Back From The Dead Novels & Stories

Scott said quietly, nodding at me. And just like that, they vanished before my eyes. They had already suffered enough in life. How could they die all over again because of me? I crouched on the ground, crying so hard I nearly fainted. The familiar mechanical voice rang out once more. "Congratulations, player. You have successfully cleared the horror game instance "Family of Four." Reward: Revival. Preparing to transport the player back to the real world. Countdown begins: 10, 9, 8..."

Before he could answer, I took my three children by the hand and walked out. Behind me, Jared was struggling against the guards holding him back. His voice grew louder and louder, shouting my name, but I ignored it. Pulling out my phone, I sent a message. [Thank you for inviting me. I’m sorry for ruining your competition.] The reply came instantly. [On the contrary. This incident gave us traffic and revenue. You’re the real queen of profit.] A huge transfer hit my account, followed by another message: [Your payment, and my gift. Nirvana is the perfect name. Congratulations on your rebirth. Can I attend your company’s launch event?] I smiled. [Mark, you’re always welcome.]

Perhaps it was boredom from being alone for so long, or perhaps it was pity for this little wolfkin, but I eventually nodded. Life passed uneventfully as I took the little wolfkin under my wing to learn medicine and collect herbs. With a bodyguard like that following me around, it seemed that few dared to provoke me. That was until an elderly servant I had not seen in a while suddenly appeared, disrupting my peaceful life once again. "Princess Mirella, Princess Lyra and the king are dead! You must return and help your nation!" The servant's words struck me like a thunderbolt, and I trembled uncontrollably. I asked him repeatedly, but the answers were all the same.

"What do you mean by that? Listen here, Marc said he'll marry me as soon as you die!" "I don't care whether he marries you or not. Tell me, who sent you?" Mirabelle blinked. Then, she hurriedly covered her mouth. "I'd rather die than tell you!" Very well. If she wouldn't talk, I had plenty of ways to get her to talk. I went back to caring for my skin, hitting the gym, and living the way I used to. The difference was that I stopped aging and gradually returned to my former appearance. Meanwhile, when Mirabelle was livestreaming, dark blotches suddenly appeared on her face. Right in front of the camera, crow's feet and smile lines etched themselves across her skin.

“There’s something I need to tell you about the gap, about what’s really going on here…” But we’re through, pulled back into life, gasping awake in our bodies at the same instant. I’m lying on a burial platform where they left me for dead two weeks ago. Alistair is sprawled beside me, his self-inflicted wounds freshly healed. And surrounding us are our sons and the Totality and hundreds of shocked wolves who just watched us return from death. “Mama?” Marcus breathes. “You’re alive?” Before I can answer, before I can process being back, the sky tears open.

“Hey.” I sat on the edge of the armchair across from her. In the previous life Lila had died in the first winter after the red moon. A simple infection that should have been treatable. No antibiotics left in the area. No clean water. No one could get her to the overwhelmed clinic across the city. I had not been there. I had been dealing with the fallout of someone else’s betrayal and had learned the news days later, when it was already finished. Looking at her now, alive, ordinary, mildly annoyed at her textbook made something tight and protective settle hard under my ribs.

They still thought I would eventually return to the obedient daughter and forgiving sister they remembered. They didn't understand that the woman they had abandoned had already died once. And this time, I would survive—even if I had to face the end of the world alone. COUNTDOWN: 57 DAYS

Alive, just for a moment. As if, for those eternal seconds, a part of Damon Voss was coming back to life. And something that had been long dead in me was coming back, too.

"What are you doing?" Shuffling, "What? Me?" Charlie narrows her eyes, a thought pops into her head, "Deedah! Are you having sex?!" This time, her best-friend laughs loudly, "No, *Poo-poo bear*. This fart bag was tickling me before you called. That monster..." She mutters at the end. "Oh? Zeus is back from Egypt? When did he get back?" "Dude just got back yesterday and he's trying to get into my pants," She hears the traces of an eye roll in her tone.

"Why not? Alpha Lawrence and I already gained back our strengths." Calgary's jaw moved. "You might not be able to focus... in case what we found out is true." I creased my forehead. "Why? What did you find out?" He heaved one hell of a breath. "Looks like they brought back everyone to life... without letting them have their memories of who they used to be before they died." My lips parted. "Y--You mean... they're... I mean... my parents... they're... they're alive?"