Beers and Beards - Chapter 12Book 3: : Finding Home

“It’s finally here,” said the man with the sword in an echoing whisper.

“The Tower of Choice, the last 100 floors!” the band of five exclaimed in unison.

Angelica came down from the altar with a dull look, seemingly annoying.

Then we looked around.

“I tell you once again, but you’ve had a lot of trouble in the meantime. I couldn’t have climbed to the 100th floor alone without you.”

Thud!

One by one, they fall to the floor.

Angelica’s dagger pierced my neck, and I felt a darkening in front of my eyes with a tumultuous rage. My awareness faded, from my senses, from everything else. After that, everything was eroded by profound darkness.

A cheating boyfriend and a traitorous best friend had always been a cliché start to a story. Fil often thought those things only happened in such narratives. Who would have thought this same cliché twist would happen to her?Fil was a devout Christian who held marriage and marital fidelity sacred. She had been a very good girl from childhood to adulthood. But when she caught her childhood sweetheart slash fiancé and her best friend rolling under the sheets, Fil wanted to rebel for the first time.The first step of her rebellious journey? Getting drunk.After drowning her sorrows with the help of alcohol, Fil met the enigmatic Jackson. The moment her eyes met those tantalizing golden orbs, words slipped past her lips without any notion of the kind of situation she was getting herself into:“Will I go to hell if I lose my virginity before marriage?”His thin, red lips curled up as a glint flickered across his naturally sharp eyes, and he said, “Who knows? But I can bring heaven to you if you want me to.”*****Jackson.A man shrouded in mystery and secrets, licentious to the core with zero morality, someone who had grown bored playing games with life. Until one fateful night, a woman suddenly appeared before him — a perfect prey for a boring night.Little did he know, a night with a rebellious wannabee wouldn’t be enough to quench his biological urge. Nor would he ever fathom the colors she gave to his gray-colored world.A good girl with dirty thoughts and a sinful man who had even dirtier thoughts.A relationship that started for revenge and to satisfy one’s need; was there even space for true love?How? When the man bending her down would nastily whisper in her ear, “You've been a fucking good girl.”****As the two grapple with their own demons threatening to tear them apart, doubts would start surfacing in their hearts. Was this rebellion worth sacrificing her principles for? Could she truly find happiness in the arms of a man so steeped in darkness?And for Jackson, was redemption possible for a devil like him? And if so, would she be the one to lead him towards the light? Would she even accept his darkest secrets and the hell of his world?In a world where trust was a rare commodity and love was a fragile flame, Fil and Jackson would have to navigate the treacherous waters of desire and redemption.Would they face the unknown together? Or would they let go to save themselves from the impending pain of being together?

Lacking a pocket dimension, lacking a power, lacking a thigh to hug onto and the three life advantages (money, power, and looks), he had been cautiously living in the apocalypse for ten years, getting closer to falling inside the zombie’s mouths. But unexpectedly, he had the terrible luck, to be caught in a fight between two gangs and die, it really left people feeling disappointed.

“His novel. His rules. His fight to take it all back.”Who would have thought Tavian would end up trapped inside his own novel?Not the chosen one. Not the villain.Just a forgettable extra with laughable stats and no place in the story he once ruled.And the protagonist he shaped into a perfect weapon?He’s real—and hunting him.Armed only with the knowledge of the world he created, Tavian has one choice: exploit the system he built… or be devoured by his own creation.He knows how the story is supposed to end.And he won’t let anyone else decide his fate—especially not the characters he once controlled.