The Oblivious Warden of Ghavary
By @john1208
I didn't mean to make a scene at the Opening Convocation. When my entrance artifact exploded, painting me in glowing black soot in front of the entire High Conservatory of Ghavary, I just smiled, wiped my goggles, and took my seat in the lowest rank. I was simply grateful it hadn't caught fire! I had no idea my cousin Javya had rigged it, nor that she possessed a parasitic System demanding I fail every major Inquest to steal my destiny. The Conservatory is notoriously eerie - corridors shift, spectral horrors roam the courtyards, and the exams are deadly. But to me? It's just a strict curriculum. When Javya locks me in the flooded botanical wing with a shadow-beast, I assume it's a surprise practical exam and excitedly document the creature's diet. I never despair, which means Javya's System is starving. What my cousin doesn't know - and what the parasite never told her - is that her cheat comes with a hidden, irreversible time limit. As I happily study my way to the pinnacle of the academy, Javya's countdown ticks toward zero. But what happens when the desperate parasite realizes its host is out of time?
8
The Glass Surgeon's Ninety Days
By @john1208
My first morning back in Voronya was supposed to be quiet. I had just poured a perfect cup of chicory coffee when Casimir arrived at my door with a weeping girl who shared my cheekbones. 'I am marrying Radmila for duty to the Vlas estate,' he whispered, clutching my hands. 'But I love you.' I was too exhausted to feign heartbreak. I tossed my ancestral engagement ring into the kitchen slop-bucket, kicked him out, and permanently blacklisted him from the High Sanctorum of Surgeons. Let him rot in the lower city; I don't have time for a man's bruised ego. While I was in Ostromar mastering the forbidden art of marrow-grafting, I contracted the Weeping Calcification. In exactly ninety days, my nervous system will turn to brittle ash. I need to complete my life's work - a cure - before my hands stop working entirely. To do it, I must ally with Ignat Zverev, the cold-blooded rival I have spent my life trying to outsmart. But as the fog thickens and our research brings us dangerously close, Ignat begins noticing my tremors. Will he use my secret to destroy me, or is my bitterest enemy the only one who can save my life?
3
Blood in the Deep-Glass
By @john1208
Korinthal Voss always planned to destroy Savia Rask. Years ago, her family’s ruthless monopoly bankrupted his house, leaving him with nothing. His revenge is a masterpiece of quiet calculation: first, he becomes her fiercest rival in the treacherous deep-glass trade, and then, her indispensable business partner. The story opens in the blood-soaked mud of a collapsing Abyssal Rift, with the two fighting back-to-back against marrow-hounds, proving their flawless, unshakeable trust. It is the perfect moment to spring his trap. Returning to the surface, Korinthal hands Savia over to the city's Wardens, planting forged evidence of treasonous smuggling in her personal cargo. His victory is absolute - until Savia escapes custody and vanishes completely. The agonizing emptiness that follows shatters Korinthal’s cold facade, revealing a terrifying truth: he cannot live without her. But the contraband he planted wasn't just illegal; it emits a radiation highly toxic to the Rask bloodline. He didn't just ruin her reputation - he unwittingly condemned her to a thirty-day death sentence. Now, facing a manipulative magistrate who used his vendetta to steal their empire, Korinthal must tear down the very cage he built. Can he find the woman he betrayed and beg for her forgiveness before her time runs out?
2