Paradiso is a beautiful place. The only place.

For those who live on the Pillars, it's as the name implies. Paradise. They lead fruitful, safe, and mostly happy lives, tens of thousands of feet above the sickened earth.

But not for those that live in the Hole.

Emotions and concepts are given form by Aether, the energy that permeates the world. Reality bends from concentrated horror and despair. Barely comprehensible anomalies can appear at any time, twisting places, things, and people into unrecognizable beasts. What used to be wildlife is just as corrupted, monstrous, and predatorial. Billions live across Paradiso, scraping together what meager communities they can, governments and cities built in a pale imitation of what life looks like far above.

Leon was a nobleman. He was meant to be the head of one of the great six pillars, one of the grandest and most powerful human beings in the world.

But now, he's in the dirt with the rest of them. He's forced to contend with an unfamiliar world, one that devours hope and spits it out, chewed up and broken. He must become a Hunter, and slay as many anomalies as it takes to earn his way back up the Pillar, where he can take his rightful throne back.

A daunting task. Luckily for him, he's immortal.

Didn't initially plan to do one of these 'what to expect' sections, but I figure I probably should.

This story is heavily inspired by the works of Project Moon, and those familiar will know that the content warnings are not a joke.

The progression system is via Artifacts, items that give specific powers and equal drawbacks, being mixed and matched as the amount of them grows. However, this story isn't the type that will really dive into that and is far more focused on character and the world. Make no mistake, however, there will be psychological torment, bombastic battles, and deranged humor in somewhat equal measures.

The last thing to note is that the protagonist is a classist dick. He gets over it soon enough, so try not to let that turn you off. It's very much an intentional character flaw.