by curacao
Long ago, humanity ruled the world openly. Now it survives behind colossal walls and underground vaults on the Continent, where even leaves can kill, where Zones break the laws of nature, and where ancient powers still breathe beneath the soil, twisting the Causality itself. Simon Alighieri is a genius scholar, detective, and historian — a man who believes that every mystery has a structure. Trapped in safety, wealth, and intellectual stagnation, he longs for meaning beyond routine investigations and dead knowledge. Richard is his opposite in every conceivable way — an uncanny cult leader, who seemingly has no origin at all. When Richard finds the Essence, thought to exist only in myths, his body begins to decay while his power grows beyond human limits. The Red Essence consumes his Vitality, pushing him closer to death with every use and he must find a way to delay his demise. Forced into an uneasy alliance, the two men travel across the Continent — through cursed forests, dangerous Zones and ruined civilizations older than recorded history. Each seeks to outwit the other with layered schemes, half-truths, and calculated betrayals. But the world is watching. What begins as an adventure becomes a descent into forgotten epochs and the terrifying question of whether humanity was ever meant to survive its own greatness.
