Aether Beasts Novels & Stories

curious and disoriented, their presence causing minor structural damage but no malice. However, drawn to the "Scent" of the Leviathans were the Void-Stalkers. These were the true monsters of the deep Aether - entities that had been locked away for eons, starved of physical form. They looked like jagged shadows made of obsidian glass, their many-eyed faces glowing with a hunger that targetted the "Lustrous Souls" of the panicked humans trapped on the pier.

They carried Seed-Staffs, long, obsidian poles topped with a pulsing Aether-Core that could jump-start a forest in a matter of hours. ​The First Departure ​The departure of the caravans was not a military parade. It was a funeral for the old world and a christening for the new. ​Thousands of Ash-Born lined the edges of the Gutter, their hands raised in the "Cinder-Salute." As the massive Crawlers roared to life, their engines fueled by the "Aether-Cells" grown in the Spire’s basement, the purple mist over the city began to vibrate.

She felt the pale light inside her respond, pulsing faintly with her heartbeat. Her breath caught. She shouldn’t have this. The word came unbidden, like a whisper carried on the mist. Aether. Her skin prickled. The name rang in her mind, heavy with warning. She had heard it only once before, buried in hushed whispers when she was a child. Aether—the element that no longer existed. A force erased from history because it was too dangerous, too uncontrollable. The stories had said that those who held it were cursed, destined to bring ruin. That was why they had been destroyed.

I did everything to be a good friend, only to be treated as my so-called best friend’s scapegoat. When her husband found cigarette ash in their house, she claimed I was the one smoking. When she snuck off for a private rendezvous with her lover, she told him she was celebrating my birthday. And when she got pregnant, she pinned the blame on me again, declaring I was consumed with jealousy—that I had spiked her drink and hired someone to violate her. Enraged, her husband marched to my doorstep wielding a blade and hacked me to death. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the exact day she had asked me to cover for her affair.

Grant Gonas is the man the underworld fears and the business world admires. As the CEO of GONAS, a multibillion-dollar empire built over generations, he is known for his intelligence, discipline, and ruthless decisions. But beneath the image of a respected businessman lies a terrifying secret—Grant is the head of one of the most powerful mafia families in America. Feared as The Frozen Beast, he has no room for emotions, no patience for love, and no intention of letting anyone close enough to become his weakness. A high-stakes business meeting takes Grant from Los Angeles to San Diego, where he chooses to travel without the luxury and security that usually surround him. One rainy afternoon,

The waves cascaded down my back, perfectly managed, a stark contrast to the hollow, dead-eyed girl who had crawled out of that grave. I was just passing the western courtyard when the atmosphere shifted. The birds stopped singing. The wind died. Then, a sound like tearing silk ripped through the silence, followed by a roar that shook the very foundations of Aetherion Academy. From the top of the perimeter wall, a nightmare lunged. It was a Bao-Feng, a ruthless Eastern feline-beast the size of a carriage, its fur the color of dried blood and its eyes burning like twin furnace-vents. According to the side book of SOHH: "Where the Mythical Creatures Roam," this wasn't a forest creature; it was

"But now, this must all come to an end." With those words, Wilbur leaped into the air, spreading his arms wide as his energy aura radiated outward. Surrounding him, the Four Divine Beasts—Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, and White Tiger—manifested in phantom form. Watching Wilbur, Augheimer focused his thoughts, forming a black defensive shield around his body to prepare for Wilbur's attack.

Just an order. I stepped out, closed the door behind me, and shifted back into my beast form. Stone blurred beneath my paws as I tore through Blackreach, past its gates and straight for the edge of the Whispering Woods. By the time I reached Brammon and Rhydan, the forest line was already crawling with movement. Manticores came first. Dozens of them—their humanlike faces fixed in those eerie, empty expressions. Lion bodies, scorpion tails arched high, each one moving in perfect, unnatural formation.

I jump back, unsure what I’m seeing. Powers? Was my mother… a witch? “Moon Goddess,” Thisbe whispers, teeth bared, “Protect me, last of my people. See me safely to Vaeloria, last of my blood, last of my name–” Her voice tapers off as she steps into the darkness again, her glowing eyes fading into nothingness, and then she just… disappears. I grope for her in the dark, but my hand grazes another doorknob–misplaced, like it doesn’t belong here.

Aphelion asks, a look of confusion on his face. "It's more than just a sludge," Luka speaks up, his mental shield so intense I can feel it pushing against me, but still, my powers manage to find a way to wiggle in and caress his. "That black substance is called Eitr. It is neither dead nor alive. Eitr is the origin of life. Jörmungandr created dark Etir as a weapon to destroy the Norse Gods. Eitr, both light and dark, was supposed to have been destroyed with the destruction of Asgard. The substance that came from Beckett was a fledgling Eitr; when in its full form, it can shift into any dark beast; a basilisk, an Oshi-Oni, a chimera, a Kraken, even a Medusa type creature. Its shapeshifting i