Tales of the Endless Empire - Chapter 28: Forged by Fear, Bound by Power

“There is no fairness in this godforsaken world”

- Leo

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With the appearance of the ferocious beasts and hideous monsters, humanity was on the verge of extinction.

As humanity lost its hope, a few otherworldly beings referred to themselves as ‘Gods’ appeared and helped humans in creating new cities from the rumbles.

Before leaving the world, they left a special gift that could help the humans awaken their talents hidden deeply in their bodies as there were still monsters and beasts outside these newly created cities.

With the help of their newly awakened talents, the humans started fighting the monsters and beasts on their own.

That’s the beginning of a new chapter in human history as humans started becoming heroes.

In such a world, a 12-year-old kid was framed for theft and the murder of his adoptive parents by some powerful heroes.

Furthermore, they even planned to kill him and make his body disappear to avoid future trouble.

However, after 10 years, he returned to the city with a different name to take revenge against those so-called powerful heroes while trying to find out the reason behind the death of his adoptive parents.

“I don’t know exactly who you are and why you did that, but I will find out even if I have to kill all the powerful heroes in the city.”

Standing in front of the gates of the Phirie city, Leo muttered to himself with a cold look on his face.

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.

A car accident left Mu Lan, who was about to get a divorce, with sudden amnesia.Gazing at the strange man before her claiming to be her husband, Mu Lan was speechless. Could her taste really be that terrible that she chose a man with a poker face?“Whether I was blind or out of my mind before, since the heavens have granted me amnesia, this is an opportunity to start anew.So, this marriage, I'm definitely ending it!”However, no one can escape the so-called 'True Fragrance Law.'Not only did she fail to get the divorce, but she also ended up investing herself into it....Tingxiao never expected to suddenly find charm in the woman he had married for seven years and hardly bothered to look at more than once, all because of her amnesia.But even though they had agreed that once her family overcame their difficulties, they would go their separate ways, he found himself unable to let go.“Tingxiao, you're shameless, breaking your promise and growing fat from it.”“If I'm fat, I'm fat; for my wife, I accept it!”

Where does the game end? Where does reality start?

When one very anticipated VRMMORPG was about to be launched, and Jake was one of the first players to have a chance to access it, he had a weird dream of himself fighting massive beasts and then seeing a world being destroyed.

Without knowing any better, Jake assumes that it was just a weird dream, but then he begins to have those weird dreams again and again until they become even more vivid, and much to his surprise, whenever the dream changes, he obtains a new power inside the game.

It doesn't take long for Jake to realize that he isn't the only one who has those dreams, and soon enough, Jake realizes that the game and reality are a lot more connected than he thought.