GoneSoSoon

'Sinner of the Spades' takes place in an alternate early 20th century, at the turn of industrial advancement. Set in a world where one Empire rules over the majority of the western continent, the world is ravaged by the aftereffects of a great war. It is a world of tragedy, of longing for wealth, of parading high above the clouds, of mechanical automatons, and of grand tales of sorcery not many have had the chance to see themselves. Lumière Croft is a show magician in the middle borough of the city-state of Leiden- rather, an illusionist. A career liar. Responsible for making money to help out at the monastery he lives in, he can only curse the dreadful circumstances around him, and wish desperately that something would change. Although, that change is not always a good thing. Only when the shadows around him begin to creep, and when the sky grows burgeoning eyes, and when blood is spilled, does he find hope of fulfilling his wishes. To have sunlight, the world must be balanced with cruelty. To have power, one must lose their soul, humanity, morality, or sanity. One must ultimately balance the scales of their debt, or fall eternally to suffering, and have the scales corrected by force. This is the story of balance, of hope, and of the tragedy of a liar. —- “We’re all liars who pretend that the world is okay, and as liars we adopt philosophies and ideologies to cope with its cruelty. Because the world has hope, as long as we speak these lies loud enough, they’ll surely become true.” - Lumière Croft. --- Cover illustration done by @i_evuuu/Everest

Ahn Ji-Ho, a nineteen year old girl is on a journey to find a new home amidst her world's calamity when she stumbles upon a mysterious and beautiful woman. Zhou Meihua, a beautiful yet inept girl saves Ji-Ho from certain death, capturing her heart in an instant. The two converse, and Ji-Ho is invited to forever stay by her side. Yet, a promise is shattered when the mysterious calamity known as the Decay swallows their personages whole, removing their memory from the face of the ruined Earth. Waking up in a new world beside Mei, Ji-Ho discovers she has gained incredible and unknown power. Ji-Ho finds herself in a completely different world with a beautiful girl she barely knows, one where god-like power is completely feasible. --- A bird perched on a branch whistled a short and quiet tune under the waving wind as Ahn Ji-Ho sat under a tree, holding a smooth grey stone. [Alchemic Exchange has been activated.] The stone in her palm glimmered and then ran away in a flash of bright light, disappearing and leaving a piece of quartz in its place. She set the the quartz down beside her, and watched as another small wound opened up on her wrist, letting her blood flow towards the soil. [Alchemic Compensation has been received.] It seemed that the baseline payment for an exchange was Ji-Ho own body, specifically her blood. She did not yet know if she was able to exchange anything other than that. Ji-Ho glanced over at the items beside her, each sowed from multiple stones, brought to this world with her own blood. A stone shaped like a bird, a ball of cotton, a piece of quartz, and a peridot gemstone sat perfectly still next to her in frozen and obtuse scarcity of time; a painting of strange still-life itself. She had tested the limits of the ability, and had so far found out that she could mold substances, exchange them for something similar, something valuable, or obtain something entirely new. Each exchange brought about different costs, each measured in her own body's resources. By all instances of thought that she had conjured up, she had come to the conclusion that she had been transported to another world - one where such power was possible. However, she felt that now she was farther from home than ever. --- TQoN Art by @Qonnnarts

'Dead people don’t get to have names. It’s just the remnant memories that they keep it around for. Do you think that a woman speaks to the corpse of her dead husband? No, she speaks to his detachment when she washes the dishes, telling him of her day. Do you think a father still sees his deceased daughter everyday? No, but he kept her name to put on her headstone. No one will think of you when you die, and no one will speak to you as if you’re still here, so you do not deserve a name.’ --- A Reaper is destined for Hell. Gaining powers, eating monsters, it's all just a part of the job. Even a man who cannot remember his past can handle it. Mercury Violet Mist is a man destined to wed death, so he thought he may as well gamble his life away. The rewards was power, but also a one-way ticket to the nine circles of Hell. He can capture the souls of that which he kills and use their abilities, but there's a twist. There's always a twist. If he is perceived by others as anything but as a woman, his powers won't work. --- Cover art by @i_evuuu

A land cloaked in a veil of mist, set to distract travellers who wish entry into the city of Velan- what could have been a better setting for a woman to discover why she wants to continue her existence? The ‘Leviathan’, a force etched deep into her heart with runes, tries desperately to taunt her will away if only to take over her body and become a calamitous force that razes the world of Gaelis. Aelem La’arte attempts to navigate her life amidst the voice creeping along in her head. When she is hunted down by the one force meant to bring her life to an end, the anxiety that clutches at her body is met with something wholly unexpected- a gentle smile that pierces the insatiable night. To find the name of the dragon that taunts her alongside a knight of butterflies and flowers, or to crumble against its will and become the destruction of the land around her, what kind of life could be seen to have more purpose? — Cover art by @daisy_bijutsu on twitter.