So, unfortunately as part of my contract with Kindle Unlimited and conflicts with Amazon, book one must be removed from royalroad. The expected release for book one will be on September 20 of this year under the name A Blade Through Time. I will be posting the first draft of book two Phoenix Burn on here for those interested in continuing.

Book one:

Kindle Pre-Order

Audible Pre-Order

Thanks for everyone's continued support! I won't shill book one too hard and beg you to SMASH that like and subscribe button or anything, but if you do want to support me and see an edited version of the book, feel free to buy it or take a look on Kindle Unlimited once it's up. Mostly it's smoothing over some plotholes, extending some overly abrupt scenes like Sensi vs the Captain, adding a little worldbuilding, etc.

I've recently sought medication for my ADHD and as a result writing has become significantly easier than ever, and my outlining on book two has progressed fantastically. I won't commit to periodic posting, as the way I write tends to be disjointed and I don't want to sacrifice quality over becoming some Patreon writer pumping out chapters to meet a deadline. The financial aspect is not a significant motivator to me (sorry, publisher), I just want others to enjoy my work.

I considered posting book two under a separate page altogether, but keeping everything under this page may make more sense logistically.

Here is a link to a sample from the audiobook, read by the excellent Eric Michael Summerer:

http://sndup.net/mwjv

Recap:

In book one, our sullen main character Leones is "paying attention" to one of his tutor's lectures when a pair of Magisters arrive at his family manor. Claiming they are dispensing justice due to his father's heresy, they burn down his home with Leones still inside. After his death, Leones reawakens an hour earlier, unsure if he has just experienced a nightmare. As events unfold exactly as they did in his 'dream', he comes to understand he is repeating the same event. He reveals this to his father he seems to have gained the ability to reverse time, who encourages him to flee to Odena, and seek refuge with the philosphers.

Aided by some of his father's friends, Leones is able find passage towards the City of Music. Along the way he experiments with his newfound powers, learning his limitations. After resting in the city, he heads towards the Verdant Gardens, home to the Odenan philosophers. There he encounters a man who calls himself Brother Augur, and after judicious use of his power convinces the man to sponsor his apprenticeship. Shortly afterwards he is introduced to three of his peers: the even more sullen Felix, who has a massive chip on his shoulder; Mara, a young and teasing woman; and Caedius, Mara's insecure lover, who despite his posturing is friendly enough.

The philosophers lack the standard curriculum of a proper institution like the Academia. Instead, Leones is free to pursue his own interests and listen in on impromptu lessons from the philosophers. He decides to study the swordfighting style known as the legato under blademaster Avarus; also attending the lessons are Caedius and Felix, the latter of which proves to be a prodigy of the blade. Initially cold and aloof, Leones warms up to the others over time, discovering even Felix has a hidden side that loves to drink and gamble.

Early snow begins to fall, somewhat of an anomaly in this part of the Civilized Lands. And it does not stop.

Brother Augur teaches Leones a method to assist with his memory and influence on the Mental Realm; while exploring it, Leones discovers some eldritch being is observing him from a void beyond time and space. Brother Augur warns that one of the demon lords known as the Goetia must have taken an interest in Leones, and to avoid them if possible.

Leones begins to join Felix in gambling, particularly at a high-class opium den known as Amelie in Yellow. Intrigued by its mysteries, including the owner Philosopher Sensi, he begins to waste more of his days at the establishment. There he meets one of Felix's childhood friends, Lyra Incada, and begins a casual relationship with her. Settling into a familiar rhythm, his early drive to improve and avenge his family begins to falter. During one visit to Amelie in Yellow, he encounters what he suspects is a demon, even though he is not able to find it again even if he reverses time to that exact moment. He stops hearing back from Lyra, and pays a visit to her, discovering her brutally slaughtered remains.

He reports the body to one of the children of the Archon of Sound, a man known as Barrow, the North Wind. Also present is the greatest swordsman within a hundred miles, a dandy known as Champion Jokul. He later learns that Felix, more cold and distant than ever, intends to join The Games, a monthly gladiatorial event to showcase some of the best fighters in the city.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Leones and some of his fellow disciples attend The Games to support him. There, he learns that instead of the usual combat bouts, the fighters instead are to execute demons. Most of the crowd is horrified and flees, though some, including Leones, stay to watch in morbid fascination. Several demon priests are executed, and instead of participating in a glorious fight, Felix is one of the executors. To conclude, Champion Jokul fights the demon that Leones noticed earlier in Amelie in Yellow, slaying it.

Later that night, Leones heads to Amelie in Yellow to speak with Felix. There he also encounters Champion Jokul, and in a pique of inspiration asks why the man is conspiring with demons. Jokul attempts to kill Leones, but he is able to escape by reversing time. For some reason, after Leones escapes, he loses all memory of what had occurred at the gambling den---including the existence of his friend, Felix.

Unsettled and unsure why, Leones continues about his life. Soon after, he discovers a Magister and some soldiers have been alerted to his existence in Odena. He lays a trap and manages to kill them. Such an act of brutality suddenly reawakens his memories of Felix and Amelie in Yellow. He heads there to investigate the abnormality and after stepping foot inside, finds himself trapped within an inescapable boundary.

There he discovers the remaining clientele of the gambling den, including his friend Felix, along with a sinister demon known as the Captain holding them hostage. A white sword of unknown origin is impaled through the demon's chest.

Felix claims they are within a tesseract, a self-contained time loop that slowly drives everyone insane. Unable to escape on his own, he meets Philosopher Sensi and agrees to travel to Desolada, the Realm of the Goetia, and make a pact with the demon within to ensure their freedom.

In a psychedelic trance, our MC encounters the Lord of the Void, Paimon, who grants him power in exchange for his loyalty. After returning back to reality, Leones uses his newfound void powers to help unravel the space-time construction that is housing them. The Captain goes on a rampage, killing Philosopher Sensi, before Leones is able to unravel the tesseract. Shocked by its failure and knowing that soon the Archon will be aware of what happened there, the Captain kills itself. Sensing its power, Leones takes the peculiar white sword from the demon's chest.

Afterwards, Leones attempts to flee the city, certain that he wants nothing to do with whatever happens next. He is pursued by Barrow, the North Wind, who reveals he is allied with the demons. Leones kills him to escape, but this puts a target on his back: Zephyr, the West Wind, hunts him down and forces him to return to the city as a hostage. As they return to the city, Leones realizes to his horror a tesseract has been erected around the entirety of Odena.

There, he attempts to warn Vasely, the Archon of Sound, about what is occurring. He is kept as a prisoner, and shortly afterwards a full-scale demonic invasion begins within the trapped city. As many of the forces depart the palace, Leones takes the opportunity to reunite with the also-captured Felix and break free. Together they are able to defeat their captor Champion Jokul, though upon escaping they are thrust into a city on the verge of invasion. After demonstrating a significant increase in his abilities, Felix admits that he too has bonded with one of the Goetia to ensure his own survival---the demon lord who erected the tesseracts in the first place.

They escape back to the Verdant Gardens, reuniting with Brother Augur, who dispatches several demon scouts with a bizarre ability to teleport and manipulate space. He helps them back to the other survivors, assuring their safety, though color begins to bleed from the world around them.

Leones learns that the purpose of the tesseract is to merge the City of Music with Desolada, creating a bridge between the two realms from which demons can emerge. And when that bridge is complete, one of the greatest lords of the Goetia, Astaroth, plans to step foot into the world of Savra. As the realms continue to merge, Leones learns that Brother Augur is behind the nefarious plot, and has been building towards this moment for a long time.

Elsewhere in the city, a General emerges, able to resurrect itself in the body of anyone killed in its presence. Archon Vasely fights with the demon, overpowering it easily, but never able to destroy it. Haunted by memories from his past and knowing how useless his fight is, the Archon summons a massive cyclone down into the city, destroying the area and killing himself. From his corpse, the General returns to life.

As the merging nears completion, Leones confronts Brother Augur, who reveals the tesseract is part of some grand design, and Leones would do the same in his situation. They find themselves sitting with the Amphitheater in a parody of the earlier Games, with the General leading the ceremony meant to summon Astaroth. Felix emerges onto the sands and, after declaring his loyalty to Astaroth, sacrifices himself.

As the end nears, Brother Augur takes the white sword that Leones has been carrying and claims he will handle matters. Leones loses consciousness as Astaroth's form begins to descend toward them.

In the final chapter, it is revealed that Brother Augur is some alternate version of Leones himself. While Astaroth has managed to descend, taking over Felix's body to do so, he is unable to take action for over seven decades. Brother Augur, present at the newly-descended demon lord's side, reveals that he has engineered events to bring them both to this moment, in a realm where he controls both time and space. There, they will be trapped together for eternity, and Astaroth will no longer be free to plague the multiverse of mortals.

The epilogue reveals that Brother Augur comes from a future, alternate reality in which Astaroth succeeded in his plans. His world has been frozen in time, and he is the only mortal still living with within that universe. Left to wander for eternity, he eventually discovers mention of one of the secret Goetia, the Ruler of Space, Morningstar. Book one concludes with him summoning Morningstar's presence, presumably to lead to the events in which he escapes his own universe and can influence a parallel one.

And here we begin, in that chaos.

If this ending looks unfamiliar to you, you missed me posting the revised ending starting shortly after Leones and Felix defeat Jokul and return to the Gardens. Shoot me a PM and I'll send you a link to read it so you can get up to date.