Worm (Parahumans #1) - Chapter 2: Gestation 1.

Betrayed and left for dead, a soldier awakens in a world of knights and magic—but only one path is open to him.Hayden was once an elite soldier whose abilities were enhanced by the Ocularis Lens, a highly advanced mechanical eye technology.In this world that was filled with danger, Aura—a sacred energy that enhances the body and infuses weapons—is the mark of a true Knight, while magic is wielded by those born with the gift of sensing Mana.Hayden, however, is no mage. He doesn't have the ability to sense Mana, leaving him with only one option in order to survive: to become a Knight starting from a Knight's Academy!

Following the death of the emperor, the Astanian Empire plunged into chaos. His two sons both aiming for the throne caused a civil war that divided the empire.In the midst of this conflict, Alaric was forced into conscription. He later joined the crown prince’s army as a company commander.He led his 100-man army into battle, fiercely fighting with the hope of a better future. Unfortunately, he was just too weak to cause a ripple on the battlefield.A single arrow to the head shattered his hopes and he died without even a proper burial.Just when he thought that everything was over, he found himself back to his younger self with his memories intact.Armed with his knowledge of the future and a system that awakened his dormant powers, Alaric began his journey to overcome his fated demise.

After Amihan, politician by day and otaku by night, died from a political assassination, she got transmigrated as the saintess in another world. But she always felt like a fraud. Why? If she was the chosen one, why did she feel so rotten inside?Also, wasn't she atheist?However, her years of forced piety and suppressed desires ended in spectacular failure - her decapitation.Three days later, she woke to the sight of a worshiper bowing low. “Welcome back, O Sun Who Burns The World,” they said.'Wait. What? I'm not the Saintess? I was this all along?'Furious at the wasted years of celibacy, moral dilemmas, and suffocating oaths, Serafine made a vow: no more pretending. No more rules. The world? Hers to ruin. The people? Playthings.But wait. It was harder than she thought because...How in the name of the Goddess Aurelia was she supposed to have her debut when she was surrounded by a bunch of suspicious and crazy beautiful women who wants to hunt her down?!This was no different from her previous world!

The journey of a generation’s male empress started because of four words.

“Send a dowry escort.”

During the 19th year of Yuanqing, Qi Yunruo boarded a carriage and entered through a corner door of the second prince’s estate. Then, across the watery corridor, he gazed at the prince from afar.

Notes:

For aristocratic women in imperial China to marry into a family part of the upper nobility, they must be of the legitimate line and must also have an escort/dowry maid that married into that family. That escort would be a “ying” (媵) and could be considered a concubine.

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