gaze

Author’s Letter  Dear reader, Before you begin, let me share a few words. The world you are about to enter is far larger than the first ten chapters I’ve written so far. It is not a fast‑food story. It is a slow‑burning tapestry of four novels plus a prequel – if all goes well, the total word count may exceed two million. This isn’t a boast about scale. It’s a confession: the beginning may feel slow. Some details ask for your patience. Some seeds planted here will not sprout until much later. I know the rhythm of most web fiction today – a small climax every three chapters, a big twist every ten. But this book is more like a kettle of water heating slowly over winter fire. It needs time to scald your heart. This is the life of one boy. From the age of seven, when he enters a “school that devours people,” he experiences love, loss, betrayal, sacrifice, and finally an ending you probably won’t see coming. He is not a power‑fantasy hero. He is just a child trying to survive in a dark world – and then he discovers that surviving is itself a form of rebellion. If you are willing to give him a little time, he will show you: · an academy built from bones, · children struggling in a brutal system, · a tragedy about those who have no choice, · and an ending that may keep you awake long after you close the page. This novel will be long, but every chapter exists for a reason. I also need your help. If you find anything poorly written, any logical holes, any character that feels off – please tell me. Criticism is the best gift. Thank you for opening this book. If you stay with it, I will use the next hundreds of thousands of words to prove that your patience was worth it. – mono