Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty - Chapter 69: The broken Trust

'Why' does one strive to attain power?For what reason does one endure various rigorous trainings, endure the bruises and the batterings, and go ahead to drill their soul and body into perfect shape just to become stronger?Those ridiculously overpowered, god-like monsters that walked the Earth knew, because they never stopped training.But I didn't know the reason.Why, one might ask?The answer was quite simple, really.I had no desire to 'know' the reason, and I had no drive to discover the 'why.'It was because my circumstances gave me no reason to become stronger. And stupidly enough, I greatly believed that I was strong enough to fend for myself.But boy was I wrong.Fate punched me in the guts, and proceeded to give me very, very good reasons to abandon my narrowed mentality and strive to become stronger than I thought I was.And those reasons multiplied by the day.As I ventured out of the dreary slum-like backlands that I grew up in — diving head first into the wider world overrun by monstrous aliens, insanely advanced technology, and humans with supernatural powers — the initial 'why' had grown to become quite... numerous.So come. Come read my story.And see how I crawled out of the depths of the dejected Island called the backlands as a nameless underachiever, and grew to become a.. tether to the entire universe.Come read how I came to be called...The Twilight of the Vast Expanses.

Iona, the knight who was the loyal dog of the tyrant Emperor, gave her life for him. But her lord, whom she trusted, abandoned her in the end, and the person who stood by her side in her death was no other than her husband.“I want to kiss you one last time.” Iona demanded on the verge of death.“I’m telling you in advance… Just in case… You won’t die and this won’t be our last kiss.”Satisfied with her non-lonely death, she closed her eyes.When Iona woke up again, she realized that she had returned to the past and her husband was again chosen to be her partner.Though her past wasn’t good, one thing she also didn’t want to change was her husband, the only success in her life. If so, she should at least turn this marriage into a ‘successful marriage’, she decided.“Lord Leroy, I will formally propose to you; Please marry me. I will definitely make you happy.”Iona was determined to repay her husband for his generosity. Just the way she wanted.

While traveling through the world of the gods, Su Mo stumbled upon a discovery that would change his life forever. He integrated infinitely upgradable succubus blood into his body and became a mighty Demon God, all while maintaining his guise as an ordinary earl in the human kingdom.Su Mo enjoyed teasing the little succubus and even had a penchant for abducting angels from the heavens, much to the dismay of the Heavenly Goddess who often expressed her anger. His comfortable life took a drastic turn when countless people from the Blue Star unexpectedly arrived in the world of the gods. Among them were both protagonists and villains. A confrontation between the two sides has begun.Su Mo was taken aback when he discovered that he was one of the villains. However, due to an accident during time travel, he had arrived twenty years earlier than anyone else.“What’s going on? I’ve become a Demon God, and now you want me to be a minor villain?” Su Mo exclaimed.His decision to become a villain left countless protagonists trembling in his wake.Please note that this novel and its characters are purely fictitious. Any similarities to real-life individuals or events are strictly coincidental and should not be imitated.

Gao Yang was an orphan who, at the age of six, crossed over to a “parallel world” and began living in a warm family of five.When he turned eighteen, Gao Yang accidentally discovered the truth about this world: it wasn't a parallel world at all, but a mysterious realm, and the loved ones and friends around him were all terrifying “Monsters”!Gao Yang, upon uncovering this truth, narrowly escaped death and, at a crucial moment, gained a system called “Luck” .The longer he survived, the stronger he became! And so, a deadly game of sheep and wolves unfolded...