Showing results for "The Dark Path" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

The Seven Portals to Wonder changed the world. The most advanced AI ever created powered the worlds, bringing infinite possibilities and endless adventure to everyone across the globe. War on Earth practically ceased as most of the planet's population became addicted to the game. Ben Hales was no different. He spent a few years saving enough money to buy lifetime passes for himself and his daughter, Ingrid. Now he has the cash, and Ingrid just turned 16, the minimum age required to play.

The army of the Ascendancy is hammering at the gates. Iradan, Saint of the Green Star, has sworn to take Marak's head and burn his empire to the ground. But the gods can be fickle. For Marak, the Ascendancy is just one obstacle on his path to becoming the most powerful being in the universe. Marak finds himself increasingly forced to commit brutal acts. But every action has a consequence, and even as the Autarch wins one battle, another is lost.

After years of struggle and bloodshed, Marak is finally king. But his rise to power has only just begun. In the far south, amongst the mountains and snow, Iradan, the youngest Saint in the history of the Ascendancy, vows to take Marak's head and burn his kingdom to the ground.

In only a handful of years, Marak has managed to go from farmboy to knight, from knight to infamous renegade. He has gained access to arcane power, wields an ancient and deadly blade, and has, by his side, loyal friends and allies. But Marak's greatest challenges still lie before him. To become a King, he must first take control of Amin, City of Shadows. And to do that, he'll need to defeat The Exarch, the powerful and shadowy figure who calls himself Lord of Amin.

Marak is a sixteen-year-old farmer's son, innocent and ignorant—he spends his days working in the fields, dreaming of ruling the world. When Sir Renatir, a wandering knight, agrees to take Marak on as his squire, Marak is thrust into a world of shadow and violence. He soon finds himself in an unfamiliar city, where a mysterious figure known as the exarch is gathering power.

The Master tells me that when Quentin Colins finds my heart, I can come back.... Over a century ago, the first Quentin Collins built a stairway to traverse time, opening the way to countless realms of past and future. Now a new stairway has appeared at Collinwood, and the present-day Quentin is drawn to explore its dark path, forging an unlikely alliance with Angelique. Can she use her powers to help him, even at the risk of her own eternal damnation?

The Empire of Songs reigns supreme. Across all the lands of Ixachipan, its hypnotic, magical music sounds. Those who battled against the Empire have been enslaved and dispersed, taken far from their friends and their homes. In the Singing City, Xessa must fight for the entertainment of her captors. Lilla and thousands of warriors are trained to serve as weapons for their enemies. And Tayan is trapped at the heart of the Empire’s power and magic, where the ruthless Enet’s ambition is ever growing.

A war broke out in Nikrim. Elves, dwarves, sylphs, dorgans, and humans are racing toward a treasure of unspoken power. To obtain it, they breathed life back into an old conflict, the flames of which will engulf the whole continent. Kyros the Soul Thief wants more than to just obliterate his enemies. However, they do not intend to sit still while he has it his own way. The main world of the Belteise Empire will be open soon. A great battle for divine heritage will begin, and a brilliant cultivator like Kai will definitely not stay out of it.

Asher Todd comes to live with the mysterious Morwood family as a governess to their children. Asher knows little about being a governess but she is skilled in botany and herbcraft, and perhaps more than that. And she has secrets of her own, dark and terrible—and Morwood is a house that eats secrets. With a monstrous revenge in mind, Asher plans to make it choke. However, she becomes fond of her charges, of the people of the Tarn, and she begins to wonder if she will be able to execute her plan—and who will suffer most if she does.

Sweeping from the majestic city of Ashoka to the perilous Wildness beyond her borders, enter a world where Caste determines mystical Talents, the purity of Jivatma expresses worth, and dharma may be based on a lie.Rukh Shektan has always understood duty. As a member of Caste Kumma, the warrior Caste, nothing else is acceptable. He is expected to take part in the deadly Trials, to journey the Wildness and protect the caravans linking Humanity's far-flung cities. Though the mission is dangerous, Rukh's hope and optimism are undaunted. Karma, however, is a fickle fiend.

Cultivation is a struggle through which the weak are forged into Masters. If you want to ascend, you need to heed the teachings of the ancient warriors and the wars that raged across the worlds. The best place for an Exorcist to develop in the world of Nikrim is the Cloud Abode. Millions of cultivators dream of getting there, devoting their youth to the path of cultivation. Those who have already proved to be worthy and have become Abode students continue to strive for more, trying to overcome their limits, and reach the very peak of their development.

The military showdowns, the insectoids, the search for the Gates of Ecumene, and the pursuit of Jiang Dao are all in the past. Earth, too. Kai found himself in a new and unfamiliar world, one unlike anything he has ever seen before. Heavily injured and alone, he takes a new step on his path of cultivation. What awaits him in a world where humans are considered nothing more than ordinary beasts.

The war that is tearing apart the ancient Empire of Saramyr is reaching its apocalyptic conclusion. The Weavers have stepped from the shadows and taken control, the capital is a demon-haunted nightmare, the land ridden by pestilence. New, terrifying demons, immune to all but magic, have been unleashed on the cities and armies of the resistance movement. And the Aberrant hordes are seemingly without end.

After Peter's explosive battle against the head of the Bo clan, he, his cadre of lovers, and his loyal allies are on the move as the dark forces from the ancient past rise up throughout the Empire. While things seem bleak, Peter has one thing that no one else in this strange land has . . . He knows the truth. The truth of the Empire's hidden past, a thread of knowledge that leads him on the trail of the ancient evil that threatens his new family and his new home.

Through financial smarts, the internal power gained from cultivating wealth, and a heaping of raw cunning, Peter has found his way from lowly Gold clan slave to master of the Bo clan's fiscal empire and a beautiful collection of lovers and wives. But his true purpose in this strange realm of magic and martial arts remains unknown. Until now. As the tendrils of darkness begin to strangle the country, Peter will find out the truth. To survive the dangers ahead, he will need to break through to the next level of cultivation, all while weaving through the minefield of Imperial politics.

As Alex and J return to Wyvern Academy, all hell breaks loose. Gone are the days of taking notes in class and pretending to be normal students. Even training has become a luxury that cannot be afforded. The war against the demons has finally arrived. Wielding powerful Ki weapons and unlocking the final stages of their ascension, J, Alex, and the girls are as ready as they will ever be. Old rivalries must be sacrificed completely, for all of humanity is at stake.

Alex and J have achieved the power they sought at Wyvern Academy and come out alive after facing down their first demon. Their success will mean little when they face their own limitations, though. Both heroes strive for even greater heights as the annual tri-school tournament looms ahead. Everyone is hoping that Wyvern Academy can unseat Leviathan in this international brawl, and they will do everything they can to win. But some lines are simply not meant to be crossed.

After incursions of demons from another plane of existence changed the course of history, humanity learned one undeniable truth: traditional weapons wouldn't cut it. Those strong enough to resist cultivated their Ki, and emerged as Heroes of Ascension to combat the demonic threat. For two hopeful Ascendants, J and Alex, this journey begins at Wyvern Academy. But surviving in one of the world's top battle academies isn't the only thing they have to worry about.

A warrior's path is trodden in pain and death lies at its end. Those were his father's words from long ago. Not just words, in truth, but a warning. Despite this, in the end, Cutter, like so many others, had chosen pain, had chosen death. Maybe he had done so when he lay dying in some back alley of his home city. Maybe it had been when Yeladrian, the Fey King, had gifted him the Breaker of Pacts. Or perhaps he had not chosen his path at all. Perhaps it had chosen him. Either way, there was no choice left to him now. His path lay before him, and so the only thing left to do was to walk it.

I'm John Taylor. I was born in the Nightside, that square mile in the hidden center of London where it is always the hour of the wolf, where gods and monsters walk side by side, and where every dark question ever asked can be answered—for a price. I left for a while, but I did come back, to make my living doing what I do better than anyone else: finding things—lost or stolen, real or imaginary. Recently, I found the most dangerous thing of all: the true identity of my long-gone mother. Turns out she's a being who's been around since before the dawn of history.