Welcome To The Void

Sweaty and calloused hands, heavy breaths, and bruises of the pasts has been what Calithea Amara Noval trying to either dodge or manage to turn down. Hindi niya pinangarap lumaban para mabuhay, pero hindi rin niya pinagsisisihan na lumalaban siya para sa buhay. The tranquil she couldn't recognize at any bumps and holes of her life she has been trying to revamp isn't like the black-and-blue-mark on her skin, but shades darker she couldn't conceal. The roars of beast outside the match ring put a pause on as she saw Theon North Ledesma inside. She didn't welcome him at all, but he happened to found his way inside her. Sa bawat pagpasok ni Theon sa sistema niya ay siya'ng paglabas ng katotohanan sa pagkatao niya. Winning the Conquest has been her thirst to get out of the Underground, para sa ranggo, para sa pribadong pagkatao habang nagbabanat ng buto. Pero ang katotohanan na ang yumao niya'ng ama ay isang dating manlalaro kapalit ng buhay at si Theon na sa kanya'y pumatay ay hindi niya matakbuhan, sinubukan pero hindi mabitawan. Caving in for a peaceful life on the south, she managed to do a living, and brought out a living. Pero sa pagtakbo, kahit anong tulin ay mayroong mas matulin. Kailangan niya'ng mabalikan ang ina, kailangan niyang makuha ang posisyon ni Theon sa Mafia para masira ito. Pero sa bawat hakbang paakyat, unti-unting nabubutas ang kan'yang nilalakaran kasabay nang pag-angat ng mga rebelasyon, kung ano siya, at sino siya. Sapat na nga ba ang posisyon ni Theon para makuha niya ang inaasam na panalo? o hindi na niya kailangang kunin ito? Pumasok siya sa isang laro, at tatapusin niya ito sa isa pang laro. Ang sipa at suntok na para nga ba kay Theon o sa iba na humahatak sa kaniya?

During the two months that I was away for a competition, my neighbors insulted me in the neighborhood’s common group chat. [The girl living on the ninth floor, you look like a decent girl. Why are you bringing so many men back home every day?] [Can you moan a little softer? I don’t care if you’re a sex worker, but if you keep making loud noises until midnight, don’t blame me for calling the police!] [Don’t call the police yet. I haven’t had my turn. How much are you charging, Charlene?] My heart sank. Before I left for my competition, I had asked my boyfriend, Jacob Smith, to take care of my luxury river-view apartment. That way, he could keep an eye on my expensive paintings. What was happening? I rushed home in confusion, but when I opened the door, I was further dumbfounded. My 3,000-square-foot apartment had been partitioned into 30 rooms. Meanwhile, Jacob’s childhood friend, Prissy Black, was holding a string of keys as she collected rent money. When they saw me, everyone started laughing. “What? Are you here to rent from Prissy after learning that she’s providing cheap rooms in such a pristine location? “Too bad everyone knows that you’re eyeing her boyfriend. You won’t be able to benefit from doing such a thing!” I was extremely furious as I approached Jacob to talk about it. However, he told me that it was Prissy’s dream to be a landlady. He asked me not to pay it any mind and to treat it as doing a good deed. “You’re rich anyway. Don’t be so calculative. Everyone’s happy now, so what’s wrong with that?” The keys tinkled in Prissy’s hand as if they were taunting me. “This house doesn’t welcome stray animals like you. You have yourself to blame for not having such a nice boyfriend.” The two of them acted all lovey-dovey in front of me, and I immediately called the police. “Someone’s trespassing on my property, and my painting that’s worth 15 million dollars has gone missing. What type of punishment would this entail?”

Six years of marriage. All passion at night, but never tenderness in the daylight. Amelia Sinclair loved Christopher Zephyr deeply, and she swallowed the bitterness as if it were sweet. Her own daughter wasn't allowed to call him father, yet the son of his first love sat on his lap, learning to say the word "dad". The entire family treated that adopted boy as a precious heir, while her own flesh and blood was treated like a shameful stain. It wasn't until Amelia and her daughter paid with their lives—until Christopher signed the cremation papers with his own hand and then took the boy to attend his first love's welcome banquet—that Amelia finally understood. Love couldn't win love. A heartless man had no heart to give. When Amelia was reborn, she swore she would never again cling to that cold and humiliating marriage. In her past life, she had foolishly given up her studies, content to be a housewife and devote herself to her family. In this one, she submitted the divorce papers without hesitation, took her daughter far from the mire, and rebuilt her career until she stood at the top again. In the first week after Amelia left, Christopher dismissed it as one of her tantrums. By the first month, he brushed it off completely. It didn't matter to him what she did, so it was fine to let her go. Later on, he saw her again, standing tall among the industry's elite! Amelia was focused only on her career, and her daughter was focused only on finding herself a new father. And Christopher finally realized that they really didn't want him anymore. The man lost all reason. The one who had always been cold, proud, untouchable, suddenly threw away his dignity. He blocked the mother and daughter pair in full view of everyone, his voice breaking as he pleaded, "Honey, I'll kneel here if I have to. Please... just love me one more time."