How Does Grievers End?

Floods, tsunamis, heatwaves, acid rain, deep freeze, earthquakes… In her last life, Sophie Zurer survived a grueling eight years after the apocalypse, only for her parents to die tragically while her brother melted in the acid rain. Born again, she avenged her parents, and with a void pocket in hand, she began to stockpile everything from weapons to food, agricultural manuals, and medicine… Eight years later, the city was once again torn apart by earthquakes while the oceans devoured the continents. However, while Sophie survived with her family, the apocalypse cranked up in difficulty as if it were a video game! This time, there were erupting volcanoes, undersea volcanoes, lightning storms, scalding seas, and fireballs falling from the skies… The apocalypse of the land was just the prelude to the apocalypse of the deep sea! Where would humans live when the last island was consumed by the sea?

There are monsters in this world. And they used to be us. Now it's time to euthanize to survive in a hospice where Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. Post-infection Chicago. Christmas. Inside The Hospice, Emily and her fellow nurses do their rounds. Here, men and women live out their final days in comfort, segregated from society, and are then humanely terminated before fate turns them into marrow-craving monsters known as ‘Smilers.’ Outside these imposing walls, rabid protesters swarm with signs, caught up in the heat of their hatred. Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. But in a world where mortality means nothing, where guns are drawn in fear and nobody seems safe anymore – at what cost will this pursuit come? And through it all, the soon to be dead remain silent, ever smiling. Such is their curse. It won't be long before that snow-speckled ground will be salted by blood. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Everyone is given a choice in life, but what about the one for whom the choice comes by itself - suddenly and without a chance of refusal? What to do when the road to a dream turns out to be covered in blood, and sometimes you yourself seem like a piece of meat? And what if the dream dies, leaving behind only a void? You can't become a warrior and never get killed. One cannot be a sorcerer without coming into contact with death. You can't train to be a healer without cutting living flesh. In this world, to be a guardian means to know cruelty, dirt and pain. But love will endure everything. Even those that are not able to withstand the mind.

The day I was awarded the highest service medal, I got a call that my grandfather had died. My superiors approved emergency leave, and I rushed straight back to the family estate without stopping. The moment I reached the hillside cemetery behind the house, what I saw snapped something inside me. Our family burial ground had been completely leveled. My parents' graves had been dug open. Their urns had been turned into flower pot bases, with dark-red roses planted right on top of them. My grandfather's coffin had been split apart. His body was left exposed in the dirt, already starting to rot. And my younger brother, Jerry Horton, who was on the autism spectrum, was being ordered around like a laborer by my husband's assistant, Digby Wolfe, hauling construction materials back and forth. I lost it. I grabbed Digby and slammed him into the ground with a hard shoulder throw. "You touched my family's graves and made my brother do manual labor. Are you trying to get buried here with them?" Digby coughed up blood as he struggled to his feet, sneering at me. "This was Mr. Gray's decision. He said your family plot is in a good location, with plenty of space. It's perfect for building a golf course for the future Mrs. Gray. In Joule, Mr. Gray is the law." His tone was icy. "And who do you think you are?" I swallowed my rage and called Marshall Gray. "I hear you run Joule," I said. "Well, I'm about to change that."

This story revolves around the lovestory of a couple who had an unfortunate fate, where the man dies, and the girl lost all their memories; with the man's unyielding passion his soul travels through time and space, reincarnated in the near future, but everything has been changed. The world turns into a nightmare, and chaos spread all over. Come and let's unravel the mysteries of the unknown world. Engage yourself with THE REMAINING.

My mother was once adored and protected by three men. As such, I had three fathers. After her death, I was raised by one of the greatest doctors, the richest man in Theala, and an award-winning actor. For 13 years, I was showered with overwhelming adoration. That was until three years ago—the day they adopted Erin, an orphan girl. From then on, they began to dote on her. When she accused me of stealing her necklace, they tore my room apart in their search, smashing my most cherished music box in the process. They only felt remorse when they saw me sobbing over the shards. As compensation, they bought me every music box they could find. When she claimed I mocked her for being an orphan, they forced me to write a hundred apology letters as punishment. They only massaged my hands in remorse upon seeing them trembling so badly that I could no longer feed myself. When Erin accused me of shredding her gown, they locked me in the dark basement, starving me for three whole days. When I was let out, they were filled with remorse upon realizing how much weight I had lost. Their bloodshot eyes watched over the grand feast they prepared as an apology. All of that lasted until Erin poisoned my cup of water. I kept coughing up blood as my body grew weaker by the day. Daniel only diagnosed me with malnutrition and made me take prescribed supplements. Unbeknownst to him, those supplements only hastened the poison's effects. After I collapsed at school, I went to the hospital for treatment. "You only have three days left to live," the doctor said. Why then… Why did my fathers drown themselves in sorrow and kill Erin after my death?