Rise of the Living Forge - Chapter 367: Nothing

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.

[[MATURE AND DISTURBING CONTENT, R18+!!]]In a mysterious and mesmerizing tale, Charlotte, a young fair lady with a passion for art, is thrust into the world of intrigue and danger on her 18th birthday. After making a daring escape from her family's sprawling mansion, she finds herself at the mercy of the notorious Madame Dorothea, who offers her freedom in exchange for her aid in a mysterious case.Together with the mysterious noble woman, Charlotte must unravel the secrets buried in the grim and mysterious case of the Calestinia family by the request of the countess in exchange for her desired freedom.[Read the story to find out what happened.]Content/Trigger Warning: This story contains violence, heinous crime, swear words, and other disturbing scenes. Please be guided that the author had already warned you.Advertisement: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, laws and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.ALSO AVAILABLE ON: Wattpad [[AWARDED AS THE AMBY AWARDS QUALIFIER]]Wattpad Username: Signora Dmitrei

The Earth mutated and an entire city disappeared from its original world! Su Yi arrived in the Different World strangely with the whole city, where demons ran amok, dynasty hegemony. There was no peace of modern civilization, only the law of jungle! Fortunately, his phone also changed... Gods, demons, monsters, Buddhas, fairies, etc., were all pulled into his mobile phone for his use! I am the king of demons, and I am the Lord of gods!

I watch him, his green eyes brimming with concern as he gently massages my scarred leg. The sensation is both soothing and a stark reminder of my own inadequacy. The once-feared Crimson General, a symbol of power and invincibility, is now nothing but a frail shadow of his former self. I’ve been abandoned, left to decay in this forsaken place, my family and comrades long forgotten. Darkness had become my only solace, and I had resigned myself to it.Then he arrived, a beacon of light in my endless night. His presence, his care—it’s more than I ever deserved. Yet, I find myself clinging to him with an intensity that borders on madness. I hate that I need him so desperately, that his every action and word have become my lifeline. It consumes me, a torment I can't escape.“You don't have to do this. Please, don’t do this. I’m nothing. You deserve better. Leave. Please,” I beg, my voice trembling with raw anguish, the very words tearing me apart.He continues his work, seemingly unaffected by my pleas.“Why are you here? Look at me! I’m nothing.”Desperation and anger swell within me, mixing into a maelstrom of anxiety. I can’t comprehend the emotions coursing through me.“You're my alpha, where else would I be?” he responds softly, his gaze unwavering, as if my pleas were mere background noise.My heart races, torn between overwhelming relief and paralyzing dread. In that moment, I realize the truth: you would have to tear him from my cold, lifeless arms. I’m never letting go.General Thorne, betrayed and broken, finds new life and love with Omega Noelle, who nurses him back to health. Their deepening bond reveals Thorne’s softer side, offering a chance at happiness. Unfortunately, Thorne’s past soon catches up with them, threatening their newfound peace.