Serenade - Chapter 21: The Truth

I had transmigrated into my favorite game, as an extra who died before the story even began.In a world where Sigils dictate power, I found myself in the body of a boy who had already died on the battlefield.Yet, as I drew breath in his place, his Sigil changed. A power never meant for him, never meant for me.Kidnapped by a shadow organization that didn't exist in the game, I spent three years in the dark, forced to learn under a so-called teacher.I move forward, not as the extra I was meant to be, but as one who chooses their own path. A path to supremacy.Yet the deeper I walk, the more I realize… this world holds secrets that game had never shown.-----------------Additional tags:[Sword Companion], [Hidden Identity], [Artifact Power], [Slow Reveal], [Secret Society], [Survival]

“I hope you don’t fall in love with me, because I won’t be taking responsibility,” warned the young man. “Don’t worry, I won’t fall in love with a body double,” the employer dully replied. Yet, both of them forgot what they had said.

Have you ever wondered what lies beyond what you perceive as your reality?What lies beyond the “truth” that everyone around you tells you is “just the way it is”?Have you never pondered on what your limit is in this life of yours? “Can I go further? Can I do more?”And yet you end up settling when you think you have reached that “limit.” But why? Why should you settle? There is always going to be something further, something 'beyond'.This is a story about a boy named Azmond who was reincarnated from planet Earth into the Cultivation World of Asterion... A world where the strong rule and the weak are forced to kneel. If Azmond wishes to gain power in this new mysterious world then he must be willing to sacrifice more than anybody else, he who wants to know just how far he can go, a boy with the sole goal of attaining power above all else.Little does Azmond know, that there is a price to pay for everything and that price will be painful, so very excruciating that every fiber of his being will wish for death... but Azmond will continue. He will persevere until he can't anymore... For that is his will.

Koi Niles has always been alone. Quiet halls and empty lunchtimes are his familiar companions. Grades matter to him; they’re his way out.Ashley Miller owns the school corridors. Captain of the ice hockey team, confident smile, and a name everyone knows. When a class project pairs them together, Connor sees a chance. But Ashley disappears, leaving Connor to carry the weight.Days later, under the harsh lights of Connor’s part-time job, Ashley returns. This time, it’s different. He stands up for Connor, turns the tide against the bullies. A simple act of kindness that feels new and warm.They share moments—short walks, brief talks, the understanding of two worlds colliding. Friendship grows where none was before.But Ashley holds a secret behind those bright eyes. One evening, worry leads Connor to Ashley’s door. What he discovers there changes everything he thought he knew.