Withering Glare Novels & Stories

It was a harsh, orange radiance that felt like a fever dream. "Jax! Get everyone under the thermal shields! Now!" Sofia screamed, her voice shattering the frozen silence of the Wastes. (NOMO HOLT’S POINT OF VIEW) "What the hell is that? Zilo, look at the light! It’s not the sun!" Nomo shouted, squinting through his visor as the gray sky was suddenly torn open by beams of blinding, orange energy. The beams didn't just illuminate the Wastes; they scorched them. The frost on the viewport evaporated instantly, the glass turning hot to the touch.

Lifeless. "She's not destroying it," Lyra whispered, her face ashen. "She's sterilizing it." The Wardens redoubled their efforts, their attacks becoming more frantic, more desperate. But it was like trying to bail out the ocean with a thimble. Kairi's hand tightened on mine. "We have to do something. Now." But what? We had no power here. We were just... us. I looked at Nyx, her back to us, utterly consumed by her terrible work. I looked at the Wardens, fighting a losing battle. And I looked at the growing stain of stillness in the heart of the Glimmerdeep.

Regret crashed over me like relentless waves. As the years rolled on, it felt like relentless waves were pummeling me, each threatening to drown me. However, no other girl came to my rescue. No girl swam through the storm to pull me to safety. In the moments before I drifted away, my head throbbed with pain, and I could barely make out the sound of a sweet but frantic female voice. "Doctor, we'll pay whatever it takes. Just... Please wait. I'll sell this bracelet and be right back with the money for his treatment."

Because the heirs burned. Arden’s fire burst golden, bright and violent, flooding the battlefield with light so fierce it threw shadows against the trees. Lyra’s fire answered in pale white, cool yet devastating, wrapping around the golden flame like thread through steel. Together, their power lashed outward, searing through the enemy ranks like a storm made flesh. Wolves screamed as the fire touched them, not consumed in ordinary flame but dissolved as if the fire unmade them. Their violet eyes flared, then vanished, leaving only ash and silence.

Close and relentless. Dread knotted in my stomach as I dared to glance over my shoulder, my blood running cold at the sight. Three massive wolves charged after me, their powerful strides graceful yet ominous, each step in perfect sync as they closed in, their glistening eyes locked on me with an intensity that was both furious and unrelenting.

He sat on a black warhorse, his armor shining so brightly under the moonlight that everyone couldn't help but squint. A long silvery cape billowed behind like a flag being thrown by the wind as he rode past them at an easy trot. It was almost too bright to look at him when his eyes, which happened to be glowing gold with power and mercilessness, scared everyone. His face looked eerily calm for a killer as his steady cold gaze swept over everyone in the field inducing nothing but dread. He surveyed the battlefield with a cold gaze, a smirk playing on his lips. “Pathetic,” he muttered under his breath as he let his gaze glaze over each wolf as they fell.

I pop another colored grape into my mouth, loving the subtle sourness that the fruit provided, as I studied the side of his face. His narrowed brown eyes that made his tan skin pop and thick brows furrowed in anger. His jaw clenched tightly as he scowled at those who coward before his angry glare. Pink lips pulling back to show his shiny teeth, he hissed out a threat. “Look away before I kill you!” The few that tried to ignore his glare quickly scampered away at the sound of his theat. A threat that sounded a little too serious. As if he was almost ready, willing even, to carry it out.

Her back faced him, her arms curled around herself like a fragile shield. The warmth of the expensive room couldn’t reach the chill spreading in her chest. She stared blankly at the wall, the lamp’s soft glow casting shadows over her face. Behind her, she could feel Cross still standing there, watching. Always watching. --- The golden sunlight poured in through the velvet curtains, bathing the room in a soft glow as Marceline blinked awake. Her lashes fluttered like wings, adjusting to the morning haze that wrapped around her like a warm but deceptive blanket. She exhaled slowly, her heart strangely hollow, as if mourning something unnamed.

My throat aches around the name, dry and raw, like I swallowed fire. He comes into view like a storm given flesh—armor scorched, golden wings in tatters, his halo shattered into shards that flicker weakly around his head like dying stars. His eyes burn with the last dregs of sunlight. But that light…it’s dimmer than before. Frayed at the edges, like something gnawed it hollow.