The Abyssal Garden: No Room for the Idle - Chapter 17 - There’s Always a Traveling Merchant in Every Game

Elaine Monroe never meant to fall in love with him. She never meant for her heart to betray her like this. But as she watches him stand beside another, hand resting on the waist of the woman he’s meant to be with, she wonders if she was always destined to be the outsider.“You knew,” she says, voice barely above a whisper. “You knew how I felt.”His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t deny it. He never does.“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” he finally says.She laughs bitterly. “I know.”Loving him was always impossible. He belonged to someone else. To his family’s expectations. To a future where Elaine had no place.“Forget whatever you think you feel,” he tells her, voice firm, but there’s something unspoken in his eyes—something that makes it hurt even more. “It will never happen.”And yet, his gaze lingers, just for a second too long.Then there’s her best friend—the one who stands beside her when the world turns its back. The one who sees her pain without asking.“You don’t have to do this to yourself,” he says, handing her his jacket on a cold night. “You deserve more than waiting for someone who will never be yours.”She wants to believe him. She wants to move forward. But some loves are impossible to forget. Some wounds never truly heal. And some desires, no matter how forbidden, refuse to die._____“loving him best decision i ever made” Elaine“you are my world”

Kivas Chariot is struck by the sun—an event that corrupts her soul beyond repair.In the blink of an eye, she's transported into the midst of a cosmic ritual, performed by three eldritch beings beyond comprehension.Overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of their presence, her fractured soul erupts in a desperate tantrum, shattering the terrifying rite.Yet beneath their monstrous forms, one of the entities reaches out to her gently—soul to soul—and asks a simple, warm, and comprehensible question.“What is it you truly desire?”Tears welling, Kivas whispers from the depths of her being.“I want to be loved!”The entity grants her wish.But not directly.Now, somehow awakened in a strange new world, Kivas discovers something bizarre—there are stats, HP, MP... even classes and skills.In a world where time matter less and power are more rampant, Kivas attempts to strive and live her brand new life.

At the end of the story, I found myself in the body of a hidden villain, betraying the heroines. Since I’m not particularly concerned about the end of the world, I’m calmly waiting for the finale… “You’re the only one who truly appreciated my painting of the boa.” “When I make plans to meet you at four, my heart starts racing at three... is this what they call being tamed?” For some reason, the heroines are starting to take an interest in me.

In the not-so-distant future, a group of Earthlings find themselves mysteriously transported to the Nexus Realm, a fantastical world besieged by monstrous creatures.With no way out of the craziness, they reluctantly joined forces with the realm's inhabitants to combat the constant threat of these otherworldly beasts.To defend the Nexus or Nexaria, powers were bestowed upon them with the promise of returning home after successfully repelling the monsters dangling before them like a carrot.Years passed, and the initial camaraderie between the heroes slowly began to crumble. Still, the Protagonist, Adrian Fenrir, with his power known as Analysis, played a crucial role in understanding the monsters' patterns and weaknesses. However, as the group became more adept at handling the threats, they grew increasingly independent and, perhaps, arrogant.One day, due to a series of mishaps, Adrian found himself surrounded by assassins. He tried his best to drive them off but failed and met a bitter end. It didn't take long for the assassins to do their work, and as per the contractor's request, they decided to dispose of Adrian's corpse by selling it to a mad scientist known for his experiments with creatures from the Nexaria.In need of a fresh subject for his latest project, the scientist transformed Adrian into a chimaera, a fusion of humans and monsters to be sold as a weapon for war.However, the scientist's plan backfired when Adrian, against all odds, regained consciousness within his chimaera body. Fueled by rage and the memories of his betrayal, Adrian seized control over his new body. Now reborn as a chimaera with the ability to absorb organs and gain the powers of other creatures, Adrian vows vengeance upon the mysterious contractor who sent the assassins for him.Once a battleground against monsters, the Nexaria now witnessed a different kind of conflict—one driven by betrayal, revenge, and the extraordinary powers of a vengeful chimaera.