Sovereign of the Ashes - Chapter 2: Black Mage

Dani was just an ordinary high school student—until fate played its cruel hand. After losing his parents at 15, he was left alone in the world with only money to his name. Neglecting his health, he developed cancer, and while waiting for death in a hospital bed, he found solace in novels, manhwas, and manga.He often cursed the weak romance in harem stories, where the MC had power and a harem but did nothing while the women fought over him. But one novel captivated him—a masterpiece about 100 heroines, each with tragic pasts, rising to the top of the world. It wasn’t about an overpowered male protagonist but about the struggles and triumphs of these heroines.“If only I could transmigrate into this world and marry them all...”Then he died—and woke up inside the very novel he admired.But not as the protagonist. Not even as a major character.Instead, he is reborn as Dani Everhart, one of the many sons of the king, a forgotten prince with no real power or influence. He is wealthy but not a contender for the throne, overshadowed by his brilliant older brother. However, he has one advantage—his knowledge of the story.He knows the heroines' hidden pain, their struggles, their tragedies.And he refuses to let them suffer.With no grand ambitions for power, Dani sets his sights on a single goal—to make each of these women fall in love with him, forming the greatest harem the world has ever seen.But as Dani gathers heroines by his side, his actions begin to change the story itself.And soon, the world will realize—this forgotten prince is no background character.He’s about to rise.

Guzi transmigrated into a novel and became a character in a story about a true and false rich heiress.While others who transmigrated into novels become the true heiress, she became the fake heiress. To make matters worse, both she and the true heiress are engaged.She was engaged to the son of a military leader, while the true heiress was engaged to a divorced man with three children from his previous marriage.Guzi's parents, caring for the true heiress, decide to have Guzi marry in her place. In the book, the character “Guzi” was furious and attempted suicide but failed.As a result, she lost the love and favor of her parents. After marrying the divorced man,“Guzi” blamed him for all the wrongdoings and mistreated his children. Eventually, he could no longer tolerate her actions and divorced her. “Guzi” would become a destitute beggar and die miserably on the street.After transmigrating into the book, Guzi left her family and married the divorced man. When she faced the man and his three children, Guzi believed that the original owner of her body made a terrible mistake.This was a painless experience of being a mother without any hardships to endure!On the other hand, the true heiress had to deal with her husband's illegitimate child and fight for family assets. She would lead a daily life full of hardships.The true heiress consoled herself, thinking that she was still better off than Guzi. She had to raise someone else's child and care for an old man.However, one day she sees Guzi stepping out of a luxurious car with a protruding belly, supported by the richest man in the city.Looking aggrieved, Guzi got out of the car and said, “We agreed not to have children!”The man beside her responded tenderly, “Sorry, my mistake.”

One day, when a novelist woke up from a restless sleep,he realized that he had transformed into his 12-year-old self.

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.