Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 42.5: Paradise (5)

Pressured to get married or lose her father's financial support to pay for her mother's medical bills, Joanna Baker, the illegitimate daughter of the Baker family, is devastated when her boyfriend chooses another woman over her on their wedding day.Joanna, feeling distraught, witnesses a man in a wheelchair proposing to his girlfriend at a restaurant. The girlfriend's rejection and subsequent insult for his disability left everyone stunned.Feeling a shared sense of betrayal, she approaches the man with a vengeful proposition.“Excuse me, sir. Your girlfriend dumped you, and my boyfriend chose another woman over me. Let's get married for six months and get revenge on them.”What will Joanna do when she finds out the man she proposed marriage to was none other than Alexander King, the heir of the wealthiest family in NYC? He was also the cold CEO of King Multinational, with a hidden identity, Salvatore Black, whose name caused even presidents shiver? Has she just signed a deal with the devil?

Madeline Celeste d'Aumont is the first daughter of Duke Aumont and Duchess Louise-Marie d'Aumont who has been engaged to the Second Prince of Pays Des Abrutis since she was a child. The Second Prince decided to marry a woman closer to his own age and broke off the engagement to Madeline who was left with a broken heart and a reputation as being an unwanted woman even before she was an adult. The Duke decided to help his daughter regain her confidence and reputation by sending her to the Academy de L'échec.

Ito Aoi was the son of a Kendo master who ran a dojo in downtown Tokyo. One day while crossing the street to get some Yakitori, Aoi was hit by a delivery truck and woke up as the trash first son of Duke Montfort, Guy de Montfort. Duke Montfort also sent his son to Academy de L'échec only Aoi instantly recognized that he was now living in the world of an Otome Game that his sister loved to play and talk about all the time. Aoi recognizes that Madeline is the villain from the game. Aoi also recalled his sister saying that Madeline was terrible in the game, but is she really?

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)

Doomsday comes, and human beings enter the heavenly world.
Ten years later, Yang Chen, who was betrayed tragically, returned strongly with the Tianyu bug. In this life, he vowed to make the betrayal pay the price. He has a powerful bug bonus, just like an open hang. Frightened to hear…

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