When a Creature of the Void fails to find friendship among her own kind, she instead sets her sights upon another, human-filled world. Unfortunately, humans turn out to be rather small and squishy things, resulting in a mostly accidental trail of death, destruction and madness as she embarks on her journey to finally make some friends. This is a 25k word inane short story, and makes no attempt at being serious or realistic. It's my first attempt at trying a more comedic writing style. No relation to my other stories, aside from a brief cameo. Cover bodged together with Charat Genesis. Not quite the design I had in mind, but reasonably close. Doesn't contain explicit smut, but does contain references to stuff happening off-screen. May contain traces of gore. Also eels, in varying states of distress. Posted here and scribblehub.
17.99 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:09
R.C. Joshua | comedy | Complete
Lots of people get Isekai'd, and Matt is no exception. After a quickly resolved misunderstanding with a truck-shaped system assistant, he's sent to Gaia, the garden planet. The truck assures him it's going to be a really good fit. And it would probably be right, too, if it wasn't for the fact that Gaia is a burned-out wasteland, completely devoid of life. Matt has all the system-granted advantages of a litRPG Isekai hero - it's just that he arrived a little late for them to do anyone any good. Now Matt is starving, wandering through a sterilized, featureless wasteland that doesn't much care about his improved stats, and trying to find a system-issued guardian that might not even exist. Can he survive a planet that didn't survive itself?
186.14 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:28
TowerCurator | contemporary | Complete
Dyna Graves grew up thinking she was special. An exception to the average. Not necessarily above her peers, but simply outside their context. However, toward the end of her high school life, she started to realize that nobody was really special. At least not in any fantastical way. Just as she started trying to figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, she got an invitation. A psychic institute scoped her out, realized her psychic potential, and asked if she would undergo psionic training at the Carroll Institute. Almost immediately, Dyna realized that she wasn't quite up to the same level as many of her peers. Surrounded by clairvoyants and mind readers displaying obvious abilities made her own lack of ability all the more apparent. That was, up until the researchers and scientists of the facility realized that there was a bit more to Dyna Graves than met the eye. After an explosive incident during what should have been a routine experiment, Dyna quickly found herself wrapped up in a world of cutthroat espionage. The story can also be viewed on my website, https://www.towercurator.com/collective-thinking/. Cover art by Zoern.
230.06 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:27
Aest Belequa | contemporary | Complete
Some men have demons inside them. Lou's stays in the mirror, stalking his wife. It's at the doctor's office. It's in the bathroom at their assisted living apartment. It even chases the car when they go shopping. It keeps getting closer. And as it does, he's having a harder and harder time remembering. Lou doesn't want to find out what'll happen if if reaches Abigail. He has to stop the demon. Content Warning: This story is about dementia. I'm trying not to pull punches. Edit: I'm incredibly honored to have won the June 2023 Community Magazine Contest. Thank you all for reading!
4.65 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-13 10:51
AweksLear | contemporary | Complete
Trapped in a world not my own. Facing a destiny never meant to pass. Dealing with a hero doomed to defeat. Which will end first, this world or my life? The Transmigator, a being deployed from beyond the boundaries of this reality, must undo the will of Fate itself, to save both himself and the world. There will be no fluffiness. No OP cheat abilities. No waifus. Just one man. And The Voice of a god.
196.90 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:51
Not everyone gets a soul. The rise of industry and mechanization has sent the world's population booming upward, striving relentlessly for the fixed handful of souls that level armies and steer the fate of nations. The remnants of a crumbled empire fight in a grinding, bloody war against their ancient enemy. Not everyone gets a soul, but Michael must - for he is the scion of a lord, and the soulless cannot hold such a title. For five years he has tried to tempt one of the souls freed by its vessel's death. Five years of pain and failure, earning only his father's contempt. At last, one more opportunity to earn his soul has come. But not everyone gets a soul quite like his. Updates weekly on Wednesdays. Cover art by Harry Rowland.
348.78 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:49
Admiralmonkeyman | drama | Complete
The mind is a fragile thing. One slip and the shattered pieces are so innumerable that reconstruction is impossible. One such Theodore Chatwood is unfortunately very familiar with that sentiment. From a young age, frequent visions of horrid, incomprehensible beings plagued his mind, and it only became worse with time. They speak in colors, whispering in ageless language... They wait in corners, watching intently. The world harbors much more than meets the blind eye. Do not fret, though. Simply take the syringe. Hold your breath. Close your eyes. It will all be finished soon... Cover by: Tentacles and Teeth
37.92 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:52
MeetFearsomeDragons | fantasy | Complete
Regis knows it's an illusion. He's only ever seen Princess Charlotte from afar; only heard her voice when she spoke to a crowd. Sure he's good at reading people, but he knows she of all people will be wearing a perfect mask. The problem is he's in love with the illusion, and it's not going away. So he strikes out on a quest: win the fighting tournament held every year, where she gives out the prize, and hypotheticallyjust hypotheticallyhe can forfeit the monetary winnings and instead ask for a week to be close to her, to get to know the real her, and break the illusion once and for all.
17.35 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:52
CloverCloverClover | fantasy | Complete
BOOK 1 COMPLETED A young wizard journeys west, through dark forests and dangerous lands, searching for something. Accompanied by a wild witch who has secrets of her own, they come across terrible creatures, hauntings, cursed villages, and memories from their past. Who else will they meet along their journey, and to find what he is looking for, how far will the wizard have to wander west? NOTE: The above synopsis is intentionally written to be as spoiler-free as possible. If you would like a more in-detail synopsis, one that contains minor spoilers, please check out the "Synopsis" chapter at the beginning of this fiction. If you read and enjoy, please leave a rating or review! FORMERLY TITLED: THE GLIMMERLING This story was formerly titled "The Glimmerling", because the first part was a short story of that title; it has since been expanded upon, thus the title change. Chapters 1-8 (30k words) are the first 'arc', if you want to get a feel for the story. To give some context on the setting: Magic is a bit weaker in this story than you might be used to, and we start off following some relatively new magic users. For some perspective, being able to light a campfire with magic is considered relatively advanced for someone who is the age of the main character. Magic can become very powerful - and there are some examples of powerful wizards within this story - but it's not where the main characters are yet. Part of the story is about following them as they learn more about magic. Enemies are also very dangerous, and running, hiding, or trying to talk their way out of a dangerous situation is often a better choice than fighting for the characters. While I have added tags for traumatizing content, sexuality, violence, swearing, etc. I try to avoid super-explicit descriptions of these things. But they are part of the story.
228.02 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-11 11:12
Dosei | historical | Complete
ARC 1 'THE FORLORN KINGDOM' done.ARC 2 'THE FIELDS OF RED' done.ARC 3 'THE WANDERING FOREST' undergoing extensive editing. Trapped in a foreign realm, where reality and the supernatural are blended into a game-like trial all for the amusement of some absurd Deity, Aomori Aiko has to battle with her missing memories and the many previous lives she has lived within this strange realm. She struggles greatly to come to terms with being well-known and renowned under the moniker "Raven-Black", despite having zero memories of what actions led to this. Aiko quickly finds herself facing a sadistically-designed trial that punishes its 'players' in countless ways, such as robbing memories and abilities if they are gravely injured, but she has to continue to rise and rise again, because only by progressing can she regain her past and figure out how to escape the Exiled Realm. As she advances through the Stages of the first World, The Forlorn Kingdom, and uncovers its story, she encounters people who idolise the person she was in the past, but also people who wish to harm her for simply trying to progress. Despite her lone-wolf nature, she makes some friends along the way, who teach her about her past self and her famous exploits. I have been writing on this story for about 4� years, and thus have roughly 1400 pages' worth of material (though most of it needs proofing).This story is my baby that I have been raising for many years and is what originally brought me to RoyalRoad in the first place. It took the release and success of my other story Father of Monstrosity to make me finally decide to put this story out on here. I have tried for all of 2021 and 2022 to find a publisher for this story, and, though I got far with a few publishers, it was deemed "too dark" to be released by them, so, I thought, "Oh well, I'll do it myself". Given that FoM is waaaay darker than Exiled Realm, my hope is that the audience here will enjoy it and prove the publishers mistaken about the following such a story can garner. I use Footnotes extensively in this story to convey a fourth-wall-breaking commentary by Aiko, as well as explanations of many elements in the story that require explanations (such as the extensive segments about language, culture, and weapons). I wish I could add more genre tags, as the story has elements of Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Psychological, a sprinkling of Romance, and, lastly, Tragedy. For now, I believe "Adventure, Fantasy, Historical, and Psychological" play the biggest roles, but I may change it later if I come to a different conclusion. The cover was made by the amazing @panjoool (please look him up on DeviantArt and other art-sites: he's very talented and his style and method of 3d-render mixed with traditional painting is really fascinating). I commissioned the cover from him back in 2021, as a treat to myself for sticking to the story despite some setbacks with publishers (treats are important!) and it depicts the The Forlorn Kingdom, which is the first World in Exiled Realm. I have plans to get covers for the other Worlds, as they are all visually distinct, but this is what I have for now. I have a Discord group where you can connect with other readers of my stories.
89.66 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:16
HWPerfidy | historical | Complete
Lin is a Weaver of Fate, someone who can see and weave the Threads of Fate. Her family had always cautioned her to be aware of the boundaries her role imposes upon her, to know that she is merely to watch and witness all that happens. But Lin is not convinced. She will do all she can to write a shining legacy, no matter what Fate has to say about it. (Community magazine contest submission)
9.02 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:20
The dead have never been so alive. After a deadly contagion reduced the world's population into mindless, undead cannibals, the ruins of America still teem with activity, as some of the dead have regained their intelligence and created their own society; one free from the living's touch. Now, more than a decade later, survivalist extraordinaire Liam Fenix seeks to reunite with his family after undertaking a harrowing escape from the uninhabited island that has been his prison, only to discover that he is the sole survivor of the civilization he left behind. He is not alone, however, as undead bounty hunter Leah believes that Liam holds the key to reversing the pandemic that created her race. Armed with their survivalist expertise and following traces of the past, the two must traverse the wastelands together and bring back life to an otherwise dead world, even as they are pursued by a tyrant who does not want this plague to end. **This series is tagged as Multiple Leads because it contains multiple POVs throughout. **These stories are styled as if they were a set of paperback novels being released concurrently as opposed to a weekly web serial. Some sections may have wonky pacing as a result.
150.17 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-13 16:35
[This is a reimagining of the story The Tutorial is Too Hard by Gandara.] On New Year's Eve, Lee Ho-Jae decides that he wants to die. The universe seems to hear him for the first time in his entire life, and just as the clock hits 00:00, a message pops up inviting him to the Tutorial. Lee Ho-Jae accepts. But at the prompt to choose the difficulty level, is there anything the former pro gamer can do but pick the very hardest--appropriately titled Hell? And so begins Ho-Jae's true descent into Hell in every conceivable form, thrusting him into a world where pain is the currency needed to gain power, and the only ally he has is his own flesh and blood. It doesn't take much for the human mind to crack and crumble, but to build it up again is even harder. In the spiral of white madness that Ho-Jae finds himself tumbling into, will a hand reach towards him and pull him out, or will he just drag them down with them? [This version of the story has now been concluded; the story continues in "A Gamer's Guide to Beating the Tutorial" from the same chapter as it ended from] This story is loosely based on the concept and story by Gandara, but is apart from the setting and name of the main character different on almost every conceivable level. You do not need to read the original story to read this, and doing so will change very little of your experience with the story. It is almost recommended not to read the original if you enjoyed this one since the original has a vastly more lighthearted tone in comparison. Thank you, and I hope you'll enjoy the story!
138.19 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:40
Monsoon117 | horror | Complete
There once was a world formed by a god known as Gaia. She filled the seas and crafted the skies. She dominated her world with a fist of iron and ice. That is, until the Darkened One came. Born a mere man, The Darkened One traveled across the land like a plague, tearing Gaia's control away. In his legends, he stood tall and towering with skin gray as ash. If you defied him, he would eat your flesh from your bones, savoring your screams. He killed kings, brought nightmares to life, and devoured the remnants of Gaia. His legend will be told throughout time. Care to hear of it? Here is the sequel: Jehovah's Harmony Here is my other fiction: Biomancer: Songs of Sirens Proud initiate of The Order of Phantasmal Architects. A group of authors of quality original fiction. See link for other great works though not as good as mine...jk
115.78 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:33
Elysium July | horror | Complete
The kids warned you not to enter the forest, but you didn't listen. Now, you're stuck with nothing but your dead phone and the clothes on your back. You will experience a series of strange events, which include meeting an entity who calls himself Lone Man. Learn more about the forest, the cursed people, and all its strangeness, but don't forget that you have to survive. Remember, your choices influence not only your future but also the characters and the plot itself. The choice is yours to make. There are over 20 different endings! There's only one rule in this game: trust the Lone Man. Warning: Do not read this book from beginning to end. There are options to choose from at the end of each page. Do not try to get all the endings at once; you'll be confused. GO TO PAGE 1 Originally made as a Tiktok slideshow game. Check out my TikTok: @elysiumjuly.
31.05 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-11 15:12
Razzmatazz | horror | Complete
In the dark and treacherous abyss of Oratoria, Esper lives a solitary existence among the dead. Trapped in a lifeless prison, she makes a desperate bid for freedom as she sets out on a journey to the surface, guided by an ancient whisper carried by the winds. But the path ahead is fraught with danger, as strange and unseen forces conspire to stop her at every turn. As she battles to overcome the grim machinations coming into motion, Esper discovers that her journey is not just about physical escape but also a quest for the truth about her past, her true identity, and the reason for her confinement in the abyss. Along the way, she will encounter a host of fascinating and mysterious characters, some of whom will aid her and others who will seek to impede her progress. With her courage and determination, Esper must overcome the obstacles in her path as she races against time to reach the ever distant surface, which she so desperately dreams to see. Will she finally escape the abyss and see the light of day, or will she be doomed to live out her days in the depths of Oratoria? Find out in this epic fantasy adventure! (Complete!) (Neuro-Divergant Protagonist) (Classic Fantasy) (Dark)
57.27 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:37
SealJohnson | mystery | Complete
Saskia thought her life was finally getting back on track after the accident. Thenshe got trolled. Now she'supa tree the size of a planet,andall who meet her either run screaming or attack on sight. If everyone would just calm down and stop trying to kill her for one moment, shemight get a chance to explain that this has all been a horrible misunderstanding. Containslight GameLit/LitRPG elements, but no number crunching. Chapters average around 4500 words / 16 pages. Updated weekly. Cover art by Ben J.
246.11 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:46
Few people are purely evil or good. Everyone has their own desires and their own principles guiding what they are prepared to do to achieve those desires. A duke who wants to expand the influence of his house, his wife who is fiercely loyal to her friends, and their child who just wants some comfortable clothes. The queen who wants what's best for the kingdom, the king who wants what's best for his family and a prince with an inferiority complex. Even if everyone acts in a way they deem 'correct', sometimes people can still get hurt. This was the first story I finished writing, although not the first I posted. It's a very short (11k word) story about a 'villainess' who just wants to get away from it all. Only posted on scribblehub and royalroad. Cover image is from the graphics fairy.
6.62 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:39
B. A. Baker (Thedude3445) | mystery | Complete
In a future of robots and CRTs, Atlanta is the most powerful city in the world. And in that city, twentysomething slacker Morgan Harding dreams of being able to live a normal, peaceful life... until they're given cybernetic superpowers and forced to become a hero. Together with a mysterious sentient robot and an overworked college student, they must keep Atlanta safe from the technological threats that arise... pretty much constantly... Sigh. ATL is divided into several novel or novella-sized stories, and the entire first season is online on Royal Road for you to gobble up like a robot filling up at a power socket. And if you're itching for more, always know you can read the story at its official website too. Please vote onTop Web Fiction!You can vote once a week on each device for this story (and any others you enjoy!).
185.72 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 17:02
T.D.Terrell | mystery | Complete
In 2090, climate change, war, and a virus called the Retrophage have ravaged humanity. Most children are stillbirthed, and those who manage to survive are born with a host of defects. Only Gen-perfects, children artificially engineered and grown in artificial wombs, are free from the devastating effects of the Retrophage. A technology exclusively controlled by Bioloxys. Gabriela is a Gen-perfect officer in the security company Taurus. When she learns of the possibility of a ring of implant harvesters, she heads into the lower city with Geraldo, a street-smart officer. Together they uncover an insidious plot that stretches into the highest levels of government, and all clues lead to Bioloxys.
41.78 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:49
