Echoterra: Rise of the Verdant King - Chapter 10: Fragmented memories

Avo was born to destroy New Vultun. In a twist of fate, he’ll become its only hope for salvation. The gods were the enemy. The slaver. The chains. With dreams of paradise, humanity slaughtered them and stole their powers, opening the path to become more – to ascend. Instead, they nearly destroyed the world. Vast hive cities serve as the final bastions against the crumbling of reality. New Vultun is the greatest of them all, and within its borders, ascenders wage war to determine the laws of existence itself. The world descends ever deeper into ruination. Avo was born a weapon, a slave to his instincts and his masters. He and his brothers were made to burn New Vultun to ashes. Everything changes when Avo gains immortality and becomes heir to an impossible legacy. He must ascend the megacity of New Vultun. He must challenge the very tyrants that usurped the gods. He must finally free the world from chains.

It was just a normal morning but it was unknown to many that the apocalypse already started.

The origin was not determined but the infected started to appear after a cosmic event happened just outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.

The people and animals turned into man-eating mutants and zombies while some of the lucky ones gained superhuman abilities. Every living creature that had not “turned” started to evolve as the whole world was affected by the Mutagen.

However, it seemed that Earth also had its hidden side that humans would discover in a very uncanny way.

And was Mutagen the last of it?

Unfortunately, not.

Follow Mark, an Otaku, a Gamer, and a Shut-in that got trapped in the middle of the apocalypse due to an uncanny reason. Using his unconventional thinking, knowledge, and abilities, how far can he go in surviving the apocalypse filled with zombies, mutated beings, and dangerous people as a survivor in a world that was changing for the worse.

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.

WARNING! MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY!!***Casey is a top event planner, planning events for the most elites in the city. She's now tasked with the career-defining job of planning her best friend, Kira's, wedding. However, her life turned upside down when she found out she was falling in love with Jace, her Kira's fiance!Jace is the CEO of Chillz streaming platform, one of the biggest in the country. He's also one of the most dashing bachelors, always on the news and always being hounded by paparazzi. In a desperate move too expand his company, he opted to get married to KIra. But it all changed when he met her best friend, and suddenly, even the future of his company couldn't stop him from wanting to be with her.As passion burns hot and the embers of love is fanned, Jace and Casey try to fight their growing attraction to each other to respect Kira. But with such intense feelings, there is only so much they can do. Will they be able to stay away from each other regardless of the mounting temptations? Or will they throw caution to the winds, finding happiness in each other's arms even while everything they've built and worked hard for goes up in flames?