BY STEVE LAUNSTEIN

Deep beneath the earth we know lies the forsaken city of Dreridge, a place so far removed from the surface that many believe only hell yawns deeper still. Whispers drift up through cracked stone and suffocating shadows, chilling reminders that something below is always listening. Here, chaos reigns, occasionally shackled by the brutal whims of the High Ruler, whose control is as unstable as the world itself.

Aethor has never expected much from life. Survival alone is a daily triumph. But when a cascade of unexpected and catastrophic events tears apart the fragile stability he once clung to, his path is violently thrust into darkness. Stripped of the little he had, he stands on the precipice of despair, the rot and ruin of Dreridge waiting to swallow him whole.

In the midst of his collapse, a mysterious entity emerges from the shadows with an extraordinary offer: power, knowledge, and the ability to bend his fate rather than be consumed by it. With nothing left to lose, Aethor accepts, and his world begins to unravel in ways he never imagined.

As he ventures beyond the familiar terror of his city, he uncovers truths long buried, secrets that challenge everything he believed about himself and the place he calls home. His journey becomes a perilous quest for identity and survival, pushing him to confront the horrors around him and the darkness rising within.