Weaves of Ashes - Chapter 22 - 17: The Council of Blood

The world was once at war with 10 alternate worlds. This was known as the Concept War and our world won 60 years ago. All of this was concealed so no normal people are aware of this fact in the current time.

After the death of his grandfather, the high-school student Sayama Mikoto is suddenly summoned by the giant corporation IAI. He learns this world is headed for destruction due to the acceleration of the Minus Concepts. To prevent this, negotiations must be undertaken with the survivors of the other parallel worlds so their 10 concepts can be released.

And so Sayama is caught up in the final battle to clean up after the Concept War which left behind so much enmity.

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)

Shao Qing grew up in the orphanage. In order to survive he went to school during the day and worked part-time at a restaurant during night, becoming a proficient cook. He was looking for his parents when he got into a traffic accident and died. He was reborn into decades before and activated the portable space in his jade pendant. He grew many kinds of flowers, planted trees and sold fruits, opened a restaurant and filmed videos.

In this time when internet celebrities are all on the rage, I must stand above the other shows.

Boss Ling Senhao: Lately I’ve taken a liking to this one person. Long legs, slender waist, really good at acting and the key point is he makes good food. Say, should I sign him or should I sign him?
Mo Shaoqing: So we only agree to work together?
Everyone: Male god Mo’s food is so delicious *cries*
Mo Shaoqing: Actually I’m a cook who’d being held back by my acting work!

In short, this is a gourmet internet celebrity. He started with private kitchen, exploded from forums to weibo then to the entertainment world, from China to overseas, getting the attention of everyone.

The guide to eating:
1. There’s a little bun, but the main character doesn’t have double gender.
2. Sunny handsome fine dining expert Shou × half-chinese foodie elite Gong.
3. Last year’s, mainly about good food, a bit of Xuanhuan, as well as some showbiz.
4. (Mary) Sue novel, there’s a golden finger.

- Description from Novelupdates

« MATURE CONTENT »His name is Raven Lustre. And the universe fucked him from day one.Imagine this: You get isekai'd to a fantasy world. Finally, right? Your moment. Dragon slayers, demon kings, the whole power fantasy package. Except when everyone else rolled Dragon, Archangel, Titan—bloodlines so pure they could split mountains on day one—you got Incubus.60% purity. The discount bin special.Not the “seduce and conquer” kind you read about in those masterpiece web novels. The “your pheromones are weaker than cologne” kind. The “you can't charm anyone stronger than you” kind. Which in a world where everyone else is a walking apocalypse? Means you can't charm anyone who matters.So while Gareth—the muscle-brained Titan hero—was bench-pressing boulders, and Astasia—the Holy Archangel with a body that belonged in a cathedral and a face she hid behind a helmet—was literally glowing with divine power, Raven was in the back. The strategist. The brain. The guy they kept around because someone had to think.And they hated him for it.Astasia called him trash. Disgusting. Bastard. Freak.Every curse word a noblewoman could learn, she threw at him like stones. He thought she despised him. Thought she saw him as the weakest link dragging down the hero party.Turns out? 89% favorability. She was a fucking tsundere.And he never knew. Never saw it. Because he was too busy surviving, too busy stealing quick fucks with noblewomen in hallways just to recharge his trash-tier powers, too busy being treated like a prostitute with a brain instead of a hero.Then there was Nyra. The cat-woman. Gareth's slave. The one Raven fucked in secret because that idiot was too busy drawing pictures of Astasia like a lovesick puppy. 96% favorability. The one who actually loved him. The one he promised to free.And he failed.An Incubus got who died at Hand of Succubus during their first Session.The End.