To Dream in a Dying World

Chapter : Chapter 0: Lore of a Decaying World



[This chapter is for people who need more context of the story, as well as having some vocabulary that will be used throughout the novel, and the power system. All of these things will be unveiled as the novel progresses so have in mind there are minor spoilers]

Power system:

In this place the strong do not only use swords or sorceries of their land, they open themselves to the forces of the unknown.

For one to achieve such a power they must meditate within the Realm, and call upon the forces of the world. Others also call upon deeper things that lurk in the void. If they succeed they are gifted with the power to weave the impossible into reality. Yet, all power comes at a price. Each incantation leaves a mark in some form, a whisper, a loss, a change...

And some of them do not fade.

Those who fail are doomed to weakness, though they might find strength in bargains

The Transitory Realm:

There exist places between the cracks of reality, places which were never meant to be seen. Within them exists a world between worlds, where time loses meaning. The Transitory Realm, some call it, though others say it isn't worthy of a name.

Many of them think that its a malignant force that consumes all that enters it. Others whisper and say its the dead dream of an ancient god.

The only known truth is that no one arrives here by accident.

The sun and sky are fractured, torn open like an old wound that never fully healed. The very ground shifts and reshapes itself , never fully solid beneath one's feet. Cities half-buried in dust and sand stand as monuments to civilizations that never existed, their streets empty and yet their windows filled with watchful presences. In the distance, things move—shapes too large, too strange to belong to anything human.

Yet, life persists.

Many wander these endless ruins, some searching for meaning, others for riches and others for dominion. Some say they were brought here for a purpose, to fulfill a certain role. But one thing is certain.

Nothing leaves unchanged.

And some never leave at all.

Things that lurk:

The Realm is filled with many strange creatures. Some are natural beings that have adapted to the harsh environment while others are less comprehensible things.

Transmigration aspect:

The Transitory Realm is a place that has always existed, due to this, it attracts many, from all kinds of places,like a black hole, slowly consuming those who enter it.

Symptoms start with visions of strange places one has never seen or visited before. Then, whispers. Once it reaches that stage it is too late. One day, the victim will have disappeared from their own world, as if they hadn't existed in the first place. Few will remember them.


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