The Godsfall Chronicles - Book 1, Chapter 23 Crushed

“Well, well, well, it looks like someone has missed the memo,” I chuckled, as I stared into his bewildered eyes.“You, my friend, are in the land of fiction, where everything is just... make-believe.” I snorted.“What are you talking about?” he asked, still trying to make sense of my words.“ I'm talking about the fact that we are characters in a freaking novel!”“The woman you foolishly slept with is one of the main characters!” I sneered, finding humour in his predicament.“...”,“You know the story, don't you?” he demanded, his tone sharp. “Write it out or give me the gist of it.”“Sigh…”'How does he accept things so easily?' I thought.“So, let me get this straight,” I began, frustration seeping into my voice. “The novel we're in doesn't even have a proper conclusion, and there are five women playing lead roles along with a man who is the protagonist. Sun-Jung, a boy from my class, is the protagonist and Ruby here, is supposed to be the villain as the heir to the devil's throne.”---------------------------------------------------------Meet Kael Hashirae, the mysterious and richest man in the world. Despite his incredible power, he is humble and compassionate towards those in need. But everything changes when he falls in love with a mysterious girl, and his world is turned upside down. Join Kael on his journey as he navigates through love, power, and the unknown in this world of captivating incomplete novel.---------------------------------------------------------[Sometimes the purest good is drawn from the vilest evil ]The concept of human nature has been questioned numerous times throughout history. Debates on the issue have come and gone, but the underlying question still remains on the minds of societies across the globe :“Are humans generally filled with an innate sense goodness and light or are we debase creatures at heart continuously tainted with the stains of vice?”'Human Beings', a self-centred kind of mortals believed or should I say still believe that a good heart or performing good deeds will lead them towards the path of enlightenment.This whole concept seemed funny to me, because beings that don't know what enlightenment is talk about path towards the same while hiding their desires deep inside them.---------------------------------------------------------Maybe it's time to change my ways,The lure of money, power, and fame has lost its blaze.Being a King is more than just a scheme,I've found peace in music, money, and meditation, it seems.If only I could recall why I began this quest,Seeds in my pocket, but the garden's a distant nest.But I won't give up until I find my way,Planting trees to harvest bats for the big leagues, I'll play.

I wrote a book once.It was an unhinged fantasy born from my high-school brain, driven by loneliness and too many hormones.It was a world of beastmen, wild freedom, and the kind of romantic attention I could never get in real life. I poured every impossible desire into it: adventure, danger, and yes… a 'lot' of handsome partners.Before I knew it, I had a thousand chapters of pure escapism and pure thrill.Then on a college camping trip, I fell off a cliff.I expected to wake up in a hospital room but nope. I woke up on a soft field of grass, with air too fresh to belong anywhere on Earth.And then something moved behind me.Sticking out of my tailbone was... A tail.My tail?Yellow and black stripes and very, very real.I touched it. Completely real.My ears? Also gone—well, moved. They were now perched on top of my head like a confused jungle cat. And the outfit? Quite revealing, made of animal hide which matched my tail.What was going on?At first, I thought it was a prank. Or a dream. Or maybe karma is finally cashing in. But the more foreign memories evaded my mind, the clearer my situation became.This wasn't cosplay and it wasn't Earth, either.And—surprise—it wasn't even the world from my own book. Welp.I had been transported into a completely different Beastman world as a beast girl called Arinya.Sounds fun, right?Well… it would be, if I weren't apparently the ugliest duckling in the entire freaking savannah! Rejected by every potential mate I stumbled across and sneered at like a freaking eyesore.This was not how I planned my fantasy to come to reality.Trust me—if this is my fantasy come true, then someone needs to fire the author.But then again, after entering this world, I'm suddenly... Attractive.I mean, there's no change to my face and the freckles are still there, but for some reason, handsome beastmen begin to flock around me, because I smell... Pleasant.What's that all about?

Having crossed over into a world of Chaos and Order, brimming with all manner of bizarre items, Qiu Tu discovered he had actually slept with a VIP’s mistress... Since he had already been discovered, might as well... go with the flow? Strengthening his power, cultivating his influence, unearthing beautiful... and powerful subordinates, he steadily climbed to the peak of this world! Cataclysmic abilities and strange items included: the Cihuang Stone that could erase one’s impression from others’ hearts; a mythical beast’s head that could summon storms with a kiss; a piggy bank that could store emotions; a reversal potion that increased Favorability when hitting someone, and so on...

The world’s largest VRMMO, Conviction, was almost like a second world for humanity. It had integrated itself into the real world’s economy, with both corporations and individuals seeking their fortunes through the game.

In this game, Nie Yan prided himself in his Level 180 Thief. He could barely be considered among the top experts in the game. Though, that was the only thing he could take pride in. He was penniless and unable to advance in life; a situation he was forced into by the enemy of his father. If it weren’t for the little money he made by selling off items in Conviction, he would’ve barely been able to eat. In the end, he chose to settle his matters once and for all. He assassinated his father’s enemy. He lay dying shortly after being shot in the pursuit.

However, that wasn’t the end of his story. Instead, he awoke moments later to find that he had reincarnated into his past self. Armed with his experience and knowledge of future events, he sets out to live his life anew.