Once Ashula Aishar takes a life, she becomes unforgiving. Having lost her home and family, she is compelled to make a living by diving across the Border to retrieve lost items. One day, Ashula learns that her brother has vanished while on a quest for a powerful artifact, one capable of averting the world's destruction. Now, she is poised to embark on a dangerous journey to the Epicenter, the birthplace of an enigmatic Darkness. Meanwhile, she finds herself ensnared in a web of secrets, intrigues, and conspiracies, intertwined with Noah, a shaman she summoned from the underworld. What awaits them beyond the Border? Will Ashula be able to save her brother in time? And crucially, what is this "Darkness," and how did it come into existence?
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Format: Paperback, A5 size
Color: Black and white illustrations
Volume: 420 pages
Price: 285 UAH
Paper: White offset
Publisher: BookBand
The Krio Empire has unearthed a mysterious new energy source known as "sakhma." Armed with this potent discovery, Krio has dominated nearly the entire continent. However, an explosion at the sakhma extraction station catalyzed unprecedented cataclysms.
Every individual within the affected zone succumbed to a strange illness, gradually mutating into monsters—or simply disintegrating to ash. Concurrently, an anomalous phenomenon known as Darkness, akin to a perpetual night, shrouded the entire world. The same explosion also gave rise to the Border, a protective barrier shielding the unaffected world from radiation and devastation.
Now, the Darkness reemerges annually, ushering in chimeras. The only defense resides in the lighthouses of Alvia, which repel the monstrous invaders from the cities.
Over subsequent centuries, the world has adapted to coexisting with chimeras. A new profession, "divers," emerged—adventurers who journey beyond the Border to retrieve valuable artifacts for profit. Yet it seems the devastation has merely paused; the Border has only postponed the inevitable encroachment of Darkness.
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Having taken a life, Ashula Aishar lost her home and now ekes out a living as a diver — a mercenary who braves the regions beyond the Border to retrieve lost items in exchange for money. However, her world tilts on its axis when she learns of her brother's disappearance. He was last known to be in pursuit of a potent artifact, believed to hold the power to dispel the Darkness and restore balance to the world.
The Darkness, a sinister, dual-natured phenomenon, is both a natural occurrence and a lingering consequence of a catastrophic technological disaster that transpired three centuries prior. The world's last bulwark against the encroaching Darkness is the Border, an enigmatic entity as puzzling as the menace it keeps at bay. Beyond the Border dwell the chimeras, unfortunate beings who were exposed to radiation during the cataclysm and subsequently transformed.
Like a foreboding omen, the Darkness returns annually, a chilling reminder of the impending doom that the world stands against.
The Darkness returns annually.
Ashula Aishar, once an outcast, has only one ally in the world: her brother, Asher. He has supported and helped her unconditionally throughout the years. However, when Asher disappears during his quest for a powerful artifact, Ashula's world shatters. To save him, she must embark on a perilous journey to the Epicenter, a location reputed as a point of no return.
Along the way, Ashula becomes embroiled in a web of secrets, intrigues, and conspiracies. Her sole aid in this venture is Noah, a shaman she summons from the underworld. Together, they must navigate the treacherous realms beyond the Border, confronting dangerous chimeras and other perils in their path.
As Ashula and Noah push forward in their journey, a barrage of questions haunts them: What awaits them beyond the Border? Can Ashula reach Asher in time to save him? Who is behind the horrifying experiments on the children of Venice? What is the true nature of the Darkness that envelops the world? How did it come into being?
Their search for answers unravels even as they venture deeper into the heart of danger.
In the wake of the Darkness, our world was irrevocably altered. Knowledge we once held was lost to the ether, and we were compelled to seek shelter from the chimeras that now run rampant in our cities. For centuries, the Border has been our sole bastion of safety - a barrier of unknown origins, segregating our realm from the dominion of the monsters. However, this protective shield is now dissipating. Faced with this reality, we must learn to adapt, coexist, and somehow thrive alongside a force beyond our comprehension and power. This is a time for survival, resilience, and an unwavering hope that our world can regain some semblance of balance amidst the enveloping Darkness.
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