The Storm King - Chapter 8: Ritual II

The jeers followed her like a persistent shadow. “Murderer!” the crowd screamed, their faces contorted in a grotesque parody of the adoration she once commanded.Just months ago, they had screamed her name, their voices a deafening roar as she shimmied across the stage, a beacon of light and pop perfection. Now, their cheers had morphed into venomous hisses, their eyes burning with a hatred that chilled her to the bone.Noelle clutched her lawyer's arm, his face a mask of grim determination. The cameras flashed, capturing her every move, every tremor of fear. The headlines screamed: “Pop Princess Plummets: Noelle Accused of Murder.” The irony wasn't lost on her. Her life, once a carefully constructed fairytale of fame and fortune, had become a grotesque tragedy.The trial was a circus. The whispers, the sneers, the relentless scrutiny – it was a constant assault on her senses. Her once loyal fans, the ones who'd plastered her face on their bedroom walls, now reveled in her downfall. They devoured every salacious detail, every whispered accusation, every tear she dared to shed.The verdict was a foregone conclusion. Guilty.Noelle watched the judge pronounce the sentence, her mind a whirlwind of disbelief and despair. Death by lethal injection.‘At least they did not give me the electric chair’ she thought to herself in a poor attempt at humor.Months later, a solitary figure knelt at her grave, the wind whipping at his hair. Rain lashed down, mirroring the tears that streamed down his face.“I'm sorry, Areum,” he sobbed, his voice hoarse with grief. “I'm so sorry I was too late.” He clutched a single, wilted rose, its petals stained crimson, a poignant reminder of the life that had been brutally extinguished.Noelle is a bright star who has the world at her feet, she feels no guilt about being the other woman coming between a husband and his wife. After all, Evan had been in love with her since they were teenagers. The only reason he married Ma-Ri was because his family demanded it, if he had a choice he would surely have picked her…When she gets wrongfully accused of murdering Ma-Ri, she loses everything and is sentenced to death, everyone including Evan turn against her and she is left to die a miserable death.She is reborn and this time she faces the humiliation of being the woman who is being cheated on. She is determined to end the cycle and not let the future she had seen come to pass, she decides to step out of the picture and focus on her career.In doing so, everything changes, Evan clings to her and refuses to let her go, a mysterious stranger who has been studying her also steps in and decides to fight for a chance to be with her.

Karl awoke to find himself shockingly reduced to a crippled Evil God confined within a bottle.The Fischer family had inadvertently become his favored members, sharing a fate connected by blood throughout the generations.They established a secret clan, infiltrated the state, manipulated wars, ascended the God Pantheon stairway, and fought for the honor and future of the family.They were assassins lurking in the shadows, beloved scholars, esteemed priests, powerful dukes, and legends in heroic epics.From budding to robust growth, steampunk evolved; the Spirit Realm descended through dreams; witches and ancient gods stepped forth, and people listened to the lost whispers at their ears.They were both the creators and the enders of stories.Generation after generation, in a continuous succession, they marched forward.“Step over my corpse and go on,” he said.

At eighteen, her mother died in a car accident, leaving her all alone in the world. One day, her kindness in rescuing someone led to a life-changing transformation.She was provided with food and accommodation, and someone even arranged for “360-degree personal protection” for her!Just when she thought she had picked up a pie from the sky, she was tied up and sent to a training camp, embarking on a tough yet passionate new journey.Bully her? With Taekwondo, she'll beat you until you can't tell north from south!Compete with her in sniping? Rookies, step aside, she's challenging the strongest sniper!Doubt her hacking skills? Come on, sister will show you what playing with computers is all about!She stood out in the camp with high profile, top in every category, who would dare compete against her?Back home, the little overlord turned into a docile rabbit, utterly bewitching someone!Unable to endure it any longer, he dragged the little overlord to the civil affairs office and registered their marriage.At night, he returned home, and righteously set about 'educating' her!

Orson transmigrated into the body of a villainous young master in an overpowered protagonist novel, and the first thing he had to do after waking up was to welcome the protagonist, the real young master, back to the family?Is it too late for me to start sucking up to the protagonist now?I took the initiative to find my fiancée to break off the engagement, but her older sister wanted to take her place and marry me instead?To protect the real young master, I berated the imperial princess, but she secretly fell in love with me?I actively pushed the heroines toward the real young master, but the heroines forced me to become the yellow-haired villain!It’s over, truly…