Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty - Chapter 42: That’s enough!

After a year of marriage, Timothy Xavier suddenly became uninterested in women, devoting himself to building a Buddhist altar in the villa, with Buddha Beads never leaving his hand.No matter how much I tried to entice him, he remained indifferent, completely unmoved.One night, I stood outside the bathroom door, watching him release his emotions towards a photo of another woman.It turns out, Timothy was not unfeeling; he was just unfeeling towards me.I deceived him into signing the divorce agreement and disappeared from his world completely.Yet I heard, he went crazy looking for me!We met again at his uncle's wedding. I was dressed in a white wedding gown, but his eyes turned red, and he could not bring himself to call me 'aunt'!

Can't a man maintain his dignity while preparing for the end of the world? Is that too much to ask?

The Tower was all I knew... all any of us knew, and just like that, it was gone. Monsters the likes of which I'd never seen ravaged the land of my ancestors. They burst through the outer walls and stormed the city. No one could have been ready for that. But now... Now I have a second chance.

After the collapse of the known world, I woke up to find myself on the First Floor of the Tower. I was young and healthy, 18 again, and sitting in the same classroom that marked the worst days of my life. Confused and excited, I accepted this gift, deciding to use my vast knowledge of the future to climb the Tower in preparation for the end of the world.

Maybe I'll help some folks along the way? Who knows. Survival comes first.

The clock is ticking, and I'm left with only a century to build a Deck powerful enough to survive the end. Things to do... What's first? I need Essence, and I need power. I'll have to climb the Tower to acquire both of these. Some of the zealots will try to stop me, need to look out for those. What if-

“Hey, kid! Hand over the pouch or-”

Stab

Sorry, where was I? Ah... there's a spot of blood on my suit. What a lousy morning.

In this world of blood and fantasy, century-old Rowan Wilder has to not only survive, but thrive as he powers his way to the top of the Tower. The Demonic Plague that has twisted the creatures on the upper Floors is the least of his worries. Cane in hand and Summons by his side, he'll have to tear his way through the monsters, as well as the humans who want to stop his ascent. Of course, he can maintain a sense of decorum while he faces these trials, right?

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.

—Book 2 of 9 in the Quillverse—

Given a second chance at life, Oli’s soul was whisked away through the cosmic void. He opens his eyes to a purple sky with three suns and two moons. Oh yeah, and his parents are gorillas.

However, to Oli’s pleasant surprise, those gorillas raise him with more love and care than his previous parents ever had. That is, until Oli’s father dies defending Oli from a dragon. Oli is then gifted his father’s secret treasure to rampantly boost Oli’s cultivation, also discovering his father to be a wanted criminal.

Oli and his gorilla clan decide to seek a territory of their own, and proudly take control of the nearby beast clans to form a town. With his bombastic uncle leading the clan and his uncle’s feline, best friend creating a cultivation academy, Oli can finally focus on his own growth!

But… That defeated dragon reveals the whereabouts of Oli’s gorilla clan. Spies are sent to investigate everything, while powerful mercenaries are hired to betray and slay the gorillas.

In the midst of the mayhem, Oli is kidnapped! But not by his enemy… Oli is awoken by a mysterious man, a man who claims to be an old ally of the gorilla clan and the one responsible for Oli’s reincarnation into this world.

Oli makes a deal with him, whether he wants to or not, dragging the entire world into chaos, genocide, and all-out war! Everything is for a greater cause, in order for Oli to become the world’s strongest divine beast.