Ashen Requiem - Chapter 63: The Goethe Defense

Peace is a lie told by kings sitting on a pile of corpse..........In a dying world ravaged by dungeons, beasts, and alien gods, only one truth remains:Power decides everything.Some Heroes are kind.Some are just.Most... are monsters wearing crowns of light.Ezekiel Zahara was supposed to die forgotten, a bastard stain in a noble bloodline.They tried to kill him.They failed.He awakened a mysterious system that enabled him to fuse lifeforms with machines into something neither man nor gods could comprehend.With circuits running through his Spirit Veins and mechanical beasts by his side, Ezekiel will carve his legend into the bones of the world.

Two Zatarian youths embark on a cross-dimensional journey to uncover their true identities, encountering both allies and formidable adversaries along the way.They must collaborate to decipher the significance of the symbol imprinted on them, but a faction known as the Nitharians seeks to eliminate them before they can uncover the truth. Naburo, the leader of the Nitharians, has dispatched his most trusted son and his team to guarantee the success of this mission.Will Naburo's son and his team prevail before the Zatarians discover their true selves?

-- WSA 2025 Entry --“Five… Four… Three… Two… One…”As the countdown towards the new year went on to the last second, Miles looked up to the sky, just as everybody else did.In the middle of the crowded street, Miles for once felt like he belonged. Being a teenage gamer, living with his parents, and trying to build a life as a streamer, he did not feel like leaving his room every day.But there, in the middle of that crowded street, with everyone around him paying attention to the sky, the countdown on the digital billboard, and mostly anything else but him., Miles felt like a ghost.A welcomed ghost, but a ghost, after all.With a smile on his unseen face, he looked up as the countdown reached one, and everybody sang in unison.‘HAPPY NEW YEAR!”But Miles’ eyes widened as he watched in utter horror, and curiosity, even, hovering above him, a holographic screen with a few lines of text written in it.All around him, although he did not pay much attention to it, a few other people seemed to experience the same situation.[Updating home-world 39515’s version][Version 20.25 update brings a lot of fun and games with the new and improved survival mode][Do you want to convert your previous avatar to home-world 39515’s latest version?][Yes] [No]“Survival… Mode?” Miles’ lips quivered.Before he could think of anything else, though, the people around him began to scream…

Mallory is a self-proclaimed queen of laziness who wakes up one day to find herself in a world overrun by zombies. Fortunately, her apartment seems to have a mind of its own—and it’s evolving. From providing unlimited snacks to generating electricity and even sprouting a dimensional elevator, her cozy haven keeps her safe and comfortable while others struggle to survive outside.But when her evolving apartment drags her into alternate realities, Mallory must reluctantly become the “hero” of bizarre worlds, from candy-coated kingdoms to high-tech dystopias. Armed with her magical Staff of Lazula, which lets her achieve greatness with minimal effort, Mallory stumbles into one comedic escapade after another. Whether she's outsmarting sorceresses or surviving talking gummy bears, Mallory proves that you don’t need to be a go-getter to be a hero—just really, really good at being lazy.Join Mallory and her apartment in an adventure that no one expected!