Hey guys, I know CyberGene is still in its infancy, but the idea wheel in my head keeps on churning. I try and adapt whatever ideas fit best into CyberGene, but what doesn't get used typically mutates into a concept of an entirely different novel idea. Over the last year of writing CyberGene, I have designed several other power systems and story ideas but have yet to actually write them out (with the exception of two). I do plan on writing stories other than CyberGene in the future, and hope you all will string along for the ride, so why not help me sift through the cocktail of ideas and concepts in my head. None of these are true blurbs, just elevator pitches of the general story. If I write a new story, it’ll probably take a year or more to be published anywhere so I’m considering this as a form of market research.
Reborn From The Ashes
A system apocalypse regression story with a twist. Axis - God of Reality and Oblivion - attempts to reincarnate into his past self after a coup against the Authors of the System fails. Instead, he merges with the piece of the system bound to his former, mortal, self. Elias. A reformed juvenile delinquent doing what he can to put his younger sister, Elizabeth, through college.
When the system integrates, Elias meets his future self and is disgusted to learn how apathetic he has become. Still, he is forced to comply with Axis when he learns that Elizabeth is destined to die in a Unique Dungeon promising to craft legends of those who survive its trials. Axis, bound to Elias' System, is willing to do whatever it takes to not fail this time - so he'll turn his former self into a man wielding destruction and creation alike. That is the power of ash.
Classic LitRPG, classes and skills with an Essence system put on top of it. This idea is actually wayyyy older than CyberGene, and I wrote a decent chunk of it but I didn't quite balance the system right. Elias would be the classic spellsword archetype, but with a heavier emphasis on his arsenal of weapons. Oh, and Ash, lots of ash. Axis can’t really enhance Elias’ system without alerting the Authors, so for the most part he only reveals information.
Twinsoul: Manapunk
Heavily inspired by Arcane, Twinsoul is set in a world where Mana is running scarce after the Extinction of The Gods. The Grand City of Apothia lies built atop a mountain of dragon corpses, pioneering Hexcraft when Sorcery is failing. Those with wealth live on the surface, enjoying the spoils of feeding surrounding empires in their warfare, those who are poor suffer in the Grave, where the chaotic Mana of divine dragons spells constant peril and doom. The balance between the surface and the underworld is boiling, and a pair of twins are about to ignite it.
Separated, unaware of the other being alive after their family was slaughtered, Zari and Emiri live in entirely different worlds. All they share is one Core of Mana they are unable to cultivate, and the research on a phenomenon known as 'The Seance' entrusted by their late parents. One heist is about to reunite them, give them power, and collide their paths into a future where the barrier between Life and Death blurs.
Cultivation system with two paths, Hexcraft which is more restrictive but provides more specialization, and Sorcery which allows raw manipulation of Mana at the cost of being less refined. Zari would follow the art of blending Necromancy, a forbidden magic, with Hexcraft, while Emiri uses her expertise in alchemy to alter the foundations of her body with Life Sorcery .
Child of Mana
Renora of The Eight was born inside a Dungeon, quite literally found as a newborn when the Solstice Eight, the most ambitious Pathseekers in all of Lycanfel, find her. And collectively, adopt her. She spent her early years learning in each of their various trades, being exchanged for one aunt or uncle or the other when things got too dangerous. And soon, she'll be enrolled at where their story began, Beowulf Academy.
Except, she has never once even touched the Mana Spiral within her, it lies dormant, silent. Only when she comes into contact with the Sensing Stone is her truth revealed. She was not born inside a Dungeon. She is the child of a Dungeon, and is forced to confront the heretical knowledge that Dungeons are infact alive, thinking... and dreaming of a world where they are not enslaved. Her future had always been divided between the eight who raised her, but now her path separates from the bridge of humanity. She just wanted to enjoy her time at the Academy, but her very existence threatens to unravel the world itself. She is the only one who can liberate the Dungeons, she is their voice.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
In this world, Dungeons are the only way to cultivate power as they provide Trials that increase your Spiral's rank. Renora, however, has her own way of growing in rank by absorbing the souls of fallen humans and Dungeons. Not that she wants to. It's a blend of cultivation and standard fantasy magic, but Renora would have some LitRPG-lite abilities in the form of her being able to 'inspect' other's magic in a system that's inspired by Shadow Slave. I've actually written out quite a bit of this idea, but it's very incomplete. Renora's sort of... like a swiss-army-knife with magic, but will eventually get the ability to turn into monsters. Sort of. My goal for this series would be to start the story in an Academy and transition Renora slowly into a hardened warrior of her people, even if makes her do terrible things.
Return of the Stars
Taichi witnessed his world die, a cataclysm created by his adoptive mother. When he finally brought her down, he wielded his power to reincarnate to the past. At a cost. His mortal body is unable to withstand the mind he brought with him, so he must train another before his time runs out. His mother, The Dowager, has trained him and his eleven siblings to wield artifacts known as the Zodiac.
He chose his twin brother, Haruji, to live where he cannot. To break free of the cursed runes cast upon them by their mother, Taichi must revive a long-forgotten cultivation technique. One that exchanges personal power for binding with the souls of those you trust the most. In a world devoid of stars, Taichi will give his brother the power to create a constellation.
A cultivation system loosely inspired by Cradle, where you must burn the willpower of your memories to ignite your Ashen Heart. Your Core, Channel and Aura can each be bound to a different element, but by creating techniques you may manifest a runic pattern within yourself, binding them in harmony to ascend the ranks. Haruji is actually set up as the main character, but he's going to have the aid of his brother... for some time at least. Anything else I say would be spoilery.
Accursed Divinity
Vrara is the realm between life and death, a purgatory where sinners and blessed face an even darker enemy. The Curses. Insatiable demonic entities born of imbalanced divinity, threatening to pierce the veil this world maintains. Some wish for it to fall, to witness what lays behind it. But the Wardens safeguard it, protecting this world and those which lay beyond it.
When a group of Wardens inspect a village believed to hold a curse, they find a young girl instead. And she is indeed born Accursed. Wielding the power to sever souls from the cycle of reincarnation, that which could permanently end the threat of curses. Or empower them. Maverick, a Warden, upon setting sights on the girl, knows he must protect her... from his own people.
This story was pretty inspired by Demon Slayer, but has a cultivation spin on it with a skill system of sorts. Everyone is either ordained a sinner or a blessed, and so each person can cultivate either one of the seven deadly sins or seven heavenly virtues with powers stemming from their personal idea of it. However, in the rare chance that a child is born Accursed or Sacred... they have the ability to cultivate more than one sin or virtue, one you're born with and the other comes naturally in their life. But this Accursed child... can cleave the sins and virtues off other people.
Wyrm's Heart
Heavily inspired by Final Fantasy XVI. The seeds of Yggdrasil blossom life within souls, creating a Sanctuary for beasts of many kinds to flourish so that one can grasp their abilities. But some are born with beasts within their hearts, only the Nexi are loved - as those nine guardians protect the branches of Yggdrasil.
All other Beastblooded are hated, their very existence a rejection of the World Tree. Daizen awakens a worm inside his heart, and it wasn’t enough to stop his city being destroyed and his brother being kidnapped on suspicion of housing the Nexus, Ratatoskr. Forced into servitude for more than a decade, he is sent along with hundreds of other Beastblooded to hunt down the Nexi of Death. There, he has the chance to escape and discover that there is more to the worm in his heart than he previously thought.
This power system was built on my love of terrariums and nature documentaries. Effectively, you cultivate an ecosystem within your heart and create a world where beasts can live inside it. Increasing the rank enlarges the world and increases the number of creatures whose powers you can control. It's a bit pokemon-esque, where your soul is the pokeball and taking care of the creatures is how you cultivate. Based on the title, it's pretty easy to guess that the worm... might not be a worm.
And that's it for the ideas! Feel free to discuss them with me in the comments, ask questions and I'll do my best to write some answers out. These were all ideas I made up while writing CyberGene, and so they're very rough with exception to the two I've written. I'm excited to experiment and branch off CyberGene when the time is right, and having an idea of what to choose would probably be the first step so I'm not overwhelmed. Thanks!
Also, just to note, the winner of this poll is not guaranteed to be my next story. It's only a way to measure audience interest, hence why I've let you guys pick more than one option.