For decades, spiritualist Evert Kallstrom and his team have joined in humanity's millennia-long fight against the beasts. Wielding their weapons and their ki, they fought and killed these great threats to civilization. And yet, despite their efforts, humanity was losing traction in the war. In the last fifty years alone, more cities had been overrun than in all of known history.

While most thought the great beasts natural, a few knew the terrible truth. They were the product of a dark lord, who desired neither fame nor wealth nor power. Instead, his sole purpose was the genocide of humanity.

While their peers dithered, a small faction of the strongest mankind had to offer—including Evert Kallstrom and his team—set out towards the Deadlands to find and confront this dark lord. After weeks of travel, twenty-one spiritualists found themselves approaching an ancient fortress wherein rested a being known only as the Eastern Guardian.

All they found was death.

But death has other plans for Evert.

Evert bolts awake in his 16 year old body near his hometown, decades in the past. He is confused, poor and weak. But with grit, sweat, and years of experience, he won't let the future repeat itself. That level of strength won't be enough by itself (it wasn't last time) and victory is hardly assured (he'll need to reach farther and higher than he ever did), but Evert refuses to squander a second chance.

[Other tags: First Person POV, Hard Magic, Faulty Memory]

Volume 1 is complete and has been fully released. My current intention is not to write any sequel volumes. That said, I have also released appendices (SPOILERS) that cover the worldbuilding and future story-that-never-was.

Comments suggesting fixes for grammar, misspellings, etc. appreciated.

Note: If you came here from Candlelit Lives, these stories have nothing in common.