A Nascent Kaleidoscope. - Chapter 203 - 194

Lucian Bowcott only wanted a quiet life. He met up with old friends, made a wish, and died after one drink.Now, he awakens inside a coffin—summoned by the Half-Dead Queen of Atraeum and surrounded by restless souls.Armed with the Death Grimoire, Lucian must embalm corpses, repair brittle bones, and help the dead find peace… before something ancient finds him.As his powers grow, so do the whispers in the dark. If he wants to survive, Lucian must unravel the Queen’s grief, discover why a mortician hasn’t been summoned in over a century, and confront the entities haunting his every step.A/N: It doesn't deal with dungeons, Lucian's system is a magical book, and he slowly unlocks powers to help him with his next assignment. He travels to different places around Atraeum, and in the future, another kingdom.This is a character-driven gothic isekai about an introvert learning that sometimes, peace is more than just embalming a body and preparing it for a funeral. He's more of an undead therapist now

A thousand years ago, the world shattered.Mana surged into existence, rewriting reality itself. Dungeons tore through the land, birthing monstrous horrors, while beasts mutated under the influence of Primordial Ki, evolving into unstoppable apex predators. Humanity was on the brink of annihilation—until the Awakened emerged, wielding supernatural power to defy extinction.Yet, in this brutal new world, strength reigns supreme, and weakness is a death sentence.Amidst it all, Azvoid Larkson—a nameless figure among the countless struggling to survive—awakens a power beyond reason. A power tied to ancient, forgotten dragons—beasts feared even by the strongest Awakened.With each battle, he ascends. With every dragon he tames, his legend grows.In a world where only the strong thrive, how far can one man rise?

The Empire's forces retreated in desperation—trampled by faceless horrors bringing darkness and death to these once beautiful lands.Only the most courageous stood in defiance, forming a last defence to buy the people time to flee—fighting until the final embers of hope burned out.A man stands with a silver sword, like a beacon of hope to those around him. He roared with all his might drawing his blade against the overwhelming enemy!“You face Lancelot, Sword of the Empire! ”These horrors tested the Lord's grit and loyalty in the final moments.“Should my blade break, I will use my body!”The knights had fallen, broken swords for their tombstones, and lords fled, betraying the Empire to survive.“If my body breaks, I'll use my Soul!”Lancelot, the sword of the Empire, fought alone.All hope seemed lost.“And if my Soul fails...”What could a single man and his army do?He fights against the dark tide, blade in hand, heart on sleeve.“I will sell myself to the devil for revenge!”But he was too weak, too fragile.The last Lord of humanity stood against the enemy.Lancelot was a master of the sword, a mortal, neither a God nor a Saint.Miracles were beyond his reach.Now only a broken man impaled on his own destroyed throne.His blade shattered—now, like rose petals, it was scattered across the charred ground.Lancelot's soul was fated for the abyss as the light faded from his eyes.His last ounce of resistance used staring at the man who betrayed the Empire.Now with only the desire to kill, crush and seek revenge smouldering inside him.Now unwilling to die and desperate to fight once again.He desired to fight for the people who supported him.Lancelot refused to surrender, to fall like this.As quietly in the abyss, a voice whispered to him.It tried to entice the Lord, ignite his desire to win and fight again.“If given a second chance, to relive your life with a different choice... Would you Accept?”Blood gathered in his throat, forcing him to reply in his mind.A frail and broken voice'There is no reason to ask, of course!'“No matter the cost?”'Even if I were to lose everything...''If my people can live on. I would sacrifice everything I have!'“You will no longer be the same, a monster, twisted and vicious.”“Will you still accept?”The Lord's heart ached, taking great pride in his humanity.To lose that caused his mind to falter.Finally, out of power, unable to speak or reply with a trembling arm.Lancelot reached out.Towards the raspy voice.Towards the abyss.Towards a new future.[So you would accept after all...]'I must accept.''I must stand tall.''I must not break.''Because...''I am the Lord of humanity![Nay, you are the king of demons]

There’s a trend infecting stories lately—all because of boys reading these stories rather than men.Villains who think being “dark” means having dead eyes, a tragic past, and a dick that solves all problems.They get betrayed once, and suddenly it's their life's mission to destroy the world—or worse, emotionally blackmail heroines in the name of “revenge.”Slap on a black coat, stare at walls, say something like “love is weakness”—and boom, readers start calling them “deep.”But let’s be honest:> They’re not villains. They’re just edgy losers with a god complex and a hard-on trying to satisfy the inferiority of their readers.Some of them turn so cold, they forget why they started. Others get so lust-drunk, they think sleeping with a heroine is “domination.”That making her cry is “control.” They think power is measured by how many women they can ruin. But really?> They’re just boys trying to look like men.Just like their followers who are the boys who hide their masculinity inside a woman's virginity.They go around in the review section asking if the women of the main character would be stolen and all... giving it fantasy names like NTR and all nonsense.As if they want to scream their fear out.“Please don't, I hate it... because I am a gay who doesn't even have the confidence that my woman will remember me once she gets someone better....” one of the loser’s internal thoughts.They don't want their puny hearts to be crushed.Their masculinity is so weak that it crumbles the moment they think about some other man having the women they love and her forgetting those boys for the men.And they just project that weakness of themselves in their main characters, thinking that just like them, their main characters should be weak, should be a fantasy monger who hoards women like trying to hide the incapabilities of those followers who never in their life would have held a hand of a woman.Harem has now become a way to satisfy weak audiences who feel more women mean more security for their hearts.Forgetting that Harem in truth means the masculinity is so HUGE that it needs an ocean of FEMININE to hold.Tch, not like the boys with breakups and fear of being cucked will ever realize.They treat fantasy as escape and character as their way to feel that they are men.So, naturally, to have such a huge amount of followers, authors are forced to pour the density of such books holding such weak characters in the form of the cold MC who collects harem, manipulates one or two, fucks around, and finally satisfies readers until they feel bored and drop the book....Because to those followers, they themselves realize in the long run that the story isn't satisfying even if the villain is the same cruel man.So why?Simply because they were until now reading kind boys wearing the mask of a man, and acting as a villain.Their MC, just like them, doesn't even know themselves, their needs, and what their inner soul wants... not understanding that...Fucking a woman doesn't make you her god. Breaking her spirit doesn't make you a king. And calling yourself a villain just because you were too weak to heal?That’s not power—that’s coping.And for followers—that's doping.Real villains? They don’t whine. They don’t treat women like checkboxes or trophies. They don’t mistake lust for legacy.> They don’t need to act cruel. They are cruel. Calm. Focused. Dangerous in silence. They don’t need to chase power—they embody it.This story isn’t about a guy who gets played and suddenly thinks he’s entitled to vengeance sex.This is about a villain who doesn’t....Ah, screw this shit. Just read the story already![ No Dumb Heroines ] [ No Cliche Plot ] [ Original Content ] [ Fan Services here and there ] [ R-18 might not come soon enough ] [ Yandere ] [ Tsundere ] [ MILF ] [ Dragon ] [ Elves ]