SHATTERED REALM: FORGOTTEN ECHOES - Chapter 38: Darker Paths Ahead

Ethan was betrayed, he was broken, left crippled by those he trusted most: Zachary and Ivy, the people who ruined his life. Stripped of everything, Ethan crawled through three grueling years in the abandoned depths of despair, desperate to regain what he lost.Until one final act of defiance opened the door to something greater.When Ethan completed a hidden quest, fate granted him a miraculous reward: a second chance.He awakens years in the past, on the eve of a revolution: the launch of Ethereal, the world's first fully immersive VR game and humanity’s obsession. Armed with memories of four years in Ethereal, he’s no longer the helpless pawn who lost everything.This time, Ethan knows every secret, every hidden quest, every exploit to climb back to the top. But when he steps into the game, the system unveils a shocking twist: a divine bloodline, legendary abilities, and a class no one believed could dominate.Ethan vows to rise once more, but this time, he knows where the paths of glory begin, where betrayal lurks, and where to find legendary treasures that will crown him king in this brutal new world.The stakes are higher than ever. Factions are forming, alliances are shattering, and the clock ticks toward an event that will rewrite reality itself.The weak will perish, and the strong will thrive.They betrayed him once.They won’t live to do it again.

Hundred contestants.Hundred days. A single rule……survive.Every year, people vanish.Some are criminals.Some are poor and desperate.The chosen are gone, traded away like a currency and never seen again..They are taken to the Recall Trials: a live-streamed, underground competition watched only by the elites.In a fractured future where society is divided into sectors ,walled cities built on wealth: Sector A (elite) to Sector D (the swamps). The elite live in technological luxury, while the outer sectors rot in poverty, crime, and sickness.To control the masses, a secretive elite group known as The Aetherions created a deadly underground reality game called The Recall Trials.The prize?Fortune and a place among the elites.The cost? Everything else.Players are forced to survive by solving deadly puzzles, facing brutal betrayals and sometimes, finding forbidden romance, all while knowing death could come at any second.When Vincent Aston, heir to one of the richest families in Sector A loses everything, he falls into a world he was never meant to see, a world that wasn’t made for people like him. A world where memories kill, and even money can’t buy his way out..Will the golden boy of the elite beat the system or will the game be rigged from the start?In the Recall Trials, the greatest enemy isn't death…. it's the truth.There are no heroes.Only survivors.“When the countdown begins,all that matters is who survives the bloodshed.”Spoiler Alert! The main character’s flaws consume him, and will eventually turn to the dark side. Nobody’s perfect, and he’s no exception.Get ready for the Recall Trials! Music and epic promo video dropping soon!

Damien reveals an ugly truth.His sister and only family, Ahara, leaves the house every midnight whilst he's asleep—a time that he soon discovers is when man-eating beasts named Rouges start hunting for prey.Unable to question her directly, he decides to investigate her and quickly figures that Ahara isn't human but rather, a vampire hero who saves them from beings like herself coming from a world she calls Gibbous—a place where entities like vampires, wizards, and beast shifters alike reside. What’s more, he also learns that the real reason behind his parents' death was the leader of the Rogues, who's rumored to have escaped after Damien’s father almost killed him.A series of fateful events lead to Damien’s long-lost power reawakening in him, and he finds himself with no choice but to return to Gibbous, a strange world where power means survival, and weakness leads to death. As such, Damien enrolls in an academy to train his newfound abilities with one thing in mind...Becoming more powerful.However, he soon discovers that the path to power is one filled with troubles and pain, and he isn’t alone in this lust for more at the academy. It’s a bloody competition against time and formidable opponents, and only those willing to sacrifice their comfort are the ones who can attain it.With a deadly foe lurking in the shadows somewhere and a strong desire to protect his sister, Damein has no choice but to fight.The only way is up, and he is going to be standing at the top of them all, ready to counter any enemy.

Only a pure maiden can have a privilege to make contract with a spirit.

In Areishia Acadamy, maidens from noble family were gathered there, giving them an elite education to become a spirit contractor. A boy Kamito, by accident he peeped on a girl, Clair, who was taking a bath, and he even made a contract with spirit that she wanted.

Kamito was actually an irregular male spirit contractor, which should not exist.