All the Dust that Falls - Chapter 23: Power Washing

Every “Diver” gets 96 hours on Earth before Thirstfall drags them back. Most return broken. Some don't return at all.Dryden Sands survived that loop for ten years—until he reached Rank-A... and got killed by the person he trusted most.But the Sacred Codex he'd found had other plans—it reset everything to Day One.Now Dryden remembers everything—hidden dungeons, broken rules, future disasters.But the System remembers him...And in Thirstfall, anomalies don't just struggle—they get purged.--------------

He wasn’t some chosen hero.Not the golden boy in prophecy.He was just Kieran Marcoth—a boy born on the wrong side of fate,A mistake, a misfit.Not blessed by heaven.Too stubborn for hell.And now…Thrown onto a battlefield meant for gods.The world had already been broken long before he came into it.People sinned, as they always do—And one day, the sky finally answered.The day God turned away,Everything fell.Cities burned.Families vanished.The silence afterward was louder than any explosion.But even in wrath, the Divine left something behind.A final olive branch—if you could call it that.A way to survive what came crawling out of the darkness.Talents.Powers.Strange, unique abilities passed down like gifts from a god who no longer cared.And on the day Kieran stood in line—quiet, hopeful, a little scared—Waiting to receive his talent,He dared to believe his life might finally start to make sense.Instead…He awakened something different.A hidden SSS-ranked talent.The kind with a condition attached.A catch.And just like that, everything went wrong.Laughter.Whispers.Stares like knives.He became a joke.A disappointment.Even the instructors didn’t bother to hide their sneers.Then the bullying started.The beating.The betrayal.And one day, it nearly killed him.He lay there, bleeding.Angry.Humiliated.A part of him still hoping this was some twisted mistake.But it wasn’t.And then—A sound.> [Ding! Conditions have been met][Host has been successfully selected as a God Candidate][Defeat the other candidates! Become the next God of this ruined world]Kieran stared at the message blinking in front of him.He didn’t smile.Didn’t cry.Didn’t feel triumphant.He just felt tired.And then, something in him shifted.One thought, sharp and cold, rose to the surface:“I’m going to fucking kill those bastards.”Not for power.Not for glory.But because he was done being the punchline.That’s how his journey began.Not as a hero.Not yet a monster.Just a boy who had lost too much—And found something worth fighting for in the wreckage.The question now is:Will the world break him again?Or will he become the god who remakes it?

# FOLLOWERS Her mother was a top actress while her father was a famous director. After Ning Youguang played a cameo role in her father’s movie at the age of seven, the entire entertainment industry waited for her to grow up. Her debut could possibly be the most awaited highlight within the industry. This was in part, thanks to the reality show, The Prosperous Beauty, which was one of the highest-grossing TV shows at that time. It helped to garner millions of fans on Ning Youguang's anonymous blog. Yet, Ning Youguang didn’t want to be a star or appear in the limelight. She only wanted to make an honest living as a doctor and accumulate merits in her life, so that she would not have to suffer an early death once again. Wouldn't it be much better if she could enjoy a regular and disciplined lifestyle where she could spend time planting flowers, raising cats, and living to a ripe old age? She never had a chance to do any of that in her previous life! But Youguang never imagined that she would meet Shi Wangyue. He was one of her patients in her previous life, who had not been cured of his ailments due to her premature death. When her mother brought Shi Wangyue, who was also her half-brother, on a reality show, he appeared distracted. Host to him, “Are you speechless because you are awe-struck by all these beautiful ladies?” Her younger brother looked at the female stars who were dubbed as ‘Prosperous Beauties’ on the show, and said with disapproval, “They’re okay. They only possess one percent of my sister’s beauty.” Everyone was shocked, and this created an uproar in the entertainment circle. It also became the #1 trending topic on Weibo’s hot search. Her mother couldn't agree more with her younger brother’s words, “My daughter is absolutely amazing.” One day, a photo of Ning Youguang was accidentally leaked to the public. Haters of Shi Wangyue proclaimed, “Bro, we’ll never laugh at you again. Is this a beauty that humankind deserves to have among us?”

In the dawn of a new world, only six beings remained—witnesses of the cataclysmic war that reshaped existence.They were the Six Primordial Dragons, the architects of reality’s six fundamental forces, entrusted as guardians of this reborn world.But power breeds corruption.One of them—the Dragon of Chaos—succumbed to the madness of bloodlust and betrayal. His unrelenting thirst for conflict fractured the fragile peace, sparking a rift between dragons and humans. Distrust grew into enmity. War returned.And then, the Dragon of Chaos vanished.Among those who rose to resist the dragons was a young man named Hades—a prodigy among Dragon Slayers.Famed for his flawless record and unmatched resolve, Hades had never lost a single comrade on the battlefield. With the promise of becoming the youngest official Hunter, he was a symbol of hope.Until everything crumbled.A mission went horribly wrong.His closest friend perished.The world that once praised him turned its back. His comrades pointed fingers. His fiancée, once his anchor, returned his ring with silent condemnation.Abandoned. Shattered. Branded a failure.Standing at the edge of despair, with the world far below and nothing left to hold on to…He heard a voice:[I think it's about time you wake up.]°°°°°°°A/N:- Istg this was a cliche synopsis, but the novel isn't. Try a few chapters before you decide.Additional tags: Possessive characters, revenge, anti-hero protagonist, serious character development, broken engagement, betrayal, strong to overpowered.