Love Comes After Simulation - Chapter 7

Some exist with pride, others struggle with pride, some compete with pride, and there are those who fail with pride, but very few can walk away with pride.Congratulations, for as you read these lines, you have witnessed the whole lives of many great basketball players.This pronunciation was embodied when Stephen Curry, after facing defeat in 2021, claimed that no one would want to face them the following season; When Tim Duncan was convinced before the start of the 2014 Finals that they would not mess up; When Kobe Bryant promised at Old Buss's memorial to take the Lakers to the playoffs; When Nowitzki, shedding his label as a soft player, retreated to the locker room in tears at night; When Kevin Garnett let out a skyward howl after holding the championship trophy; When the 2004 Detroit Pistons won and the F4 Lakers lost…Our story begins in an era when pride still mattered.

An AI calling itself Schema has assimilated earth into its system. As a consequence, everyone gained access to status screens, power-ups, and skills. This AI turned these concepts from fiction to fact. It's easy to become intoxicated with leveling up and becoming stronger. To some, it's too good to be true like living out a dream.

For Daniel, however, it's closer to a nightmare.

He's in a bit of a predicament. Cracks in our dimensional fabric have unleashed terrifying beasts from dark, abyssal places. Schema organizes these cracks into dungeons, giving the native species of the planet a chance to fight back. Daniel finds himself trapped in one of these dungeons. Not long after, he discovers there's only one way out.

[Warning: r18+/strong mature content]Amidst the clash of desire and betrayal, who will dare to sacrifice everything for the sake of love?With the ability to foresee the future, Tarah could propel kings to unprecedented heights of success or plunge them into the depths of irreversible failure. But when her kingdom fell, Tarah was forced to offer herself into servitude to her captor in exchange for her brother’s life, becoming a spy in a dangerous game against Ezekiel, the future Dragon King of Ebodia.Haunted by a prophecy of his doom by a woman’s hand, Prince Ezekiel has meticulously avoided female company throughout his life. However, everything changed when he met Tarah, the new fated Seer of Ebodia. Initially only caring about ruling the world, Ezekiel now finds himself strongly enamored by Tarah, at the risk of losing sight of his own goals.Caught between safeguarding her brother's life and the growing affection for the domineering ruler, Tarah faces a dilemma. Will she navigate this dangerous path, risking everything for her heart's desires?*********Excerpt:“You can't escape me. There's nowhere in this world where you can hide from my reach,” Ezekiel whispered, his breath warm against her neck.Her throat tightened as his lips grazed her skin.With a firm yet gentle grip on her chin, he tilted her head, urging her to meet his intense gaze, causing her heart to pound in her chest.“I'm here to make you remember every detail of the agony you've caused me,” he declared.“Agony?!” she protested.“Yes, your cruel betrayal. Leaving me, breaking your promise...”

A new emperor rules each year in Yohuachanca.Only the most delicious of food graces his palate; the realm’s most beautiful women fill his harem; his palace dazzles the mind in its beauty; and four priestesses counsel him in all matters. The life of an emperor is good, luxurious, and short. For at the year’s end, he is sacrificed to the Nightlords under the light of the Scarlet Moon.I am Iztac. A pisspoor orphan and the year’s emperor. A sacrifice bound for the altar. But the vampires have made a mistake this time. For I am a sorcerer, whose soul journeys into the secret underworld to plunder the secret spells of the dead. There, in the darkness, hides the power to drag the Nightlords off their throne. I have a year to find it, or perish for good.I may not be the first emperor, but I will be the last.