The Runaway Huntress - Chapter 5: CH 4: "Mine."

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.

[WPC April Entry] Check out my second book: Born from stardust! Support the novel with your reviews, power stones, collections, etc. It will be greatly appreciated.

******

In a fantasy world shrouded in a veil of mystery and darkness, a sinister threat lurks among the shadows, weaving its plan from the depths of a forgotten past. In a realm where magic and wonder coexist with the persistent presence of an ancient evil, Anthony finds himself immersed in an intricate web of mysteries that seem to intertwine around him.

The emergence of this voracious darkness threatens to devour everything in its path, and as Anthony embarks on a desperate quest for truth, he faces moral dilemmas that tear at his soul, betrayals he never imagined, and sacrifices that defy all logic.

On his journey, every shadow seems to hide a secret, every step towards the light reveals a new layer of darkness. Who is friend and who is foe in this dangerous game of power and deception? What ancestral forces stir beneath the surface, waiting for their moment to emerge and lay waste to everything in their path?

With each discovery, Anthony delves deeper into a maze of intrigue and danger, where the very future of his world hangs by a thread, and the only certainty is that the truth is even more elusive than the shadows that conceal it.

Zou Liang, an otaku with a passionate interest in a fighting game came into a world governed by the beast tribes.

There the ones with high martial ability were respected.

Extreme beauties were a little silly.

This guy felt depressed. Such a crazy really could force a civilized people like him to turn crazy!

Scoundrel Zou began his unrestrained and destructive journey in the Beast God Continent.

Rules? There are no rules!

Principles? His actions defined the principles!

Occupations? Occupations were as unimportant as fleeting clouds. What he sought was omnipotence!

In a different world, Zou held the same passion.

This is a story of a nobody becoming the great conqueror—step by step—as a human, filled with touching emotions, explosive anger, and hot blood forever!

- Description from Novelupdates

I am a what, and where is my little friend? No, give it back right now!

What, back in a lab again? What a load of bull.

Finally, I’m dying... No, I got revived again.

Becoming a weapon for a kingdom? Meh, they can try and control me.

Medieval weapons? I like that. Give me all of them.

An Angle cult? Let’s destroy that.

Pure Dragons? I want one for myself.