Ash_Monarch

The Apocalypse is in full swing. 

Defiled - powerful creatures corrupted by the Great Collision - prowled the lands in search of prey. Unfortunately for them, the human race had long since retreated behind the secure walls of the Sanctuary of Everlast. 

During one of his regular excursions outside the Sanctuary, Alden is separated from Celeste. - his childhood friend and crush. In that moment, he came to regret never summoning the courage to confess. 

Somehow managing to survive thanks to some trickery, Alden awakens as a mage. 

Instead of receiving a normal power, he gains the ability to decay. What's more, during his ascension, he received a vision from his future self advising him not to trust the Asterons - celestial beings who had saved his race from inescapable doom.  

Normally... such a revelation wouldn’t faze Alden. 

However, there was only one major problem with the declaration, though. 

Celeste was bound with an Asteron. 

And not just any normal Asteron... 

She had made a pact with one of the Divine Sovereigns.
________ 

Cover is not mine. I found it on Pinterest.

The Inner Odyssey

A thick, dense mist swirled around his figure. It hampered his vision greatly, smothering him in its suffocating embrace.

As soon as he took a single step, the door behind him slammed shut.

Then, he shivered, his face paling with dread.

What mess had he just got himself into now?

A deluge of unease flooded his heart. He swallowed and circulated his mana. The action helped quell his anxiety somewhat. Alden prepared to manifest a shield of decay at any moment. He was alert, his body as tense as a coiled spring.

The thick fog continued to smother him.

Cruel