Shadow Slave - Chapter 13: Moment of Truth

Welcome to The Last Step – A Tale of Fate, Power, and the Unforgiven.In a world where magic defines one's worth, three souls walk a path toward an uncertain destiny—each bearing a power that can shape the fate of nations.Lucas, the God’s Chosen Sorcerer, wields divine magic that bends reality itself, blessed by forces beyond mortal comprehension. A shining beacon of hope—or a harbinger of destruction—his path is riddled with expectations he never asked for.Celia, the Queen of Curses, commands a power feared by even the strongest mages. She carries the weight of a past filled with whispers and condemnation, but where others see a curse, she sees the strength to carve her own future.Kaiser, the Unwanted Void, stands apart. Neither blessed nor cursed, he is the anomaly that should not exist. In a world that measures worth by magic, he is a shadow in the light—yet, the abyss within him holds something far greater than mere sorcery.Together, they are bound by fate yet divided by their own battles. As war brews and forgotten gods stir, the lines between hero and villain blur. In the end, their choices will decide more than just their own lives—they will determine the very foundation of their world.This is their journey. This is their Last Step.

Jeong Jiheon was once a promising swimmer, but retired early due to an injury and is now working diligently at a sports agency. Currently, the greatest interest in the sports market is none other than Kwon Jaekyoung, and numerous agencies are fighting fiercely behind the scenes to scout him.In the meantime, Jiheon is ordered by his boss to somehow arrange a meeting with Jaekyoung, and he miraculously succeeds thanks to their insignificant and brief relationship of going to the same swimming center 10 years ago.However, when they agree to meet for the first time in a long while, Kwon Jaekyoung is not interested in the terms of the contract. He just suddenly asks about Jiheon’s traits….

Vergil, a 21-year-old young man, leads an apparently simple life in a somewhat troubled world. His family is also simple—although his father is no longer alive, his mother has always been by his side, despite being a bit... aggressive. But that's not so unusual nowadays, right?Everything changes drastically when Vergil, after an unexpected death, awakens as a demon. To his surprise, he discovers that he has accidentally married beautiful Pure-Blood demonesses.Now, he will discover how the world really works from a Demon's perspective.

At the heart of a wish lies an attempt at completion, a human desire to become our true and final selves. Wishes are fuelled by regrets and are bound eternally to the past, serving as approximations of what once was. We all experience regret and nostalgia, leading us to make wishes and find despair, but can we become our true selves despite this all?That's where the story of a girl who struggles to control her desires begins...Two souls sharing the same body and memory are living in Kyoto 2031. Tang-Ji Shizukesa, a girl who's grown up in her previous life with a hardcore passion for gaming, is now a bookworm in her new life who has no interest in video games. Along with her, Kazami and Hoyeon, the three childhood friends who separated 7 years ago due to an accident, have now been reunited again in a VRMMORPG game known as Dusk Protocol. The game has a unique combat system known as “Leere,” a physical manifestation of an individual soul that can be conjured into deadly weapons.As Tang-Ji navigates this virtual world, she confronts the echoes of her past and the dissonance between her former self and her present identity. How will she cope with the rediscovery of a life she thought she left behind? How will Kazami and Hoyeon react to the new Tang-Ji? In a world where reality is malleable and death is just a click of a button away, the boundaries between past and present blur, forcing everyone to grapple with the truth of who they truly are.Disclaimer: This novel contains explicit language, violence, racism, and sexual scenes. There are also scenes that deal with various traumas, from physical to emotional to mental.(THE CHARACTERS’ CIRCUMSTANCES , TRAITS, AND BELIEFS IN THIS NOVEL ARE ALL BASED ON A TRUE STORY.)