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.
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Cover is not mine. I found it on Pinterest.

The Inner Odyssey

His breath caught in his throat.

What was something of that magnitude doing in the Sanctuary?

Was that why the Keeper was named as such?

With a start, a horrified expression suddenly appeared on Alden's face.

"The invasion against the Sanctuary… it wasn't a coincidence."

The Keeper of the End nodded grimly.

Alden stared into space and entered a daze. He slowly felt himself turning numb.

He had thought the Dark Races simply just wanted to conquer all of humanity. Perhaps they did. But it seemed he was more than a little naïve in his thinking than he realised.

A small part of Alden, though, was glad that he finally had some evidence or thread to back up his notion that the Asterons could be trusted. Still, he couldn't ignore the fact that, as a result of their actions, a lot of innocent people had died.

First Trial