matt’s eyes, but he was sure they widened. Res smirked.
“ Let's start easy. What were you buying? “
Matt hesitated for a moment. Res’ hand shot to Matt’s non injured palms. The hold Res had around Matt’ palm was soft for a moment- that is- until his free hand shot to Matt’s pinky. Res quickly pulled the finger back, snapping it with an ear shattering crunch.. Matt cried out in pain.
“ Nine more tries. What were you buying? “
Matt slowed his screaming.
“ You psycho! It was drugs! Is that what you want! A confession?! “
Res shook his head.
“ No. I want details. What exactly were you buying? “
“ It- its called Asfal. Its some new thing- “
Res nodded.
“ Who were you buying it from? “
Matt's voice choked up.
“ I- I can't tell you. “
Res silently grabbed Matt's hand, gripping his index finger.
“ Please. “
Matt pleaded.
“ Please don't make me say it. “
Res began bending the finger backward.
“ IT WAS EXODUS! “
He yelled before Res could snap the finger. Res shook his head.
“ Now that wasn’t too hard, was it? Where is he? “
“ I- I don't know! I swear! Please! “
Res rolled his eyes.
“ Useless. “
He muttered, snapping Matt's index finger. Matt yelled out in pain as Res stood.
“ Stay down. “
Res stood and walked away from Matt. As his adrenaline faded, the pain from the strike to his arm crept back, He groaned, clutching his injured arm. His legs followed suit, the pain from the kick and the shards of rock reduced Res to a hobble.
He crept over to the golden knife he had dropped. He knelt, examining it. The gravel had scratched parts of the blade, but he could still see his reflection. Res shook his head and released his arm. He grabbed the blade and sheathed it.
As Res did, he let out a sigh of relief. He turned to the alley where he had entered, but before he began to leave, he turned back to the clock tower. Past Matt’s battered body, right next to the door of the clocktower, an out of place orange rock sat.
Res raised an eyebrow. His eyes darted around him. Nothing. He shrugged and pulled himself to the base of the clocktower. He kicked the rock over. Under it lay a small golden key.
“ Wha- what are you doing? “
Matt muttered from behind Res. Res ignored him. He groaned as he bent down to pick up the key. Its golden metal felt cool against Res’ clammy hands. Res rose, putting the key into its designated home in the clocktower's door. He turned it, a hollow click coming from the lock of the door. Res propped it open, peeking inside.
As he tucked the key into his small pant pocket, he examined the area. A winding wood staircase lined the walls of the timekeeper. At the bottom of the staircase, a brown sack lay. Res approached it, grabbing it. As he did, the familiar jangle of coins came from it. His eyes widened, a small smile formed below his mask.
“ Heh. “
He said quietly as he tucked the money under his cloak.
Satisfied with his endeavor, Res dragged himself out of the clocktower. As he did, the pounding of metal footsteps approached from the alley where Gabe had run.
Res’ body gave him one final boost of adrenaline. He sprinted away, ducking into an alleyway
Gabe ran back into the square, leading a squad of 3 guards.
“ And then- over here- it attacked us! “
Res sighed as he began leaving the square. He spent the next hour slinking through the town, avoiding the nightly patrols of guards. He eventually arrived at the outskirts of town. A small, decrepit barn lay alone in a grassy field. Res approached it.
As he reached the doors, the smell of grain and years-old feces filled his nostrils. He ignored it, gently opening the door. Res saw a line of abandoned stalls. At the end of the barn, a makeshift pile of hay lay. Res hobbled to the hay. He laid on it and sighed, closing his eyes. As he lay, the the exhaustion of the first night of his new career took him into a deep sleep
If you want to continue, the next chapter is here
For all the chapters and the Ao3 link, you can see the master post here
If you read this all, thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed :)
yknow, im only not deleting this for preservation. i made a new one, so if youre seeing this, please check out this instead
Heya everyone, I’m Molten Writes. I just go by Molten though. I’m a writer who loves to write fantasy!
If you wanna read my stuff, it can be found both here and on AO3
Most of my projects are told in a large universe know as the “ Souls Collide Universe. “ It’s named after the first story I ever came up with in this universe, and it’s a story I intend to finish someday.
Current project(s) - HOW OUR WORLD ENDED
READ THE PREVIEWS AND PREQUEL HERE
PAINTINGS
READ HERE
Asks are probably always gonna be open, and I’m more than happy to answer any questions.
IMPORTANT/TOPICAL POSTS
It’s actually writing time, here’s some overview lore for my universe. I call it the Souls Collide universe, as that was the first story I e
SOMETHING BROKE: HOW OUR WORLD ENDED PROLOGUE
*Note that this isn’t a final version, and stuff may change in the future. Any feedback is
I’ve been talking about my book, How Our World Ended a LOT on this blog, but I’ve realized, no one knows the main cast. That changes today!
*crawls out of a half-dug hole in the archives* hi
i'd like to know more about souls collide and how our world ended, they sound super inte
A short “horror” story
I could hear them clawing, pounding, slamming against the walls. They screeched in unison with the wind. Every tim
Annnd that’s all! Hope you stick around for the future. Have an amazing day, and remember to work on that WIP
Thanks @aintgonnatakethis and @the-golden-comet for the tag! The rules of this one are simple, just share some of the most recent stuff you’ve written. For me, I’ve been on a bit of a writing break ( outside of YouTube scripts, but that doesn’t really count ) since finishing how our world ended, so I’ll share the end of the epilogue! It doesn’t spoil anything, so here we go
TW: ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
The Artist sighed as the light faded. It raised the knife to its chest and stabbed itself repeatedly. It flinched at the pain each time, but nothing more came from its attempts. It sighed, throwing the blade to the side. A large pillar of ice appeared seemingly out of nowhere and slammed the blade to the ground. The Artist groaned and fell to its back. And in the vast darkness, all The Artist was, was a spec.
As always, this is a WIP and anything here is subject to change/being cut
I’m really gonna try get back to writing, gonna try to change my thought process a little bit.
I want to be able to inspire a person. I want it to be when I post a new chapter, it makes someone’s persons day. I want to be a huge inspiration to at least one person, but I can’t do that without the work. I want to be to someone like Tallyhall, or OMOCAT, or Toby Fox, or Spellcasting, or Arcadekitten is to me. I want one day for an ask to come in saying how I inspired someone’s story, so I guess I gotta get back on it.
Sorry about kinda rambling, but putting stuff down, especially putting it out into the world, helps me a lot with sticking to it!
