Legend speaks of a man with crows in his hair and stitches in his lips who will teach you his greatest trades. Some call him a monster. Most call him the Needle-Mouthed Man. But only the shadows know his true name, and they call him Master.
As one...
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Legend speaks of a man with crows in his hair and stitches in his lips who will teach you his greatest trades. Some call him a monster. Most call him the Needle-Mouthed Man. But only the shadows know his true name, and they call him Master.
As one of the dead, Minseo Park is a creature of the night, doomed to eternal darkness. However, refusing to accept his fate, Minseo turns to the shadows to give himself a second chance at life---all to get his sister out of the whorehouse where he himself died. Desperate, Minseo seeks out the Needle-Mouthed Man for guidance. But the Needle-Mouthed Man brings company: his protégé Nikolas, who both makes Minseo's blood boil and sets his heart aflame.
In order to find his murderer and save his sister, Minseo must walk the balance between life and death and decide whether to embrace his inner darkness---or to let it consume him.
Because the shadows are hungry, and the only food they want is revenge.
❥
This was written for the Open Novella Contest 2023, using:
Prompt 9:
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Prompt 5:
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Hello, beautiful people! First, take a moment to appreciate the cover and graphics, because Lani did such an incredible job and I'm absolutely obsessed 🤩 (also because of my husband Leo yuh)
Alright, so hello! I'm Alex (he/him, enfp-t, very into pretty boys), and after dropping out of two ONCs in a row, we're back again because I'm a masochist! And this time, I'm going to finish at least one entry! This is Entry #1 out of hopefully 2 entries and will definitely be the darker one out of the two, so if you're into fluffier, softer stuff...uh...my profile in general may not exactly be the place for you 👉👈
With this work, I'll be going back to my Fantasy roots, except with a darker twist and some Horror. Which means this is a Dark Fantasy book that will contain mentions of prostitution, strong language (cursing), murder, violence, and lots of angst. Also, POC and LGBTQ+ characters, because I'm a POC and LGBTQ+ character.
If you're participating in the ONC, make sure to let me know so I can check your book out and support it! Also, stay tuned for my second ONC entry, which will be coming out around next week!
Good luck to everyone who's participating in the ONC, and I really hope you enjoy The Balance Game! The first chapter will drop tomorrow, so stay tuned!
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THE LEGAL STUFF Firstly, if you are reading this somewhere other than Wattpad (*coughcough* frick you novelhd *coughcough*), you are putting yourself at risk of a malware attack. Come back to Wattpad (where you belong, my lost children) to read this beautiful story in its full, original, un-virused glory---right here on my profile.
full reuploads of this material, on Wattpad or off it, are NOT allowed. plagiarising this material and passing it off as your own? even worse. bonk, go to copy jail.
i accept translations, but please DM me first so i know what you're doing and don't immediately go full Sebastian Michaelis on you.
however, fanfiction, fanart, etc. are more than welcome! you do not need to DM me first, just make sure to credit me as the original author and tag me so i can check it out!
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