Hey everyone,

First off, I owe you all a sincere apology for the silence. It's been over 45 days since my last update, and I know I should have kept you all in the loop. Life, writing, and creative direction took me down a different path, and I wasn’t able to return here as quickly as I intended. I truly appreciate your patience, support, and all the energy you’ve put into following Ethan Vale’s journey.

Now, I have some exciting news that I think you’ll love. Over the past several weeks, I’ve been pouring everything I’ve got into a new book called Ascendant Trials. This project emerged from the countless drafts, rewrites, and experiments that I started after Ascension of the Cursed One. Through over 100,000 words of careful rewrites, crossing out what didn’t fit, and constantly improving, I’ve ended up with a new book that feels like everything I wanted this world to be.

Ascendant Trials is where I took all the good from Ascension of the Cursed One, stripped out the grimness, and injected a lot more fun, humor, and adventure. Each chapter is now around 4000 words—about four times the length of the previous chapters here—because I wanted to go deeper, make every moment more engaging, and deliver a much richer experience for you all. The tone is lighter, the humor is sharper, and the adventures are bigger and bolder. I believe you'll find it much more entertaining and immersive.

I want to invite you personally to come along for the ride. If you enjoyed Ethan Vale, I think you’re really going to love what I’ve done with Ascendant Trials. It’s full of twists, challenges, and the humor that makes the struggle feel worth it. I’d love for you to give it a shot, and I’m confident that you’ll notice the leap in quality and excitement. You can find Ascendant Trials right here on RoyalRoad: Ascendant Trials.

I also want to give a huge shoutout to some of you who made a real difference in shaping this new book:

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

* Orion5455v2: Thank you so much for your incredible consistency in thanking me after every chapter. Your constant encouragement made it so much easier to keep writing and pushing through. I hope you'll give Ascendant Trials a try—you've been there from the start, and I think you'll love where this journey has led.

* Mistree: You mentioned in Chapter 3 that the story felt hard to read because of the structure, with every sentence getting its own line. I took that feedback to heart, and I made sure to improve the flow in Ascendant Trials. The new book is written with much more natural pacing and readability, and I’d love for you to see how far it’s come.

* Weavervale: I remember you were reading Chapter 1 when you commented, and I hope you enjoyed what you read. Ascendant Trials takes that foundation and builds something even more compelling and fun—come and see where the journey leads next!

* Kash: Your feedback on Chapter 5 was honest and insightful. You pointed out that some decisions didn’t make sense, and that really pushed me to make sure that the character motivations were clearer and the plot flowed logically. I made sure to avoid those pitfalls in Ascendant Trials, and I think you’ll notice the difference. Thank you for your constructive critique—it helped make the new story so much better.

For those of you still hoping for a return to Ascension of the Cursed One, I promise you this: I fully intend to revisit this story when I’m ready. I want to ensure that I bring the best version of Ethan Vale’s journey to life, and when the time comes, I’ll be back with a fresh, less dark, more exhilarating continuation of his path. Until then, I hope you’ll consider Ascendant Trials as the next step in our shared adventure.

Thank you so much for sticking with me through the ups and downs. I know this has been a long wait, but I hope Ascendant Trials can be the story that captures your imagination and makes it all worthwhile. Please give it a try—I’d love to hear your thoughts.

As always, feel free to drop a comment, share your feedback, or even just say hi. Your words keep me going, and I’m so grateful to have you all here.

Stay on your Path, and Ascend.

~ Stardust Nexus

P.S. You can find Ascendant Trials on RoyalRoad right here: Ascendant Trials. I'd love for you to check it out and join me on this new adventure!