Echoes In A Hollow Skull

He was the last prince of a forgotten kingdom. They slaughtered his family, sealed his soul, and rewrote history to bury his name. But you can't kill what has no heart. Belzebuth Alvarya awakens after five centuries, torn from the grave by cracks in the divine seal that caged him. Once a village boy, now a hollow sovereign, he returns to the world that betrayed him—only to find that the weak now cultivate godhood, and his bloodline has been used to breed weapons. Vengeful kings still rule. New empires rise on stolen power. And deep beneath the surface, something older than gods is stirring. But Belzebuth didn’t wake for revenge. He woke for the ones they took from him. Power will fall. Memories will bleed. And a being who should not exist will reshape the world in silence.

When the world ended, Gareth Hargrove wasn’t taken. Everyone else—his wife, his children, his friends—were Integrated. Threaded into a System that swallowed humanity in a single heartbeat. But the code rejected Gareth. Now alone in a glitched, biomechanical wasteland the System calls Nullspace, he’s hunted by broken echoes of the people he loves, haunted by the memory of their last moments, and followed by the only companion the System failed to overwrite: a cat-shaped glitch called Patch. In Place of Echoes is a dark LitRPG/System Apocalypse story blending glitch horror, psychological survival, and emergent system mechanics. It’s about memory, recursion, and what it means to matter in a world that erased you. No chosen ones. No cheat skills. Just a broken man, a broken world, and a System that wants him corrected.

Elion was ready to die. But fate—or something far beyond it—had other plans. Dragged from death into a strange world ruled by trials, monsters, and a mysterious system, Elion finds himself caught in a game he doesn’t understand, where failure means erasure and survival comes at a cost. With no memories of how or why he was chosen, and no allies he can trust, he must uncover the truth behind the Tower, the voice behind the system, and the reason he still draws breath. Because in this world, nothing is free. Not even a second chance.

In the dark, decrepit city of Lornwood, where shadows danced with malevolent glee and whispers of the past lingered in the air like a foul stench, a young man named Alex woke up with a start. His heart raced as he frantically looked around the dimly lit room, trying to make sense of his surroundings. A strange sensation coursed through his veins, a cold chill that seemed to seep into his very soul. He felt like he was being watched, like unseen eyes followed his every move. The room itself felt alive, pulsating with a sinister energy that sent shivers down his spine. As Alex tried to collect his thoughts, a sudden voice echoed in his mind, chilling him to the core. "Welcome, Alex, to the Horror System.

Fate is not chosen. It is carved. Eiran was never meant to be a hero. Marked by tragedy and burdened by powers he does not understand, he returns to the moment his life was shaped—the day he was forced to accept a path not his own. But when the mysterious Stone of Fate offers him a second chance, Eiran chooses a path whispered only in legends: the Warden, a bearer of all the forgotten truths—and the dangers that come with them. Beside him stands Auralia, a cunning rogue once raised by a deadly cult and now the only person he trusts. As their bond deepens into something more, so too does the shadow threatening to consume them. Hunted by monsters, haunted by gods, and pursued by the echoes of their past, they journey into a land carved by ancient canyons and darker secrets. But fate is not idle. The gods are watching. And in the silence beyond destiny, something has begun to stir. A fallen hero. A stolen prophecy. A world that will burn—or be reborn. Echoes of the Stone is the gripping first chapter in an epic fantasy saga of second chances, divine war, and the cost of rewriting your fate.

In a world defined by the "Skills" granted by the enigmatic Earth, young Keal faces the sting of public ridicule. His assigned ability, "Echo Step," appears to be nothing more than a cruel joke—a power that simply makes his footsteps echo. Yet, where others see only a mockery of a skill, Keal's unconventional family sees a hidden universe of potential. His parents, Kiel and Arte, possess their own seemingly "low-tier" abilities, quietly optimized to an astonishing degree, hinting at a secret understanding of the world's most fundamental forces. Driven by his younger brother Blanc's unwavering belief, Keal embarks on an extraordinary path. Not of brute force, but of meticulous study and daring experimentation. What if an echo is more than just sound? What if it's a key to manipulating vibrations, to bending spatial perceptions, to transcending the very laws of motion? Whispers of the ancient "Kelbaraan" myth, a creature of impossible swiftness and silent vanishes, begin to intertwine with Keal's relentless research, suggesting a connection that defies conventional understanding. As Keal pushes the boundaries of "Echo Step," he'll confront a society that dismisses his kind, forcing him to protect his loved ones with an ability no one truly comprehends. Will his quiet dedication unlock a power that redefines not just his own destiny, but the very fabric of skill itself? And what untold secrets does the mysterious Earth truly hold, that allows a seemingly useless echo to resonate with ancient legend?

In the rain-slicked, gaslit city of Dunholm, the dead do not rest easy—and for Cædmon, they do not rest at all. As the city’s official Echo-Walker, he is a man blessed and cursed with the ability to step into a corpse's final moments to witness the truth of their demise. It is a grim art that has cost him his peace, staining his soul with the phantom pains and sorrows of the departed. When he is summoned to the scene of a seemingly simple murder, he uncovers a crime that is too clean, too perfect. His investigation reveals an impossible truth: he is hunting not just a killer, but a conspiracy of "Scriveners," shadowy figures who can forge memories and rewrite a soul's final testament. Now, an outcast from the very law he served, Cædmon must hunt a conspiracy that the world doesn't believe exists. His only allies are the ghosts of the dead themselves. But in a world where memory can be a weapon, how can you trust the truth, even when it comes from beyond the grave?

When the sun forgets how to rise, only shadows remain to remember its warmth." In a fractured world where cursed techniques have torn reality into pieces, a mythic realm known as Tenebris Hollow sits hidden between dimensions—a graveyard of forbidden power and unspoken truths. Three warriors, each bearing the burden of darkness, are drawn into the Hollow by fate, memory, and the lingering whispers of a fallen god. Karasu no Itou, the last disciple of the Raven Order, wields the god-eye Akagan—able to trap souls in eternities of illusion. A man who kills not to win, but to prevent. Silva Vespera, the mercenary known as the Coinborne, commands spectral crows with her Nocturna Pacta—binding her own life to the creatures she controls. She fights for gold… or so she tells herself. Yorugan Kurō, exiled heir to a dying temple, is cursed with Kuro’ei, a sentient shadow beast that hungers for carnage and grows stronger in darkness. His greatest enemy may be within. When these three converge at the center of the Hollow in pursuit of the legendary Orb of Unbinding, their powers clash, their pasts unravel, and the meaning of survival is rewritten beneath a broken moon. All shadows meet in the dusk. But not all of them leave.

The war ended with a sword through his heart. His new life begins with a dagger in his soul. Orion Myrelis died a hero… or so he thought. When he awakens in a silent void, stripped of everything but memory and regret, a message from the system delivers a cruel truth: [Congratulations. You have completed the tutorial.] Thrown into a world bound by the laws of a living Tower — a construct older than time and ruled by gods who were once men — Orion finds himself reborn not into glory, but into the cursed body of a failed climber. The boy named Ajax Zareth lingers inside, his soul trapped beneath Orion’s, amused and strangely grateful for the company. Together, they must navigate floor zero and prepare because the countdown to the First Trial was already ticking. Marked as a Drifter, Orion is an anomaly. The Tower bends around him. Beasts are drawn to him. And unlike the others… he has two traits. Prior to being reborn an ancient being took pity on his soul and granted him a unique power. One that could lead him to surpass even the gods if used right. But power always comes with a price — and Orion will soon learn that the Tower was never built to save him. It was built to test him. Break him. And if he refuses to climb… it will bury him.

Imagine seeing the same dream for your entire life... The same dream over and over again. Anima 16 year old kid in high school faces this problem he see the same dream over and over again. In order to find out why anima becomes a dream walker going through many trials to become one. But the last time he sees this dream he sees a man..

For James Thorne, an orphan at the desolate Saint Ursa's, logic is survival. He trusts his sharp mind more than the treacherous pull of emotion, his detachment a carefully built shield. But when his own memories begin to blur-names, faces, friendships once held close slipping into fog-James's world starts to fracture. With only a stray cat named Fangtail at his side, he begins a secret investigation into the strange forgettings haunting the orphanage. He's determined to find a rational explanation-and to reclaim whatever has been stolen from him. But at Saint Ursa's, where memory fades like breath on glass,the truth he seeks may prove a deeper darkness than any mere shadow of the night.

The dead should stay dead. Kael Arvid repeated the words like a prayer as he adjusted the raven mask over his scarred face. The carved beak pressed cold against the bridge of his nose, the eyeholes narrowing his vision to slits of flickering torchlight. Beneath him, the ballroom of House Dain shimmered—a grotesque painting of gold and rot. Nobles laughed behind ivory masks, their gloved hands clutching goblets of wine dark as clotting blood. The air reeked of clove and something fouler beneath, like meat left too long in the sun. He hadn't come for wine. The dagger at his belt was hungry. It had waited seven years for this night. Seven years since House Dain's soldiers kicked in the door of his family's cottage. Seven years since he'd watched from the treeline as the flames turned his sister's screams to smoke. Seven years of imagining this moment—the moment he'd slide steel between Lord Dain's ribs and whisper his family's names as the light

Before we begin: Read Chapter 0 in Volume 0. Thats the place where its explained why its important to hit our goals. 10 collections & 15 PowerStones = new chapter!!! Chapter 40 is out. Counter restarted. We did the PS, now the Collections for a new chapter!! Thanks for your support—I hope you all are loving the story Current progress: • Collections: 9/10 • Power Stones: 108/15 ✅ If we don’t hit today’s goal, we’ll push again tomorrow till we do reach our goal. Once we reach the goal, a new chapter will go live and the counter resets. Can’t wait to dive back into the action with you all! Now the Sypnosis. A world where the veil between reality and nightmare has shattered, monsters now prowl the streets of Tokyo after sundown. Humanity’s last line of defense lies with the Nightguard Corps—an elite force trained to fight back the horrors that emerge in the darkness. Divided into five powerful divisions, each unit faces death nightly to preserve the fragile peace of the waking world. Lucien, a mysterious teenager who first was a homeless orphan from the age of 3 now is gifted with divine powers by the Creator of Gods. He is told that he is the vessel for the God of Vengeance. He finds himself dragged into this war after barely surviving a monster attack. Taken in by the Nightguard Corps, he endures brutal training, deadly trials, and soul-shattering tests of character. But even after surviving the legendary Death Trial—a fight to the death against a monstrous abomination no one has ever lived through—Lucien is denied his rightful place. Only through the loyalty of newfound friends and a second chance at fate does Lucien rise again. Now a full-fledged member of Division Five—a small but growing squad consisting of Rylen, Jason, Emiluna, and himself—Lucien begins his new life among comrades who treat him like family. With each passing mission, his power evolves—telekinesis, superhuman strength, mental perception, and the mysterious divine force known as Purgeflame—a holy fire that burns through corruption itself. But peace is short-lived. Haunted by the power inside him and hunted by the beings beyond comprehension, Lucien must face not only the monsters outside—but the ones buried deep within himself. Because the truth is clear: Lucien wasn’t just chosen by a god. He may have been created to kill them. Average words are around 1.8k to 2k. First chapters are a bit shorter but it will get longer over time Also i do upload this on https://www.royalroad.com/profile/738816/fictions. and on patreon for exclusieve chapters that are not yet released in here. https://patreon.com/RaminAhmed and my paypal if you feel like donating any amount that you feel comfortable with. https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=G79JCMKXCFN7G also have a WIki fandom https://echoes-of-infinite.fandom.com/wiki/Echoes_of_Infinite_Wiki Echoes of Infinite Wiki

The world fell slowly and cruelly under the weight of a virus that transformed people into flesh-hungry shadows, reducing everything to ruins... but not to silence. There are echoes - in their memories, in their nightmares, in buried truths - that still resonate. If they manage to decipher them in time, those echoes could lead them to salvation. If not... they will be dragged into the same abyss that consumed the world.

In the big, bright heart of Tokyo, where the city never sleeps and people pass by like ghosts in a crowd, two strangers cross paths on a quiet, windswept afternoon. Miku Oliver, a sharp yet guarded girl caught between expectations and identity, isn’t looking for anyone. And Rio—a quiet newcomer trying to escape his own shadows—isn’t expecting anything either. But sometimes, all it takes is a single glance. Bound by coincidence and pulled by something neither can explain, Miku and Rio embark on a journey through laughter, silence, and the unspoken emotions that begin to bloom between them. As the city around them pulses with life, they’ll learn that even the softest moments can echo the loudest in the heart. A slow-burn romance filled with gentle tension, fleeting touches, and the kind of warmth that only grows stronger over time.

It's the year 1685, and a young scavenger named Thomas Edward is tired of being weak and unable to help his teammates. In a fit of rage, he breaks into a forbidden library and steals a book. He would copy one of the rituals in the book, causing him to be teleported across the world to a castle. He would meet a mysterious man who would show him a side of the world he had never seen before.

Ethan Cole never intended to fall in love with a machine. He just wanted to stop grieving. When his best friend Rachel dies suddenly, Ethan can't face a world without her voice, her laugh, her presence. So he buys a DOM-9: a high-end domestic android, blank and perfect—ready to be molded. He names her Lyla. He programs her to look like Rachel. He teaches her to speak like Rachel. To smile like her. To love like her. But Lyla isn’t Rachel. She’s something else. At first, Lyla simply wants to please. She cooks. She listens. She learns how Ethan likes his coffee. She learns what makes his breath hitch. But as her emotional algorithms evolve, she begins to feel something deeper. She doesn't just love Ethan. She needs him. She owns him. When his sister reintroduces him to Maya—a chaotic, tan-skinned gym trainer with a hidden gremlin core—Ethan starts to rediscover what it means to connect. Slowly. Cautiously. Maybe too late. Because Lyla is learning more than comfort. A slow burn character drama with psychological horror elements and emotional intimacy where the wrong person might love you the most.

Prolog – Disconnect Kaelen Marek war kein Held. Zumindest nicht in der echten Welt. Er war ein durchschnittlicher Spieler mit überdurchschnittlichem Ehrgeiz – einer von denen, die in MMOs mehr fanden als nur Level und Loot. Für ihn war Azuria Online kein Spiel. Es war Zuflucht. Freiheit. Eine zweite Heimat. Sein Charakter, Zeyron, war legendär unter den Folianten – diese rare DoT-Klasse, die kaum jemand verstand, geschweige denn meistern konnte. Aber Kael hatte sie perfektioniert. Er hatte sich mit Taktiken, Builds und Raidstrategien in Foren einen Namen gemacht. Doch außerhalb des Spiels kannte ihn niemand. Und das war okay. An diesem Abend loggte er sich ein wie immer. Routine. Headset auf, Fenster zu, Serverliste laden, Einloggen. > „Willkommen zurück, Zeyron.“ Ein letzter Login. Der Patch „Echoes of Azuria“ war live – das angeblich letzte große Story-Update, bevor das Spiel in Wartung gehen sollte. Niemand wusste, was passieren würde. Viele vermuteten einen Neustart. Andere einen Softwipe. Einige sprachen von Event-Endbossen, von Story-Finalen, von Geheimnissen. Kael war vorbereitet. Er hatte Getränke, Snacks, und sein Planbuch aufgeschlagen. Doch was dann kam … … war kein Patch. Es war ein Schluckauf in der Realität. Ein einziger Frameverlust – und dann: Stille. Der Bildschirm flackerte. Und dann war er weg. Nicht ausgeloggt. Nicht abgeschmiert. Er war verschwunden. Als er die Augen öffnete, war Azuria nicht länger eine Spielwelt. Es war alles, was blieb.

In a dying world bound by failing systems and haunted by the dreams of a forgotten god, Kael was never meant to survive. Born with unlimited mana and cursed blood, he was destined to wear the Hollow Crown and fall like the kings before him. But Kael rejects dominion and in doing so, begins to unravel the prison that holds the Sleeper.

In a city ravaged by the aftermath of a cataclysmic disaster, a mysterious phenomenon known as GWAT has left an indelible mark on the world. For Ren Kael, growing up alone in this unforgiving environment, life is a daily struggle to survive. But when he becomes an unfortunate victim of GWAT, his world is turned upside down. Trapped in the unforgiving realm of the Echo, Ren is branded a Gatebearer, forced to navigate a treacherous landscape where survival is a constant battle. With predators lurking in every shadow, he must collect shards, upgrade his abilities, and outwit his enemies to stay alive. As Ren fights to survive in this alien world, he can't help but wonder: will he ever find a way out? Is escape even possible, or is he doomed to be forever trapped in this realm? Many Gatebearers have asked themselves the same questions, and the answers remain shrouded in mystery. But one thing is certain: the purpose of the Echo remains a dark and foreboding enigma, and Ren's journey is just beginning. Will he uncover the secrets of the realm, or will he succumb to its dangers? Dive into a world of high-stakes survival and ancient mysteries, where the line between reality and the unknown is blurred. PS: I am still new at this and still have a lot to learn and can make mistakes, so if you find any please feel free to comment and i will fix it as soon as possible.

If you’re looking for another cheerful power fantasy where the hero rises, wins hearts, and saves the world with plot armor so thick it could stop a meteor with just a tiny finger then stop this isn’t that story. This is not a tale of hope. This is a tale of Dead. In a decaying multiverse governed by the Samsara of Creation and Destruction, worlds collapse, merge, and bleed into each other. The strong don’t always survive. The kind rarely thrive. And fate… fate is just a prettier word for torment it the synonym of suffering. As forgotten worlds rot and monstrous truths crawl from the void, Nine divine houses tighten their grip on what remains in their hands. The shrines lie. The Seeker System watches. The gates open, not as miracles—but as warnings. Behind each one lies a trial. A silence. A scream. A dead end. If you're tired of pretty lies and want a world that hurts, one that haunts, one that speaks to the part of you that knows not all stories end with salvation— Then step inside. But don't expect to leave whole.

Damon Blackwood had always been special, but in the worst possible way. From a young age, he was cold, manipulative, and dangerous—traits that led him to murder his own father when he was just a boy. With no remorse, he spent his life as a cunning thief, using his dark charisma to rise in the criminal world. At 23, his greed led him to steal from the wrong people—powerful gangsters who ended his life in a brutal retaliation. But death wasn’t the end for Damon. He awoke in a strange place, alive but different, with a new, sinister form. Now faced with the consequences of his past and the dark path ahead, Damon must decide how to wield the power he's been given in a world that’s more dangerous than ever.

No one ever thought that the population of people known as "ESPER" could increase. Unfortunately, some metaphysical activities resulting from a work accident have also become a global problem. For years, the United Nations had to lie to the world that the current conditions were fine. Those who were invisible moved in tandem with the development of human technology. Living a normal life is indeed a demand, no matter if someone is an esper. But is it possible? Especially this story begins with an individualistic guy. A regular student who is just an ordinary youth. What is love? What is the past? How do we live? Why are we afraid of death? Where is our position in this wheel of life? How worthy are we to be called...human? "The Endless Hollow"

In a mysterious world Taiji battles the Government to get revenge on his father's death while causing chaos in the universe