Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition - Chapter 242: Story : The Price of Vigilance

The original novel for the short drama 'A Promise of a Joyful Life,' now available.Five years ago, she was forced by her family to take the fall and was imprisoned, even giving birth to twin boys in jail.Five years later, she marries a dying man in a coma to ward off bad luck. Everyone thought Eliza Sutton was finished, but who knew that Eliza Sutton would transform into a big shot with multiple identities.Shane Lockwood cornered her against the wall: “Mrs. Lockwood, are you having fun playing with me?”Eliza Sutton reluctantly replied, “It's alright, I guess.”Shane Lockwood took Eliza Sutton's hand: “It seems Mrs. Lockwood doesn't think I'm trying hard enough. Tonight, I'll make you even happier.”

The Last Touched is a haunting fantasy of bloodlines, broken fate, and the perilous cost of power.Elsbeth MoonChild is the last of the touched—the final descendant of a cursed lineage bound to the flame. As Alpha of the shattered 12th pack, she bears the ruin left by her father’s crime: the murder of the queen. Branded by his betrayal, hunted by her former chosen mate, and driven into exile with the last of her people, Elsbeth has one desperate path forward—to survive, she must stake her claim in the Rite of Queens, an ancient trial that demands strength, sacrifice, and the will to rule.But the Rite does more than test her body and mind. It pulls her backward in time, submerging her into the forgotten life of her ancestor—the first queen. As memories bleed into dreams and dreams into waking, Elsbeth begins to unravel a long-buried truth: the flame in her blood is not just magic. It is a weapon. A curse. A gift once traded in blood and sacrifice to end an age of chaos.And she is not the only one who carries it.Julia, her estranged sister—exiled, fire-born, and half-mad with hunger—is no hybrid. She is the living echo of the power their bloodline tried to bury. Ruthless, charismatic, and driven by the belief that the throne was stolen from her, Julia is building a gospel of grievance and flame. Her army grows in the shadows, fed by secrets and stolen children. And with each ritual, the ancient seal weakens, waking something that was never meant to rise again.Torn between duty and desire, Elsbeth clings to the one thing that keeps her tethered—Fen, her true mate, a being older than he appears, hiding a divine truth of his own. Their bond runs deeper than fate, but it terrifies her. To surrender to it would mean choosing love over the kingdom. And if she falls too far, the flame inside her might burn her from within… just as it did her father.As old gods stir and the fire in her blood begins to answer the call of something watching from beneath the ice, Elsbeth must decide: will she become the queen her people need? Or the weapon her blood was meant to wield?

Aizel has been depressed since he was a young man. From being tormented in school to being treated as an outcast solely because he is an antisocial person, the only things that kept him going were novels, manga, piano, and sword practice.He never anticipated being transferred to another world while drunk by the side of a lake under the moon. The world with mana is filled with superpowers, magic, and monsters, and he is unsure whether he is dreaming or not.Only to discover later that he possesses a power that may be called the most deadliest thing he could have ever imagined, but with limitations and drawbacks...“All of the kingdoms, magic, and everything about Xelgar fascinate me. But what Alora said makes me very curious.”“I knew I could easily use sword skills, fire skills, and techniques because I had seen and read so many anime and novels. I still can't believe that there is now a unique power as well.”“Is it true that I possess the power of imagination, as Alora claims? Isn't that a little overpowering? However, I was still unable to use some techniques and skills in the fights. The power has a disadvantage and a limitation.”“Is that because of my cracked core? If I can somehow recover it, will I be able to do anything just by imagining?”

Divorced, disowned and down on her luck, Shui Anluo was determined to move on and live a peaceful life… That is, until her ex-husband somehow managed to find out about her baby. Now, he’s insisting that she should move back in with him. Soon, he realizes that he cannot live without her… But the road to marriage is bumpy, and Shui Anluo isn’t too willing to go through with the heartbreak again. Can she take back everything that belongs to her? Will she find the courage to jump in and fall in love again?