She repairs broken memories - but who will repair the truth? ***** Nova Aurion understands how fragile memory can be - she mends it for a living. In a world where memory is currency and abilities define worth, society is divided into Endowments: cognitive classes established to preserve stability. Every three years, the nation hosts 'Project Elite' - a prestigious competition honoring the finest minds from each Endowment. Within the high-stakes arena, they contend not only for victory, but for the recognition to lead their future. When Nova, a Memory Diver renowned for restoring fractured minds, is selected to compete - she enters the Project, determined to win. However, survival demands more than mere intellect; it requires strategy, perception and sacrifice. As alliances shift and sparks ignite, a forbidden dive into a stranger's memory leaves Nova deeply unsettled, leading to a chilling realisation: what if Project Elite isn't designed to measure brilliance at all - but to harvest something far more dangerous? Caught between a charming rival, a skeptical ally, and a system that predicts every move, she must confront a choice that could reshape humanity itself - Is an unpredictable future worth the risk of chaos... or is controlled stability the safest path to preservation? ************************** ONC prompt (main): 111: With a single touch, you can slip into someone else's memories. But when a stranger shows you a future crime involving you, you must uncover the truth before it comes to pass.

In a dying world, people resort to desperate, dark paths to survive. When seventeen-year-old Sam's oldest friend shows him something terrible, he does everything he can to keep trouble away from those he loves. Despite his efforts, another terrible incident shakes the town. With the fear that a monster hides among them, people start turning on each other, and he is on the verge of losing all he loves. The only way to save his loved ones might mean crossing lines and going down a treacherous path. ONC prompt 80.

Rocked by recent personal tragedy, Anna Carlton is craving a fresh start. So, when her husband Simon is offered an amazing opportunity within his real-estate development company, Anna agrees to leave behind their home in London and relocate to Ibiza, Spain. Ibiza is a paradise. Simon, his work colleagues, and their wives embrace the sun, sand, and exciting nightlife with open arms. But for Anna, the island is an isolated fever dream. Simon's work schedule and active social life keep him away, and despite the crowds and parties, Anna feels alone. Well...not completely alone. Since the moment she arrived in Ibiza, Anna has felt a presence. The persistent presence of someone watching her. Items begin to move inside her beachside house, perfume lingers, messages appear in the sand, and the image of a dark-haired woman is always just beyond Anna's peripheral. A woman Simon seems to already know... Who is she? || A novella of suspense, written for ONC 2026 with prompt #80. ||

What happens when Death falls in love with the paramour he is gifted? Cursed to kill everyone he touches, beastly Lord Damien Casteel lives in anger and loneliness. During a rare game of poker, he wins the final hand against a petty criminal named Luca. The prize is a pouch of twelve precious gemstones. But Luca is determined to get the stones back, no matter what. Breaking into Damien's mansion to exchange the real gems for fakes, he is captured and threatened with death. Begging for his life, he strikes a deal: his freedom in exchange for his adopted son, Jemison, who will serve the lord as his paramour for twelve days; one day for each stone. Although he is reluctant to let anyone into his life, Damien is desperate to keep Jem away from Luca's abuse, so he agrees. What he does not expect is to fall for the tormented young man. Prompt used is number 46. We love broken, beautiful people. And it doesn't get more obviously broken and more classically beautiful than you. (Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid) My writing is AI-free. Any emdashes are here because I LIKE them. The poetic purply prose is here because I LIKE it. Computers don't write my stuff. The Muse inside my head who keeps me up till 3 AM and wants to drive me bonkers, does. Warning for: spicy situations, alcohol, some swearing, blood, abuse, and typical Christine darkness. There's no graphic sa, torture, gore, or animal abuse.

~ a Vikings meets Pride & Prejudice fanfiction ~ He is crippled. He is unlovable. He is ruthless. Together with his brothers and the Great Heathen Army, Viking warrior Ivar the Boneless has been wreaking havoc on England for the past two years. Some of his brothers think it has been enough, but Ivar is just getting started. While quarreling about their next move, Ivar makes one mistake too many and accidentally kills his brother Sigurd. Heartbroken, he retreats to the forest to indulge in one vulnerable moment, convinced nobody can see him. Elizabeth Bennett is intelligent, free-spirited, and sharp-tongued. Together with her mother and sisters, she manages the Bennett estate while her father takes up his seat in King Aethelwulf's council. She did not plan on stumbling over a weeping Viking in the woods and much less on getting scolded for it, but here she is, wrestled to the ground by a son of Ragnar, the most broken, yet most beautiful man she has ever met. He'd better polish up his manners if he knows what's good for him. The problem is that perhaps he doesn't. 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 An ONC2026 entry Prompt 46: We love broken people, beautiful people. And it doesn't get more obviously broken and more classically beautiful than you. 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 Content Warnings Violence, swearing, perhaps some smut, perhaps not, I'll update smut warnings as I go along and tag upcoming smut in the beginning of a chapter if it should come to this 😬 I can also say that if there will be smut, it will be consensual.

When the big, bad dragon meets his match, he's forced to do something no dragon has ever done before--ask for help. And with enigmatic knight Sir Crispin de Harriff-Scarnley hot on his scaled heels, it's humble--and slightly sozzled--apothecary student Alyx he turns to as his unlikely saviour. Perceptions will be shattered and unlikely alliances forged as Alyx attempts to save both his skin and the dragon's hide, while dodging spells, grappling with gryphons, negotiating hangovers and, perhaps scariest of all, confronting his classmate crush. And all the while, in the background, a shadowy figure looms...

A year ago, Carter DuBois plunged the world into an endless night, the remnants of his army made of sinister shapeshifters still lingering in the shadows as mankind fights for survival. In a last-ditch effort to reverse the damage he caused, Harper Jones visits Carter in prison just hours before his execution to offer him life in return for lifting the darkness, but he maintains his innocence. When Harper touches him, she's transported to a parallel dimension in the past. Now, she has to race against time to uncover the truth to save not only her own world but this dimension as well. Is Carter a scapegoat or is he the criminal mastermind everyone has made him out to be? If she gets it wrong, all will be lost, and that the Carter of this dimension is her husband doesn't make her quest any easier. ~~~~ This is my ONC 2026 entry based on the following prompts: #64: You touch someone who is accused of a crime and are suddenly transported to a different time and dimension. To return home, you must uncover the truth behind the accusation. But if your final judgment is wrong, you will carry the consequences yourself. #97: When the world slips into endless darkness, something begins to move in the shadows and you must find a way to survive in a night that never ends. ~~~~ © Sal Mason/Fire Rose 2026

Bronhini, the storm queen, sends out her pet dragon to turn the skirmish her men are losing. A lone warrior stands up to the beast - a brave, but useless act. When Laiàn learns about the courageous last stand of her brother, she is devastated. But not everything is as it seems... Based on the prompt #29: "You will meet many people in your life. Many will come and go, but some will leave footprints on your heart."

Hailey wakes from a forced shutdown to find her boss dead at her feet and twenty-four hours missing from her memory. The evidence is clean, the tech is confident, and everything points to her. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the murder makes too much sense. But not for long. 90. You receive a video message from someone you hate, recorded five hours after their confirmed death.