The Eminence In Shadow

The god is dead, but its memory is hungry. Three thousand years ago, the god Tharos fell. Today, his fossilized remains—the Lorn Expanse—serve as the lifeblood of an empire. In the shadow of the Ribs of Lorn, the Empire of the Spine mines god-bone and harvests aetherich to power a civilization of brass and gears. But for those who toil in the dust, the cost of progress is madness. Kael is a survivor of the bone mines, forever changed by a catastrophic collapse in Chamber 19. While others died from the weight of divine essence, Kael woke with the "hum" in his blood. He now hears the frequencies of the dead god and tastes memories trapped in the dust—a gift that feels more like a slow-acting poison. He wants only to survive the grueling life of a scavenger, hiding the resonance that marks him as different. Everything changes when he encounters Ilara, a woman whose voice carries a power that shouldn't exist. She is a Vessel, capable of singing raw god-bone into life, and she is being hunted by the Empire’s mechanical enforcers. The Empire has spent centuries trying to stabilize divine energy, but Kael and Ilara represent something they cannot control: a living connection to a waking god. As the "Thrice-Born" prophecy stirs and the ground beneath the salt flats vibrates with a terrifying new rhythm, the two must flee toward the heart of the god’s corpse. In a world where technology is fueled by the sacred and bone-tech determines the hierarchy of man, Kael and Ilara must decide if they are the harbingers of a new era or the final echoes of a dying god's scream. https://www.royalroad.com/profile/869094/fictions

My name is Tobe, and I am just a poor boy from the Mainland slums. In our city, a massive concrete wall separates the poor people from the rich elites who live on the Island. The rich have everything: wealth, high-tech weapons, and powerful magic guilds. We have nothing but dirt and rifts, dangerous tears in reality that let monsters crawl into our streets. To keep my fourteen-year-old sister, Amarachi, safe, I worked myself to the bone. But the Island elites do not care about people like us. They tricked me. They used my family, took our blood, and left us to die so they could unlock a dark, legendary power called the Calamity Core. But I did not die. Instead, I woke up with a blue digital screen floating in front of my eyes. The system gave me a unique power that no other hunter has: Sovereign Necromancy. With every monster I kill, and with every corrupt elite I strike down, I can command their souls to stand up and fight for me. Every shadow I touch becomes my loyal soldier. Now, the rich elites are hunting us down to steal the core inside my sister's chest. But Amarachi is not a helpless child anymore, and I am no longer a weak boy from the slums. With an army of shadows at my back, I am breaking through their walls. I will protect my sister, destroy their corrupt guilds, and make every single billionaire pay for what they did to us.

“Three Systems. Three Paths. One Mystery.” In a world that seems ordinary, three individuals unlock extraordinary powers through enigmatic Systems that promise them strength, skills, and influence. • Isa, brash and ambitious, sees the System as a stepping stone to ultimate power. His goals are larger than life: he wants to rise above everyone, from the schoolyard to the world stage. • Azlan, disciplined and focused, uses his System to honor his father’s legacy as a boxing champion, striving to prove himself in the ring and beyond. • The third System user? A shadow in the distance. No one knows who they are or what they want, but their presence looms over Isa and Azlan, tying their fates together in ways they can’t yet understand. As they grow from rivals to adults in a world increasingly shaped by their actions, Isa and Azlan’s clashing ambitions will drive them to ally, betray, and fight. Along the way, the Systems’ true purpose, and why they were chosen, will begin to unravel—threatening to shake the foundation of everything they know. This isn’t just a story of strength and ambition. It’s about the cost of power, the allure of destiny, and the battle to define what it means to lead. Key Features: • A mix of Solo Leveling-style progression, intense rivalries, and long-term world-building. • Characters who grow and change over years, evolving into leaders, heroes, or villains. • A deep mystery: Why were they chosen? And who controls the Systems? • Themes of ambition, loyalty, and the sacrifices demanded by power.

Kyle had never had it easy. Orphaned young and bullied by everyone around him, he pushed through each day for one reason only—his little sister. She was critically ill, and the only thing that could save her was the legendary, impossibly expensive 'Moonlight Potion'. His one shot? Becoming a Hunter. With real power, he could finally rise above, earn enough credits, and save the only person who mattered. Everything depended on his eighteenth birthday—the day he would awaken his talent. The day everything was supposed to change. And it did... just not the way he’d hoped. While others awakened fire, shadow, and lightning... Kyle got 'Bubble'. A talent that didn't exist in any known class ranking—from mighty SS to pathetic F. Unrecorded. Unrated. Unwanted. Useless. Weak. Pathetic. That’s what they called him. No guild would take him. No party would have him. But Kyle? He just smiled. Because they didn’t understand. Not yet. 'It’s not about the talent you get. It’s about what you do with it.' Let them mock him. Let them call him useless. Armed with an unknown power and an unbreakable will, Kyle walked into the dungeon alone. The world might see him as nobody for now, but he would prove that even an unranked talent could rise—and that the underdog everyone cast aside might just become a legend.

Nathaniel "Nate" Archer was once the most feared assassin in the underworld, a man whose name was synonymous with death. For twenty years, he thrived in the shadows, eliminating targets with cold precision, leaving no trace behind. But two years ago, he walked away from it all, choosing a life of solitude in a quiet, remote town, far from the chaos and bloodshed. He thought he could finally escape his past, but some shadows never die. Nate's hard-won peace shatters when an anonymous package arrives at his doorstep, containing photos of his most secretive missions—missions that should have been forgotten. Along with the photos is a chilling message: "Welcome back, Shadow. We'll meet again soon." As mysterious threats close in, Nate realizes he is being hunted by someone who knows every detail of his past. The quiet life he built crumbles as he is forced back into the world he left behind, a world of betrayal, blood, and vengeance. But this time, the stakes are higher, and the enemy is unknown. Driven by a need to protect the life he has created, Nate must unravel the mystery of his pursuer before it's too late. He dives back into the darkness, where every move could be his last. But Nate Archer is not just a man who hides in the shadows—he is the shadow, and he will not stop until he finds the one who dares to threaten him.

[System loading….] [Special class unlocked] [Kaleidoscope class selected] ___________________________ After a horrific tragedy, fifteen young people's lives are suddenly taken from them. But instead of sinking into the dark abyss that is death, they find themselves being carried away to a terrifying cavern, a region beyond the grasp of death. They come to an incomprehensible divinity who makes them an offer that is both dangerous and yet full of hope: defeat the Demon King or perish into nothingness. —————————————————- They accept this dangerous offer, choosing to have another chance at life. However, the reality into which they are thrown defied all of their predictions. They were thrown into what seemed like a light novel and endowed with amazing powers, which they are taught how to use. They struggle to maintain some form of normalcy as the Demon King casts a long shadow over them. The only reprieve they can hope to find being after defeating this evil foe. ——————————————————- Journey with Finn Crest-Angel as he confronts the unanswered questions surrounding his death as he travels through this uncertain world. His quest turns into a tale of survival, self-discovery, and finding a destiny linked with bravery and sacrifice as he tries to seek the truth while also facing the approaching darkness called the demons. ________________________________ The story starts with a calm before the storm arc but i promise you it will not be boring, after the first 20 chapters where the mc finds his footing the story plots start to shine and the plans of the demons are shown more. Please comment any mistakes or suggestions you have for the book! Thank you very much!

John Whitaker had nothing but his name—just a plain, useless name in a world ruled by money, influence, and cold-hearted power. He was the unwanted son-in-law of the Prestwick dynasty; an empire worth hundreds of billions. His marriage to Eleanor Prestwick was a shameful secret, something the Prestwick family pretended never happened, and whenever they had to acknowledge it, they reminded everyone that John was the charity case Eleanor brought home from a job internship in a poor neighborhood out of pity. They called him a parasite. They treated him like a stray dog that refused to leave. They spat on his dignity, sneered at his dreams, and sneered even louder when his mother was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. When he begged for help on his knees, in tears, in public; they laughed. John almost lost his will to live. But fate has a way of rewarding the broken. That very night, when he had no place to sleep, and his mother was on the brink of death in a public hospital ward stinking of poverty and pain, a letter arrived. An inheritance. John Whitaker was not who he thought he was. He was the sole blood heir to the late Howard Ravenshore, the secretive trillionaire who had disappeared from the global stage ten years ago. A man with holdings in every continent, silent power over more than forty governments, and a fortune beyond imagination. His assets were masked under shell companies, shadow trusts, and ghost accounts—untouchable, invisible, unstoppable. And now all of it belonged to John. In an instant, the man who once begged for pennies became the richest human being alive.

Kaelen Voss is the best Auctioneer in the business—a rogue who hunts forgotten gods in the shadows of the world, capturing fading deities and selling them to the highest bidder. When a forgotten deity is forgotten, it becomes a Pareidolia, an ephemeral ghost that can be bound and traded like currency. Gods of forgotten waterfalls. Gods of extinct animals. Gods of childhood dreams never remembered. But Kaelen has a secret: he hears their whispers. Every captured god screams in his mind, and the only way to silence them is to find them a new owner. It's a curse. It's a business. It's survival. When he captures an unnamed god of pure malice—a shapeless, nameless thing that predates civilization—he thinks he's struck gold. Until he discovers the truth. This isn't a god. It's an Anti-God. The concept of endings made manifest. The end of empires. The end of bloodlines. The end of everything. Now, powerful factions are hunting him: the Veil Council wants to weaponize the Anti-God. The Shadow Syndicate wants to sell it to the highest bidder. And a mysterious woman from his past knows the Anti-God's true name—the one thing that could either bind it forever or unleash the apocalypse. Kaelen must run an impossible auction, selling the one thing that can end all things to a buyer who can contain it, before the world's most powerful players tear reality apart to claim it. But the Anti-God is patient. And it has been waiting for an Auctioneer who can finally hear its whisper. The End is coming. And Kaelen is holding the bidding paddle.

Pets may reign like emperors— but I am destined to become the Medicine King of another world. Nie Kong was a renowned traditional Chinese medicine doctor in his previous life—and a max-level pharmacist who once stood at the peak of a hyper-real game world. During the final battle against an undefeated game boss, fate struck. Lightning fell. Death followed. But instead of ending, his life began again. Reborn into a cultivation world, Nie Kong awakens in the body of a frail young man burdened with a terminal constitution—a body destined to die before the age of eighteen. His meridians are blocked, his blood ব্জpoisoned by years of failed medicines, and his family reduced to a declining shadow watched by predators. Yet something impossible crossed worlds with him. A purple illusory spirit seed, born from collapsed game data and fused with his soul, now lies dormant within his body—awakening as a terrifying spiritual companion with emperor-level potential. Armed with medical knowledge far beyond this world, forbidden needle arts, and a spirit pet that devours medicine to grow stronger, Nie Kong begins to rewrite the rules of cultivation itself. Illness becomes nourishment. Poison becomes a catalyst. Healing becomes a weapon deadlier than blades. As clans scheme, geniuses rise, and ancient powers stir, Nie Kong walks a path no one else dares to tread—a path where medicine rules over cultivation, and a once-weak youth forges his way toward absolute supremacy. This is not the story of a warrior. This is the rise of a man who defies fate itself— the Otherworldly Medicine King.

The Blackwood empire was built on blood and betrayal. Damon Blackwood was about to learn just how deep the rot went. Damon was the overlooked "spare," the gentle heir content to live in the shadow of his powerful family. But at his own engagement party, his world shattered. His fiancée, Claire, publicly abandoned him for his ruthless cousin, Adrian. His uncle, Kane, framed him for a multi-million dollar theft. Beaten, disgraced, and hunted by the police, Damon was thrown into the street like trash. He was ready to die. But the gods had other plans. In the darkest alley, with sirens closing in, an impossible voice echoed in his mind: [SUCCESSOR OF WAR DETECTED.] A mysterious System claiming descent from Ares, the Greek God of War, has awakened in his blood. It offers him unimaginable power, instant healing, and a terrifying strength—but at a price. He must complete increasingly brutal quests for vengeance, or the power will consume him. Now, the gentle man is gone, replaced by a ruthless predator. His former fiancée, Claire,watches in growing regret as the man she betrayed transforms into everything she secretly desired. His cousin, Adrian,and Uncle Kane realize their political games have unleashed a monster far more dangerous than they ever intended. The System orchestrated his downfall, the betrayals, and the humiliation—all to forge him into the perfect weapon. Damon Blackwood faces an impossible choice:Embrace his dark destiny and claim power through violence, or resist the System and die as the weak man everyone thought he was. The game has changed. The System demands blood. And the God of War is ready to collect.