The Divine Elements - Chapter 172: The Cry

At the heart of a wish lies an attempt at completion, a human desire to become our true and final selves. Wishes are fuelled by regrets and are bound eternally to the past, serving as approximations of what once was. We all experience regret and nostalgia, leading us to make wishes and find despair, but can we become our true selves despite this all?That's where the story of a girl who struggles to control her desires begins...Two souls sharing the same body and memory are living in Kyoto 2031. Tang-Ji Shizukesa, a girl who's grown up in her previous life with a hardcore passion for gaming, is now a bookworm in her new life who has no interest in video games. Along with her, Kazami and Hoyeon, the three childhood friends who separated 7 years ago due to an accident, have now been reunited again in a VRMMORPG game known as Dusk Protocol. The game has a unique combat system known as “Leere,” a physical manifestation of an individual soul that can be conjured into deadly weapons.As Tang-Ji navigates this virtual world, she confronts the echoes of her past and the dissonance between her former self and her present identity. How will she cope with the rediscovery of a life she thought she left behind? How will Kazami and Hoyeon react to the new Tang-Ji? In a world where reality is malleable and death is just a click of a button away, the boundaries between past and present blur, forcing everyone to grapple with the truth of who they truly are.Disclaimer: This novel contains explicit language, violence, racism, and sexual scenes. There are also scenes that deal with various traumas, from physical to emotional to mental.(THE CHARACTERS’ CIRCUMSTANCES , TRAITS, AND BELIEFS IN THIS NOVEL ARE ALL BASED ON A TRUE STORY.)

Anton is a great-grandfather. He is living quite a happy life, despite his advanced age and declining health… until a group of cultivator bandits moves into the area. The nearby guardians of the area, the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars, are unable to track them down as they continue to ravage nearby towns. During one desperate winter Anton is out on a hunt when his family- his entire village- is killed or taken as slaves by the bandits. He lacks the strength to fight them, and he wasn’t even present for their arrival to die with his loved ones. At the pit of his despair, he wonders if he ever had any chance to change things. What could he even do? He cannot even pull his best bow, and his eyesight is failing. If he had been a cultivator… perhaps there might have been a chance, but he was decades- perhaps even most of his life- too late.Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge (2022)Notes on cultivation levels:There are five general stages of cultivation, though the fifth is extremely rare. Each cultivation style might have their own name for the stages.1. Body Tempering2. Spirit Building/ occasionally System Creation (Ninety-Nine Stars)3. Constellation Formation (Ninety-Nine Stars)4. Life Transformation/Galaxy Construction (Ninety-Nine Stars)5. Ascension

“Chief, it’s bad; our people are injured! Hurry, take them to the Divine Tree!”“Chief, it’s bad; our people are on the brink of death, about to perish! Quick, to the Divine Tree!”“Chief, it’s bad; our people have just passed away! Quickly, to the Divine Tree, and do not let the body grow cold on the way!”Reincarnated as a frail locust tree, Ji Yang merely wished to bask in the sun each day, gaze upon the moon, and live a leisurely life.Yet, years later, as Ji Yang looked down upon all beings, he suddenly realized that this world lay upon his roots and within his shade.And that initial small clan, unbeknownst to him, had its name resound through the heavens!

(Apocalypse Farming, Sweet Pet 1V1) As soon as she opened her eyes, Su Shu found herself reborn two months before the Apocalypse. Before her rebirth, a certain man watched over her and protected her for three years, almost going as far as dragging her home to swallow her whole. After her rebirth, not only did she have to raise her adorable genius niece, but she also had to take care of a wolfish husband. This Apocalypse was a bit different! The pitiful her from her previous life now not only had a heaven-defying space, but also blood-related family, and on top of that, the indulgent spoiling of Tang Dashao, who sprinkled dog food without restraint. Su Shu thought, even if the heavens required her to reset and start over once again, it wouldn't matter. She would just meet Buddha, kill Buddha; meet a ghost, kill a ghost!