Deep Sea Embers - Chapter 678: The Path in the Mist

Amidst the eerie silence of an unfamiliar hall, a cacophony of confused voices rose, mingling in a chorus of bewilderment. “Where are we?” “What happened?” “I thought I died!” Each utterance hung in the air, a testament to the collective disbelief gripping the room.As the haze of confusion lifted, disjointed memories surfaced, fragments of lives cut short by tragedy. “I remember... I was stabbed...” ventured one voice, echoed by another's affirmation of a similar fate. “I... I died in a plane crash,” muttered a third, only to be met with a stunned agreement from a fellow survivor.Amidst the chaos of bewildered voices, one man stood apart, his expression a mask of contemplation amidst the turmoil. As his companions recounted their brushes with death, his mind churned with questions, each more confounding than the last.“I got shot... I remember it vividly,” he murmured to himself, his voice barely audible above the din. “So how am I still here?” The enigma of their shared resurrection gnawed at him, compelling him to seek answers in the depths of his memories.With each revelation of a paired demise—a male and female, bound by the same tragic fate—a flicker of recognition ignited within him. “This... this seems familiar,” he mused, the pieces of a puzzle slowly coalescing in his mind. But the picture remained incomplete, obscured by the fog of uncertainty that shrouded their surroundings.As the words “pairs, pairs, pairs” echoed in his mind like a cryptic mantra, a sudden realization struck him with the force of a revelation. “It can't be... don't tell me...” he whispered, his voice trembling with disbelief. With a sense of urgency, he began to scan his surroundings, searching for any sign or clue that could confirm his suspicions.Then, as if guided by an unseen force, his gaze shifted upwards, and there, bathed in an ethereal light, stood an angelic figure with golden apparel, its gaze fixed upon him with a warm smile. The sight took his breath away, filling him with a mixture of awe and trepidation.The man's heart raced as faced a real angel, his mind struggling to comprehend the surreal encounter unfolding before him. The angel's words, spoken with an air of amusement, only deepened the enigma shrouding their meeting.“I never expected anyone to notice me,” the angel remarked, a hint of playfulness in its voice. “I was concealing my presence to let everyone fully calm down, but to think someone noticed me. Just who are you?”Ethan's disbelief and confusion intensified at the angel's question. “Eh... Ethan Rivers,” he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.As Aurelia, the angel, finally revealed himself to the bewildered assembly, a hush fell over the room, each soul drawn in by his radiant presence and commanding aura. Ethan's gaze lingered on Aurelia.“Greetings, lost souls,” Aurelia declared, his voice resonating with a majestic power that seemed to fill the very air around them. “I am Aurelia, and I shall be your guide to your new life.”As Aurelia extended his arms in a gesture of welcome, Ethan felt a surge of rage and hesitation, “This it bad, really bad.”

I, Maehara Maki, someone who couldn’t make any acquaintances or friends in high school, finally had someone I can hang out with outside of school. A girl.

Her name was Asanagi-san. The boys in my class called her ‘The class’ second cutest girl’ behind her back.

On Fridays, she would refuse her best friend, Amami, ‘the cutest girl in class’ invitation just to hang out in my house with me.

Together, we played games, watched some movies, read some manga while eating junk foods like pizza and hamburgers, and chugging cola without a care in the world. To others, we may seem sloppy, but it was a precious, secret time together for Asanagi-san and myself.

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.

“Those who defy the heavens must be prepared to pay the price.”Zhu Rong dared to forge a divine grade weapon in the mortal world, an act the heavens deemed a challenge to their authority.In response, the tribulation descended with fury, striking him down and ending his life in a blaze of divine wrath.But death was not the end.In the moment his soul scattered, he awoke once more... in the body of his 17 year old self.With his memories intact and the mistakes of his past laid bare, Zhu Rong is granted a second chance, to repair the regrets that once shackled his heart, to reclaim the strength he once lost, and to finish the masterpiece that cost him everything.This time, he will forge his legend anew.And this time, not even the heavens will dare to stand in his way.