The Promised Neverland Connie

He did not care if the prayer stole precious seconds from the timer. Between speaking to God and the damnation the system promised at zero, there was no question which came first. “Dear Lord,” he murmured, “Ye who see all hearts and weigh all sins… hear me now as I stand at the threshold of damnation. What I am about to do is cruel and unforgiving. A stain no river may wash from my hands. Yet, if this evil must be borne so that greater horrors may perish, let that burden fall upon me. “I know the gates of Hell stand open before my feet, and should this act be the step that leads me through them… so be it. Let history curse my name—if by my damnation, others are spared. “But Lord…” he continued quietly, “when the trumpets sound in the final days, when the dead rise and judgment cometh upon all souls, I ask only this of You: do not forget that I once wept for what I became. Do not forget that I hated the necessity of my hands. Don't forget that though I walked willingly into darkness, I did so that others may remain in the light. And if mercy exists even for the damned… then let me be counted among those shown pity. “For the sins I commit in Your name, for the evil I embrace in pursuit of a righteous end, and for the soul I surrender this night… I beg Your forgiveness.” He lifted his gaze and fixed Vir Ossium a death stare. “... Amen.” —————————————— Kael was just an ordinary guy—until the night he died. But instead of staying dead, he is thrown into a brutal death game. The rule is simple: Be the last Kamen Rider standing... by any means necessary.

One hour vanished from Detective Marcus Kane's life. He remembers kicking down the warehouse door, then nothing but blood on his knuckles and a corpse at his feet. No witnesses. No weapon. No memory. Now he's the department's most wanted, hunted by the brothers in blue who once had his back and tormented by jagged fragments of that stolen hour; fragments showing hands that move like his but aren't under his control. Then the second body drops. Same execution. Exactly one hour after the first. Marcus isn't just a suspect. He's a loaded gun in someone else's hand, and they're pulling the trigger on a schedule. Each victim ties back to a military black site that promised to erase his war trauma, not weaponize him into something unrecognizable. They didn't just take his memories, they programmed a killer into the void. His ex-partner Sarah believes him. Barely. She's risking everything to keep him one step ahead of the manhunt, but her faith cracks with every crime scene photo proving Marcus was there. And the killer inside him is waking up more with each passing hour. The facility's files are sealed. The doctors are dead. And Marcus has seventy-three minutes until the programming kicks in again. To stop the murders, he'll have to willingly step into the blackout and hope he comes back with answers instead of more blood. But his handler isn't some faceless bureaucrat, they're someone who knows exactly how to break him, because they built him. Marcus Kane has one hour to catch a killer. The killer is him. And the puppet master has been watching from inside his own department all along. *****

“Don’t make a scene, Marcus.” Quinn’s eyes, always so cold, flicked over him as if he were an unwanted stain. “A Saintess can’t be sullied by a man like you. Keep your distance.” For three years, Marcus Steel was a ghost in his own marriage. His wife, worshipped for her holy power, never let him near—not even a touch, not a night together. Yet every gathering, she let Alexander—her so-called ‘brother,’ his former best friend—rest his head in her lap, her hand stroking his hair, their laughter intimate and careless for the world to see. “Does it ever bother you?” Marcus whispered one night, desperation thick in his voice. “That you give him what you never gave me?” Sophia only smiled, distant as ever. “Alexander needs me. You… you’re just my duty.” When the earthquake shattered the banquet hall, Marcus reached for her through the falling debris. “Quinn! Please! Just take my hand—help me!” But her golden barrier was already around Alexander. She didn’t even look at Marcus as he screamed, “I’m your husband! Don’t leave me—” “I can’t save everyone,” she said, voice like ice. “Alex is injured. I promised to protect him.” As rubble crushed his body and hope faded, something ancient awoke in Marcus. Flames danced in his blood, power surging from the pain, the betrayal. From the ashes of humiliation and heartbreak, a dragon roared to life. Marcus Steel is dead. The Dragon King rises—and the Saintess will beg for mercy she never showed. DRAGON BOOK PART 2- PRIESTESS'S WORTHLESS HUSBAND IS A DRAGON COMMANDER

The Manaless King of Sigma In 2100, humanity embraced Omega, a revolutionary VR game that promised endless entertainment. But Omega was never just a game. Created by an incomprehensible power, it was a tutorial preparing Earth for integration into the greater universe. When the tutorial ended, the First Awakening transformed reality. Mana flooded Earth, monsters emerged, and humanity entered Sigma—a universal battlefield ruled by the mysterious Universal Queen. Compared to civilizations that had cultivated their powers for millions of years, humanity was hopelessly weak. Mateo Álvarez was once humanity’s greatest Omega player. Then a catastrophic accident destroyed his mana veins, robbing him of his ability to cultivate. His glory vanished, leaving him a powerless outcast. Ten years later, Mateo died trying to save his beloved nephew and niece. But death wasn't the end. He awoke on the day before the First Awakening, carrying ten years of future knowledge. He knew the treasures waiting to be claimed, the enemies destined to rise, and the disasters that would shatter humanity. This time, he would be ready. Yet his second chance came with a mystery. Something strange had awakened within him—a remnant connected to the boundary between Omega and Sigma, capable of revealing secrets even the system couldn't explain. As Mateo rebuilds his strength, the future begins to change. Hidden forces stir, and the Universal Queen takes notice of the man who should have remained powerless. Why was Earth chosen? What lies beyond Sigma's tutorial? And why does Mateo's second life seem connected to a secret that predates humanity's Awakening? Armed with knowledge of a future that no longer exists, Mateo must rise beyond his former limits. Because this time, he isn't fighting merely to survive. He's fighting to rewrite humanity's destiny.

Blake glanced at everyone in the room. Despite how they just treated him, he went down on his knees to beg them, throwing the shame and the hurtful feeling he was having at that moment through the window. “Please help me, my sister is dying. Even if you don't pay me for being a substitute husband on the wedding day like you promised, I will pay back every single penny” he pleaded. Maria kicked him hard on his stomach, making him stumble on the ground. “Were you assuming that I would give you a ten million you didn't work for? Are you stupid or pretending to be stupid?” she fired. Maria used Blake to save her face that day, a year ago. He was just the perfect person she needed, he was a cleaner, and it also felt like he needed money. Promising him money was the only thing that got him married to her. He is just a wretched pauper, she would never give her money to someone like Blake. “How do you intend to pay back if we lend you the money? From your part-time jobs?” she taunted. “Is leeching off us not enough? Now, you want more?” Mrs Jones added, bursting into a cynical laughter. “What have you done for us? You couldn't afford your tuition fees and dropped out because of that, what should I expect from someone of your caliber?” At that moment, Blake knew that they would not help him no matter what. Standing up with a shallow sigh, he peeked at them and shook his head. What was he thinking? **** Just when he thought life has ended, Blake found out that he was the owner of a company worth trillions of dollars. Will he seek revenge or hide his identity from his In-Laws?

For three painful years, Lucas lived as a nobody. He cooked every meal, washed every floor, and wiped every stain in the Vance family home. His mother in law treated him worse than a stray dog. His wife, Chloe Vance, looked at him with cold disgust, choosing to spend her nights with the arrogant rich heir, Julian Sterling. Every day, Julian threw money in Lucas face and called him a stay at home loser. Lucas took every single insult without saying a word. Why did he stay quiet? Because he promised his dying grandfather he would live like an ordinary poor man for three years. On the exact night his three year promise ended, Chloe handed him divorce papers. She threw three thousand dollars at his chest, thinking she was dumping a useless husband. But Lucas just smiled and walked out into the dark night. What Chloe and Julian did not know was that Lucas Vance was never a poor boy. He was the sole heir to Grand Dragon Financial, the biggest banking group in the entire nation, holding over fifty billion dollars in pure cash. Now, the three years are up. Lucas steps back into the light as the most powerful CEO in the city. One phone call from his hand can crush Julian family business overnight. One word from his mouth can lock his arrogant mother in law in a cold prison cell. When Chloe realizes the poor beggar she dumped is actually the supreme boss holding her family destiny, she falls to her knees in tears. But Lucas heart has already turned to pure ice. The game has changed, and every single person who stepped on him will pay back in blood and tears.

"Ma, Samson promises. Samson is going to repent; I won’t be a thug anymore. I'm going to find a real, honest job. So please, Ma, don't come back to haunt me, okay?" Samson knelt, tears streaming down his face, though his expression still looked like someone ready to pick a fight with the Angel of Death. Bejo held out an umbrella. "Boss, it’s almost sunset. We need to go collect the 'protection money' from the cafe owner," he said. "Hey, Bejo! I just promised Ma that I’ve repented. You little devil! Do you want my mother to rise from her grave because of what you just said, huh?!" Samson stood up. His towering height, nearly two meters, made Bejo instinctively jump back three steps. "But Boss, our stomachs aren't exactly followers of the repentance movement," Bejo squeaked, trembling. Samson wiped his fierce face. "From this second on, call me Samson the Protector. I’m going to find honest work. Anything! As long as I'm not shaking people down anymore." A wealthy woman looked Samson up and down, scrutinizing him. "Your body is quite large. It just so happens I need a new guard dog. I just fired the old one because he was afraid of cockroaches." Samson was ready to explode. "Hey, lady! You think I—" "Fifty million a month. Meals are provided, and you get an Italian suit for a uniform. Interested?" the woman interrupted, handing him a gold-plated business card. Samson fell silent. He then whispered under his breath, "Ma, this is honest work, right? Just being a guard dog for a billionaire."

Calvin Mercer is an ordinary man living an exhausting life in Buffalo, New York, working double shifts to pay for his wife Nora’s chronic illness. He has no grand ambitions, only one wish: to return home to the woman he loves. Then, on a snowy night, Cal dies. Instead of finding peace, he awakens in the Hollow, a living darkness that offers him a second chance. To earn his return, he must enter the bodies of people standing at the breaking point of their destinies and resolve their unfinished business. Each completed mission rewards him with fragments of life, bringing him closer to the world he left behind. But every choice comes with a cost. Some hosts deserve forgiveness, while others have committed terrible wrongs. The cruel path sometimes promises greater rewards, while the right choice demands painful sacrifices. As Cal moves from one life to another, he inherits their memories and experiences, slowly losing pieces of his own identity. His only guide is the Intercessor, a mysterious figure with a shifting face and a voice that sometimes sounds strangely familiar. The figure explains the rules but hides the truth behind Cal’s death and the system governing his missions. One detail unsettles the Intercessor more than anything else: a streetlight going dark before a fatal accident. As Cal gathers fragments and uncovers connections between his hosts, he begins to suspect that his second chance is not what it seems. His memories of Nora are fading, and the face he desperately wants to remember is becoming a stranger. With every mission, Cal moves closer to his promised reward—and toward a final truth that could change everything. If returning home means losing the memories that made home worth returning to, how much of himself can Cal afford to sacrifice?