All Chapters of The unknown: orb world : Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
10 chapters
Chapter 1: the coming of walpurgis
The apartment stank of rot, mold, and old regret. Rats scurried in the shadows, nibbling on long-forgotten takeout boxes. Trash covered the floor like dead leaves after a storm.Bjorn sat in the middle of it all, eyes locked on a glowing screen. His body moved on instinct, his face blank — not out of pleasure, but desperation. He muttered under his breath."Ugh... I'm almost there…"And then — click. Darkness.The screen died, the light gone. The electricity had cut again.Bjorn blinked, frozen mid-motion. "...Fuckin' electricity bill again."No rage. No panic. Just exhaustion. He let out a slow breath and stood, stepping carefully between piles of trash and empty bottles toward the door. As he moved, a thought drifted through him like a ghost.It's been a while since I've seen the sun.He opened the door, and light flooded the room, piercing his eyes. It was too bright. Unnatural.Creeeeeak.Outside, the traffic screamed past. Engines, horns, curses — the world was loud, overwhelming
Chapter 2: Before the curse
Ten years ago.Bjorn sat in the back seat of the car, knees drawn up, staring out the window as trees blurred past. Up front, his mother's voice broke the silence."Where are we traveling to this time, dear?"His father chuckled. "It's a surpri—"WEEE-WONK!BOOM!!The crash came out of nowhere. Metal twisted. Glass shattered. The world flipped sideways.And as it did, through the chaos and screaming tires, Bjorn saw something that would haunt him forever—A woman. Standing by a flickering roadside light. Watching.Still. Silent. Unblinking.> They said it was an accident. A freak crash. But I remember… someone watching.---When he woke up, everything was different.He lay in a cold hospital bed, face bruised, stitched at the lip. Machines beeped rhythmically. A nurse moved in the background, more shadow than person.> I survived. Barely.---After the hospital, there was no reunion. No home.Just rain.A small, gloomy house waited at the end of a gravel road.> After the hospital, I
chapter 3: the orb
Darkness.Silence reigned, deep and eternal, until a whisper stirred through the void like a breath caught between worlds.A hundred thousand souls…Then came light — not like fire or sun, but something deeper. Cold. Ethereal.Shapes began to form. People.Thousands upon thousands, blinking into existence inside a vast, surreal realm. The ground curved strangely beneath them — as if they were standing inside the belly of a world, not upon it. A giant floating orb hovered in the sky above, pulsing with light. Structures twisted in impossible geometry. The sky cracked in violet veins. This was no heaven. Nor was it hell.Dragged here by fate… and my will.In another place — far beyond what the people in the orb could see — sat the old woman.She rocked gently in a chair inside a dim room, lit only by flickering candles. A strange, feline creature purred by her feet. In her hands, she held it — the glowing orb. The very heart of the realm."You are not heroes," she said quietly, her eye
chapter 4: sins and survival
The RebellionIt began with defiance.A young man stepped forward from the confused, scattered crowd. He wore a half-torn jacket, boots still muddy from another world — or maybe just another mistake. His eyes burned not with fear, but rage."Screw this," he growled, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I ain't playing the hag's game!"No one moved.He spat, then kicked one of the ritual markers etched into the cracked ground. A soft clang echoed — louder than it should have been.Gasps followed. Some backed away from him as if the air around him had suddenly turned toxic.Then…A voice answered.Soft. Patient. Amused."Ahh," the old woman whispered through the realm, her voice dripping in ancient cruelty, "every mutiny needs its first corpse…"Before he could blink, black thorns burst from the earth.They impaled him — through chest, throat, skull. His screams were cut short."The sea don't mourn the drowned," she murmured.His body didn't fall. It burned. Charring mid-air, turning to a
chapter 5: the ones who moves first
The forest whispered"Twisted trees loomed like ancient, horned sentinels. Among them stood a single, eerie monolith of wood—bark warped and gnarled, older than memory. Beneath its crooked shadow, Bjorn stood still, staring up at it as if it were watching him too.> "If no one else will choose it… I will."His hand reached out and pressed against its scarred surface. It was cold, coarse, and... familiar in a way nothing else in this world was.From the shadows behind him, something shifted.A low whisper carried on the wind:> "There he is… let's begin."---Far from the cursed tree, in the prideful heart of the forest, tension flared like fire.Lucius stood tall on a moss-covered stone, his regal frame lit by the fading sun. Around him, the Pride faction boiled with argument. Raised voices, clenched fists, seething glares.> "We won't follow your orders anymore!" one member barked.Lucius didn't flinch. He only looked down upon them, expression unreadable, eyes colder than the shade
chapter 6: blood in the rain
The orb pulsed faintly in the darkness, casting ghostly light across the witch's chamber. Rain wept against its curved surface, streaking down like tears on glass.In the shadows of the room, she stood still—her silhouette veiled in darkness, unmoving, but fully awake.Her eyes fixed on the storm within the orb.And then, as chaos began to unravel, a whisper passed her lips."Hmm... interesting."---The forest groaned beneath the weight of rain.Trees swayed like grieving witnesses.Mud splashed violently beneath Aira's bare legs as she ran—breath ragged, soaked to the bone. Her heart pounded in her ears louder than the thunder overhead.Behind her—footsteps. Relentless.The Lust faction member hadn't stopped.She choked on her breath, lungs burning, but didn't slow.Suddenly, she ducked behind a massive tree.Her knees hit the wet ground hard. Her hands clamped over her mouth.She trembled, every muscle tight with fear.Tears mixed with rain as she watched—eyes wide—through the leav
chapter 7: the broken lines, brewing stone
The rain had stopped.Morning light bled faintly through the trees, a dull gray that barely warmed the forest floor. Mist curled around the roots like restless spirits. Somewhere nearby, birds chirped cautiously—as if even they feared to break the silence.Bjorn stirred.His body ached like he'd been trampled by fate itself. His eyelids fluttered, crusted with dried blood and mud. He was still at the base of that tree—the same cursed tree he'd chosen last night. Its bark now dug coldly into his back.He didn't open his eyes fully. Not yet.Voices. Close.He lay still, listening.> "Why the hell didn't you finish him off last night?!"A harsh voice. Guttural. Full of restrained violence.The Wrath faction leader.Bjorn could feel the weight in that voice—the kind that didn't make idle threats.Another voice answered. Calm. Sharper. Less predictable.Not what Bjorn expected from someone under Wrath's command.> "Because you're not thinking."A beat of silence.> "He survived the Walpurg
chapter 8: no master's
The forest remained hushed, the mist now curling away from the clearing like it, too, knew who ruled here.Lucien stood motionless, his figure carved from the silence—tall, unbending, framed by the blood-soaked ground that bore witness to his triumph.Before him, Kane still knelt.But now, something had shifted.Not in Lucien.In Kane.Submission had calcified into something more dangerous.Obedience.Lucien's voice finally broke the stillness. Cold. Commanding. Drenched in pride.> "Rise, Kane. You no longer kneel for forgiveness. You kneel for purpose."Kane lifted his head slowly, bruised features hardening beneath the weight of Lucien's gaze.> "Yes… commander."Lucien didn't blink. His eyes, like polished obsidian, held no warmth.> "Your pride failed you. Your tactics failed you. And yet, here you stand. Not because of worth... but because I see use in you."Kane remained silent. He understood now: survival wasn't a right—it was permission.Lucien turned slightly, the wind catch
chapter 9: only the worthy bleeds
The apple cracked between her teeth with a sickening crunch.Juice dripped from the corner of her lips—thick and red like blood—as the old woman leaned forward, eyes locked on the glowing orb.Within its shifting light, the scenes played out like a violent opera.Wounded men. Wild fists. Blood-soaked dirt. Fear. Rage. Betrayal.She licked her thumb slowly, savoring the juice, and whispered—> "Mmm... the Orb World never ceases to entertain me."Her silhouette remained still, but her eyes gleamed—hungry.---Mud exploded beneath their feet.Bjorn and the Wrath leader clashed again, teeth bared, soaked in blood and fury. Every punch was thunder. Every blow—meant to shatter bone.Their grunts and growls echoed through the trees like wild beasts.Bjorn's elbow cracked into the leader's ribs.The Wrath leader roared, grabbed his arm, and threw him—Bjorn skidding across the wet ground, his back smashing against the cursed tree once again.But Bjorn pushed up—breathing heavy, defiant.Then—h
chapter 10: the bets of walpurgis
The apple had long since rotted in her hand.But the old woman still sat there, unmoving—eyes fixed on the glowing orb, its surface pulsing with light, war, and whispers.Inside: chaos, blood, betrayal.Outside: silence.Until—The room shifted.The air bent.The shadows along the stone walls deepened—then peeled away like skin, forming shapes… six of them.Six silhouettes emerged from the corners of the witch's dim chamber—each cloaked in veils of time, darkness, and ancient intent.One tall and hunched, her form decorated in raven feathers.One gaunt and glass-eyed, skin like dried parchment stretched over bone.One with a crooked crown of vines twisting through his tangled beard.Another—a child's size—yet her voice, when she finally spoke, rang with centuries.A fifth—limping, snorting, teeth chattering as if laughing at a joke no one told.The last—a figure cloaked head-to-toe in stitched fabrics, neither voice nor gender clear, only humming with dreadful glee.They all stood beh