In the desert of Western Kemp, hidden within the towering cliffs, lies the legendary Temple of Akh-Neteru: a place of ancient wisdom and forbidden knowledge. Carved seamlessly into the mountainside, the temple houses the lost secrets of the afterlife, creation, and enlightenment. For centuries, it has remained a myth, a whispered legend among those who traverse the desolate sands. For a small group of initiates, the temple's sacred truths are within reach. Hathor, a celestial falcon halfbreed with a mysterious heritage. Gavriel, a devoted warrior torn by doubt. Oronos, a former acolyte from Atlantis. Nalini, a grieving widow desperate to resurrect her lost husband. Drawn together in pursuit of the ultimate knowledge of life and death, they uncover ancient texts and secrets long buried. In a reimagining of "The Divine Comedy," four souls journey through a metaphysical underworld and higher realms shaped by ancient myths and world religious traditions. As they navigate these realms, they uncover hidden truths about Atlantis, setting the stage for their awakening and the fate of the world. But the temple is not without its dangers. Forces beyond their comprehension are awakening, and as Atlantis teeters on the brink of collapse, they must decide how far they are willing to go for the knowledge they seek. Can the boundaries between life and death be undone, or is there a reason the afterlife must remain untouched? With the fate of Atlantis hanging in the balance, the four initiates must confront their deepest fears, their desires, and their devotion to the Truth. **** "The Guardians of Atlantis" is a science fantasy novella set in the Third World Universe created by author Sunny Ghauri. Though it runs parallel to the events in the novel "The Sky Gods of Atlantis," this story stands on its own as a tale of power, loss, and the eternal struggle between life and death.

**WATTYS 2025 SHORTLIST** Sixteen-year-old Cas is clever, sporty, and on the brink of a bright future at university. His best friend Vish has no such prospects. A painfully shy artist, Vish's future won't go further than his daily routine of pills, sensory issues and panicking parents. Cas and Vish celebrate what could be their final summer together by painting wildlife and swimming at a secret wetland that they've discovered hidden in the Fens. But something ancient and sinister lurks in the beautiful marsh that Cas and Vish have claimed as their summer retreat. Vish's childhood imaginary friend, Charlie, has returned, and this time Charlie wants Vish's body and soul. The only thing standing in Charlie's way is Cas, and he won't give up on his best friend, even if it means a fight to the death. --- WELCOME TO MY ONC 2025 STORY! This incorporates the following prompt: 105. Your childhood imaginary friend who disappeared years ago returns - only this time they're real. I'll add in some of the other prompts as I go along. Not sure if I'll make it to the end but we'll see how we go!

In ancient Atlantis, an expansive and diverse continent that spanned the Atlantic Ocean some 14,000 years ago, the world stood on the precipice of change. For the first time in history, a humanoid, sentient android walked among humans. Ashur Napahu was the first of his kind. Designed using code for military super soldiers, Ashur's loving, scientist mother left him to a world not yet ready for a conscious, self-aware machine. Yet when he meets an Atlantean woman carrying a deep secret and dreaming of realizing her own potential, something awakens within him. He experiences love in its purest and most fragile form, navigating a society that sees him as unnatural. But love, like logic, is not immune to contradiction. As the weight of expectation, prejudice, and fate bears down on him, Ashur must confront the limits of his existence... and of those around him. Atlantis may have mastered the engineering of sentient machines, but it has yet to master the wisdom required to coexist with them. Journey into ancient Atlantis--a world where the lines between man and machine blur, and a sentient android dares to ask the most human question of all: What is the meaning of life? ******** This novella was written for the Open Novella Contest 2025, based on Prompt #71: "In a world where artificial beings and humans coexist, one artificial human embarks on a journey to understand love and emotions-only to uncover more than expected."

[ʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴏɴᴇ ᴡɪɴɴᴇʀ ᴏғ ᴏɴᴄ] [ʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴏɴᴇ ǫᴜᴀʟɪғᴇʀ] [ʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛᴡᴏ ǫᴜᴀʟɪғᴇʀ] 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔. 𝑨 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒓. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕... 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. ✷✷✷ Alvine is a college girl with a crazy obsession with webtoon comics-so much so that she dreams of becoming a webtoon artist herself. Her life is as normal as it gets: attending college, reading webtoons, sketching, and hanging out with friends. But everything changes when a webtoon she's reading starts mirroring her real life. The story follows a girl who unknowingly falls in love with a boy-only to discover he's a demon. Sounds like a typical fantasy romance, right? Except this time, it's not just a story. Now, Alvine's life is unfolding just like the webto

I summoned him to protect me. Not to kiss me and make me feel things. Prince Leonard is a paranoid wreck-hated by his court, haunted by his past, and one imagined assassination attempt away from losing the only person still on his side. So when his own guards turn on him, Leo makes the one move no sane person would: he summons a demon. What he expects is a bloodthirsty monster. What he gets is Razvain Nyxbourne-dangerously attractive, infuriatingly flirty, and far more interested in kissing than drinking blood. Leo is unprepared for his sharp smiles or the avalanche of inconvenient emotional intimacy that comes with them. Bound by magic to keep Leo alive, Raz and his disarmingly cute shadows have their work cut out for them, because every member of the court seems to be after the newly crowned king's fragile life. If Leo wants to survive, he'll have to confront the demons of his past to keep the one at his side strong enough to protect him. Mature rated for explicit sexual content

For as long as she could remember, Yva had always carried a key around her neck. She never knew what the key would unlock, until the day she got chosen by one of the Keepers. In an instant, she is thrown in to a world of secrets and myths. What begins as a fun adventure turns deeper and darker than she could ever imagine. The world is pulled by strings from behind the curtain, and she soon finds herself with blood on her hands. 🗝 My story for Open Novella Contest 2025. (Prompt 114.) All the drawings are my own.

When Rosie's new husband ignores her, she begs the harlot next-door for lessons on seduction (1980s suburban dystopia with a spicy lesbian romance) *** It's 1982, and newlywed Rosie McGee has just moved into an idealistic suburban cul-de-sac called Windsor Lane. As a good Christian girl, this is Rosie's dream come true... or at least, it should be. However, next-door-neighbor Scarlett Everly doesn't fit in with the rest of the good Christian wives in their neighborhood (she drinks, she sleeps around, and she doesn't even attend church!). Worse, Rosie's new husband suddenly seems utterly uninterested in her. Has he already been seduced by Scarlett? Or is Rosie simply too boring? After a honeymoon more closely resembling a funeral, Rosie gathers her courage and marches right up to Scarlett's door with a plea: teach me your ways. Scarlett agrees, with one condition: Rosie must model for her next painting. When the agreement leads to unexpected attraction, Rosie begins to question her own priorities. The warmth she once felt when holding Thomas's hand is nothing compared to what she feels when Scarlett is painting her. But a good Christian girl should not think of such things. Especially not in Windsor Lane. Grand Winner for the Pride Awards 2025 Honorable Mention in ONC 2025 ONC 2025 prompt 53: On your honeymoon, you discover the most shocking truth about your spouse--one that could change everything. Also prompt 118: You're feeling trapped in your current relationship and can't shake the urge to break free.

ONC NOVELLA 2025 ROUND ONE QUALIFIER ROUND TWO QUALIFIER ****PROMPT:#126: "Because you're you, and I'm me, and we just don't fit" -Idea of You, Book by Robinne Lee***** Skylar O'Hara was a smart-mouthed and street-smart high school senior who believes that geeks and popular kids do not, and will never, mix well. And when it comes to Drake Andrews and Jorge Fernandez (the co-captains of the aquatics team and his godbrothers), he wants nothing to do with them whatsoever because they're representing everything that he despises about the jocks: their good looks, their ability to charm all the teachers, and how they manage to rule the school with little effort. Despite the nagging from his parents and teachers to be more like them, Skylar has one plan: survive senior year, graduate with high honors, and leave Dallas behind for good while becoming a well-respected fashion journalist. Funny how one accidental discovery of Drake and Jorge being the two most-beloved superheroes can throw off his plan completely. Oh, yeah, and they now want him to join their team as their sidekick, and their sudden interest in him Now, Skylar has a new plan that he has to follow: graduate high school, avoid being involved with anything superhero-related, and never fall in love with either Drake (Blue Crush) or Jorge (Green Tide) at all costs. But can he do all that with a vindictive cheerleader on his tail, deal with being an instant celebrity, and avoid any of the duo's advances? Or is he doomed to fall flat on his face on the runways that are called his senior year?

🏆ONC 2025 SHORTLISTER 🏆 Veyr Thalric was born beneath a blood moon, his fate inked in the past and bound to a future he cannot escape. The son of the slain Wolf, he has spent his life hidden in the shadows, waiting for the moment he can claim vengeance against the one who stole everything from him-Rowan Ashwood, the legendary hunter who wears his father's pelt like a crown. But vengeance is never so simple. The deeper Veyr treads into the hunt, the more the forest whispers warnings of paths that cannot be undone. A deck of fate waits to be drawn, its cards promising revelations he may not be ready to face. And when love enters the fray in the form of Amerie Rosarot, a woman with fire in her heart and tragedy in her veins, Veyr is forced to confront the question that haunts all doomed hunters: When you challenge the magic of the world, can you truly finish what you started-no matter the cost? In this tale of blood, betrayal, and destiny, the line between monster and man blurs. And in the end, the real question is not who will survive...but what will be left of them when the hunt is over.

**When a gruesome prison death reunites an officer with her ex-best friend, feelings resurface as they investigate the deep-rooted secrets of an ancient penitentiary.** After eight years abroad, Lana Lippian has returned to the frozen asteroid of her birth as a Lieutenant in the Intergalactic Disciplinary Organization. It's now her job to police both Fenestra Prison and the surrounding penal colony of Subtus City. But when an ill-fated arrest leads to the death of an innocent teenager, Lana's estranged best friend (and childhood crush), Korona Tallow, begs the officer to imprison her in order to investigate what she believes to be murder. However, dangerous secrets lie behind the metal walls of Fenestra and Lana has her work cut out keeping Kor safe. Especially since the fiery nuisance has never been one to fly below the radar. Soon, sparks catch in the flammable atmosphere as the wary allies discover that both the mystery and their feelings go far deeper than either could have imagined. ||Trigger Warning for Spicy Adult Situations, Language, Violence and Death|| Featured on: @FreeTheLGBT @OpenNovellaContest @ScienceFiction @Wattpad