Empress Running Away with the Ball - Chapter 22: The owner determines what the dog becomes

I was sixteen when the gods abandoned me.The Blessing Ritual was supposed to grant me power, a divine gift to carve my future. Instead, I received nothing. No abilities. No hope. Just another nameless soul left to rot in a world ruled by strength.Fine. If the gods wouldn’t bless me, I’d make my own power.For ten years, I clawed my way forward, experimenting with forces no human should touch. I pushed too far—and it killed me.Then I woke up.Sixteen again. Back at the Ritual. But this time, something changed.Time bends at my will. Blood moves when I command it.The gods still won’t acknowledge me, but it doesn’t matter. This world isn’t fair, and I’ve stopped playing by its rules. Faith and Chaos clash in my veins, and I will use them both.They wanted a Chosen Hero, someone to dance to their tune.Well, too bad for them—I’ll carve my own fate.

Arthur was a weak and cowardly boy who lacked the power to protect anyone—a truth brutally demonstrated when his parents were massacred while defending him during a Gate outbreak. As the sole survivor, Arthur spent weeks believing his life was over. When intense chest pains began, he assumed he'd been infected with corruption by the void creature that killed his parents and was merely waiting for death.What Arthur didn't expect was that these sensations actually signaled his Realm Core forming. In two months' time, he would be forcefully transported to the next realm and awaken new powers, becoming one of the world-renowned “Chosen” who protect humanity from Gate outbreaks. Now Arthur must rise through the heights of power, climbing each of the seven realms in hopes of saving his world... or does he?

“Abused and disowned by her family after she was found heavily pregnant, Ji Weixi was forced to leave her hometown with nothing to her name. She returns four years later, only to be caught in a job with Li Shaoling, her stepsister’s fiancé-to-be as her boss.

***

Ji Weixi was holding up a certain body part of the child and aiming it at the toilet.

The tot’s brow eased amidst the gushing. “”Comfy…””

Li Shaoling’s gaze was overwhelmingly icy. “”You are not allowed to touch him there!””

Ji Weixi stared at him as if she was staring at an idiot. “”By what right?””

Li Shaoling glared at her. “”You are only allowed to look at mine.””

Never!!!”

- Description from Novelupdates

A recurring nightmare afflicted Khan's nights since the Second Impact. His dreams replayed the scenes of the crash of the Nak's spaceship, an alien race that the humans had defeated five hundred years ago.