Have you ever come across those stories with heroes who knew just how to get things done? The ones who were masters in five different martial arts, and knew ten ways to skin a bear after killing it with their bare hands? Yeah, that wasn’t me. Hell, I had trouble asking a girl out on a date. But someone in clerical must have made an error. Because I got ripped from an airplane on my way home after my last day in the Coast Guard. I mean, come on, I wasn’t even in one of the hardcore branches of the military or anything!

I've traveled back twenty-two years to rewrite the future and stop the nightmare threatening Earth. An apocalypse looms, promising total annihilation. No one will be spared. Now the weight of the world rests on my shoulders; I'm the one tasked with changing everything. I have come back to the past, and in five days, on the twenty-sixth of April, the day of reckoning will arrive. The event that will happen will be known as the Eclipse in the future. It will divide the history of the Solar System into a before and after.

Being a last-year high-schooler who is four feet, eight inches (142 cm) in height is one thing, but having the muscles of a bodybuilder and the face of a middle-aged biker at the same time is another. And don't you dare to bring up shaving in front of him. Did I mention that the boy's favorite hobby is smithing?

Freddy Stern, a twenty-one-year-old cashier, has lived a plain, albeit harsh life. Having been orphaned—twice—he's spent the last ten years working and staying out of trouble. His only aspiration is to save enough money to become an archhuman. His dream gets the jump on him when he barely survives a near-death encounter and finds himself in possession of 1% Lifesteal, a bizarre talent with numerous contradictions and just as many uses.

I led a quiet life, peacefully ruling the underworld until that mother of *** showed up with her people and angels. They destroyed everything I'd built with so much effort and nearly killed me. But I managed to return! Wait . . . My only disciple and candidate for a new body is a sick kid who's about to die? Are you serious?!

When Nick Barnette is pulled through a mysterious portal into the Kingdom of Lhasa, his life becomes a fight for survival. Separated from his friends and hunted by powerful forces, Nick discovers he’s been gifted a strange ability—the power to slow time. But mastering it is no simple task, and to stand a chance of reuniting with his friends and returning home, he must walk the ancient Way of the Immortals.

Dace Tolman’s life has been overturned. One moment he was in his apartment and the next, he and the rest of humanity find themselves in a strange world of monsters and magic. A new world. There is nothing benign about mankind’s new home. The Proving Grounds is a world seemingly designed to enhance those worthy of its gifts—and to kill off the rest. Every day is a struggle against the System and its creatures. Can Dace survive its challenges?

Laric Mason has long evaded the grand expectations set before him by his grandmother. Engaged in the rudimentary spellslips and basics of mage magic at his local school, he intentionally conceals his true abilities. Public recognition would only bring unwanted responsibility and the threat of a transfer to the prestigious Mage Academy. When a devastating dragon assault from the neighboring realm of Korthal lays waste to his village, Laric's world is turned upside down. With his home in ruins and his loved ones lost, he and his friends are all that stand against further invasions.

I had lain down in my crypt to rest for a few decades, but when I awoke, centuries had passed. My castle is in ruins, my clan is gone, and necromancers are considered just a fairy tale for children. They take me for a healer. That's because the world is sick. And it's time for strong medicine.

When the apocalypse strikes the world Kyle Mayhew calls home, he is thrust into a struggle for survival. Alongside his Central Health Autonomous Diagnostic Drone (C.H.A.D.D.), he will have to overcome mutated creatures, ruthless marauders, and his grandfather’s legacy to carve out a new home.

The heroes Terry Fairway once idolized have turned against him, hunting him down at every turn. His grandfather, the ruthless S-ranked necromancer who rules the city, watches from his throne as the people starve and suffer. Vampires stalk the streets unchecked, feeding on the innocent without fear of reprisal. Terry always believed his family were the good guys, but Wichita isn't a city of heroes or villains—it's a city of power. And if power is all that matters, then power is what Terry will seize.

Jack Rust was a disillusioned biologist with a PhD—almost. When an extraterrestrial AI calling itself the System invaded Earth and thrusts it into a world of aliens and violence, the least Jack hoped for was gaining access to magic.

I was the most powerful healer in my world—the best, having devoted my entire life to mastering the art of healing. And yet, for whatever reason, my brother feared that I sought to claim his throne, and he marshaled his forces against me.

After being killed by a high-velocity tree-hug, Arlo is transported to a new world where those brave and talented enough to conquer ancient Delves are rewarded with incredible power and abilities. Unfortunately for Arlo, there is no tutorial. He is immediately forced to tackle a Delve set to the highest difficulty with a party of adventurers who are not only strangers to him, but strangers to each other as well.

Noah was once a Mecha pilot leading the defense of Earth against the invading Parasites. Now he is just one lone man stranded on a strange planet, with nothing to do but endlessly fight and devour beasts to increase his strength in the hope of leaving that forsaken place. A new opportunity arose the day a spaceship crashed on the planet. Follow Noah as he escapes, enters the wider universe, and discovers the truth about what happened to Earth.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

Compiled by intrepid journalist Neve Pride, this archive of recordings spans the months after dragons emerged on earth, chronicling the communities that sprang up amid the destruction, the scientists, military leaders, and experts searching for a defense, and those steadfastly seeking the missing. Neve and her young daughter Bex travel among the wreckage speaking to those left behind and surviving, against all odds. Neve records everything for history, and in the hopes of locating a clue as to where the dragons came from and how one might stop them.

Annie has always had high hopes for her future. But the reality of her life just isn’t measuring up. She loves her fiancé, Greg–doesn’t she? She’s going to get her degree and open her own business–won’t she? Then, a strange old woman shows up outside her house, and she seems to know a lot about Annie. An awful lot. Annie could tell the old woman to get lost. Yet there’s something about her Annie just can’t shake. And what she learns could change her life forever–but is it the life she envisioned?

For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.

Alistair’s life is turned upside down when he is abruptly separated from his friends and family. As the universe slowly transforms and new laws take hold, everyone within his universe is cast into the trial—a crucible of survival and transformation. Before being set on his path, Alistair encounters a system avatar—a brief and enigmatic guide who offers little explanation, guidance, or aid before sending him and the rest of his universe into the unknown.

Freddy Stern, a twenty-one-year-old cashier, has lived a plain, albeit harsh life. Having been orphaned—twice—he's spent the last ten years working and staying out of trouble. His only aspiration is to save enough money to become an archhuman. His dream gets the jump on him when he barely survives a near-death encounter and finds himself in possession of 1% Lifesteal, a bizarre talent with numerous contradictions and just as many uses.

Eric was as shocked as everyone else when the apocalypse struck, but unlike his mother's movie, there were no chosen heroes destined to fight the beast hordes now overrunning the planet. Just people trying desperately to survive. Yet there was a glimmer of hope that humanity could hold on to. A chosen few really could level up in this brave new world, and embrace magic, adventure, and the potential for limitless power!

I've traveled back twenty-two years to rewrite the future and stop the nightmare threatening Earth. An apocalypse looms, promising total annihilation. No one will be spared. Now the weight of the world rests on my shoulders; I'm the one tasked with changing everything. I have come back to the past, and in five days, on the twenty-sixth of April, the day of reckoning will arrive. The event that will happen will be known as the Eclipse in the future. It will divide the history of the Solar System into a before and after.

Azetla has served the Maurowan Army for thirteen years. There are seven left to pay. A pariah and a debt soldier, he is a commander with no rank, a soldier without citizenship, and wears a sword that it is unlawful for him to either own or use. He has learned to hold his tongue or risk losing everything. When Azetla’s battalion is sent into the desert to catch a Sahr devil—one of the famously brutal inhabitants of the region—his tenuous position is threatened. He discovers that there is far more to this mission than catching a fiend.

The world of Vereden was broken long ago. The introduction of the System came at a time of warring Gods and shattered planets, only for the System to shatter as well. That which was meant to raise men to divinity instead cast them ever deeper into conflict through its imperfect nature. And yet, that era of ceaseless war is long past. The people have adapted to Statuses, Levels, and Skills. Unfortunately, so have the Kingdoms.

Jason had nothing. No hope, no joy, no purpose. An average person, in and out. One day, the world ended, or at least the world as he knew it previously. Blue screens appeared in front of everyone all of a sudden, heralding the arrival of the System on Earth. It gave everyone a chance to become something more. It also brought monsters and dungeons that threatened to destroy the remnants of society. Yet again, Jason had nothing. Due to unfortunate circumstances, he became a dismantler; scavenging corpses for cheap change. Dismantlers were no adventurers, and certainly not heroes that people ...

When Zareth was first reborn into a strange new world of magic and wonder, he was ecstatic. He’d expected to go on to live an exciting life filled with danger and adventure. Instead, Zareth spends much of his new life on the streets of Tal’Qamar before eventually becoming a Cultist to Cerebon, God of Flesh and Transformation, where he spends most of his time helping rich women smoothen their skin.

One week. If you survive, you choose a Cosmic Power ... If you survive. Jace isn’t one to give up. Not when his sister dies. Not when he loses his legs. And definitely not when The Cosmic System takes over Earth. With nothing more than his street smarts, the clothes on his back, and a river otter companion, he must survive a planet full of vicious predators that see him as an easy meal. If he can survive? He gets to choose a Cosmic Power and a Class. A path to ascension. A way to bring his sister back.

Sam Levine knows what it means to struggle. After several missed opportunities, he's been forced to turn his talents to freelance work, picking up whatever dirty job he can find only to make ends meet. But there's an end in sight. An opportunity to change everything. And when a dangerous, high-profile job comes his way, he sees light at the end of the tunnel. Hope has been in rare supply, but even with the dangers inherent in his decision, he puts his life on the line for a chance to elevate his situation.

On a day like any other, an alien descends to Earth, unleashing untold death and destruction. Alistair watches the live news footage of the carnage, his eyes glued to the image of impossible power made manifest. The alien’s arrival kicks events into motion that no one could have predicted. Earth is prematurely initiated into a universe-spanning empire of cut-throat cultivators, beasts, and entities of ungodly power–all guided by a mysterious AI System. The System’s first quest? Kill someone.

In the Miers, a fragile peace has held for the twenty years since the Spirit Wars. Mortals stay within their boundaries, and the Faen keep to the Lost Green. Anything else is suicide. Renly Teurig, a young musician, unwittingly binds himself to a Bardic War Lute, becoming the reluctant Champion of Tetulinok, a Celestial Muse. Acting on the Muse's will soon ends in disaster—his sister Chloe is left unable to walk, scarred beyond recognition, and Renly is exiled in disgrace.

In a world where family secrets unravel and identities shatter, Troy’s life takes an unexpected turn. His home is no longer a sanctuary, and his family’s truths are nothing but a web of lies. Cast adrift with only a battered ship, a cryptic name, and a distant destination, Troy embarks on a perilous journey to unravel the mysteries of his past.

After breaking the curse of the dungeon, young Max returns to his village, only to discover that his journey is far from over. Whispers of the Sunken City—a lost sanctuary rumored to hold forbidden knowledge and ancient power—draw him into the heart of the unknown. Guided by a mysterious map, Max ventures into the city’s ruins, a place shrouded in secrets and guarded by shadows of the past.

Born one of the Powered in a world starving for superhuman defenders, Boyd is both blessed and cursed—blessed in that he was born Powered, possessing superpowers on a world in desperate need of each Hero able to defend humanity from a hostile planet, but cursed in that he is one of the Changed.