Arthur was fifty, tired, and forgotten. He died in a sterile hospital room, a man who had played it safe and lost everything. But death wasn't the end. He wakes up in the body of an eight-year-old boy named Kaelen, in a world where the dirt is stained with blood and the "Middle Ages" are just beginning to crawl out of the dark.
Sold to the Order of the Obsidian Veil, Kaelen is forged into a weapon. But unlike the other orphans, Kaelen has the mind of a man who knows the value of a second chance. As the world transitions from tribal warring to civilized empires, Kaelen moves through the shadows, caught between a forbidden love with a deadly rival and a conspiracy that threatens to undo the very civilization they are building.

      The AI hesitated. "Your soul carries the 'Trace' the mutation of intent. You are a virus in the system, Kaelen."


"Then use me," Kaelen pleaded. "Upload my intent into the Reset protocol. Don't wipe the people. Wipe the machines. Destroy the Aether-tech and give them a chance to grow without the shortcut."


      The Archive hummed. It was a logical paradox. To save the world, the Archive had to destroy its own influence over it.


Outside, in the physical world, Silas was screaming. His mechanical arm was beginning to melt as the Archive's security firewalls fought his intrusion.


Chapter 55 - Chapter 55: The Viral Will