No matter how famous your sword masters, magic gods, holy beasts, and giant dragons are outside, in my eyes, you are just a group of 'weirds' giving away experience.
No matter how famous your sword masters, magic gods, holy beasts, and giant dragons are outside, in my eyes, you are just a group of 'weirds' giving away experience.
"Where am I?" Perplexed, I surveyed the surroundings, sensing a change in the environment. Instantly, a sense of unease gripped my heart, and I contemplated standing up.
However, when I attempted to make a move, I made a startling discovery that filled me with terror.
"My hands? My feet? Why has my vision deteriorated so much? Why has my hearing regressed?" Upon regaining consciousness, as I habitually prepared to rub my eyes, I was horrified to find not only that my limbs had vanished suddenly but also that my auditory and visual functions had diminished to almost nothing.
A series of revelations instilled fear in me, and, in a state of panic, I disregarded utility and exerted all my strength to initiate movement.
Amidst my actions, I suddenly made an even more terrifying discovery.
"A serpent's tail? How do I have the tail of a snake?" After a series of frightening events, I surprisingly found myself becoming calmer.
"A snake's tail, limbless, diminished senses-could it be that I have transformed into a snake?" With this thought flashing in my mind, I was dumbfounded.
Originally, I was just an ordinary otaku on Earth, spending my days playing games and surfing the internet. Although I lacked noteworthy experiences, life was comfortable.
I had thought I would continue living such a life, but unexpectedly, due to a small accident, I ended up becoming a snake.
The transition from human to snake, though bizarre, had a nearly fatal impact on me.
Contemplating the lifespan and habits of snakes, and the prospect of living by consuming mice, suicidal thoughts crossed my mind.
Biting my tongue to end my life? This method posed significant difficulty for a snake.
Crashing to death? Crawling itself was a challenge, making it nearly impossible to collide with force.
Perhaps due to the difficulty of suicide or a fear of death, whatever the reason, after the initial shock, I gradually accepted the fact that I had become a snake and attempted to crawl.
Perhaps it was instinctual, but learning to crawl was surprisingly easy for me, requiring minimal effort.
After mastering crawling, in my eagerness to explore the outside world, I crawled away from my original location.
However, I seemed to forget that I was no longer a human. While a person going out would not encounter any issues, I was now a snake. If discovered by humans, I might either scare them away if lucky or become a delicacy on their dining table if unlucky.
Yet, it was apparent that I didn't consider such matters.
"Boom!" Perhaps due to my destiny, after crawling for a while, I suddenly heard a loud noise from the front, startling me.
Unaware of what had happened ahead, my instincts told me that it was undoubtedly dangerous there.
However, even though I knew that place was dangerous, it was best to keep a considerable distance. Yet, driven by curiosity, I continued crawling towards that location.
"Is this another world?"
After crawling for some time and reaching the vicinity of the noise, I discovered two gigantic beasts engaged in a fierce battle. Knowing that such monstrous creatures didn't exist on Earth, I naturally assumed that I had arrived in another world.
Soon, as I approached the scene, the two beasts succumbed to their injuries, collapsing on the ground.
Without delving into the details of their battle, I could tell that these beasts possessed formidable strength. The nearby craters bore witness to the astonishing destructive power of their clash.
Had these two beasts not fallen, even in my previous human form, I would have undoubtedly fled upon encountering such formidable creatures. However, now that they lay defeated, I couldn't simply leave.
Magic Core!
My greatest hobby in the past was reading, and although I had no idea whether this world resembled the fantasy realms described in novels, after transforming into a snake and witnessing the battle of these colossal beasts, my only option was to overlay my current world with the fantastical realms I knew.
Now a snake, my fate on Earth would have been limited to surviving in sparsely populated areas. However, unexpectedly arriving in this otherworld, I couldn't resign myself to living a mundane life.
If born into a xianxia world, I'd willingly become a snake demon like Bai Niangzi. In this otherworld, my second choice would be to become a powerful magic beast.
Aware of my current strength, despite the recent transformation, I could almost be certain that my new body held no outstanding qualities. In other words, I was just an ordinary snake. If no surprises occurred, there would be little chance to change my fate in this lifetime.
However, if truly in another world, based on the novels I read, I knew this might be my only opportunity for a turnaround.
How to evolve from a regular snake to a magic beast, I didn't know. But if indeed in another world, I knew that finding the legendary Magic Core was the key to enhancing my strength.
"Let's go for it." Realizing the rarity of this opportunity, unwilling to accept a lifetime as a small snake, I, despite the overwhelming size of the beasts, crawled towards them.
"Really dead." Carefully crawling to the side of one beast, I viciously bit its nose. Seeing no reaction from the creature, I confirmed its death.
Even though both beasts were dead, it didn't mean I could easily achieve my goal of extracting the Magic Core. While my current strength prevented me from dealing with the corpses, it didn't mean I would abandon my desire to obtain the Magic Core.
Since breaking through the skull to retrieve the core was impossible, I considered other options.
Realizing my predicament and the potential dangers ahead, I gritted my teeth and crawled towards the nose of the fallen beast.
With a subtle sound, I entered the beast's brain. In the wake of my intrusion, the area fell silent, and under the intimidation of the two beasts in their prime, other creatures in the vicinity refrained from approaching.
"Hiss." With a faint hiss, I emerged from the beast's body, holding a crystalline orb. After disgorging the blood in my mouth, I spared no effort to examine the Magic Core I had extracted from the beast.
"Is this the Magic Core? Why does it resemble a marble?" After a curious examination, unable to resist the temptation of strengthening myself, I promptly swallowed the Magic Core.
Yet, I hadn't considered that enhancing my strength through devouring the Magic Core didn't mean there were no consequences.
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."
For three years, Averie pushed herself through a secret marriage, waiting for the day she could finally wear a white dress and be seen as his wife. The night before she could finally walk down the aisle, he confessed without a hint of hesitation that he was marrying the woman who once rescued him instead. The "fake" divorce agreement she signed for him shattered into a real, icy breakup that finally freed her wounded heart. When he returned in remorse, begging for just one more chance, a ruthless business magnate pulled Averie close and muttered coldly, "You're too late. She's my woman now."
Elliana, the unfavored "ugly duckling" of her family, was humiliated by her stepsister, Paige, who everyone admired. Paige, engaged to the CEO Cole, was the perfect woman-until Cole married Elliana on the day of the wedding. Shocked, everyone wondered why he chose the "ugly" woman. As they waited for her to be cast aside, Elliana stunned everyone by revealing her true identity: a miracle healer, financial mogul, appraisal prodigy, and AI genius. When her mistreatment became known, Cole revealed Elliana's stunning, makeup-free photo, sending shockwaves through the media. "My wife doesn't need anyone's approval."
Five years into marriage, Hannah caught Vincent slipping into a hotel with his first love-the woman he never forgot. The sight told her everything-he'd married her only for her resemblance to his true love. Hurt, she conned him into signing the divorce papers and, a month later, said, "Vincent, I'm done. May you two stay chained together." Red-eyed, he hugged her. "You came after me first." Her firm soon rocketed toward an IPO. At the launch, Vincent watched her clasp another man's hand. In the fitting room, he cornered her, tears burning in his eyes. "Is he really that perfect? Hannah, I'm sorry... marry me again."
I died on a Tuesday. It wasn't a quick death. It was slow, cold, and meticulously planned by the man who called himself my father. I was twenty years old. He needed my kidney to save my sister. The spare part for the golden child. I remember the blinding lights of the operating theater, the sterile smell of betrayal, and the phantom pain of a surgeon's scalpel carving into my flesh while my screams echoed unheard. I remember looking through the observation glass and seeing him-my father, Giovanni Vitiello, the Don of the Chicago Outfit-watching me die with the same detached expression he used when signing a death warrant. He chose her. He always chose her. And then, I woke up. Not in heaven. Not in hell. But in my own bed, a year before my scheduled execution. My body was whole, unscarred. The timeline had reset, a glitch in the cruel matrix of my existence, giving me a second chance I never asked for. This time, when my father handed me a one-way ticket to London-an exile disguised as a severance package-I didn't cry. I didn't beg. My heart, once a bleeding wound, was now a block of ice. He didn't know he was talking to a ghost. He didn't know I had already lived through his ultimate betrayal. He also didn't know that six months ago, during the city's brutal territory wars, I was the one who saved his most valuable asset. In a secret safe house, I stitched up the wounds of a blinded soldier, a man whose life hung by a thread. He never saw my face. He only knew my voice, the scent of vanilla, and the steady touch of my hands. He called me Sette. Seven. For the seven stitches I put in his shoulder. That man was Dante Moretti. The Ruthless Capo. The man my sister, Isabella, is now set to marry. She stole my story. She claimed my actions, my voice, my scent. And Dante, the man who could spot a lie from a mile away, believed the beautiful deception because he wanted it to be true. He wanted the golden girl to be his savior, not the invisible sister who was only ever good for her spare parts. So I took the ticket. In my past life, I fought them, and they silenced me on an operating table. This time, I will let them have their perfect, gilded lie. I will go to London. I will disappear. I will let Seraphina Vitiello die on that plane. But I will not be a victim. This time, I will not be the lamb led to slaughter. This time, from the shadows of my exile, I will be the one holding the match. And I will wait, with the patience of the dead, to watch their entire world burn. Because a ghost has nothing to lose, and a queen of ashes has an empire to gain.
The sterile white of the operating room blurred, then sharpened, as Skye Sterling felt the cold clawing its way up her body. The heart monitor flatlined, a steady, high-pitched whine announcing her end. Her uterus had been removed, a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, but the blood wouldn't clot. It just kept flowing, warm and sticky, pooling beneath her. Through heavy eyes, she saw a trembling nurse holding a phone on speaker. "Mr. Kensington," the nurse's voice cracked, "your wife... she's critical." A pause, then a sweet, poisonous giggle. Seraphina Miller. "Liam is in the shower," Seraphina's voice purred. "Stop calling, Skye. It's pathetic. Faking a medical emergency on our anniversary? Even for you, that's low." Then, Liam's bored voice: "If she dies, call the funeral home. I have a meeting in the morning." Click. The line went dead. A second later, so did Skye. The darkness that followed was absolute, suffocating, a black ocean crushing her lungs. She screamed into the void, a silent, agonizing wail of regret for loving a man who saw her as a nuisance, for dying without ever truly living. Until she died, she didn't understand. Why was her life so tragically wasted? Why did her husband, the man she loved, abandon her so cruelly? The injustice of it all burned hotter than the fever in her body. Then, the air rushed back in. Skye gasped, her body convulsing violently on the mattress. Her eyes flew open, wide and terrified, staring blindly into the darkness. Her trembling hand reached for her phone. May 12th. Five years ago. She was back.
© 2018-now ManoBook
TOP
GOOGLE PLAY