Death was meant to be an ending.

For Kael Verdan, it became a sentence.

After dying on Earth, Kael awakens in Erebos, a world ruled by predatory gods where reincarnated souls are judged, ranked, and discarded if deemed defective. Labeled a Hollowborn, he is given days to live—fodder for monsters and fuel for divine ascension.

But Kael carries a flaw the gods never intended.

He remembers every death.

Each time he is killed, his soul returns, scarred but sharper, learning the truth behind power, fear, and survival. In a world where death is currency and hope is a lie, Kael begins to exploit the very system designed to erase him.

As gods move to correct their mistake and kingdoms hunt the immortal anomaly, Kael walks a thin line between man and monster—using suffering as a weapon, resurrection as a tool, and despair as his path to ascension.

This is not a story about a hero.

This is the story of what happens when the world fails to kill the man it created.

I lay there, chest heaving, blood soaking into the stone beneath me. My hands shook violently.


Because something far away had noticed.


The red sky darkened slightly, clouds twisting into unfamiliar shapes.


I forced myself upright, every movement screaming protest. My body felt weaker now, not stronger—like resurrection had a cost it wasn't telling me yet.


"So I'm poison," I whispered. "To monsters."


Because poison doesn't stay ignored for long.


In the distance, more shapes began to stir—drawn by the disturbance, by my survival, by my refusal to disappear.


But away from where I had died the first time.


If this world wanted me erased, then fine.


I'd make sure it had to try harder next time.


Chapter 2 - CHAPTER 2