Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds - Chapter 5

Japan – National News BroadcastThe polished news anchor sat upright, her gaze sharp as she adjusted the stack of papers before her. The newsroom behind her hummed with quiet urgency, the weight of the moment settling over the broadcast.“Authorities are baffled by a sudden and unexplained surge in sleep-related deaths across Japan,” she began, her voice steady yet tense. “More and more citizens are passing away in their sleep without any prior health concerns. Experts are working tirelessly to determine the cause, but no clear explanation has emerged. Authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and report any unusual symptoms before bedtime.”A graphic appeared, displaying the spike in fatalities over the past month. Behind her, unsettling photographs flickered across the screen—blurred images of individuals found in their beds, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.The anchor’s tone shifted. “Health officials recommend citizens avoid excessive fatigue and maintain healthy sleep habits. More updates will follow as investigations continue.”---United States – Paranormal PodcastIn a dimly lit podcast studio, the host leaned forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. Across from him, a rugged man in a worn flannel shirt, gripping a faded photograph in one hand and a beer can in the other, leaned back in his chair.“So, you're telling me you saw this creature firsthand?” the host asked, clearly intrigued.The man scoffed, shaking his head. “Damn right, I did. Ugly thing had wings bigger than my body—slow but sneaky. Thought it could steal my pigs again, but I was ready this time—camera in one hand, shotgun in the other.”He slammed the table for emphasis, then shoved the blurry image toward the host. The photograph depicted a small, red-skinned humanoid figure with large, bat-like wings, its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.“Spit, the thing didn’t know what hit it when I fired!” the man chuckled, his voice full of excitement.The host held up the picture to the live chat. “Alright, what do you think? Mothman? Demon? Or is our friend here just seeing things?”The chat exploded with theories—some skeptical, others eager for the investigation to continue.---China – Liangyuan Street MarketSurveillance footage from a bustling night market in China captured a chilling scene. A woman in a red qipao walked gracefully through the crowd, her figure striking in the soft glow of lanterns.Suddenly, she paused. Her body flickered—like a glitch in a video—before vanishing completely, as though she had never existed.The footage zoomed in, replaying in slow motion. In the final frame before she disappeared, her face distorted unnaturally, her eyes hollow and empty.The screen cut abruptly to black.

Solver Keter, one of the Five Lunatics of Lawless City, regresses to when he was the illegitimate son of a doomed archery family.“If I regressed and couldn’t even save my family, I might as well go kill myself.”For my family? No, for my freedom!

The elf girl, Aria is an adventurer. Her enchanting, lovely features attracts everyone. Her twin peaks are ripened to the point of exploding. Then, being embraced in between those twin peaks was a little animal… his name is Tama.

He looks like to be a cat at first glance, but Aria and her surrounding companions failed to take notice of single detail. Tama, he’s a human who’d reincarnated, given a second chance at life. His true form, it’s not that of an ordinary cat. Instead, he’s a monster of the strongest class, an extremely young behemoth.

Zev prowled towards her, all shining, brutal beauty, his chin low and those incredible, piercing eyes fixed on her. He didn’t stop until they were toe-to-toe and he blocked her view of every other male in the circle.

His eyes dipped to her mouth as he leaned in, his whisper playing on her skin.

“You. Are. Mine.”

His deep voice twanged in her belly as the howls of the wolf pack rose from behind him to echo across the mountains of Thana, while the other Chimera protested his claim.

Fighting the urge to stroke his broad, bare chest with her shaking hands, Sasha forced herself to tilt her head and raise an eyebrow. “So bold for a pup who just found his fangs.”

The other males roared with laughter.

Ignoring their taunts, Zev’s eyes sparked and he leaned even closer, the scruff on his jaw tickling her cheek as he smiled. “So bold for a human who already knows the pleasure of gasping my name.”

She shivered when his teeth grazed her ear.

*****

Just days after Sasha gave herself to her childhood love, he disappeared. Five years later, on a dark city street, Zev came back—with danger on his tail.

Zev is Chimera: Half-human, half-wolf. Made in a secure research lab, his existence is a secret. But when the powerful men who created him try to kill the only woman who ever made his heart sing, Zev snaps their leash and steals her away to the brutal, hidden world of the Chimera clans.

Torn between the magnetic draw of her first love and the painful betrayal of his disappearance, Sasha tries to keep Zev at arms-length. But when they reach this mysterious world, Zev discovers that in his absence the humans took control and stole almost all the females. The Chimera are dying—and Zev isn’t Alpha anymore.

Now, Zev must fight his own people to win the right to mate his only love. Can he prove to her that his long-ago promise to protect her heart, as well as her body, was true? Or will the humans cross worlds to hunt the wolf and tear the lovers apart forever?

[Mature content, no sexual assault]