Cosmic Awakening: Ascension of the Cosmic God - Chapter 29: The Making of a Monster 3

The Apocalypse is in full swing. Defiled - powerful creatures corrupted by the Great Collision - prowled the lands in search of prey. Unfortunately for them, the human race had long since retreated behind the secure walls of the Sanctuary of Everlast. During one of his regular excursions outside the Sanctuary, Alden is separated from Celeste. - his childhood friend and crush. In that moment, he came to regret never summoning the courage to confess. Somehow managing to survive thanks to some trickery, Alden awakens as a mage. Instead of receiving a normal power, he gains the ability to decay. What’s more, during his ascension, he received a vision from his future self advising him not to trust the Asterons - celestial beings who had saved his race from inescapable doom. Normally... such a revelation wouldn’t faze Alden. However, there was only one major problem with the declaration, though. Celeste was bound with an Asteron. And not just any normal Asteron... She had made a pact with one of the Divine Sovereigns.

Recently, major news broke out in A City. A rich family discovered that the daughter they had raised for eighteen years was not their biological offspring. The real young lady was found, and the fake young lady was sent away. Lu Ning was now a beautiful swan who had turned into an ugly duckling. Everybody waited for the opportunity to laugh at her. They wanted to see how she would survive after being pampered like a princess for eighteen years. However, Lu Ning wasn’t afraid at all. So what if she was poor? All she had to do was earn money. But before she could bring wealth to her family, they brought her home and started counting stacks of cash. Her eldest brother, a business mogul, offered her a few companies.

“These are all yours now. There are more if you want them. You can choose anything from dining, entertainment, fashion, theme parks, and any industry you can think of.” “Ning, would you like to participate in a talent show? I’ll write you a recommendation letter,” her second brother, a major celebrity, asked. Even her youngest brother, a computer expert, said, “Sis, whoever says bad things about you on the internet will never get to use it again.” “…” Lu Ning was speechless. Wasn’t her family poor and useless?

“Ning, if you don’t like gold, I’ll get someone to bring you diamonds instead. You can have diamonds embedded in all your clothes. What do you think? Hang on. I’ll get someone to do it right away!” Lu Ning’s mother said.”Ning, are you getting bored of the black card? Why don’t I give you one with a credit limit? Is 50,000,000 enough?” Lu Ning’s father asked. “Huh?” Lu Ning was confused. Wasn’t her family so poor that they couldn’t even pay off their mortgage? Lu Ning didn’t even have any opportunity to contribute. There was nothing for her to do.

However…”Come and be our boss!” A secret organization approached her.”Come and be my successor!” The director of a research center approached her.”Is this never going to end? I just want to be an ordinary person!” Lu Ning exclaimed. “Baby! Come into my arms!” Mr. Huo, an extremely wealthy man, arrived at top speed.

Elaine Monroe never meant to fall in love with him. She never meant for her heart to betray her like this. But as she watches him stand beside another, hand resting on the waist of the woman he’s meant to be with, she wonders if she was always destined to be the outsider.“You knew,” she says, voice barely above a whisper. “You knew how I felt.”His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t deny it. He never does.“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” he finally says.She laughs bitterly. “I know.”Loving him was always impossible. He belonged to someone else. To his family’s expectations. To a future where Elaine had no place.“Forget whatever you think you feel,” he tells her, voice firm, but there’s something unspoken in his eyes—something that makes it hurt even more. “It will never happen.”And yet, his gaze lingers, just for a second too long.Then there’s her best friend—the one who stands beside her when the world turns its back. The one who sees her pain without asking.“You don’t have to do this to yourself,” he says, handing her his jacket on a cold night. “You deserve more than waiting for someone who will never be yours.”She wants to believe him. She wants to move forward. But some loves are impossible to forget. Some wounds never truly heal. And some desires, no matter how forbidden, refuse to die._____“loving him best decision i ever made” Elaine“you are my world”

This story is set during the end of the Sui Dynasty, a time where multiple powers struggled for supremacy and power.