Awakening - Chapter 45 Gloomy Night

Fate, a gatekeeper who had been working for the castle, is beset by a few burdens.

'Death' It was meant to be the end, but it brought a new start.After a destructive nether storm consumes his world, Jack finds himself face-to-face with a powerful being who tasks him with a mission he can’t refuse.Reincarnated as Asriel—the most tragic, doomed character from a novel he once read—Jack’s frustration grows: “Damn it, why this fool?”Now, he must navigate Asriel's cursed life, facing relentless supernatural beings that threats him with a single hope:[Necromancy System Activated!][Ascend as the Ruler of the Undead!]But can Jack rise above Asriel's fate, or will he, too, fall prey to the shadows lurking in his new world?

In the hospital, Fang Ya lay on the cold bed. As she did not have the money for surgery, she could only watch as her life slowly faded away.

On her deathbed, looking back on her life, she relived all of her regrets.

What she regretted the most was that she had chosen to leave her marriage with nothing and refused all the assets given to her by her nouveau riche ex-husband.

Darkness enveloped her. When she woke again, she found herself reborn.

She was reborn in the year when her nouveau riche ex-husband abandoned her and making ends meet with their daughter.

She could not believe it. She had once prayed to God, and God seemed to have answered her prayers—He gave her a second chance!

This time, she did not reject the property distribution from her nouveau riche ex-husband. She took the nine-digit sum of money as well as a set of courtyard houses in the capital city.

In this life, she would give her daughter a luxurious life. They would no longer be homeless and destitute. She would no longer have to give up her life because she had no money.

Not long after the divorce, she met He Feng coincidentally.

At this time, He Feng had just returned from the European battlefield. He returned home with dazzling military achievements, only to receive a divorce agreement from his wife.

In the few years that he was on the battlefield, his wife had already fallen in love with someone else, and that person was rather rich too.

He Feng brought his child to the city where Fang Ya was working and took up a position in the Public Security Department.

Someone introduced him to Fang Ya and wanted to matchmake them.

Fang Ya, who was reborn, knew He Feng’s entire life experience. In a few decades, he would be a five-star admiral with immense power and battle achievements.

Moreover, after the divorce, he never remarried. It was said that he was hurt by love. His loyalty would not allow him to trust any other woman.

During the blind date, the tall and stern man appeared to be a little taciturn.

Fang Ya knew that He Feng only planned to remarry because of his child. He did not want his child to follow him everywhere on his military travels.

Once he settled down, he probably would not even consider marriage anymore.

Without much hesitation, Fang Ya agreed. He Feng was a good man and was worth marrying.

Female protagonist: Reincarnated in her later years and experienced all the vicissitudes of life. After marriage, she assisted the male protagonist to overcome obstacles based on memories from her past life. She also assisted him to ascend to the peak of power smoothly.

The male protagonist: An ordinary man who was a member of the special forces. From the most ordinary soldier, he transformed into a man who eventually became the general of the Empire.

Akashi was a boy so beautiful it seemed the gods had sculpted him with a touch of mischief and a dash of fragility. He wasn’t handsome in the rugged, masculine way of knights or warriors. No—his beauty was softer, captivating in its innocence. His frame was small, almost delicate, and his pale skin looked as if it had never known hardship, kissed only by the gentle sunlight of his village fields.With wide, striking black eyes that shimmered like obsidian under moonlight, and hair the color of a calm, endless ocean, Akashi possessed a charm that defied age, status, or reason. He didn’t know it, but his very existence pulled at the hearts of those who saw him—like an untouched gem waiting to be claimed.And yet, he had been untouched for a reason. Akashi had never known life beyond the boundaries of his village. He grew up surrounded by warm smiles and familiar voices. Every elder knew his name. Every child wanted to play by his side. His days were simple, his heart untouched by cruelty.But peace is a fragile thing.One night, it shattered.The sky turned crimson. Screams tore through the quiet air. Fires devoured homes. Demons—twisted beasts of shadow and rage—descended without warning. They killed with a hunger that could not be reasoned with.By morning, the village was gone.Ashes, corpses, and silence were all that remained.And Akashi… Akashi was alone.The last heartbeat in a graveyard of memories.He wandered for days, hollow and dazed, until rough hands seized him. Chains replaced freedom. Smiles were replaced by cold appraisals. And so, the boy once adored by all became something else—something to be sold.A slave.At the capital's grand auction house, he was stripped, washed, and displayed like merchandise. His beauty caused a stir. Whispers spread like wildfire.“Look at those eyes...”“That hair... Is it dyed? No, it’s real...”“So delicate... Is he even human?”To them, he was no longer a boy with a heart, but a prize to possess. A fantasy in fragile form.He stood on the stage, trembling slightly, barely able to process what was happening. The voices of the crowd blurred together—hungry, leering, filled with desire and greed. The auctioneer’s booming voice called out the bids as if Akashi were nothing more than a fine vase or a rare jewel.The numbers climbed quickly. Too quickly. Akashi’s knees weakened beneath the weight of invisible eyes drinking him in. He stared at the marble floor, trying not to cry.Then, suddenly, the room fell silent.A voice—deep, commanding, and heartbreakingly beautiful—cut through the air like silk over steel.“Fifteen thousand gold.”Time seemed to pause.Every head turned.At the back of the room, standing beneath the golden chandelier, was a woman unlike any other.She wore a flowing red gown that hugged her form like it was crafted by the gods themselves. Her long, golden hair shimmered like strands of sunlight, cascading over her shoulders with effortless grace. Her eyes, cold and blue as a glacier’s heart, stared ahead with quiet power.Even the nobles drew back. This was no ordinary bidder.It was one of the Princesses of the Three Great Kingdoms.Whispers erupted anew—but no one dared challenge her offer.Who would?She stood like royalty incarnate, a goddess who walked among mortals, and she had just claimed Akashi as her own.The boy raised his head slowly, unsure of whether to feel fear or relief. His eyes met hers—just for a second—and something in his chest shifted. She didn’t smile. She didn’t leer. Her gaze was unreadable.But it was powerful. Absolute.And it made his knees weak for an entirely new reason.He didn’t know her name. Not yet.But she had bought him.And somewhere deep inside, something told him—his life was never going to be the same.