necessary toll

Avant même l’existence de l’univers, un être nommé Lovih aurait créé toute chose, selon les récits anciens. Pour transmettre la vérité, il façonna un avatar, Xion, qu’il fragmenta en sept porteurs, chacun destiné à se réincarner dans différentes générations. Ignorant leur véritable nature, ces fragments finiraient par s’éveiller à travers le temps. Un groupe opposé existait déjà : le Mensonge, dont le but est de répandre de fausses vérités et de nier Lovih comme créateur. Elnar, l’un des fragments, découvrira peu à peu qu’il n’est peut-être pas seulement une partie de Xion… mais la vérité elle-même. Tout au long de son voyage, le Mensonge croisera sa route, prêt à tout pour l'empêcher d’accomplir sa destinée.

**In the neon-drenched cyberpunk metropolis of Neo-Veridia, your soul isn't just your identity—it's corporate property.** Alaric Sterling is an ordinary, bored fourteen-year-old student living in the slums of Sector Three, completely indifferent to the world around him. But his gray reality is shattered forever when his best friend, Leo, is brutally murdered by Director Valerius Vance—the ruthless billionaire head of Vance Corp—who steals Leo’s rare *Sunfire Pendant* to fuel a dark, city-wide corporate conspiracy known as the **Soul Merger**. Left for dead in a burning warehouse, Alaric accidentally awakens his own dormant Soul Relic: a shattered silver **Pocketwatch of Time**. The cost of activation is absolute—every time Alaric forces time to pause or rewind, a neon-blue digital countdown burned into his flesh aggressively ticks away, permanently devouring his remaining lifespan. Aided by Steven, a grizzled Head Police officer turned underground mentor, Alaric sets out on a ruthless path of vengeance. To stop Vance Corp from harvesting innocent citizens and turning the population into a mindless corporate hive mind, Alaric must infiltrate the dangerous black markets of Sector Five and destroy the physical machinery of the **Southern Anchor**. He successfully breaks the corporate circuit, but at a devastating cost to his own mortality. Left with less than nine years on his ticking countdown, Alaric makes a grim **Five-Year Vow**: he will spend the next half-decade in hiding, training his fragile body, and gathering a resistance of independent relic users to tear down the remaining anchors. The countdown has officially begun. Can Alaric dismantle an entire corporate empire before his own heart stops ticking? **Themes:** *Dark Shonen, Cyberpunk, Time Manipulation, Vengeance, Found Family, High-Stakes Combat.*

Nia Adeyemi left Sterling Corp with two last names and zero plans of ever looking back. She was 21, broke, and done with ivory coast. Now 24, she’s rebuilt a quiet life managing an apartment building in Brooklyn. She doesn’t do billionaires, what she thought. She doesn’t do drama, what she imagined. That changes the night she ends up in Kian Sterling’s bed. Kian Sterling is 34, cold, ruthless, and the most powerful CEO in New York. He doesn’t date. He doesn’t explain. And he definitely doesn’t get caught. But one night with Nia turns into two. Two turns into her in his mansion. And her in his life. When paparazzi catch her leaving his building at midnight, the secret explodes. HR files leak. Headlines scream: _BOSS + FORMER EMPLOYEE_. The board demands Kian cut her off or risk the company. His $400M merger dies because he refuses. Stock drops. VPs quit. And Kian still chooses her. But the real betrayal comes from Kian himself. Without telling her, he flies to Lagos to meet her estranged father for his blessing. And he buys the Brooklyn building she used to manage, the one with roaches and no heat, and keeps her old apartment empty. “For when you want to come home.” Nia sees it as control. Kian sees it as claiming her. The fight breaks them. Two weeks. No contact. As the board prepares to vote Kian out and the press digs deeper into Nia’s past, both of them have to decide what they’re willing to lose. Because for Kian, love isn’t convenient. It’s necessary. And to keep her, he might have to burn everything else down. --- *Genre:* Contemporary Billionaire Romance *Tropes:* Former Employee, Secret Relationship, Public Scandal, Possessive ML, Strong FL, Family Drama, Slow Burn *Heat:* Closed door / emotional intimacy focus

The world doesn’t end in fire or with a bang. It ends in silence. For decades, a hidden cabal worked to bend humanity to its will. Their weapon was unexpected; nanomachines. Seeded into the food supply, water and even the air. Designed to pacify and control, the machines instead triggered a collapse. Ninety percent of the world’s population lost themselves seemingly overnight. Not dead, but not alive in the same way either. Adrian Kane never asked to be a survivor. He was just an ordinary man, caught in the chaos. When survival forces him to fight, Adrian discovers something different in himself. He has the special ability to interact and interface with the nanobots. Power he never knew is now in his grasp. The ability to grow stronger by facing the nightmare head-on. Others like him emerge. Some use their gifts to protect, others to prey. And behind it all, the architects of this catastrophe remain in the shadows, still moving their pieces across the board. If there’s any hope of a future, Adrian will have to carve it out of the ruins himself. Regardless of the sacrifices to his humanity he has to make along the way.

Trapped in a prison, unable to remember his past, Toll searches for a way to survive. This is a horror story that meanders through litrpg/tabletop rpg/puzzle game tropes, including saving princesses, gathering harems, and fighting for his life-all the while stuck in a cursed body (but not a werewolf) he can't always control. As dice are involved, I don't know where this will go.

In a world filled by Wars. One boy decided he will stop it all. He embarked on a journey to conquer the world, fighting both humans and demons. To bring absolute peace, I will be the necessary evil.

In her previous life, she took the wrong "white lotus" script, causing her to die a miserable death. Heaven has let her live again, so she shouldn't have to suffer the hardships of her past life once more! Feng Moxi sheds her weakness from her previous life. Making a new choice, she must fight! There are monsters! Kill them! There are scumbags! Eliminate them! With her meager strength, she picks up a Heavy Sword and forges a difficult path forward. Unexpectedly, that arrogant and reckless person who caused her no small amount of trouble along the way eventually becomes a comrade-in-arms to whom she can entrust her back, a companion for life. The sky fills with darkness, the Demon People emerge! The Heavenly Dao returns. One day, Feng Moxi is leisurely roasting beast meat by the river. Chaoyang, having just finished fighting a demon beast, sees the crumbs on her lips and immediately leans in. "Want some?" Chaoyang dazedly nodded his head. Suddenly, a piece of burnt beast meat is stuffed into his mouth. Chaoyang pulls Feng Moxi into his embrace, gently brushes the corner of her lips with his hand, and says, "You're mine!" Apocalypse + Cultivation + Doting Boyfriend

Fu Xiaoxiao transmigrates into a book and immediately faces the crisis of being sent to the countryside. As the unloved middle child, her younger sister is the one meant to go — but her mother transfers her job to the sister instead. A disaster of a start. To avoid being sent away, she has to marry within seven days. She meets a few ordinary men and decides she'd rather go to the countryside. Then she runs into a neighbor who's also looking for a spouse — and his conditions are surprisingly good. A dowry of three hundred? Bicycles and a radio? Just take care of the kids, and separate rooms are fine? The others may pass, but she won't. Every day is a battle of wits with the two kids. Life is eventful, she gets a salary every month, and the boss is never home. Absolutely perfect. Except... wasn't this big shot supposed to be infertile? Then why does he keep strutting around naked in front of her? She has professional ethics. She won't be seduced by a good body. Hmph. Men only slow down her sword swing. Lu Feng grits his teeth at Fu Xiaoxiao, who remains completely unmoved by his countless attempts to seduce her, and traps her in his arms. "Boss, let's talk this through. I know forty a month is a bit much — how about... five less?" Trapped in his embrace, Fu Xiaoxiao thinks he's unhappy with her high salary and starts bargaining. "I'm giving myself to you for free." Lu Feng grinds out through clenched teeth. This woman has no heart. "...Can I say no?" Fu Xiaoxiao swallows, staring at the washboard abs so close. "Such a good deal — are you sure you don't want it?" Lu Feng squints, tempting her. "Fine." A fool turns down a bargain.

【Career-oriented female protagonist + Love-struck male lead + Entertainment industry + Variety show + Satisfying sweetness】 Renee Morgan, a newcomer in the entertainment industry, learns of her predetermined fate as a minor female supporting character in a dream. She is the queen of minor roles, the resilient type, blazing with fighting spirit, illuminating many female stars. Renee Morgan: "...To hell with being a minor character. Anyone who dares use me as a stepping stone, I'll make sure they fall flat." Wendy Aldridge, also a newcomer in the entertainment industry, wants to use her as a control group. Renee Morgan: Ok~ Half a month later, Wendy Aldridge, who was supposed to become famous as part of the control group, ends up being cyber-bullied and is urged to leave the industry? Renee Morgan, who was supposed to be cyber-bullied out of the industry, becomes an overnight sensation and a top-star. The rival company's leading actress, backed by influential figures in the entertainment circle, snatches the main female role, leaving only the role of the female third lead for her. Renee Morgan: Ok~ Four months later, this drama explodes in popularity, all supporting roles become famous, and the female third lead role becomes a classic. The biggest stars, male and female leads, are left with no buzz? ... Later, Renee Morgan finally achieves her dream, winning the Best Actress Award with her acting skills, and announces her relationship on the day she receives the award—she is in love. He's just a regular person. One day, Morgan all over the country sees familiar figures appearing in the news and rushes online to share: Is this the Best Actress's ordinary boyfriend?

[Irresistible MC + Farming & Entrepreneurship + Strong Female Lead + Cute Baby + Love Rivalry + Farming System + Male Competition] Deng Yuyuan wakes up to find she has transmigrated into a period novel about a "pampered group darling" — as the biological mother of the vicious female villain. The female villain has a biased grandmother, a mooching uncle and his family, a blindly filial father, and a spineless mother. She was a small-time thief as a child. As an adult, she committed every kind of evil — constantly framing the female lead — and ultimately met a miserable end. The female lead is the only daughter in another family, doted on by her older brothers. The villain targeted her out of pure jealousy. And now, Deng Yuyuan has become that villain's cowardly mother — and the villain herself is currently just an ugly, wrinkly-faced infant. The blindly filial father loves his wife, but gives all the good things to his own mother. He says to his starving wife and daughter: "Xiao Yuan, come drink some water. I specially heated it for you." Deng Yuyuan looks at her own bony frame and her tiny child — and decides to get a divorce. Goodbye, useless husband. She's going to raise this little cub with an abundance of money and love. No way she'll go astray this time. Lost one husband, gained a crowd of suitors. A beautiful sent-down youth coveted by many — she knows some self-defense and burns the midnight oil studying. With the reinstatement of the college entrance exams, she takes her child toward a much wider world. Riding the wave of the times, Deng Yuyuan works her way up to become a gaming tycoon and a cutting-edge scientist... Except — why are so many men fighting to be her cub's stepfather?