Showing results for "Advent, Advent" in All Categories

All his life, Mark Fields has dreamed of joining the Defense Force to fight the vicious, alien Exlian, just like the rest of his renowned family. But so far, he’s … a dishwasher, trapped in a dead-end job with no powers, no money, and even fewer friends. But an encounter with a dying woman changes everything—granting him the abilities he needs to join the training camps—and his life finally feels like it’s turning around, faster than a movie martial-arts montage (just ignore the weird cat).

I started reviewing all of the things I had done over the past two years, memories flicking through my head almost too fast to follow. Each choice led to another: my choice to leave my home in Tobadorage and seek refuge in Hain led directly to my actions now, bringing a Queen into exile. And each choice, each action on my part, had started the chain reaction that was bringing magic back into Chahir.

Drew Michalik was working in a top-secret facility in Washington, DC, when the Advent began. As all electronics in the world simply ceased to work, blue screens filled with information appeared before him. Drew was given access to a mana interface and a limited number of reality-altering crystals called Xatherite. Following the instructions on his vision-impairing screens, he "slotted" his Xatherite and changed his fate: He gained the ability to cast spells. Now alone in the dark, he must battle through the government bunker turned dungeon in a desperate bid for survival.

Brodie is learning the hard way that gaining power always comes with a price. It isn't like the stories where one high ranked Skill suddenly changed his life. Instead, it's just brought more problems. Maybe that is because of the dead body, but that was a clear case of self-defense, wasn't it?

Even the vaunted Remalon have failed to conquer its mysteries. Here, survival has only one currency: brutal adaptation. That suits Jiran just fine. To return to Mayalyn's side and keep his promise to Olive, he will embrace the Arena's savagery. He will forge his powers into something unseen in all of Madra's history.

You probably would agree that the four weeks leading up to Christmas are a special time of year. For Christians this is a period of preparation. Many Christians call these four weeks 'Advent' and they prepare themselves for the celebration of Jesus' birth. The word 'Advent' comes from the Latin 'adveneo', meaning 'to come to' and refers to Jesus' coming into the world at Christmas.

After barely defeating his most powerful opponent yet, Jaco is flung immediately into the aftermath of that bloody duel. Now permanently affected by the Infernal State and being granted the Devil’s Essence, he must learn to navigate having such energy within him. Both for how the powers of Hell itself affect those originally given to him by Heaven’s System, and what that means for him moving forward. Yet the Apocalypse waits for nobody, and neither do the Chosen Few as they make their own preparations from the darkest corners of the ruined city.

We tend to think of Advent as the season of anticipation before Christmas—and while it is that, it's also much more. Throughout its history, the church has observed Advent as a preparation not only for the first coming of Christ in his incarnation but also for his second coming at the last day. It's also about a third coming: the coming of Christ to meet us in our present moment, to make us holy by his Word and Sacrament. Priest and writer Tish Harrison Warren explores all three of these "comings" of Christ and invites us into a deeper experience of the first season of the Christian year.

Welcome to Marshport, Maine — a quaint, little coastal town preparing for their annual Winter Wonderland Festival. But beneath the lights and holiday cheer, something evil is stirring — and it’s not a mouse. When a mysterious package arrives on the doorstep of veteran police officer Matthew Klein and his family's home, it seems, at first, like a harmless holiday gift. However, there’s no tag and no sender. Inside lies an antique wooden advent calendar with strange engravings and twenty-four doors that each shelter something dark and unspeakable.

Immerse yourself in the spirit of the season with our Advent readings and spoken hymns, thoughtfully crafted for each of the Four Sundays of Advent. Experience a meaningful journey through this sacred time. (Summary by KevinS)

Giant fireblasts tear across the earth as the Gates of Hell are ripped open. In an instant, billions are killed. Human technology becomes utterly worthless in the face of the end of the world. Fortunately for Jaco, he barely survives the opening act of the Apocalypse. Unfortunately for him, he has to live through what comes next. Those who died in the initial blast are reincarnated as undead monsters. Massive fiery pits swallow up the center of every major city across the world.

When Alice’s Uncle Sam brings home a mysterious calendar that’s short on chocolate but big on surprises, she is thrown into an advent she never dreamed of. Codes arrive by text message and open the doors in the calendar, drawing Alice and Sam into fantastical new worlds that are wondrous, frightening and beautiful - and strangely familiar.

Ripley and her friends have escaped the University's lockdown and started their journey home on foot. They've found an opportunity to get supplies they sorely need, but the risk is high. Marco insists that the world is already far more dangerous than it seems, while Ripley's not yet convinced. She's about to get a very bloody wake-up call.

Sanctify your time by meditating on the wisdom of the Church Fathers with Advent and Christmas with the Church Fathers: A Seven-Week Retreat on the Mystery and the Meaning of the Incarnation, a timeless guide to preparing your heart for the coming of Christ. This unique devotional pairs the ancient wisdom of the early Church with the liturgical rhythm of Advent and Christmas, offering profound insights into the incarnation and birth of Our Lord.

Simply put, an algorithm is a set of instructions-it's the code that makes computers run. A basic idea that proved elusive for hundreds of years and bent the minds of the greatest thinkers in the world, the algorithm is what made the modern world possible. Without the algorithm, there would have been no computer, no Internet, no virtual reality, no e-mail, or any other technological advance that we rely on every day.

Growing up with a sheltering mother and a belligerent father, Kimball Hayden's young life goes from one of innocence to the depths of chaos. When a vicious syndicate of murderers and extortionists begin to run the streets, Kimball soon becomes the focal point of their attention. His family is placed within the crosshairs, friends go missing or are found dead, all messages from the Gangster Prince. But when Kimball's world shatters and he grieves a great loss, the sleeping giant within him awakens.

Ixion, the city of mages, has seemingly transformed into a perfect society. It faces no shortage of resources, thanks to Vestiare of the Seven Heroes and her Colossus. However, its inhabitants have turned to the heretical worshiping of a Lesser God. Beauty is skin deep, and this facade of perfection shrouds the intentions of the Seven Heroes: The Second Calamity. In the midst of it all, Sungchul finally begins making progress toward a more personal goal...

When we picture the first Advent, we see Mary and Joseph huddled by a manger. We picture Gabriel, magi, and shepherds tending their flocks. A shining star against a midnight sky. But this harmonized version has lifted the Advent story out of its context--those who experienced the first Advent had to travel through great darkness to reach the hope that shining star announced. Trusted scholar and community organizer Kelley Nikondeha takes us back, to where the landscape of Palestine is once again the geographic, socioeconomic, and political backdrop for the Advent story.

A salute to all TV holiday specials, but mostly the Christmas ones. Revisit 12 holiday classics and not-so-classics each December and July.

A clock hangs over the head of every mortal. Counting down to the inescapable day that the Goddess of Death claims them. That is the way of the world. The natural cycle of mortals. The Gods, however, were said to live for forever. To exist so far outside of the natural laws of the universe that even their crimes can't be punished. But Knell Coba, at great cost, realizes this is nothing but another lie.