Rise of the Living Forge - Chapter 179: Left Behind

An eternal prison, a soulless body, a sealed spirit, everything lost.

To resign before merciless fate, or to become destiny!

“I lived in an illusion, I was lost, I could not find my home, I did not have a home… but why does it matter?! Between bowing to the threat of death and a spine that would never bend, I will choose the latter!”

- Description from Novelupdates

'Nina?'The thought hit me before I even really processed who it was. Nina Shoka from my class. She was just walking along, probably listening to music, totally unaware that this car had lost control and was sliding right toward her.I didn't think about it. Didn't weigh the pros and cons or consider my options. My legs just started moving.I dropped my phone and sprinted toward her. The car was maybe three seconds away from hitting her when I slammed into her side, pushing her as hard as I could toward the sidewalk.She went flying, landing hard on the concrete but definitely out of the car's path.Me? Not so lucky.The impact felt like getting hit by a train. One second I was pushing Nina to safety, the next I was flying through the air. Then I hit the ground and everything went wrong at once.I couldn't move my legs. Couldn't really move much of anything, actually. There was this weird warm feeling spreading across my chest and stomach, and when I tried to breathe, it felt like drowning.'Well, this sucks,' I thought, staring up at the sky. 'Guess that's what I get for being a hero.'My vision started getting all swimmy and weird, but I could make out Nina crawling over to me. She had pulled out her earbuds and there were tears streaming down her face.“Why did you do that?” she kept asking, over and over. “Why would you do that?”I wanted to shrug, but my shoulders weren't really cooperating. It seemed pretty obvious to me - she was in trouble, so I helped. That's what you do, right? Nothing fancy about it.She was talking to me, saying my name a lot. I didn't realize she even knew my name, to be honest. We had been in the same class for like three months and I don't think we had ever actually had a conversation.“Kofi, stay with me, okay?” she was saying. “You're gonna be fine. The ambulance is coming.”

How can there be any invincibility?

How can there be any Xeon undefeated?

No one in this world can be eternally number one, anyone can be defeated.

including me.

I’ve been waiting for that one person to show up, beat me, tell me that my way is wrong.

It’s a pity that that person hasn’t come yet.

…

False martial arts: strengthen yourself, break the limits of the human body, and resist bullets with flesh and blood.

Real martial arts: use the magnetic field of life to dominate the magnetic field of the stars, use the small universe of the human body to attract the power of the big universe, travel the starry sky, and smash the planet.

- Description from novelbuddy

In his old world, Aiden Ferith was a peerless war hero—feared by nations, revered by millions. Through years of brutal cultivation, he reached heights others only dreamed of. But glory turned to ash when his most trusted disciple drove a blade through his heart, shattering his empire and his soul.That should have been the end.But fate had other plans.Reborn in a world ruled by magic, where mages manipulate elements and battle with dazzling spells, Aiden awakens in the body of a seemingly average boy named Logan Smith. Here, cultivation is unheard of—dismissed as a myth, or worse, a joke.But what they don’t understand will be their undoing.Armed with ancient cultivation techniques that bypass the limitations of magic, Logan begins to carve a path that defies the laws of this new realm. Stronger, faster, and more resilient than any mage, he’s not here to play by their rules.He’s here to break them.Betrayed once.Stripped of everything.This time, he’s not fighting for a kingdom—He’s here to live life on his own terms—to protect those he loves, and finally, to live for himself.