In a fractured world where echoes of ancient power still shape the fates of nations, the land of Elysium clings to a fragile peace. Within its towering walls, mortals bask in the light bestowed by the Goddess, a beacon that shields them from the chaos and darkness beyond. Yet beneath this veneer of calm, shadows stir, whispering of a time when darkness reigned supreme—and the remnants of that era threaten to unravel the world anew. Abad-Shai, once feared as the Black Flame, was born of the Dark Lord’s essence—a living weapon of destruction, cursed to bear the legacy of an unrelenting conqueror. His reign ended when a Hero chosen by the Goddess shattered his ambitions and cast him into centuries of dreamless slumber. Now, awakened in the hollow remnants of his vault, Abad is stripped of the power that once defined him. Haunted by the weight of his past and longing to break free from his dark inheritance, he embarks on a journey to reclaim his stolen treasures and rebuild himself—not as the terror of the realms, but as something entirely new. But the world refuses to let Abad fade into obscurity. His awakening stirs forces beyond his understanding, and he soon unravels a dire series of events that threaten to end all things—a cataclysm that his very existence may have set in motion. To avert disaster, Abad must make an impossible choice: remain free and let the world burn, or tether himself to the moment of his first death, reliving the days leading to the apocalypse in a desperate bid to change its course. With each loop, the lines between the monster he was and the man he hopes to become blur. Can Abad defy the chains of fate and forge a path beyond the shadow of the Dark Lord, or will the cycle of destruction claim him once more? Core Story Elements Dark High Fantasy Slow Progression Low Power Ceiling Slice of Life Moments Worldbuilding Numbers-Lite LitRPG Anti-Hero MC System Native MC (Isekai World, Native Inhabitant MC) Reflective Tone Regression+Time Loop Focus on Loss, Overcoming the Past, Personal Flaws, and Finding Meaning (Loss is a Major Theme in Book 1) Third Person Limited POV (Very Few Perspective Shifts, Generally Limited to Dreams Relevant to the Plot or Moments Where an External View of the MC Is Meaningful) Romantic Elements (Slow-Burn Relationships, Flings, Fade to Black Adult Dynamics) No Harems Planned, but Maybe a Triangle Eventually If these elements interest you, please read and enjoy! This series is a dark fantasy LitRPG with slice-of-life elements. The progression and plot are intended to be slow, interspersed with adventure, exploration, mystery, and romantic elements. That's my goal here. I also want to write a story where the "bad guy" slowly realizes what it's like for the people on the ground. The normal people. I want the story to be about growth, inside and out. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy it! And if you like this one, check out my side series Zero to Hero. It's about a down-on-his-luck diamond in the rough doing the best he can while having fun along the way. Now that Writathon is over, I'm planning to publish six days a week, every day but Saturday. I may occasionally drop an extra chapter on weekends, but as of now, I need to schedule a day off so I don't burn out and possibly build a little backlog too.