Divine

Preface & Acknowledgments

My journey as a writer began when I was first introduced to storytelling by a certain author during the colder months of 2016—August 4th to be exact. More than a hundred messages later (one hundred and eleven to be exact), both of us became friends.

I fell in love with their writing. It was a talent—a gift; of that, I have no doubt.

Although the details still elude me, I can still vividly recall those breathtaking moments when I first read their stories; the emotions and feelings evoked by their ability to enter the mind of their characters, how they felt their pain as if they were their own, and the way they expressed those thoughts so poetically like a paean.

Believe it or not, the first story I ever wrote was smut (or lemon as they called it in the older days). Not exactly my proudest debut, admittedly.

It was more of a paragraph-by-paragraph conversation on Discord as I made up the entire thing on the spot for a small fandom that, to this day, only has sixty-eight stories. Not exactly the worst odds imaginable, yet, it felt like winning the lottery all the same.

Since then, every word I've written, every story I've published, and every piece of literature I will continue to write, whether fan or fiction—I dedicate everything to them. Now, forever, and always.

To them, I owe everything.

Roughly a year later—I don't remember when exactly—I stumbled upon a web novel: The Beginning After The End.

The rest, as they say, is history.

And just like them, these stories would not have been possible without the existence of the original creator and author, TurtleMe. It is they who have done the heavy lifting. All credits and kudos go out to them, specifically.

I also want to thank @AidenArmageddon—without whom neither Zero nor Sunder would have come to fruition, both of which have added several layers of depth to Divine and to my writing as a whole. Many thanks to your Reddit comment asking about more Arthur/Varay ships.

This story would not be half as polished without the amazing help of my editor: Infinity. You have my sincerest thanks for the fantastic editing, revision, plotting, and rewriting of these chapters. Without you, this story and the chapters within would not be half as great as they are. I'm glad that you decided to embark on this journey (you're stuck with me now). And I apologize in advance for all the future headaches.

Special shout-out to @tezy8art as well for the amazing cover. Please support them and check out their art on Twitter and Instagram if you're interested.

Whether or not you remember the contents of these pages, I sincerely hope that you will be able to reminisce them regardless, just as I have, years from now on, with the same feelings that you experience now.

At least, that is what I strive to achieve...

And lastly, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to all my readers who have supported, voted, and commented on these fics. I read every single one of them, and it means the world too see my own creation being validated.

Creations reflect the heart of their creators, or so the saying goes...

Thank you for your eternal patience. You have my eternal gratitude.

— MiniTeddyBear