Shadow Over the Heavenly Throne - Chapter 48: You may challenge one of them. If you win — the slot is yours

A fourth chance at life. The last chance.Zarek remembered when he first experienced the Godsfall Apocalypse. Those tears of red and sparkling rouge that split the skies, opening up one dangerous realm after another.That feeling of helplessness had been palpable, heavy... suffocating. It hung above his head like a guillotine, an edge graced by death's kiss...He grinned at it.One last ride, no Talents left on his stat screen, and nothing but a dull machete and his girl by his side. What was a better thrill than that?How could he possibly fail a fourth time?Unfortunately, there were others. Other Rebirthers. Some that might have been on their last attempt just like him, or some that still had more to give to this cruel world.None of it mattered, though. He had planned everything out meticulously, each life playing its own role.He would come out on top this time. How could he not?He was Zarek Ashborn.

The Earth of the future is united under a single government, but not all things are well. The shape of the playing field may be changed, but the powerful still rule the weak.And those who do not conform with the rest of society are exiled to another world. A world that not even the technology of the future managed to tame.It should have been humanity's New World but ended up as nothing more than a penal colony. A place where the exiled are sent to die.Motivated by revenge, Magnus sets out on a quest to bring his own justice to his enemies. For that purpose, he is willing to go further than most others.But then he learns that if he truly wishes to change things, he can only find his answers beyond the gate.Having lived most of her life as an exile, Astra is a woman of few interests aside from survival and climbing the ranks of her clan.To achieve those goals, she certainly won't be squeamish when a chance literally falls into her lap, or will she?———————————————————————————————I am trying to go with a survival/“no modern tech” setting in this one. People from a technologically advanced society are thrown into a world where they can't maintain their tech. They are forced to rely on what the world provides where they have to make do with the limited resources they have and what little of their old technology is still working. Their gene manipulation allows them to have something akin to superpowers, but that doesn't help much against the monsters of their new world. Not sure yet whether sufficiently advanced technology will be discovered later on to count as magic.It turns more political between the various clans later on.

Lu Chen used to be a ranker of the most popular VRMMO game, Spirit of Grief. After a car accident turned his dreams into dust, his disability left him incapable of escaping the pit of mediocrity he was thrown into. Helpless and defeated, his story ended.Two years later, the Eternal Moon Corporation launched a new VRMMO called “Heavenblessed”, and Lu Chen stumbled into another terrible accident that left him in a complicated situation far beyond his ability to handle. That won’t stop him from rising to the top, however. Not again.Come witness the rise of the sword-wielding zombie and the relationships he makes during his journey to the apex! For riches and bi- ahem, for career and love!

When she was eighteen, she was forced to take her sister's place and married him, who was disabled in both legs and impotent therefore.Despite all this, she has accompanied him through the darkest period of his life.However, two years of marriage and companionship still couldn't compare to the return of her sister.In order to treat her sister's illness, he even cruelly forced her onto the operating table, disregarding her pregnancy.His cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness left her heartbroken. After leaving the weak and sickly second child with him, she disappeared with the other two children.It wasn't until he completely lost her that he realized he had already fallen deeply in love with her.......Five years later, she returned with mini versions of their child.Looking at the adorable child who seemed like a spitting image of his son, his face turned pale.“Why do you look exactly the same?”The little one replied, “Biologically, only identical twins look exactly the same.”“?...”Did she give birth to twins?He angrily cornered her against the wall and asked, “So, you had twins back then?”She chuckled awkwardly, “If I say it was triplets, would you kill me?”