MTL - Pirates: Steel Chain Fingers - v2 Chapter 389 5 old star's response

In a supernatural infested world, we have the awakened- an elite group of people gifted with superpowers. And the transcenders- humans who consume divinity potions even at the risk of losing their sanity.And then, we have me who awakened with little to no prior memory of my past. Now trapped in a cursed, and wretched land infested with nightmarish creatures of all kinds.I; with the help of my latent time-rewind ability, the mysterious blue chaotic flame; alongside fragmented memories and unlikely allies made in the world of nightmares must find a way to escape to the real world.All while trying to keep in check a small yet dangerously fatal side effect.But the deeper I delve into this world’s horrors, the more I realized—I wasn't just running from the monsters around me. I was running from the one inside.Additional tags: Dark fantasy + Dark souls element, supernatural + psychological horror and finally:Mystery, tension and suspense + ground breaking lore and world building.

Long time ago, the world was ruled by the Primordials — an ancient and powerful race who mastered magic and shaped the land with runes and magic. They built bastions that stood as monuments to their greatness, cities protected by powerful enchantments. But their thirst for even greater power led to disaster. They opened gates to another realm… and unleashed demons.What followed was swift and brutal. The Primordials fought back, but they lost. Their civilization crumbled, their names were erased, and only the magical bastions remained — sealed places protected by forgotten runes that even demons could not cross.Now, demons rule the night. Humanity lives in fear, hiding behind rune-marked walls, unaware of their true origins or how close the world stands to its final collapse.Into this broken world falls Alex — a stranger from another reality. Upon his arrival, he awakens a forbidden power within himself: nature magic and the ability to shapeshift. A gift… and a curse.Magic is forbidden. Hunted. Destroyed. If anyone discovers what he is, he could be executed on the spot. But only through his power does Alex stand a chance of surviving… and fighting back. As he journeys across this dark and ruined land, he begins to unravel secrets long buried, truths about the demons’ origin, and the real reason the world fell.This is a dark fantasy tale of blood, survival, ancient knowledge, and inner transformation. Alex must choose what he will become: a monster, a savior… or something in between.Hello and welcome to everyone who decided to read my first writing attempts!The story you are reading is created in my free time, so new chapters will be released approximately 3-4 times a week. I run my own business, which sometimes makes it difficult to find a moment to sit down and fully focus on writing.I'm a fan of brutal, bloody scenes – the kind that stay in your mind long after you've finished reading. I have a vivid imagination, and when I write, I see each of these fights clearly, as if they were happening right in front of me: torn bodies, blood spraying, guts... none of that sugar-coated fighting.I try to transfer these images from my head to the page with as much intensity as possible, so you can feel the same tension and thrill that I do while writing.I also want to build a sense of horror – especially when it comes to monsters. I'm not interested in easy enemies. These are meant to be creatures you feel before you see them. The kind that stir fear and force the characters into desperate decisions.I hope you'll enjoy these scenes too – brutal, emotional, and full of darkness.As for the plot, I already have a general outline in my head, so there’s a lot of writing ahead of me. In the future, the story may include R18 scenes, but before that, I want to build a solid world and well-developed characters.If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to reach out—I’d love to discuss them, and maybe we can add something interesting to the story!Enjoy the read!

In all my life, I’ve only made two mistakes that I regret. The first was filling out my entrance exam application wrong, and the second was offending Zhong Yuan. If I had to use an idiom to describe the impact of my mistake, it would be simply, ‘Life is no better than death’. And if I had to use an idiom to describe Zhong Yuan’s offenses to me, it would be simply, ‘Too many crimes to record’. And yet, for as evil and wicked as he was, he attracted girls the way that flowers attracted bees and butterflies.

It happened that one day, for some reason, I taunted Zhong Yuan, “The King of Hell sent you to torture some more people, didn’t he?” Without a change in expression, he replied, “In order to torture fewer people, I decided to just choose one person to torture for the rest of my life.” I asked him, “What do you mean?” He smiled at me and answered, “If you don’t go to hell, who will?”

- Description from Novelupdates

Orphaned in the old world after taking care of his irresponsible and sick mother for years on end, Kyle finds his life turned upside down.His already dim world turns even gloomier and coupled with his trauma from losing her, Kyle felt like he had lost his purpose in life.Living day by day, akin to a soulless puppet, he struggled to keep his suicidal thoughts in check, all whilst trying to make ends meet as a cabbie.During those dark times, Kyle slowly begins to find solace in the world of music and movies. Even though it had always been there, it truly became something as a bloodline of sorts for him because, individually, both pieces of media, transported him to another world, one where he could feel happy, if even for a fleeting moment.And, as if the universe wanted even more for him, Kyle met some lovely old people, all of whom treated him as the son they never had, making him feel like he had a family after so long.This eventually, helped him let go of his trauma and turned him into the lovely soul he was always meant to be.But as fate would have it, these same people, wanted for Kyle to pursue his dreams because they saw the potential for greatness in him and the wonderous things he could go on to do, even if Kyle himself was oblivious to it.So, in an effort to make his dreams come true, they ended up gifting him a brand new chance, one that Kyle himself would only go on to realize after his untimely death in a fatal car accident.Now awake in the new world, still orphaned but with a brighter perspective on life, Kyle, armed with a System, another gift from his loved ones in the previous world, decides to take the chance to pursue his dreams of being a star, one that he was unable to pursue in his previous life due to his lack of talent.This is the story of a man who will go on to become the most versatile and renowned superstar all over the world... and it starts, just as he takes his first step into the cutthroat world of fame and fortune by registering for the popular singing reality TV competition, 'Rising Voices'.Known to be a fiercely competitive TV show, Kyle will meet with top contestants from around the world, go up against them, level up and become better, and ultimately, battle with them for the number one spot in the show as a dark horse!---