Tetsuya was born to the wealthy and famous Kuroriku clan. However, out of the six Houses of the Kuroriku, he was born to the infamous second branch which lacks the resources of the main, and other branches. They don't even have the privilege of having their own name to differentiate them from the main household. After living in the countryside for most of his life, this plain college boy is invited to the royal palace.Excited at first to meet the king, Tetsuya soon finds out that the kingdom will require more of him than a hand to till the soil. He is to become one of the five knights. His weapon? A shield. His duty? To protect the kingdom from the umber forces that threaten to destroy it. Yet, the more he sees and hears, the more he begins to ponder if the true darkness isn't within the castle walls themselves... A tale filled with mystery and political intrigue. Cover was put together by moboreader. All rights reserved (except for the images used for the cover).
"Kiddo, " Mother says, glancing back at me as we drive across the countryside to visit my uncle and his family. "Feeling well?"
"I'm fine, " I say, glancing at the cows chewing on grass. Their mouths move up and down, as if savoring every single bite.
"You still mad at me for what I said about Tetsuya?" Father asks.
I lean my head against the window. A moment of silence hangs over us like a dark blanket.
"Listen, Ashi."
My eyes remain on the verdant fields of grass as my hands grasp my black rosary. Daddy had given it to me when I was born. I sit up and narrow my eyes. It looked similar to the one in the story.
"Dad. Why did you call me Ashi?"
Dad stops the car and glances back. "Why do you ask that now?"
"Also, this rosary... It's the rosary of the Angel of Darkness, our ancestor. Why were you in its possession? Dad, what's your connection with the Knight of the Shield? Why name me after the kid he wanted to have?"
Dad returns his focus to the dirt road and drives on. "No reason. Ashi was a nice name. And that rosary... it's a replica."
I narrow my eyes some more. "Really? Daddy?"
He snickers. "What? Did you have delusions of being the reborn Hanketsu?"
My face warms. "I... do not! I rather not be."
"Hmm?" he asked.
My hands clasped the rosary tighter. "I like my simple life. If I were to be the reincarnation of Hanketsu, then my life will be filled with hardship."
Father nods. "And you should. Kiddo, don't you dare dream of being a hero. Don't fall for the same illusions of grandeur that so many before you have."
"But the Knight of the Shield didn't have such illusions. All he sought was to clear his name."
His golden eyes widen a little. "You sure? Don't you think that he at least had a bit of otherworldly desires?"
"No. He was all about clearing his name. At least based on the first half." My eyes shift toward mom. "Hey, can you tell me the second half? We won't arrive at uncle Taku's home for a while."
Mother looks at him.
Dad sighs. 'Alright. Tell the kids the rest of the story that he can finally stop nagging."
"Yay!" I yell.
"Yay!" sister says.
"Not you too, " Dad says, sighing.
A smile dots my face. "How about Dad tells it this time?"
He lifts his hands from the driver's wheel momentarily. "Uh, kind of driving here."
I pout. "Come on."
"You know, you're a lot like Hideo."
I bit my mouth. "Not him. He's one of my least favorite. Well, only two that I like are Tetsuya and Setsuko."
A chuckle echoed across the car. "Really? I can barely blame you. They are the better ones out of the five. But even those two weren't without their faults... Fine. I'll tell you the story."
"Yahoo!" sister says. "Papa is going to tell us a story!"
I give him all of my undivided attention.
"Before I do. Where did you leave off?"
"They were going to visit home to see if Tekeshi had returned."
Father's eyes dim. "Right. Him." He clears his throat. "Alright... let's begin."
**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter :D!**
*Character Section*
Ashi Kuroriku- Sex: Male Age: 9 Birthday: August 15, ????
One of the 'pillars' of Xeleria has shattered. Now, darkness threatens to consume all that is in its path. As the umber forces advance, Lei and co. are busy taking their exams to advance to the rank of Novus Magus Secundus. However, they soon find themselves dragged into the mess caused by the foolish eight and their leader, a leader who still remains at large. Lei and his friends will need all their magic to survive the shadows engulfing Kyuu-Hanabira High because if they don't then... A tale of loss, love, and hope. Cover was put together by the folks over at moboreader :)
Olivia was born with incredible powers, powers that her father saw the need to seal. Now in her junior year in high school, she seeks to awaken her sealed powers. Yet, the key to unlock them might not be as easy to obtain as she thought. All rights reserved.
Tetsuya was born to the wealthy and famous Kuroriku clan. However, out of the six Houses of the Kuroriku, he was born to the infamous second branch which lacks the resources of the main, and other branches. They don't even have the privilege of having their own name to differentiate them from the main household. After living in the countryside for most of his life, this plain college boy is invited to the royal palace.Excited at first to meet the king, Tetsuya soon finds out that the kingdom will require more of him than a hand to till the soil. He is to become one of the five knights. His weapon? A shield. His duty? To protect the kingdom from the umber forces that threaten to destroy it. Yet, the more he sees and hears, the more he begins to ponder if the true darkness isn't within the castle walls themselves... A tale filled with mystery and political intrigue."
How far would you go to achieve your dreams? Many dream of attending Nine Petal Academy, one of the most prestigious magical academies in the land. They must all leave their countries of origin and undertake the journey to Kyuu Seishin-- a nation which has long clashed wands with their own. Among those is a young man called Lei Lan-- a wind and lightning mage with a strange power of unknown origin. He aspires to become Magus Maximus, the one herald as the strongest mage in all the universe. A goal which is made difficult by what in his world is deemed as an unusual sickness. Despite this, Lei is determined to achieve it, even if it means pushing himself to the brink of death. Embark on a world unlike any other. Novus Magus is an original light novel and is the first book in the Immortal Sun Mist Emperor Saga. The cover was made by @FayfayAhmadi ^_^!
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”
Billionaire Bennett Graham urgently needed a wife to close a business deal but his fiancée wasn't ready to tie the knots yet. So his grandmother picked the most unassuming maid for him. Everything was supposed to go incredibly well, and all he had to do was wait until he divorced her a year later. But after seeing Maliyah's ocean eyes.it wasn't looking simple anymore. *** Before I could get her up, it was as if she felt the light and an uncomfortable sound came out of her mouth. "Uh-huh..." She raised her hand to cover her eyes. But I didn't have time to wait for her to wake up, so I told her to "Get Up." My voice seemed to scare her, and her light-fearing eyes suddenly widened and she kept moving to the corner. The only voice in the quiet art room was her fear-filled voice, "No...please...go away...don't come close to me." She was afraid of me? I hadn't even spoken to her before, what was she afraid of? This was definitely not going to work, I couldn't talk to her if she couldn't calm down. Then I moved closer to her, my hand on her trembling shoulder, and I whispered soothingly "Calm down.I'm not going to hurt you.I'm not going to hurt you."I assured and then she moved her hair away from her face as if to stare at me properly. Our eyes met.It was that moment. It felt as if I was enchanted for a moment. Those ocean eyes were the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
Her fiance and her best friend worked together and set her up. She lost everything and died in the street. However, she was reborn. The moment she opened her eyes, her husband was trying to strangle her. Luckily, she survived that. She signed the divorce agreement without hesitation and was ready for her miserable life. To her surprise, her mother in this life left her a great deal of money. She turned the tables and avenged herself. Everything went well in her career and love when her ex-husband came to her.