A Record of Ash & Ruin: The Grieving Lands - Chapter 16Book 2: : A Hero’s Burden

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.

“I shouldn't have used illegal downloads in the first place.”

Ian woke up in the middle of a strange swamp as his own terrible character.

In a dark era on the verge of destruction, the hopeless character struggles to safely return to reality.

Are you looking for your Mr. Right?

Why would I wait for him? Mr. Right is lost on his way.

He quirked his brow at her answer with a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

Then what are you doing? He questioned in amusement.

She placed both her hands on his chest and pushed his masculine body against the wall taking him by surprise.

Her honey-brown eyes blinked at him with mischief dancing in them as she planted a firm kiss at his jaw and said, I'm planning on taking advantage of Mr. Right Now!

His eyes widened dramatically in disbelief. Before his eyes darkened with desire and passion.

He placed his hands on her small waist and she could feel the heat of his big hands through the flimsy fabric of her shirt.

His head leaned ahead as he whispered close to her ear, Feel free to take whatever you want.

She felt his hot tongue licking her earlobe making her heart to beat erratically.

Chen Xiu; known as Ms. Goody-two-shoes. A Superstar who was said to have it all which made her the center of hatred and envy as well.

Little did anyone knew that the same Superstar had to nurse her own wounds in the silence and darkness of night where no one was looking.

But for how long could she hold on for? Eventually, she decided to end her own misery and ended her life in the darkness of night, her only companion.

Having woken up in a new body and at a new place wasn't something she could ever believe in. At least, not until she became Bai Xiu out of the blue.

The day she thought to be her last became her first as a second chance awaited her. But whether this new chance was a blessing or disaster, it was hard to tell since she was trapped in a new body with a new life with the shackles of only her old memories.

New life or a new curse? What really awaited her? The same disappointing silence of the night or was there someone calling out her name desperately at the end of the tunnel? Were sparks meant to fly in her heart or the fire in her heart was meant to burn her whole? Was this leap of faith gonna make her fall on her face or was she meant to fly the horizon?

The new life brought a lot of questions. But the answer was simple...

You would never know until you give it a shot!

From a stumbling lion cub to a majestic lion king, he imagines that his life as a lion would peak and end with him owning a vast territory, dominating the grasslands, terrifying all his enemies while having many wives and concubines.