Twilight of the Gods (Universe in Flames Book 8)

by Christian Kallias

  “We gotta go,” said Chase as he put his hand on Oryn’s shoulder.

  “Wait, just a little—”

  But Chase felt the planet was about to explode and so he didn’t wait. He teleported them away just a fraction of a second before darkness swallowed Olympus whole.

  WHEN CHASE and Oryn arrived back in Odin’s room, Odin was sitting on his throne, and Thor stood next to him. Chris and Argos were sitting on the floor, resting.

  They jumped up as Chase carefully laid Poseidon on the floor.

  Oryn unleashed a terrible cry of sorrow from deep within her soul and dropped the temperature around them to sub-zero levels.

  “What the fuck just happened?” asked Argos, seeing tears flowing on Chase’s face.

  “Zeus and Olympus— are no more.”

  “Arakan?” asked Argos.

  Chase nodded.

  “Did you kill the fucker?”

  “He was no longer there when we arrived.”

  Argos felt rage fill his entire being, and he had to express his anger so he unleashed a powerful fireball to the side and incinerated half of a wall in the throne room.

  Odin got up to complain, but Thor shook his head and put a hand on his father’s shoulder.

  Odin nodded and sat back down.

  Chris cried, realizing that he would never meet his great grandfather. Argos grabbed the boy’s head and gave him a warm hug.

  Oryn was inconsolable and kept weeping as more tears than she thought she had inside her fell.

  “What about the battle in orbit?” asked Chase.

  “We’ve established contact with Mom,” answered Chris, wiping his tears. “The battle has been won.”

  “But at some great costs. We’ve lost more ships, and the damage to the Hope is substantial,” added Argos.

  “She’s one tough ship; we can repair her.”

  “We can be of assistance to help you repair any damage you have suffered protecting our world,” said Thor.

  “I would appreciate that, thank you.”

  “That’s the least we can do. My own ship was destroyed, but we’ll rebuild a stronger Mjölnir soon enough.”

  “I’m sorry your ship was destroyed,” offered Chase.

  “Well, thanks to you, I wasn’t on it when it happened. I’ll owe you for that.”

  Chase nodded.

  “We also received a long-range sub-space transmission from the one you call Ryonna, relayed from the Asgardian destroyer that accompanied them to their destination.”

  “And?”

  “They said their mission was a success and requested to be picked up since their ship was destroyed. Apparently, the Furies not only used the Gorgar to mine resources but also to build ships at an alarmingly fast rate. This would explain why they didn’t mind sacrificing so many of them in this latest attack.”

  “Well, at least we’ve dealt them a blow in their expansion plans.”

  “Surely they will send many ships and try to take back the Gorgar world by force.”

  “We won’t let them.”

  EPILOGUE

  Odin stepped down from his throne.

  “I know this is a hard time for you, but I would like to express my condolences for your loss as well as my eternal gratitude for what you have done for me and my people here today. We owe you. You have won an ally today. This attack on our home world has made me reconsider the Asgardian position toward the Furies. Your war is now our war.”

  Chase approached Odin and shook his hand.

  “And if there’s anything I can do to show my appreciation to you for saving my life today, let me know.”

  “Actually there are a few things.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “First, I’d like you to find it in yourself to please pardon Kvasir. We’ll need him to defeat the Furies. And right now I need him to help us free my aunt from the infernal machine she is trapped inside.”

  “Asgardian law unequivocally regarding treason—”

  “Father,” said Thor, simply.

  “I should not do this, but after all, I’m the king of Asgard. So it’s the least I can do to thank you for your courage and sacrifices. Kvasir is no longer under penalty of death.”

  “Thank you, Odin,” said Chase.

  “Anything else?”

  “I was hoping my grandfather would give me this information, but unfortunately he can’t do that anymore.”

  Chase felt the sorrow in Oryn’s heart radiate once more.

  “We need information about the soul ships used during the last Fury War. Do you know where we can find them?”

  “I’m afraid not. We’ve entrusted them to a Fury defector just before the war was over. A certain Menelas.”

  “That’s our father!” exclaimed Argos. “Could he still be alive?”

  “I doubt it. Zeus sent him on one last mission after securing the soul ships. Only he knows where they are I’m afraid, and we assumed he died on his last mission.”

  “That’s what Zeus said as well,” lamented Chase.

  Chase felt how sad that statement made Argos.

  “But, we have detailed files on the soul ships, perhaps you can use some of them. Here, let me show you.”

  Odin entered commands on a device on the inside of his forearm armor. And it projected a large 3D holographic file, with images of the ships. They rotated on themselves but then something caught Chase’s eye. It was a 3D portrait next to a large section of text in Asgardian rune language.

  “Is that our father?” asked Chase, pointing a finger. “He seems familiar, like I might have seen him in some of those rogue memories I had not long ago.”

  Argos looked up and nodded.

  “I thought so,” said Chase solemnly.

  Oryn looked up and saw Chase and Argos’ father’s holographic portrait.

  “Can you please zoom in on Menelas?” requested Oryn.

  “What?” said Argos. “Why?”

  But Oryn ignored him and walked to the side to have a better view as Odin enlarged Menelas’ portrait.

  “I know him,” she said.

  A cascade of shivers ran down both Argos’ and Chase’s spines.

  “I’ve seen him in Arakan’s dungeon, under his palace. Chase, your father is still alive!”

  To be continued…

  AFTERWORD

  Publishing books is an extraordinary but difficult challenge. If you reached this point, I guess you liked my work. Please help me support the book by leaving a review and/or a rating on Amazon. You’ll also be helping new readers find books they want to read. For further information about the Universe in Flames saga, please refer to my website, you can also follow me on my Twitter account or look me up on my Facebook page. I would also encourage you to subscribe to my newsletter to get notified about new publications, be informed about sales and additional content available only through my website as well as some premium free content (like early access to the online Heroic Fantasy series I’ve started writing: The Kyrian Chronicles).

  Please note that I will gladly offer my books for free to anyone in exchange for an honest review (including signed Paperbacks). If you are interested, please Contact me here.

  I’m always looking for new beta & ARC readers. If you’re interested, contact me on christian@kallias.com (please use Beta/ARC reader request for the subject of your email).

  Thank you for reading and supporting me.

  ALSO BY CHRISTIAN KALLIAS

  New readers, the Trilogy below is the new recommended entry point to the series:

  Universe in Flames - First Trilogy (UiF books 1 to 3)

  Universe in Flames book 1: Earth Last Sanctuary (Free)

  Universe in Flames novella 1.5: Ryonna’s Wrath (Free)

  Universe in Flames book 2: Fury to the Stars

  Universe in Flames book 3: Destination Oblivion

  Universe in Flames book 4: The Beginning of the End (the one to read next if you enjoyed this book)

  Universe in Flames book
5: Rise of the Ultra Fury

  Universe in Flames book 6: Shadows of Olympus

  Universe in Flames book 7: Armageddon Unleashed

  Rewind 717

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Christian Kallias is an emerging science fiction author. He writes Science Fiction Space Opera with a Mythology twist and Fantasy influences.

  Find me on GoodReads

  Keep in touch

  www.christiankallias.com

  christian@kallias.com

  A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

  I wanted to write you, my faithful readers, for a long time. Dealing with tight deadlines and trying to release books as fast as possible, along with the limitation of my old writing/editing process, have all played a role in my delay of doing this until now.

  Book 8 is the first one written using a new process, where my awesome Production Editor, Paula Lavattiata Lopez, is completing edits as I write. This method eliminates the long wait between the first draft edit and the proofread phase. This process already relieved me of my stress, and I know it will, in time, allow me to write more books even faster. And, more books I do have planned.

  Twilight of the Gods, which some of you following my website may know was titled differently until two weeks ago (Darkness Rising), can be considered the penultimate book in the Fury arc and the adventures of Chase, his friends, and the Earth Alliance. The pre-order release date is close to the two-year anniversary since I published my first book: Earth – Last Sanctuary. I can’t believe how my life has changed by becoming a full-time writer. And I owe that all to you, my readers. I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and taking this journey with me. I couldn’t ask for better supporters.

  One of the things I appreciate from my readers is the time and effort it takes to write and post reviews. As an author, I know your time is every bit as valuable as mine, so I would like to thank everyone who has ever taken the time to leave a review for one of my books. And, if you leave one for any of my books in the future, I would be ever so grateful. It is also humbling when I hear that my readers have recommended my books to their family and friends.

  I imagine some of you want me to elaborate on Book 8 being the penultimate book. I also imagine some of you are sad to hear that, and some are happy to be near the conclusion of this story. Technically there are two more books to be published in the series, Books 9 and 10, to end the Fury arc. It will be, in fact, one book, but split into two parts, since there is much more to cover, and I don’t want to rush this. I want the conclusion of this story to be as epic as I have ever envisioned it, and we still have a lot of ground to cover. There will be some exciting surprises along the way. But I’m not gonna say anything more on that subject. While it is a tentative title, the last book(s) should be called Into the Fire, Part I & II.

  Sadly, there is a part of me that is scared to say goodbye to these characters. I’ve grown very attached to them, and I don’t want to see them go. But, I thought I’d let you know that even though the Fury arc might soon come to a close, this is only the beginning of the journey I intend to take within this universe.

  I’m already planning two series within the same universe. First, a prequel series, set ten thousand years in the past, and you guessed it, recounting the tale of the first Fury War. I also have a sequel series planned, but I can’t say anything about it for fear of spoiling the surprise. Just know that you’ll be able to see some of the characters you’ve grown to love in both these new series.

  The only thing I’m sure about is I will be writing the first prequel book before the sequel, and perhaps even before Books 9 and 10. Although, I’m not hundred percent sure about that, either. The next book might either be the prequel or Book 9. And, I won’t write a book in between Books 9 and 10. In fact, I’ll treat them as one long book and will do my absolute best to limit the amount of time in between these two (4-6 weeks would be ideal).

  I’ve always wanted to try and connect with you more on social media, and I want to thank those who contacted me via Facebook, Twitter and or email. Know that I love interacting with you so you can always drop me an email, ask a question, say hello, anything you want, really. You can even write to me to let me know your thoughts on whether I should release the first book in the prequel series before Book 9, or if you absolutely want me to finish the Fury arc first. I may post a poll on Facebook to help me decide.

  In addition to writing these stories, the projects I envision include enriching the universe by posting more multimedia content on my website. This includes information such as character bios, ship specs, cabin renders, captain’s logs, and perhaps even star maps. Of course, I’m subject to the same laws of the planetary rotation taking 24 hours to complete, and that’s how much time I have to do all and any of this (minus sleep time). As many of you know, I create my own artwork and covers; that’s because I was a freelance artist before I began writing. The more that time passes, the more proficient I become with my artwork tools, and the more thirst I have to enrich this universe visually as well as with more stories. So please, if you’d like to see these additional items I’ve mentioned above, drop me an email and let me know; it might encourage me to reserve additional time to create these for you.

  This year (2017) has been a year of change for me. I’ve divorced, moved, and sadly lost my sweet, sweet cat, Daisy. But, I also changed the process I use to write, and I’ve set new goals for myself; all of which should result in more books and fulfilling that vital need of mine to express myself through my books, stories, and characters.

  This is just the beginning of a wonderful writing journey, and I already love how much of it has been achieved in only two years. I’m looking forward to the next forty or more.

  Thank you so much for taking this journey with me. I cannot express how much it means to me to have such amazing readers.

  May the Gods of Olympus shine on you all!

  Christian Kallias

  P.S. If you enjoyed reading From the Author, drop me an email or post and I’ll begin to include more of them in each of my upcoming books. Cheers!

  REWIND 717

  Long sample: 8 Chapters.

  ABOUT THIS SAMPLE

  I’m including a rather long sample of Rewind 717 at the end of this book. It’s a different style than my Universe in Flames series, but I think most Sci-Fi fans will enjoy it nonetheless. It’s a theme I enjoyed developing and has non-stop action and suspense. I also enjoyed writing a book at the first person perspective. And it was a first for me, writing in this style.

  I really shouldn’t reveal this, but… you are going to read about it here first: a sequel is in the works ;)

  The following sample contains the first 8 Chapters from Rewind 717. Enjoy!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Copyright © 2016 by Christian Kallias

  All rights reserved. This book/sample or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  First Printing, 2016 (Version 1.1)

  Cover artwork by Tom Edwards / tomedwardsdesign.com

  (Collaboration with Christian Kallias: Character design, pose & lettering)

  Christian Kallias

  christian@kallias.com

  www.christiankallias.com

  www.facebook.com/ChristianKallias

  www.twitter.com/kalliasx

  Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  1

  I kick the doors to the conference room on the two-hundred-and-seventieth floor. The weak lock cracks under the pressure of my foot and thanks to the momentum I’d gathered during my sprint. My ears are still ringing from the flash grenade explosion from seconds ago. Now that I have dispatched the guards in the hall, I am nearing the compl
etion of my mission.

  Yet, I begin to doubt that when I see the two heavily armored mechs. Their targeting lasers instantly home upon my position as I walk. Glass shards graze my skin when a nearby window breaks, drawing blood, but I ignore it. My nanites will fix these scratches in a matter of seconds. I barely have time to jump out of the way as a rocket passes over the top of my head. I can feel both the wind and heat from its propulsion engine.

  This is going to be a longer day than I expected. I wish I had stayed in bed and played sensual holo-fantasies with Sabrina and Kathy.

  But such is my life, such is my purpose. At least that’s the company’s line. I am a rare breed, nearly irreplaceable, and right now, no one else can do the job. Days like these I wish it weren’t true.

  As I roll on the floor ending my dodging move, I can see another rocket coming my way. The blinking red targeting lasers burn my cornea for a split second as time freezes. TAINHA (Tactical Artificially Intelligent Neuronal & Holographic Augment) doesn’t wait for my mental order, and she activates the artificial shading of my cornea to avoid physical damage as well as improve my vision in the midst of this chaos. She is invaluable, especially during combat. Not only does she know when to act without my consent, but she speeds up my neuro-link with every one of my augments.

  She basically streamlines everything and makes me a more effective agent. If I don’t see a punch coming, I know there is a good chance she will block it for me. It does feel strange sometimes though, as I feel she could, if she wanted to, take control of my entire body while I sleep. I shrug at the thought; now is not the time.