Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse - Chapter 246 Build-Up

If you had a golden apple, who would you give it to?Invited to the banquet, Luo En saw the golden apple in the plate inscribed with “To the fairest goddess” and the three goddesses embroiled in dispute before him, and he picked up a knife with a smug smile.The first step, peeling; he gave the skin to Aphrodite.“To be fair, you're quite pretty. As a layer of skin, you're not bad to look at.”The second step, slicing the flesh; he gave that to Hera.“As the queen of heaven, yet everyone in Olympus from 800-year-olds to animals has cuckolded you, including males, females, and even sheep. Since you can't save face anyway, take these insides.”The third step, he gave the remaining core to Athena.“You were supposed to be born a male god and take over Zeus's position, but due to Zeus's shenanigans, you lost that seed, so here, have this core.”Aphrodite clenched her fists, Hera raised her scepter, Athena summoned her spear and shield...Seeing this, Luo En quickly stepped back, shielding the goddess of discord, Eris, firmly in front of him.“And you still want to be the goddess of discord? Look at me; I got them to unite at once, even better than you with your instigation.”“...”Surrounded by Greek gods sharpening their knives, Eris was left in silence.

After being torn from the only life she knew, 16-year-old Margo is forced into a new home with strangers who call themselves her parents. Haunted by memories of her past and consumed by feelings of isolation, she struggles to adapt to her unfamiliar surroundings. School offers little relief—until she meets Lucien, a mysterious boy who appears just when she needs a friend the most.Gabriel is everything Margo needs: kind, attentive, and always ready to whisk her away from her troubles. Each night, he invites her to secret places—an abandoned playground, a fog-choked garden, a crumbling train station at the edge of town—each more unsettling than the last. Yet with every chilling rendezvous, Margo feels more alive... more seen.But something isn’t right. Gabriel never comes to school during the day. Her adoptive parents never see him. And when they catch her talking to thin air, their concern deepens into fear. They say Gabriel isn't real—that he’s a figment of her imagination. Margo wants to believe them, but Gabriel feels real. More real than anything else in her life.As the nights grow colder and more twisted, Gabriel’s true nature begins to surface. Shadows move where they shouldn’t. Time warps in his presence. And the places they visit seem to echo with whispers from another world. Margo is forced to ask herself: Who—or what—is Gabriel? Why does he only want her? And what will happen on the final night he asks her to come with him?As the line between reality and delusion begins to crumble, Margo must make an impossible choice: stay in a world where she feels loved, or return to one that barely feels real.But one thing is certain—some friendships never let go.

Theodora is the Queen of Polis, a city-state that lost the war against the most powerful empire in the continent.

She is sure that they'll execute her immediately but, somehow, she survives the meeting with the Emperor, and she finds herself... Married?

Tossed in a new world without connections and allies, she has to either accept her fate or lose the chance to help her people once again.

She soon finds out that her new husband knows more about her than she does herself, and that his purposes are often far from what she expects.

A fallen queen that doesn't know how to be anything else. A handsome Duke who's the cause of her ruin. And their efforts to find some happiness in a marriage that's been forced on them.

WARNING: there are contents not suitable for a sensitive audience.

The smut scenes are half-censored at the beginning, but the amount and details will increase after a few dozen chapters (according to the Queen's mood .-. )

***

«I'm sorry for lying to you, your grace...»

«You're a Duchess. No one will dare to consider your words a lie: if you say that you were painting souls, then it's the truth.»

«I will remember it.»

«No, you have to understand it, Theodora. You're not a prisoner, but my wife. I'll protect you when you need it, and I'll help you with any issue you have. You're not just a Duchess in the name. You're my Duchess.»

«It's hard to believe in such a short amount of time.»

«For now, stop shaking like a chicken. I won't hurt you.»

***

I don’t need companions. I don’t do party play. But… the game forces party play?