Wraithwood Botanist - Chapter 124 - Brexton’s Second Gift

Set on a giant, almost finished bridge between Sadogashima and Niigata. Abandoned by the government, the bridge, and the giant man-made floating island at the center, has become a city of criminals and societal drop-outs.

Set in the same world as Durarara, but 15-20 years later. There is almost no overlap between Etsusa Bridge and the other novels.

Kael was a “rat”—a lowly stable boy in a frozen, brutal medieval world where Knights ruled with iron and Barbarians crushed skulls with bone clubs. His life was worth less than the manure he shoveled. That changed the night he butchered a Knight with a rusty dagger to pay a debt of blood.Chosen by the God of Slaughter, Kael awakens the Aether System. His cheat? The ability to project his soul into other worlds, live countless lives, and bring their powers back to reality—if he survives.But power is not free. It is bought with pain, time, and sanity.World 1: The Wild West. He spends a lifetime as “El Lobo,” a legendary gunslinger. He returns with the muscle memory of a master marksman and a 12-gauge shotgun. World 2: The Martial Arts Realm. He trains for decades as a Wuxia disciple. He returns with internal energy that can shatter steel.Now, as the Kingdom faces war and monsters surge from the dark, the nobles sneer at the servant boy holding a strange metal tube. They chant spells. They draw enchanted swords. Kael takes a slow breath. He racks the slide. Click-clack. “Parry this.”

I have given up power that can make the strongest of men tremble. I bore scars very few can imagine; loved women, very few had the gall to talk; and tread paths with chaosfiends.

“And I'm still standing.”

- - -

Gale was summoned into a mysterious world of magic and monsters for no particular reason. Thrown into squabbles of beings vastly higher than him, Gale strived to make a place for himself in the vain dream of immortality and a better world.

That was six years ago.

Beaten and battered from years of brutal war, Gale finally had enough and resolved to start over a new peaceful life in a totally unremarkable town with his trustworthy companion, Vale. Give up the weapon of slaughter and take up a hoe? That seemed like a fine deal to him.

Unfortunately, the valley wasn't as unremarkable as he thought it to be. Dictatorial governing bodies, suspicious practitioners, an exceedingly unwelcoming guest, and a secret that would change the entire world, all impeded his peaceful life. Gale will need all his mental stability to keep his temper in check, lest he brutalises his way out of trouble. Again.

The world was consumed by a vile corruption brought from beyond – the sun dimmed, and life as we know it was almost extinguished.And yet it was not the end but merely the beginning.Long after the disaster, a lone survivor awakens with a newfound power to wield the divine flames and many questions about the past. He embarks on a long journey to burn the rot away, discover what's left of the old world and maybe, just maybe, ascend to divinity.