branded tools

In the Veyr Dominion, power isn’t inherited—it’s engraved. Crests are living contracts etched into flesh, policing obedience through pain, privilege, and invisible clauses no one dares question. Astra Vey was raised to wear one like every noble heir… until the collar meant for her soul misfires. Instead of blind compliance, Astra sees what no one else can: a cold, luminous UI—STATUS, RULESET, CLAUSES, PERMISSIONS, TRACE—revealing the Empire’s leash as editable code. Freedom should be simple: run. But the moment Astra’s crest wakes wrong, every faction moves to claim the defect that could break their world. The Crestwright Guild wants to dissect her miracle. The Church of Lumen offers sanctuary with debt stitched into prayer. The Underchain trades safety for permissions—and never forgets what you owe. And House Veyrn’s most elegant predator, Marquis Dorian Veyrn, begins rewriting Astra’s life through seals, audits, and “legal” cages. Her only ally is the last man she should trust: Kael Raithe, an Imperial Hound with a military crest variant and a voice trained to command. He should drag her back in chains—yet he chooses something more dangerous: asking. In a city built on ownership, Astra and Kael weaponize consent, desire, and loopholes to survive. Because every patch has a price… and Astra’s interface is waking up hungry.

In a world filled with war and horror, she was a tool of slaughter. She fought her way emotionlessly through the war for her masters' commands. But it isn't until they die that she realizes how much the people she killed meant to her. ... People say that being immortal would be an incredible dream come true, but they are liars. Immortality is a nightmare. People also say that they would rather have no feelings than to feel hurt. But she would rather feel something than to feel nothing at all; especially when people who care about her die right in front of her, under her own hands. She would do anything to become human. To live, to feel, to die. To be in control of her own fate. Even if it means losing everything. ---- Author's note: - In-depth characters - The pace is a little slow - There are a lot of genres, such as action and military, but they don't have their full potential showcased in the first 2 volumes This is my first novel~ I hope you enjoy it!

In a world where the Apocalypse is a twisted game and human lives are the ultimate currency, eighteen-year-old Moon was dealt the worst hand possible: [Class: NULL]. Deemed a defect by the System and discarded as monster fodder by the girl he swore to protect, Moon was left to rot in the unforgiving Outer Slums. But the System made a fatal miscalculation. Surviving an impossible encounter without an awakened class, Moon didn't just break the rules—he shattered the matrix itself.

1 new chapter every day - Running for WSA 2023 **************************************************** In a world filled with magic, fantastic creatures, gods, and endless mysteries, Vince is a young man with a brilliant mind but no opportunities. As a soldier in a war campaign, he faces an inevitable fate. However, instead of finally discovering the secrets of the afterlife, he awakens in a mysterious and unknown place, where he must navigate the secrets and dangers that lurk in every corner. Vince then needs to use his wits and skills to survive and escape this strange and deadly place. Will he be able to uncover the truth behind this mythical realm, or will he be trapped there forever? In endless darkness, a single word runs through infinity "Open your eyes, marked".

Aven is the strongest knight and the commander of one of the kingdom’s elite forces. In every war against the demons, he always stood at the front undefeated, unrivaled. When the war finally came to an end, he believed his duty was complete. He was wrong. Branded as a threat too powerful to be controlled, the kingdom chose betrayal over reward. It even chose to cooperate with the very demons it had once fought against. Stabbed from behind by his fellow knights and abandoned on a silent battlefield, Aven should have died there. But death did not claim him. He was saved by a mysterious silver-haired woman. Having lost his title, his home, and his family, a knight branded as a threat now begins his second life.

Kael grew up in a middle class family when all of a sudden the fracture happened. The fracture split the world in half and ruined the economy. With the fracture, special people called the "Branded" appeared which possessed otherworldly powers. One fated day after being attacked in his own house, the universe chose him to become one of them.

Branded with a mysterious tattoo at age 12, Amaliah was the scorned, unwanted daughter blamed by her noble family for the tragedies that befell them. When her beloved sister vanished, Amaliah was forced to take her sister's place as the engaged bride of Crown Prince Ryleigh, despite his love for the missing sibling. On what should have been Amaliah's wedding day, her long-lost sister returned, only to be murdered shortly after along with Ryleigh. Accused of the killings, Amaliah found herself disgraced, disowned, and her inheritance seized. Her only escape was an arranged marriage to Konstantin, a feared warlord rumored to lead an ancient cult. Trapped in her new husband's foreboding castle, Amaliah learned the cult's shocking secret - her tattoo marked her as the reincarnation of their founder. As more bodies piled around her and those closest betrayed her, Amaliah felt an undeniable, forbidden allure to Konstantin, her greatest adversary. He aimed to use her reincarnated powers for his own nefarious ends. Amaliah was forced to choose between submitting to this dark fate or embracing her destiny - to destroy the cult, the ruthless husband who inexplicably became her lover, and the dismaying future that had haunted her since childhood.

Patrick Grimaldi was kissing me, his head bowed low in his family’s private wine cellar, when my Mamma’s text lit up my phone, informing me of my arranged marriage. He pulled me flush against him, our bodies molding together. After a dizzying kiss, he swept me into his arms and carried me to the antique bathtub. The warm water lapped at my skin, but his words plunged me into an ice-cold dread. "Go home. And don't come looking for me here again." I thought he was just angry about the marriage. I wrapped my arms around him, vowing, "I won't marry anyone else—" The smile on his lips didn't fade, but the warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by a cool distance. "But I'm getting married." He brushed my damp hair from my face, his touch detached and cool, ignoring the violent tremor that seized my body. "My fiancée is of pure blood, noble and elegant—nothing like you. She would never be so shameless as to seduce the man who is all but her brother while her own father lies in his grave. Our wedding date is set. If you continue to cause a scene, you'll only bring disgrace upon the Valenti name."

Yunyun is reincarnated into a post-apocalyptic novel with a powerful female protagonist. Unfortunately, she isn’t the heroine. She’s just a minor cannon fodder character… destined to die early. But after awakening memories of the novel, Yunyun accidentally reveals the future through her thoughts— [Mommy, boohoo… your scumbag husband has been cheating on you for years and even has a child with another woman. In the end, they’ll join forces to cripple and torture you to death!] [Uncle, you’ll be betrayed by an ungrateful subordinate and driven out of your own luxurious home, left to freeze to death in the snow!] [Grandpa… Grandma…] In the original story, only her young aunt—the novel’s female lead—survives to the very end, killing her enemies with her own hands… only to live on as something neither fully human nor a ghost. Before they can recover from learning their fates, another thought leaks out— [Sigh, the apocalypse is coming soon. As a three-year-old cannon fodder, can I go offline early? I don't want to suffer through the end of the world…] Looking at the little milk dumpling in their arms, pretending to be silly just so she can laze around… What else can the Bai family do but spoil her? They hoard supplies, renovate and fortify their home, and prepare in advance for the coming apocalypse. Meanwhile, little Yunyun follows her protagonist aunt, accidentally kicking off the base-building plot and helping create a super base where food and clothing are abundant, even in the apocalypse. Step by step, the Bai family rises to power. In the end, Yunyun is dumbfounded: [Wait… wasn't I supposed to be cannon fodder?! Why does this feel like a "pampered lucky baby" story?!] The Bai family: Their little Yunyun is, indeed, their precious lucky baby.

Olivia transmigrated from the apocalypse to the modern era. Not only that, her dimension and superpower came along with her. She felt that the good days were about to begin. But before she could be happy for even three days, the internet was flooded with posts slandering her. Advertisers and directors want to terminate her contracts, and her company wants to blacklist her? How could this be? She wanted to use the money to enjoy modern life to the fullest. Without money, how could she enjoy anything? So, who's slandering her online? I'll find you and dig up all your dirty secrets. Who wants to terminate her contract? Terminate it immediately. After termination, she'll go on to endorse international luxury brands instead. Terminating the script contract? Good, that's great! If the contract isn't terminated, how can she film the blockbuster drama of the year and win awards with it? Modern life is so wonderful, eating and drinking every day. There's just one tiny problem. Why are there suddenly two babies growing in her belly? And who is this ridiculously handsome man who appeared out of nowhere, claiming to be their father?