Divine Anathema - Conduit #0 - Codename: The Flammable Man - Character Illustration

Conduits are individuals with exceptionally strong convictions and world views. They are physically and mentally drawn to the zone. They can hear siren-like voice in their dreams. It is calling out to them: "Find me at the center! I will grant you, your deepest wish!"
Divine Anathema focuses mostly around 8 conduits that formed an expedition crew with the sole purpose of reaching the middle.
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This conduit in particular has an overwhelming desire to be left alone. He might literally be the most unlucky person on earth.
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Ethan Holmes felt an indescribable longing. After pouring all of his heart into a trilogy of novels that follows a colorful ensemble having whimsical adventures, he lost all motivation. With his fourth attempt also came a dark indifference and nihilism that flowed into his work. Out came a novel he had written in an almost mechanical routine, with barely any effort, Ethan was propelled into moderate success and fame.
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His newfound success was a bittersweet event. Fans and publishers clamored for a sequel. Everyone was looking for a sequel but himself. Caught in a spiral of procrastination and disappointment Ethan sought inspiration in a local museum. A painting caught his eye. It depicted a woman cloaked in a linen mantle, with delicate shimmering ornaments. Ethan could not avert his gaze. He noticed he had fallen in love with a painting of a woman that had probably died centuries ago.
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Three months behind schedule with barely anything to show, the image of the painted woman haunted him relentlessly. He drove aimlessly, the road snaking through a mountain pass until a full moon, vast and luminous, filled his vision. He pulled over, drawn to the railing of a high bridge. The wind whipped his hair, chilling his sweat-slicked fingertips. A thrill coursed through him as he gazed down at the churning river twenty meters below.
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An inexplicable urge seized him. He stripped down to his trousers. He stepped over the railing and just held on lightly. The world seemed to tilt on its axis. A cool wind was caressing his body, his fingertips were sweating and aching faintly. His body felt weightless. As he dangled precariously, a tiny black dot materialized within the moon’s luminous glow. Growing at an alarming rate, it morphed into the silhouette of a hovering figure – Spikehead, an alien demiurge descending from heaven.
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Spikehead reached out, a single fingertip brushing Ethan’s forehead. In an instant, a torrent of knowledge was exchanged – the history of humanity, the whispers of the earth, and the disarray of conflicting emotions in Ethan’s soul. With a simple gesture, Spikehead rearranged a few synapses, soothing Ethan's inner turmoil in an instant.
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A wave of clarity washed over Ethan as he pulled himself back onto the bridge, collapsing onto the hard asphalt. He was crying with all of his heart. He was also laughing with all of his heart, all the while he was crying and laughing. The absurdity of this event. The first man to make contact with an alien while being on the verge of jumping.
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His head gained a newfound clarity, that he could not describe in anyway. He saw his entire life before him, he had a very emotionally impulsive personality from the very beginning, far stronger than that of his peers. He remembered all the times people were whispering about him and his strange reactions. He remembered how it was all normal to him and he had to process his own abnormality. He remembered the warmth of acceptance - the first story shared in class, the validation from his peers, the sense of belonging in his first writing circle. He remembered the doubts of his parents, his first heartbreak. He remembered how all of his friends inspired the characters of his first books. He remembered how in time more and more of his friends stopped writing seriously. He remembered all the pain, self-inflicted and inflicted upon others, an endless cycle.
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He remembered every single event leading up to this night. He heard himself whisper, in the quietest voice, "I just want to be alone. Please let me be."
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The sky behind him darkened, but Ethan did not bother to turn around. He had, with a whisper, summoned the first leviathan – Iskariot, Dragon of the Peripheral Plane.