MTL - Strange Life of a Cat - Chapter 31 Black charcoal, what have you done?

Qin Xiaoguo was a successful chef working in the future era. A turn of fate brought her to the past, into a time of famine and uncertainty. Waking up one day, Qin Xiaoguo found herself face to face with a boy who acknowledged her as his mother.

Having transmigrated from the year 3024 to 42 BC, Qin Xiaoguo had traveled across a three-millennium time leap to the past. She was transported to a destitute place, and also became mother to a hungry, skinny boy at the same time.

Her only comfort to her new-found circumstances was a spatial ring that allowed her to transmigrate—giving her free access to food and other belongings from a different era.

After years of raising her son singlehandedly, Qin Xiaoguo had a surprise visitor at her door. It was a man claiming to be her husband, requesting to stay the night. Out of confusion and pity, Qin Xiaoguo let the self-proclaimed father of her child into the house.

The Apocalypse is in full swing. Defiled - powerful creatures corrupted by the Great Collision - prowled the lands in search of prey. Unfortunately for them, the human race had long since retreated behind the secure walls of the Sanctuary of Everlast. During one of his regular excursions outside the Sanctuary, Alden is separated from Celeste. - his childhood friend and crush. In that moment, he came to regret never summoning the courage to confess. Somehow managing to survive thanks to some trickery, Alden awakens as a mage. Instead of receiving a normal power, he gains the ability to decay. What’s more, during his ascension, he received a vision from his future self advising him not to trust the Asterons - celestial beings who had saved his race from inescapable doom. Normally... such a revelation wouldn’t faze Alden. However, there was only one major problem with the declaration, though. Celeste was bound with an Asteron. And not just any normal Asteron... She had made a pact with one of the Divine Sovereigns.

The Empire's forces retreated in desperation—trampled by faceless horrors bringing darkness and death to these once beautiful lands.Only the most courageous stood in defiance, forming a last defence to buy the people time to flee—fighting until the final embers of hope burned out.A man stands with a silver sword, like a beacon of hope to those around him. He roared with all his might drawing his blade against the overwhelming enemy!“You face Lancelot, Sword of the Empire! ”These horrors tested the Lord's grit and loyalty in the final moments.“Should my blade break, I will use my body!”The knights had fallen, broken swords for their tombstones, and lords fled, betraying the Empire to survive.“If my body breaks, I'll use my Soul!”Lancelot, the sword of the Empire, fought alone.All hope seemed lost.“And if my Soul fails...”What could a single man and his army do?He fights against the dark tide, blade in hand, heart on sleeve.“I will sell myself to the devil for revenge!”But he was too weak, too fragile.The last Lord of humanity stood against the enemy.Lancelot was a master of the sword, a mortal, neither a God nor a Saint.Miracles were beyond his reach.Now only a broken man impaled on his own destroyed throne.His blade shattered—now, like rose petals, it was scattered across the charred ground.Lancelot's soul was fated for the abyss as the light faded from his eyes.His last ounce of resistance used staring at the man who betrayed the Empire.Now with only the desire to kill, crush and seek revenge smouldering inside him.Now unwilling to die and desperate to fight once again.He desired to fight for the people who supported him.Lancelot refused to surrender, to fall like this.As quietly in the abyss, a voice whispered to him.It tried to entice the Lord, ignite his desire to win and fight again.“If given a second chance, to relive your life with a different choice... Would you Accept?”Blood gathered in his throat, forcing him to reply in his mind.A frail and broken voice'There is no reason to ask, of course!'“No matter the cost?”'Even if I were to lose everything...''If my people can live on. I would sacrifice everything I have!'“You will no longer be the same, a monster, twisted and vicious.”“Will you still accept?”The Lord's heart ached, taking great pride in his humanity.To lose that caused his mind to falter.Finally, out of power, unable to speak or reply with a trembling arm.Lancelot reached out.Towards the raspy voice.Towards the abyss.Towards a new future.[So you would accept after all...]'I must accept.''I must stand tall.''I must not break.''Because...''I am the Lord of humanity![Nay, you are the king of demons]

In a world transformed by spiritual energy, Kent, an underdog with an F-rank physique, gains the mysterious SSS-Rank Cultivation System. With the ability to copy and combine powers, he begins his journey to rise from the bottom.By his side is Nima, his sharp-witted younger sister with a rare Soulbinding ability, making her a prodigy. Together, they navigate a world filled with evolving beasts, ancient ruins, and hidden dangers.As they uncover the mysteries of the Emerald Vein and face powerful factions like Nexus, Kent must master his fire-based abilities to protect his sister and rise to power.Can they survive the chaos and claim their destiny? Find out in *Infinite Ascension: My SSS-Rank Cultivation System Made Me Too OP in Modern World!*WSA 2025 Contest.