Mark of the Fool - Chapter 242: Reckoning

Xuanqian Continent, where sects stood in great numbers and experts abounded.The youth, Zhou Heng, with a mysterious black Broken Sword in his Dantian, emerged from Origin Stone Town and fought his way to claim a piece of the world in this grand era.To the exceedingly wicked, kill!To those who bullied my friends and family, kill!To those who obstructed my path to enlightenment, kill!On the path to the heavens, I tread with songs, with a sword in hand, I alone am honored under the heavens!

Nova scrambled backwards, panting hard, her short locks clinging to her damp forehead as she watched this predator stalk towards her. The vibrant and lively forest hushed, almost holding its breath to watch the scene unfold. Great, she had an audience for what would surely be a gruesome death.Death looked... a little... rugged and in nothing but a loin cloth, defined by slabs of muscle, a trail of hair leading down to such a small piece of cloth to hide a large-A spine-chilling growl snapped her gaze back up to meet his golden-red eyes, fiery, and intense, glaring at Nova as he slammed his hands either side of her head. Pieces of bark crumbled down from the impact.“I told you not to run...” He threatened, his eyes piercing hers, his voice more guttural than she'd heard from any male. His eyes clenched shut as his body trembled. “My instinct is to always stalk, always chase... until I get what I want..”Their faces were inches apart. She could feel his hot breath fanning her face. The forest was humid and hot, and his body was so close to hers that it was almost unbearable. The gruff voice, those words and the intensity of those eyes that reminded her of sunsets caused goosebumps to flourish across her arms.“What do you want?” Nova swallowed, not recognising her voice. She was so out of her depth. His chest rumbled, and more bark crumbled down from behind her head.“You...”Her breath hitched.“To. Do. As. You're. Told.”Paradise was what Nova Winslow was promised when her boyfriend whisked her away to Isla De Tayun, the perfect getaway for their busy lives. It was untouched, pristine, a hidden gem.But it had remained that way for a reason. The island doesn’t want visitors. And neither do the natives.What should have been a romantic retreat, drinking from coconuts and lounging on white-sandy beaches together, turns into a holiday from hell.Mid-argument with her soon-to-be ex, Nova stumbles into a lake. When she resurfaces, her boyfriend, the path she came from, and the resort have vanished.Alone, stranded, and with little survival skills, Nova has only a wet phone with no signal, a pair of heels, and an irrational fear of bats—which are everywhere. She is out of her depth when she falls into a mystical world of beasts.Hunted by tribesmen, stalked by beasts that shouldn't exist, and hearing animals speak, she has no choice but to trust the wild beast the forest itself fears—Yoa, a wanted man. Together, they flee the tribes pursuing them all while battling her growing attraction to Yoa.Can she survive the wild and make it back to her civilised life? Or will she lose herself to the untamed world—and to the man who belongs to it?

This red dragon came from the vast wilderness, coveting all the powers of the world. He has held countless titles: Mountain Fury, Purgatorial Calamity, Red Emperor, Ember Dragon…The world trembles under the shadow of the great dragon. He ignited the surge of the magical industrial revolution. In the empire he established, wyverns roar, cannon fire resounds, steel behemoths appear in the sky and on the earth, and disasters from other worlds run rampant.“Submit, or die.”Cassius spread his sky-shading wings, looking down upon the trembling humans, elves, and dwarves beneath him, and spoke thus.………A story of a red dragon with a built-in player template conquering, ruling, and transforming another world.(Pseudo D&D, Fourth Catastrophe, Red Dragon, translation )

How long will it take for a murdered thief to distill into something monstrous? In this story the darkness only grows stronger, and its reach only grows wider as it expands by devouring the life that surrounds it. This is a dark fantasy where evil is a where, not just a who that focuses on slow progression, undeath, and atmospheric storytelling.