The stars whispered to amateur astronomer Levi, and to his alarm, one by one they disappeared within the abyss. But when he witnessed one such disappearance, the star fell to him and took a human form. Explaining Celesta's sudden appearance to suspicious townspeople became an insignificant problem when a Darkness threatened to consume the universe, one star at a time, including the one that warmed his world. A fantasy story written for the 2026 Open Novella Contest, utilizing prompt #69: The stars are disappearing one by one, and only you can hear their whispers.

Misty Hollis is used to being alone. After years of working from home, keeping careful routines, and watching everyone else move forward, Misty has convinced herself that quiet is safer than wanting too much. Safer than being compared. Safer than being seen. Then her newly adopted cat, Eliot, starts escaping every day at exactly 3:30. Following him leads Misty to an overgrown garden, a sharp-eyed grandmother named Jenny, and Alastair Ward. Reserved, protective, and impossible to read, Alastair has built his own walls around duty and loss. Jenny sees something in Misty that Misty can barely admit to herself, and suddenly Misty is pulled into a world of family expectations, old grief, awkward parties, and a man whose attention feels both terrifying and impossible to ignore. Alastair doesn't do easy. Misty doesn't do vulnerable. But the more their lives tangle together, the harder it becomes to pretend that comfort is enough, or that being alone is the same as being safe. Because Eliot may have led Misty to Alastair's door. But staying will have to be her choice. A slow-burn romance about loneliness, found family, healing, and the terrifying sweetness of finally being seen. ============ #ONC2026 Prompt 5 =========== AI-assisted: The blurb for this story was developed with AI tools. The story itself is entirely written by the author with AI grammar assist only. =========== © 2026 Deborah Valtierra. All rights reserved. Following Eliot is published exclusively on Wattpad. If you see it anywhere else, it has been shared without permission.

A lonely gardener sits atop a poisoned world, tending to his family's legacy. He can't imagine a green world where animals roam free of toxic air, but that's exactly what his ancestors envision. Charged with the monumental task of healing a sick planet, he lives his life planting and husbanding the green things that will hopefully one day restore the environment lost. The problem is loneliness has begun to erode his faith in his mission. He would rather suffer in the waste with a companion than struggle alone. In answer to his silent prayers, a being of legend falls from the heavens and into the center of his life. Mansa dreamt of a wife, but his dreams changed the night the dragon fell... *** ONC 2026 Entry Prompt#3: You don't expect excitement in your quiet garden until the day a dragon suddenly appears among the flowers.

A lonely immortal seeks Death, but she won't make release easy for him. The Fates have other plans. ... For hundreds of years, Larkin has lived a miserable life of isolation. Immortality has been nothing but a curse and the only remedy is the one who cursed him in the first place. He's searched the globe, but has only found whispers and rumors. Just when he's given up, she walks casually back into his life and it takes everything in him not to lash out. He needs her to remove the curse, and she won't do that if he unleashes his rage upon her. They were once lovers, then they were enemies, now Larkin doesn't know what they are to each other. He only knows she has the answer to the riddle of his extended torment. ONC 2026 prompt #114: An immortal being, worn down by centuries and cursed so that anyone they touch dies, starts searching for a way to finally end their endless life. But Death, who has grown possessive and infatuated with them, refuses to let them go.

In Atlantivanne, the two popular and renowned dragon slayers, Rune and Janice Windart, dwarf siblings, quest to test their mettle for their next slay, the Dragon Lord Zarlock. The zombie dragon and lord of all evil dragons. They are to build a sailboat to Spiral Fang. Little did they know a zombie apocalypse would happen along the way, and their ponies would be eaten, and Rune would be trapped in a rickshaw with his annoying singing knight of a father! They must fend off the zombies until they make it to the nearest cave, and they meet the Water Spirit that once lived in the village of Dunharn before zombies rose from the dead. It was a nice place to live once, a lake for the water elves, not anymore! It turns out their birth father is Renald Dunharn, a pirate gnome! Servant to Lord Zarlock of Castle Greylich that has towers like enormous fangs. Rune and Janice, rivals, must work together to use the legendary Fire Lamp, which would be the only way to activate the power to capture Lord Zarlock and convince Renald to turn from his ways, to save Atlantivanne from zombies. Can it be done? The prompts I used for ONC 2026 are 1 & 43. The main prompt is 1. Mature for graphic violence. 20, 126 words. Cover created and designed by me with Canva stock elements. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Asha Donovan returns to her High School reunion with her husband Ty, not expecting the end of of the world. Prompt #59 You're at your High School reunion when there is a zombie apocalypse.