An Empress's Return to the Present: The Real Young Lady's Strong Comeback - Chapter 2

Humanity, on the verge of reaching the singularity through AI advancement, fell before it could grasp it.In a cyberpunk world where Seoul—and even all of Korea—no longer exists, a story unfolds of someone living leisurely amidst the chaos.

Long time ago, the world was ruled by the Primordials — an ancient and powerful race who mastered magic and shaped the land with runes and magic. They built bastions that stood as monuments to their greatness, cities protected by powerful enchantments. But their thirst for even greater power led to disaster. They opened gates to another realm… and unleashed demons.What followed was swift and brutal. The Primordials fought back, but they lost. Their civilization crumbled, their names were erased, and only the magical bastions remained — sealed places protected by forgotten runes that even demons could not cross.Now, demons rule the night. Humanity lives in fear, hiding behind rune-marked walls, unaware of their true origins or how close the world stands to its final collapse.Into this broken world falls Alex — a stranger from another reality. Upon his arrival, he awakens a forbidden power within himself: nature magic and the ability to shapeshift. A gift… and a curse.Magic is forbidden. Hunted. Destroyed. If anyone discovers what he is, he could be executed on the spot. But only through his power does Alex stand a chance of surviving… and fighting back. As he journeys across this dark and ruined land, he begins to unravel secrets long buried, truths about the demons’ origin, and the real reason the world fell.This is a dark fantasy tale of blood, survival, ancient knowledge, and inner transformation. Alex must choose what he will become: a monster, a savior… or something in between.Hello and welcome to everyone who decided to read my first writing attempts!The story you are reading is created in my free time, so new chapters will be released approximately 3-4 times a week. I run my own business, which sometimes makes it difficult to find a moment to sit down and fully focus on writing.I'm a fan of brutal, bloody scenes – the kind that stay in your mind long after you've finished reading. I have a vivid imagination, and when I write, I see each of these fights clearly, as if they were happening right in front of me: torn bodies, blood spraying, guts... none of that sugar-coated fighting.I try to transfer these images from my head to the page with as much intensity as possible, so you can feel the same tension and thrill that I do while writing.I also want to build a sense of horror – especially when it comes to monsters. I'm not interested in easy enemies. These are meant to be creatures you feel before you see them. The kind that stir fear and force the characters into desperate decisions.I hope you'll enjoy these scenes too – brutal, emotional, and full of darkness.As for the plot, I already have a general outline in my head, so there’s a lot of writing ahead of me. In the future, the story may include R18 scenes, but before that, I want to build a solid world and well-developed characters.If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to reach out—I’d love to discuss them, and maybe we can add something interesting to the story!Enjoy the read!

5 years ago, Earth was subject to an event now known as the “World Awakening”.

At that time, the world completely changed. Mana awakened in the world, gates began opening, and a holographic screen showed up in front of the eyes of every human that outlined their “status”.

Each individual was given a talent to start with, ranging from simple abilities like enhanced eyesight to insane fantasy stuff like pyrokinesis.

And within this myriad of abilities, Damien awakened a spatial affinity with the skill “short-distance teleportation”.

At first, he was excited, thinking about intense battles and gaining great power, but the reality was quick to shoot him down.

His ability only worked in the area 10 meters around himself, and his physical stats were insanely weak, leaving him tired after using his ability a couple of times.

Disillusioned by his weakness, Damien lived a quiet life doing anything he could to meet ends meet, until one day, everything changed.

Damien was betrayed and thrown into a gate, left to fend for himself in a labyrinth of beasts.

Something snapped in him that day. He refused to stay weak and keep his head down any longer.

When he emerged from the darkness, he found himself in a new world with no idea how to return to earth.

However, he wasn’t the same kid he was when he first fell.


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P.S. Cover is not mine. If the owner has any problems, I can remove it.

When Li Yu woke up, he found that he had traveled to the game world of “Avenue Eternal”.

At this time, there is still half a year before the player arrives.

The evil demon catastrophe has not yet begun, and the forbidden areas of death such as the rotten swamp, the golden desert, the ghost country of the Yinshan Mountains, and the boundless monster sea are still silent. The whole world is calm.

Li Yu took advantage of his foresight and took advantage of the opportunity to develop wretchedly.

After the game is launched, along the Qingshui River, players often see a senior NPC with a glittering ID fishing.

Whenever the players approached excitedly to chat to see if they could apprentice or trigger tasks—

“What? You want to worship me as your teacher?”

Li Yu shook his head: “Excuse me, your qualifications are too poor. But Pindao once lost a Chilong jade pendant in the zombie cave. If you find this thing, I can teach you a spell.”

“Do you want to learn alchemy?” Li Yu smiled slightly: “There is a group of evil cultivators in the Wugui Cave of Qilao Mountain, as long as you can eliminate the evil for the people, and bring their magical instrument Xinjin and copper bottle to me, How about Pindao passing on your alchemy skills?”

“You want to worship Zixia Sect?”

“Do you want to learn alchemy?”

“It’s all right.”

Li Yu said meaningfully:

“But you have to understand one truth, there is no free lunch in this world!”

…

It was not until hundreds of years later that many top figures fell and disappeared, and the players also changed one after another, but Li Yu was still active in the world of dry ground, and he was even about to rise through calamity.

Many players have to sigh: This NPC is too strong!

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