It Came From The Nightosphere Novels & Stories

It was a voice that was perfectly calm, perfectly professional, and perfectly terrifying. *"This is the Aethel-Group Recovery Division. Sector 7-G has been identified as a 'Non-Sanctioned Biological Sprout.' Our records indicate that this landmass is a secondary backup for Project Origin. Your presence here is a violation of the End-User License Agreement."* From the tear in the sky, thousands of small, silver spheres began to descend. They didn't fall; they floated, moving in a perfect, geometric formation. "They’re spheres," a young wolf whispered, reaching out to touch one as it drifted near the ground.

"God, here's another poser!" My roommate, Fiona Sharpe, grinned as she shoved her phone at us. Its screen showed a student chat group where a bold message stood out. It read, "Urgently looking for a female date—must be attractive—to accompany me to a banquet. You'll receive ten grand upfront as payment."

The ping had changed everything. It was a low-frequency signal that repeated every seventeen minutes. Faint, steady, and utterly alien. Adrian and Lena spent hours decoding its rhythm. Eve just sat there, eyes closed, like she could hear it in her bloodstream. "It’s not from Earth," Lena confirmed. "We triangulated it. It’s coming from a satellite we never launched." Adrian turned to Eve. "You said they’re not human. Is this... them?" Eve nodded, but her voice was fragile. "Third wave. Not clones. Not soldiers. Not even artificial."

Even in his manor where those children would often make noise, so there wasn’t such a perfect place to meditate was this spot he found. The spiritual energy in the Night-Blooming Garden was stronger than at any other point in the Cloud City. According to a legend, the reason for this was that the souls of the fallen guardians rested in the flowers until they, too, could reincarnate. Ler believed it was more likely true, therefore any changes in the blooming flowers aroused his interest. The answer, however, would remain a mystery as it should be. He was musing over this as he made his way back to the road, when suddenly someone came running to his direction.

“I know. It isn’t uncommon for the gods of a foreign land to haunt the dreams of a stranger.” “Oh?” August stepped out of his tent and stood, naked as the day he was born in far off Germania, and took in the new day. “How rude of them to visit.” “Then again, we have entered their free land of tribes with swords and shields, not flowers and compost, sir.” “I knew we forgot the daisies and manure.” August stretched and yawned. “Rufus, fetch me some water.” The youth held up a basin and a pitcher from behind the tent, then set them on a tiny table he’d erected by the dwelling.

Ambrogio. When Niklaus came to me that day, informing me of a mortal in the realm, I didn’t think anything of it. The mortal had fallen down an ancient portal that I had not closed, I used to use it so I could roam the human world at nightfall. I had no intention of closing it.

If I stayed here, in this debt and screaming teenagers, there would be nothing left of Lyra Olson by the time I was thirty. I needed one night. Just one night where I wasn't a sister, or a waitress, or an orphan. I didn't know that the universe was listening. The bell above the door chimed. A sharp sound. I didn't look up immediately. "Take a seat anywhere, hon. I’ll be with you in a sec." "I was told this place had the best coffee around here at this hour," a voice said. This voice did not sound like it was from here. It was nice and deep.

“Cheap date, she giggled. “I am in accord for the night. However you booked us a self-catering room. We have brought nothing along.” Peter noticed the goose bumps appearing on her skin. He rubbed warmth into her arm. They stayed silent but together for a long time just looking at the stars enjoying the night. “We should go to bed.”

I WATCHED MY HANDS stitch up the new corpse on the table. These twins were among the thousands that ended up here since the Nightmare Master has been trying to use my ability to create a knight in your army. Thankfully, the best I can do is those horrendous curfew bots that need both my and Invent’s abilities to keep living. The Nightmare Master was definitely not satisfied, but I don't know what to tell him. I was about halfway finished stitching this man's arm on when I felt the night my master give me back control.

moon ascended to its zenith. This moon carried no scent. It carried no gravity. It was a sterile, mercury-white orb that hummed with the frequency of a thousand surgical tools. "The Origin is confirmed," a voice boomed from the heavens. It was a sound stripped of warmth, a voice that echoed with the clinical arrogance of a man who viewed the universe as a series of symptoms to be cured.