MaeveMcCarthy

Chapter 86

General Philostratos looked at his oldest nephew, Prince Nikandros. He had summoned him to his tent for a private meeting.

Prince Nikandros had entered the tent with the same Royal, composed bearing he always carried with him. Yet, when he saw the cold expression on his Royal Uncle's face, he had immediately formed a smirk on his face.

Chapter 85

Duels were the most common way to settle disputes in the Empire. In a place where martial might made right, it was only natural for General Philostratos to request such a method to resolve the issue.

"It seems to me like you're staking a lot on your daughter's future,” Philostratos said. “I can see that her body contains hidden power, ...

Chapters 83-84

Chapter 83

She looked at the two men who had brought him in.

"Where are his limbs?" she asked.

"What?" Another one looked confused. "He's our leader... he was attacked by a Revenant and–"

"His limbs!" Lily shouted at them. "Why didn't you carry them?!"

"W–why?" the [Templar] stammered.

E...

Chapters 81-82

Chapter 81

Hestia was in her chambers when her son stormed through the door. She had been reading a book, minding her own business, while lounging on a velvety couch.

"Mother," Ennius said, "the delegation is on its way."

Hestia looked at her son and almost sighed in his face, feeling the need to rub her eyes...

Chapters 73-80

Here I am, back from a small delay with a new b

Chapter 72

“Now, six Skills and three blessings. You shall receive them and be blessed. Do you know what a blessing is?”

Lily had heard about blessings during her tutoring, and she remembered how the instructors spoke about the System as if it kept tallies in hidden ledgers. Incredible feats warranted greater Skills, and she had apparently earned...

Chapter 71

Lily was still panting and reeling from the revelations and from what her older self had said. The weight of it had been overwhelming, and to some extent, it felt like the older self had spoken for herself, rather than for Lily. She still memorized every single word. She refused to let such a message go to waste.

Lily felt partially replen...

Chapter 70

By now, Lily’s [Lux Vitae Overdrive] had started to run thinner and thinner, and she felt like she was finally tapping out the last reserves that her body could spare for these fights. She did not have more than minutes to end this or die.

“Liliana,” Claudia said from above, and she now hovered over the battle, “this is a ...

Chapter 69 

Lily dodged, although that word flattered what she actually did, because she ran hard and used every bit of the garden to split the shadows when she could. 

She cut behind boxwood and then she slid along the fountain’s outer ring so the copies would lose line of sight on each other. One shadow sprang onto a wooden bench that a garde...

Chapters 67-68

We're behind schedule, my bad.

Chapter 67

Lily’s mind would not let go of Sabinus. Every thought led back to the image of him lying there, and she kept running through every possibility that could bring him back or take him away for good. Yet as much as she worried about Sabinus, she could not ignore the pale woman standin...

Chapters 65-66

Since you asked me in DM, I upload four chapters a week usually. More if I manage to write more!

Anyway, enjoy some twists and revelations!

Chapter 65

Lily dismounted and tied her horse to a crooked, half-burnt pine at the edge of the training yard. Sabinus stood among a loose line of half-armored men, many of whom had been ...

Chapter 64

Lily fixed her burning, seven‑pointed gaze on the Revenant [Monk] and watched its frame tense before each move. When the monster slid forward she slipped aside a hair’s breadth sooner, guided by the star that spun inside her pupils. 

She stepped past a spear‑hand strike, flicked her wrist, and aimed a flat palm for the creature�...

Chapter 63

I'm back to a 4-day schedule! Sorry for the absence.

Chapter 63

The air in the courtyard shifted. The bodies of the ghouls barely finished twitching when the heavy iron doors at the far end of the yard began to open with a shriek that echoed through stone and bone.

A shadow moved in the darkness beyond the g...

One Week Break

Hello!

Sorry for the inconsistent updates the past week but I've been quite sick. I'll take one week break to recharge and resume the normal 4 chapters/week posting from the 28th of July.

I hope you're all having a great summer (and not falling sick)!

Chapter 62

All three commanders stared at Caesar now. Galerius’s knuckles whitened on the parapet. Silanus kept his arms folded, but his breath hissed between his teeth. Domitian’s eyes flicked from the girl to the commander.

Everyone knew what that meant. 

Secret Skills were legends—fiercely protected, passed down only to the chosen...

Chapter 61

The first zombies hit the dirt before most of the commanders had settled their elbows on the rampart. Lily’s fists and feet cracked bone with a speed and control that made even Galerius squint. She ducked and spun, never wasting a motion, but Galerius shook his head.

“She’s fast,” Galerius said, keeping his eyes on the yard, “but...

Chapter 60

The outpost had once stood as the Church’s last great bastion in the Dead Lands, its black walls rising over bare hills and stunted trees.

The wind blew thin, carrying the stench of distant rot through the half-broken battlements and the weed-choked yards where not even crows dared settle for long since the Death Mana was so potent it co...

Chapter 59

The first rays of sun slipped through the cracks in the ruined walls, painting Caesar’s face in long shadows as he sat cross-legged across from Lily. The fire between them had burned down to coals, but its heat clung to the air. He kept his gaze fixed on Lily, who sat opposite, back straight, arms wrapped around her knees.

“This is pro...

Chapters 55-58

For some reason I was convinced that I had scheduled this week's chapters. Apparently, that wasn't the case when I opened patreon to schedule next week's chapters. I probably need some memory supplements or something.

Chapter 55

“Where is she, Adriana?!” Lucianus slammed a fist against the wall o...

Chapter 54

Lily dismounted and followed Caesar toward the wall. The structure rose above her, blackened stone stacked in sheer, brutal slabs. The top battlements cut the mist, and for a moment, Lily just stared up, craning her neck, trying to estimate the height. Forty-five meters or so, maybe more.

She started climbing the steps, one hand gripping t...

Chapter 53

“Your mother was the closest a woman’s ever come, but she failed at the threshold. She could wield the Sacred Affinity, yes, but she could not master it, not truly. You will.”

Lily’s lips tightened, anger rising with something she could not name. 

“I’m not staying here forever.”

“No,” Caesar said, “not ...

Chapters 51-52

Thick chapters ahead!

Chapter 51

The silence in the camp felt like the world’s breath was held. 

Firelight carved deep hollows in Caesar’s face, and his men stood ringed around the fire, as if waiting for a blood rite.

The only sounds came from the fire crackling and the...

Chapter 50

Sabinus dropped into a low stance, blade out.

He scanned the field, but every nerve focused on Lily. The blood on her gauntlets hadn’t dried, and the way she stood over the corpse—barefoot, not even winded—made something cold crawl up his spine. 

He’d seen veterans break after one kill. Lily looked like she’d just shru...

Chapters 48-49

Back on track as promised!

Chapter 48

The bread was cold. The wine was warm. And the guards never blinked.

Lily sat opposite her mother in the center of the estate’s narrow dining hall. Heavy curtains had been drawn shut, muting the afternoon light and drowning the room in a muted amber gloom. Silver cutlery...

Chapters 45-47

We're missing one chapter from last week and that puts us back on track!

Chapter 45

Lily collapsed to her knees.

Blood poured down her neck, hot and fast. Her hands flew up to staunch the flow, but her fingers slipped over slick skin. The gash was too high, too wide. She couldn’t apply pressure; couldn’t b...

Chapter 44

You'll get the rest of the promised chapters between tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Lily slipped through the villa’s doors and a breath of cold greeted her, keen as steel. Lamps blazed in every sconce, yet no ember of warmth followed; their light skittered over waxed floorboards and vanished into the hush...

Chapters 42-43

Chapter 42

Adriana reined in her mare at the palisade of the frontier outpost, one arrow-shot short of the Dead Lands. The wind slid off the blasted plain and rattled the watch-bells, yet the courtyard lay empty because only a single legionary dozed beside the gatehouse brazier. She dismounted, handed the reins to the drow...

Chapter 41

A chapter was supposed to be released yesterday. Don't worry, it'll come out in batch like the other ones. I'm doing one a day, but it's average not daily lol.

Ennius was absolutely stunned by the performance that Lily had just pulled. It wasn’t the degree of power in itself, of course. Publius’s boy was nothing short...

Chapters 39-40

Chapter 39

The sound of the gong rang through the air.

There was certainly an expectation for Lily to make the first move since she was the weaker fighter. It was really expected by most of the presents that she would lash out and embarrass herself. Perhaps, only her own family, the Pope's family, and a few others knew that Lily was ...

Chapters 36-38

Forgot that I hadn't scheduled the last two days' chapters, my bad.

Chapter 36

Sabinus Cornelius left his horse tethered in a patch of marigolds a few kilometers from the outpost wall and continued on foot. The moons were thin tonight—good fortune for a man who preferred not to be seen—and a salt wind blew off the Dead Lands, bri...