Underdog Rise

The story follows Markus Ironclad, a man whose life is filled with conflict. On the one hand, he lives under the scrutiny of his in-laws, who constantly judge him. On the other hand, he must contend with the threat of the god killers, who murdered his father. As the plot unfolds, Markus finds himself in a battle for his life, and a fight for his heart. Can he overcome the odds and find the happiness he deserves?

“So this is what you really want, Jasmine?” he asked, his voice calm yet laced with an undercurrent of disappointment. “After everything?” She crossed her arms, her expression hardening. “Let’s not pretend there was ever an ‘everything’ between us. You don’t get to guilt me, Ethan. I’ve been miserable, living with a man who has no drive, no ambition. I’ve wasted enough time.” Ethan’s mouth tightened, but he stayed silent, letting her words sink in. She’d always seen him as a failure, the quiet husband who blended into the background. And now, with the prospect of a new life on the horizon, she was willing to cast him aside without hesitation. In that moment, Ethan felt something within him shift—a quiet yet powerful resolve. She had no idea who he was, what he had done for her, and the lengths he had gone to support her dreams while sacrificing his own. The weight of his hidden life, his secrets, his true identity, all of it bore down on him, but he remained silent. He calmly reached for a pen, signing his name with a steady hand. As he finished, he pushed the papers back to her, his eyes meeting hers with a new intensity. “You’ll get what you want, Jasmine,” he said quietly, each word filled with a weight she couldn’t quite decipher. “But I want you to remember this moment.” She blinked, confused, perhaps even a little unnerved by his composed demeanor. “Remember it? What are you talking about?”

Long before humanity's rise among the supernatural, an ancient conflict raged—a war of unseen forces that shaped the fragile coexistence between mortals and ethereal beings. Colonies and clans, once divided by strife, found themselves bound by an uneasy peace. But as whispers of a long-forgotten prophecy surfaced, a new chapter in history began to unfold. The death of Azriel’s primal form was believed to mark the end of chaos, yet the world remained in ruin. Civilization teetered on the edge of collapse, forcing survivors to navigate a new reality—one where technology, resources, and shelter were scarce. Just as humanity struggled to reclaim its place, an unforeseen force stirred in the darkness, awakening the ineffable. What was thought to be the end was merely the beginning. New alliances will be forged, old adversaries will rise, and the dawn of the supernaturals will reshape destiny itself.

Silence. Like a nice bucket of shhhhhhhhh. Everyone shut the effing fudge UP! That's all I've ever wanted. *Sigh.* But silence comes in different flavors. There's mint - the peaceful kind that wraps around you like a blanket. The kind I chase at 2 AM. I've cried once. Just once. With a bucket beside me, watching heroes with super suits and impossible strength tear each other apart. Somehow that feels less broken than my reality. Then there's the suffocating silence at school. Not an ice cream flavor. This one tastes like metal and shame. High school is my personal hell. Empty wallet, empty lunch tray, empty seat beside me like I'm radioactive. Empty soul on Wednesdays because middles are always the worst. *The usual.* But Emily made the silence bearable. Mint-flavored again. Until she broke something between us. *Snap.* One moment she's whispering secrets with me, the next she's weaponizing them. She scattered my private thoughts, added her own twisted lies. The betrayal burns hotter than the stares drilling into my back. I went from invisible to spectacle. Being a ghost feels like luxury when you're dodging spit balls and "accidental" lunch trays. But somewhere between my third panic attack and contemplating switching schools... *Something shifted.* Like in those games you play, when your character suddenly glows and the screen flashes: "New Skill Unlocked" And it wasn't just in my head. I tested it. Small things at first – a pencil moving across my desk when I focused hard enough. Then books. Then someone's lunch tray right as they walked past Emily. *tap tap tap* I used to think rock bottom was the end. *Well ladies and gentlemen,* it's just a really messed up spawn point. And now? I don't stumble from cliffs anymore. I swim in gravity, and dive head first.

Three years ago, an accident caused me to lose my memory and powers, leaving me with no choice but to marry into the Cooper family as a live-in son-in-law. It wasn't until I witnessed my wife's infidelity that she presented me with divorce papers. On the day of our divorce, under the tree at the crossroads, a beautiful girl was waiting for me...

"You think you can stop me, Aiden? You're nothing but a pawn in this game." Malrik's voice echoed through the cold, sterile darkness of the virtual world, laced with malice. "In The Abyss, I am the ruler. And you will fall, just like everyone else." Aiden Cross never wanted to return to The Abyss. But when his sister’s mysterious death resurfaces in the form of a cryptic message, he’s pulled back into the deadly virtual world he tried to escape. Now, he must navigate shifting alliances, face dangerous enemies, and confront a hidden AI that holds the key to everything. But with every step, the line between reality and illusion blurs—each move he makes seems to play into the hands of the malevolent forces that control it all. In the fight to uncover the truth and save humanity, Aiden will have to decide: is he a hero, or is he just another pawn in a game he doesn’t understand? But when the virtual world begins to merge with reality... Will Aiden be able to stop Malrik before it’s too late? Or will the game consume him entirely? The countdown has begun. The question is... who will survive the game?

When Caleb Gonzales woke up in the video game he last played, he expected things to go down like they did in those webnovels he read in his spare time. However, there was one hitch. Instead of being the hero, he woke up as a demon rat, one of the lowest ranks a demon could get. Now, with the help of a sketchy system, he needs to rise to the top if he wants to survive this new world and possibly return home. Mega Writing Prompt #001/MWP#001

Johnny Burns, a lowly, homeless commoner whose girlfriend had been cheating on him with a hotshot, was unprepared to be nearly killed on the way to deliver a package. Luckily, the Divine Power System awakened in his body, making him one of the rare people with superpowers. Now part of the elite, he discovered that he's the long lost heir to the Burns family, known for their fire power, but what they don't know is that he can do more than just use fire. With his unlimited power, he was going to take the world by storm. Mega Writing Prompt #002/MWP#002

"You!" She yelled, her eyes bulging from thier sockets and continued, "You still have the audacity to come here after all you did? What a ridiculous, shameless man." All eyes were on him and he lowered his head in shame, this was what he passed through every day. "Grandmother!" The familiar voice he knew and always cherished said amidst the many eyes that were on him. She walked towards him and held his hands sweetly. "You are not getting acquainted with him, Never! Not on my watch." She replied angrily and left. ~~~~ Elliot's life was a typical sham if that's the correct word for it, he has been shamed and bullied for every single mistake he did. But worser times, when he realised his Nana was sick and needed urgent money, he approached his in-laws, but he was shamed as usual. And just then, his life surprisingly took a turn. "Every single person who mocked me will live to bow down before me."

Lucas, a live-in son-in-law is mistreated and despised by his in-laws and wife. After he tries to question his wife's engagement to another man, he is beaten, forced to sign the divorce papers, and shot dead. But instead of being dead, a strange twist of fate lands him in the body of Nathaniel Hayes, the wealthiest man in the country, who has been in a coma for ten years. He wakes up to fortune and is fueled by a desire for revenge on the Ross family and everyone who had despised and shunned him. He vows to make them all regret. However, Lucas faces a dilemma when he discovers a threat to his new identity. Can he get even with his enemies while keeping his new life safe?