From Shattered Prodigy to Abyssal Vengeance
Elara Vex had everything-a flawless ice core, the title of prodigy, and a place at the pinnacle of the High Tower. But in one brutal night, it was all ripped away. Her mentor tore the core from her chest. Her fiancé drove a sword through her back. Her own sister smiled as she bled out on the cold marble floor.
When Elara wakes, she's years in the past, mere hours before her core is scheduled to be stolen. This time, she won't be anyone's sacrificial lamb. She shatters her own core with forbidden blood magic and forges something far more terrifying in its place-a bottomless, ravenous Chaos Core that devours magic itself.
Now, branded a worthless cripple and cast into the deadly Abyss, Elara is pulled from the darkness by the outcasts of Elysium Academy-a school for heretics, psychopaths, and everything the Tower despises. Under the tutelage of a reclusive principal who knew her murdered mother, Elara will master her forbidden power and uncover the Tower's darkest secrets.
When the Five Academies Ranking Tournament arrives, Seraphina Vex stands in the arena, draped in white saintess robes, ready to claim ultimate glory. She doesn't know that a ghost from her past has clawed her way back from hell. She doesn't know that Elara is coming-and this time, the prodigal sister isn't asking for mercy. She's bringing chaos.
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Chapter 3
Silas stood up. His massive frame cast a long, dark shadow over the podium.
"Furthermore," Silas's voice boomed, laced with heavy mana that made Elara's teeth vibrate in her skull. "You will walk the Stairway of Penance."
A wave of genuine horror swept through the spectator stands. Whispers broke out like a sudden fire. The Stairway of Penance was a death sentence. The steps were carved with soul-tearing runes. No human without magic could survive the climb down.
"Before you walk the stairs," Silas continued, his tone flat and cruel, "your remaining physical mana pathways will be manually severed."
Elara's muscles locked up. Manual severing meant they were going to cut her open. It was the physical equivalent of being flayed alive.
"Stop!"
A voice cracked through the tension. Professor Elias Vance, the head of the Alchemy department, shoved his way to the front of the stands.
Vance practically jumped over the railing, landing heavily on the marble floor. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
"This is murder, Silas!" Vance shouted, pointing a shaking finger at the podium. "She has no core! The Severing alone will kill her!"
Silas looked down his nose at Vance. He adjusted his gold cuffs. "The Alchemy department has always been plagued by weak stomachs and excessive sentimentality."
Vance spun around, looking up at the other professors seated in the high boxes. "Vote with me! Overturn this! It's barbaric!"
Every single professor looked away. They stared at their laps or the ceiling. No one was going to risk their own comfortable position to save a ruined girl from Silas's wrath.
Seraphina glided over to Vance. She placed a gentle, white hand on his arm.
"Professor Vance, please," Seraphina said, her voice dripping with fake sorrow. "Don't break the Academy rules for her. It hurts me too, but the law is the law."
Vance ripped his arm away from her touch like she burned him. "Save your act for the fools who buy it, girl."
Seraphina stumbled back, her lower lip trembling. Immediately, four senior male students stepped forward, glaring daggers at Vance.
Vance took a deep, ragged breath. He turned back to Silas. "I will take her. Let her serve as a menial laborer in the Alchemy labs. I'll take full responsibility. Waive the sentence."
The entire hall went still. All eyes shifted to Elara. Vance was offering her the only lifeline she had.
Elara looked at the sweat dripping down Vance's face. She felt a sharp pang of gratitude in her chest. But she knew the truth. Staying in the Tower meant Silas would eventually find out about her chaos core. Staying meant death.
Elara straightened her spine. She pulled her shoulders back.
"Thank you, Professor Vance," Elara said, her voice ringing clear and cold. "But I decline."
Vance's jaw dropped. "Elara, are you insane? You will die!"
"I would rather drag my bleeding body down that stairway than breathe the same air as the hypocrites in this Tower for one more second," Elara shouted, her voice echoing violently off the walls.
The crowd erupted. Insults and death threats rained down on her from the stands. The students were furious at her arrogance.
Silas let out a harsh, barking laugh. "Good. Very well."
He slammed the base of his staff into the floor.
The marble beneath Elara's feet began to shake violently. A massive crack formed in the center of the hall. The floor split open, sliding apart to reveal a steep, jagged stone staircase plunging into absolute darkness.
Dark, dried blood stained the edges of the steps. Thick, razor-sharp iron thorns grew from the walls. A freezing wind blasted up from the abyss, carrying the faint, sickening sound of distant screaming.
The wind hit Elara, making her sway on her feet, but she locked her knees and refused to step back.
Silas waved his hand. "Bring out the executioner."
The crowd parted. A tall young man in a pristine, tailored uniform walked onto the floor.
Leander Vale. The Tower's top swordsman. Elara's fiancé.
Leander stopped ten feet away from her. His jaw was clenched so tight the muscles twitched. His eyes were a storm of conflict and deep, cowardly pain.
The moment Elara saw him, her chest constricted. The phantom pain of his sword piercing her back in her past life flared up, making her breath hitch.
"Leander," Silas commanded. "Prove your absolute loyalty to your family and this Academy. Sever her pathways."
Leander's hand trembled as he reached for the hilt of his enchanted broadsword. The metal scraped loudly as he pulled it from the scabbard. He pointed the tip directly at Elara's chest.
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7.9
After her twin brother's unexplained death at Alpha Academy, Alexandria Hyde takes his place and his name to uncover the truth. Now living as "Alex," she's thrown into a world of hot, testosterone-fueled Alphas who fight to the brink of death... and she has to survive it while hiding who she really is.
But staying hidden isn't easy–
Not when the Alphas start noticing her.
Not when the truth she's chasing might destroy her first.
And definitely not when they start fighting for her instead.
9.6
She was sold as a broodmare. He was a warrior with no memory. Together, they'll burn down the world.
Lyra has been called many things: half-blood, mongrel, dirty blood. Rejected by every pack she's approached, she's given one final chance-as a bride to Ronan, the cruel Alpha of Red River Pack. But when her wedding night becomes a nightmare, she stabs her new husband and flees into the frozen wilderness.
Stellan remembers nothing. Not his name, not his past, not the ancient tattoos covering his body. He only knows that when he sees a terrified woman falling from a cliff into an icy river, he must save her-even if it kills him.
On the run from a vengeful Alpha and his army of hunters, Lyra and Stellan discover an impossible bond growing between them. The moon has chosen them as mates. But Stellan's memories are returning, and with them, a devastating truth: he's not just any wolf. He's the Alpha of the North Star Pack. And a half-blood can never be his Luna.
Now Ronan's brother has sworn revenge, an ancient prophecy awakens, and three packs prepare for war. Lyra must prove that bloodlines mean nothing-and that the most powerful bond of all is forged in ice and fire.
He lost his memory. She lost her freedom. Together, they'll find everything.
7.3
Seven years ago, my fiancé, Don Dante Moretti, sent me to prison to take the fall for my adopted sister, Chiara. He called it a gift-a way to protect me from a worse fate.
Today, he picked me up from prison only to abandon me at my family's estate. His reason? Chiara was having another one of her "episodes."
My parents then informed me I'd be staying in the third-floor storage room, so as not to disturb the fragile girl who stole my life.
They celebrated her "recovery" with a lavish dinner party, while I was treated like a ghost. When I refused to join, my mother hissed that I was ungrateful, and my father called me jealous.
They assumed I couldn't understand their venomous whispers. But prison was my university. I learned Spanish. I understood every word.
It was then I realized I wasn't just a sacrifice; I was disposable. The love I once felt for all of them had turned to ash.
That night, in the dusty storage room, I logged onto an encrypted channel I'd set up years ago. A single message was waiting: "The offer stands. Do you accept?" My hands, scarred and steady, typed back, "I accept."
8.0
For six years, I played the perfect, submissive wife to Wall Street titan Francis Castro. I suffocated my own ambitions to fit into his conservative world.
But while I waited alone at a Michelin restaurant, a news alert popped up. My husband had just dropped millions on an aquamarine diamond necklace for his "muse," Chanelle.
The real nightmare began when I rushed home to find our five-year-old son in severe anaphylactic shock. I frantically called Francis from the ambulance, but he manually rejected my calls. He couldn't leave the bidding war for Chanelle's PR launch.
When he finally arrived at the ER, Chanelle was right beside him, wearing that blinding multi-million-dollar necklace. He didn't ask about our dying son.
"Why weren't you watching him?" he demanded, his voice hard and accusing.
And when my son woke up, hazy from the drugs, he rejected my touch and reached for Chanelle instead. Francis just stood there, praising Chanelle for knowing exactly how to calm him down.
I stared at the three of them looking like a perfect, happy family. Six years of swallowing my pride, only to realize my husband would let our son choke to death just to buy another woman's smile.
The last thread of my heart snapped. I handed him the divorce papers, demanding zero alimony. Then, I drove to a hidden Brooklyn loft, cut off my hair, and unlocked my safe.
It was time to resurrect my true identity—the legendary fashion designer, Ember.J. I am going to burn her empire to the ground.
9.4
I was a New York photographer, but I woke up under the brutal sun of the African savanna.
Worse, I wasn't human. I was trapped in the body of a male cheetah, with two starving cubs clinging to my fur, telepathically calling me "Mom."
But I am a real man!
To keep my adopted sons alive, I had to fight hyenas and dodge rogue lions. But the real nightmare was my bizarre survival mechanism. Under extreme threat, I would uncontrollably shift back into my human form—stark, undeniably naked. I was forced to sprint across the plains with my bare skin exposed, carrying two cubs while escaping furious lionesses. I became a freak, the most confusing and humiliating legend of the animal kingdom.
Covered in bloody scratches and mud, I was pushed to the brink of despair. Why was I thrown into this beast's body? Why did my only defense mechanism involve profound social death?
Just when I barely survived a cliff dive to escape the lions, my path was blocked by two massive, highly intelligent prime male cheetahs.
But the alpha, Bradley, didn't want to kill me for my territory.
His intense gaze raked over my naked, bleeding human body with a dark, possessive hunger.
"You are full of surprises."
He purred smoothly, teaching me to magically summon a fur skirt before demanding I join his coalition.
"Oh, you'll come to me. I guarantee it."
Looking into his predatory eyes, I realized I was no longer just surviving the wild; I was the prey of a completely different kind of beast.
9.1
The best way to get back at a cheating bastard? Make him sick to his stomach for the rest of his life!
Days before her wedding, Corinne caught her fiancé cheating with his coworker in what she thought was their future home.
Furious, she tore everything apart, ended the engagement, and decided on a bold revenge plan.
To make him regret it for life, she set her sights on marrying his powerful uncle. Confident in her scheme, she tried to win over the cold, untouchable man, only to realize too late that she had mistaken his identity.
The man she married was far more dangerous than she imagined!
Corinne decided to make a quick escape. "Let's get a divorce. We're clearly not right for each other... "
He cornered her with a knowing smile, "Not right for each other? Funny, that's not what you said last night in bed. Want me to remind you how wrong you are?"