Arcturus, a Royal Knight of the kingdom of Lumiere, recalls the days of his time with his first love when he finds himself fighting against Claire on the battlefield. Will he live up to his duty as a Royal Knight of the kingdom or will he succumb to his emotions and lose his heart?
People claimed that one would never forget their first love, and they weren't wrong. Even after a decade had passed, memories of her still lingered vividly in my mind.
Back in those days, we shared an innocent, unadulterated affection for each other. Every time we held hands, it felt like I was so sure of what I wanted in life. To me, being with her someday in the future was a distant dream that I wanted to mold into reality.
The way her eyes smiled along with her lips was tantalizing. And each time she called out my name was music to my ears. Those days were long gone...but not forgotten.
A decade ago, we were classmates at the academy. I had never bothered to pay attention to anyone, for all I focused on was my mastery of magic, the ways of the sword, and the art of war.
I was lauded for my prowess in all fields, including academics. My peers respected me, and I made many friends. But even then, most were afraid of me.
Though it pained me to admit this, I used to be a hothead, and I had a violent streak. Nobody ever dared to provoke me, and somehow, it made me feel like all the friends I made weren't real. None of them saw who I really was, and who I wanted to become.
Our professors and instructors often turned to me for demonstrations of hard spells, difficult academic subjects, and even bold fighting skills. For that reason, many of my batchmates were either envious of me or resented me.
One fine day, as I sat on the park bench, staring at a distance and on my own, a wide-eyed lass named Claire approached me. She sat beside me and gave me a Jasmine flower.
"Do you know what jasmines symbolize?" she asked me, staring right at my face.
I'd never been one to make eye contact, so I looked away and answered, "I don't. I never bothered to learn about flowers."
Claire opened my palm and put the stem of the flower in my hand. "They signify joy," she said, still maintaining eye contact. "I don't know if you know me, but we're from the same class. Miss Ibarra's class."
She then heaved a sigh and said, "You have friends around you, but I think you're lonely. I'm not going to ask you why because we don't know each other that well yet. This is why this flower is all I can give you for now. I hope that this flower becomes the mark of joy in your life. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but someday soon, you'll find happiness."
For one full second, I felt like time had stopped. I couldn't help but look at her face. And there, I saw the brightest smile I'd ever seen in my fifteen years of existence. Her eyes glimmered beneath the sunlight, and her curly brown hair danced along with the wind.
At the time, I had no idea how it felt to have strong feelings for someone, so I turned to the only logical explanation: it was curiosity that drew me to her.
From that day on, I paid attention to her in class. She wasn't the best at academics, and she was above average at best. In terms of combat, she was quite lacking in comparison to the other female students. But when it came to arts and crafts, she was in her element.
Everything she made was a masterpiece and a sight to behold. And in truth, I became more beholden to her after I came to that realization. I started to notice the more subtle details of her appearance and her skills.
Not only was she good at arts, but she was also quite adept at creating complex spells. There was one time, we were partners in an activity. We were supposed to come up with a complex spell that involved water and earth energy.
During the activity, she was able to create a painting in the sand of different colors using only the mana she weaved from the water in the air and the mana she drew out from the soil. It was a picture of the bench under the tree we sat on.
How beautiful her smile was when she saw just how captivated I was by the picture she drew out of magic.
It was then that I noticed she had hazel-colored eyes. There was a tiny mole near her left eye, but it didn't diminish her beauty. As a matter of fact, the tiny mole elevated it.
When she tilted her head at me, wondering why I was staring so intently at her, I looked away, fearing that I was too enamored by her face.
"That's a great picture," I told her.
My remark only made her chuckle. "You were staring at me, not the picture," she countered.
I shook my head to deny her claim and excused myself, saying that I was heading to the bathroom to pee.
But in truth, I went there to wash my face and shake the overwhelming emotions off.
Ever since I was a boy, I had always been logical, straightforward, and straitlaced. I put my duty to my family and my dreams of being a Royal Knight of the kingdom above all else.
But ever since I met her, I began to develop feelings that I'd never felt before. Whenever I was around her, I felt warm inside. At times, I would catch myself staring at her in a daze. And when she caught me staring, she'd cover her mouth and giggle.
Days passed by and the day of the academy's festival came. I found myself searching for her across the dimly lit halls. Sometime later, I found her enjoying a nice time with some guy from our class, laughing and chatting with him.
Seeing them together like that made me feel suffocated. It felt like someone had gripped my heart and ripped it apart, piece by piece. I never knew that emotional pain could be so physically painful as well.
I must admit that I didn't know what heartbreak was back then, but it sure hurt a lot to see her with some other guy. To make matters worse, we weren't even together. She was just a friend who happened to give me an innocent Jasmine flower.
As I stood frozen outside the classroom, staring right at Claire and her friend, I didn't notice that she had noticed me as well. When I finally came to my senses, I ran away like the idiot I was.
Later, I sat at the bench I first met her. There were lots of people passing by, but I couldn't see any of them. Time slowed down. Red leaves fell from the tree behind me and fell onto the spot on the bench beside me.
I was in a trance. I couldn't see, hear, nor feel a thing aside from the heartbreaking pain in my chest.
All of a sudden, I heard her sweet voice calling out to me. She touched my shoulder and sent me back to reality. "Arcturus!"
She shook me one more time and said, "Why'd you run off like that?"
I looked away, unable to stare into her eyes. "Nothing," I said. "Just go back to your friend."
"He is my friend. Why do you sound so upset?" Claire asked. "We're friends, too, right?"
"Right," I answered passively. Then, I stood up and tried to walk away.
But then, she held my wrist and for some reason, she was blushing. "Were you... jealous?" she asked again.
I couldn't answer her question because I didn't know what jealousy felt like. "I don't know," I said, staring at her hand on my wrist.
Refusing to let me go, she responded, "I won't let you go until you tell me something! You can't just say 'nothing' or 'I don't know'. At least help me understand you!"
After taking a deep breath, I endured the suffocating pain in my heart and said, "Seeing you with him made my heart ache for some reason. I don't understand how feelings work yet, and I'm not even sure if these are the right words to describe how I feel about you."
I had never spoken so many words at one time without necessity, but I found myself unable to stop speaking.
"Every time you smile at me, I feel warm inside. And the days I spend with you are the most peaceful ones I've had in all my life. But... seeing you smile the same way at someone else made me feel like my heart is about to explode." I clutched my chest and continued, "Even as I speak now, it still feels like my heart is being jabbed with needles over and over."
This time, I was able to look her in the eye, but my vision had become blurred by my own tears. "Before I met you, I was so sure of what I wanted to become, and I could live without depending on anyone to complete my day. But now... I'm not so sure anymore."
A smile appeared on her lips, and a tear rolled down her cheeks, but she remained silent.
"You've become someone I can no longer live without. My day isn't complete without talking to you. And each moment I wake up, I counted down the minutes until you arrive at school and sit next to me in class. You've... you've got some sort of hold on me that I just can't shake off. You-"
Before I could even finish my sentence, she planted a kiss on my lips. And just as I was about to recover from the shock, she said to me, "I'm in love with you, too."
From that day on, we spent lunch breaks together, and I dropped her off at home every single day. It was truly a blissful time.
But as I said before... those days were long gone.
Atreus has reached the height of success, building a vast conglomerate that brought him wealth and recognition. Yet, even with everything he ever dreamed of, he feels a void that nothing seems to fill. One evening, while taking a walk, he becomes a witness to a mugging and nearly loses his life in the chaos. When he wakes up in the hospital, he sees the woman he saved sitting by his side. In her presence, he feels a strange familiarity that pulls him back to his past, to the days when he first learned what it meant to love. "A Last Letter for My Stargazer" follows Atreus as he confronts the emptiness within him and uncovers the lost pieces of his heart.
In the post-apocalyptic wasteland known as The Black Spot, hope is a scarce commodity. Arslan, a hardened survivor haunted by a traumatic past, wanders through the desolate ruins with only his cynicism and combat skills as companions. But when he crosses paths with Nova, a quick-witted thief, and Leona, a relentless fighter with a strong sense of justice, their fates become entwined. Together, they form an unlikely alliance in a world where trust is a luxury. As they navigate the treacherous terrain and encounter ruthless factions, their shared objective emerges: to piece together the fragments of hope amidst the chaos. Arslan's unwavering determination to find his lost love, Clarisse, propels them forward, as they uncover secrets that shake the very foundations of their shattered world. In 'Fragments of Hope,' survival means more than just staying alive—it means finding the strength to fight for a better future. As alliances are tested, loyalties are questioned, and sacrifices are made, these survivors must rise above their own demons and forge a path toward redemption. Will their shared resilience be enough to rebuild what has been lost, or will they be consumed by the darkness that surrounds them?
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A troubled knight losing his grip on reality searches for a purpose in life. When he stumbles upon a young noblewoman named Esfir in the grips of a dilemma, he finds a memory of an old flame. In his quest to help Esfir, will he find his purpose or will he lose what remains of himself?
Terraria, a world governed by the six elemental knights. They bring balance, stability, and life to this world. But legend has it that one day, a seventh knight will appear, wreaking havoc and destruction wherever he walks. A man named Sigurd embarks on a quest to find The Seventh Knight and do whatever it takes to kill him.
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
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.
Madison had always believed that she would marry Colten. She spent her youth admiring him from afar, dreaming of their future life together. But Colten was always indifferent to her, and when he abandoned her at a time when she needed him most, she finally realized that he never loved her. With renewed resolve and a thirst for revenge, Madison left. Endless possibilities lay ahead, but Colten was no longer part of her plans. Colten rushed to her place in a panic. "Madison, please come back to me. I’ll give you everything!" It was his powerful uncle who answered the door. "She's my woman now."
When Zora was sick during the early days of her pregnancy, Ezrah was with his first love, Piper. When Zora got into an accident and called Ezrah, he said he was busy, when in actual fact, he was buying shoes for Piper. Zora lost her baby because of the accident, and throughout her stay at the hospital, Ezrah never showed up. She already knew that he didn't love her, but that was the last straw for the camel's back, and her fragile heart could not take it anymore. When Ezrah arrived home a few days after Zora was discharged from the hospital, he no longer met the woman who always greeted him with a smile and cared for him. Zora stood at the top of the stairs and yelled with a cold expression, "Good news, Ezrah! Our baby died in a car accident. There is nothing between us anymore, so let's get a divorce." The man who claimed not to have any feelings for Zora, being cold and distant towards her, and having asked her for a divorce twice, instantly panicked.
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.