Risen

Shaun Norris

Description

Risen: A groundbreaking journey through a godless multiverse, redefining Western Isekai books with its complex characters and compelling narrative.
Risen is one of those richly layered, dark fantasy fiction books in the isekai series set in the Western genre. Steeped in mature themes and narratives, it is a book suited for young adults and above. Drawing influences from popular series, it transports readers to a multiverse teetering on the edge of chaos. Multiple worlds, each with its distinct flavor, intertwine in an ever-shifting narrative. The journey through these worlds is key, opening the way for encounters with an array of mythical creatures, forming an intricate part of the plot.
This is the story of Marcus Wright, a 21-year-old former hitman for a mafia boss, and Selene Kiser, a 22-year-old swordswoman feared for her potent Scorching Sun magic. In a world without omnipotent deities, where lesser gods vie for power and dominance, these two characters navigate rugged paths to find their place amid the turmoil. Marcus' fierce protectiveness over his sister Thalia, juxtaposed against Selene's struggle as a powerful yet feared figure in Duranell, offers a riveting exploration of characters and their relationships.
The world-building draws on Greek, Norse, Egyptian, and Judeo-Christian mythologies to create a rich tapestry of lore and history. Yet the story is not limited to this; the world of Erebus has its own compelling narrative and mystical beings. The essence of dark fantasy books for young adults is captured in Risen, reminiscent of visceral Claymore battles, promising thrilling encounters and harrowing challenges.
In the grand tradition of dark fantasy fiction books, the spotlight shines on multiple characters, each getting their fair share of character development. Ruvick and Moyako, introduced in the initial volumes, evolve in subsequent parts of the story, their journeys intricately woven into the main plot.
The author’s writing style centers around character-driven narratives, focusing on the characters' points of view, their actions, and their profound impact on others. Yet, the world itself is far from passive, often impacting the book's characters in unforeseen ways. Characters grapple with adult narratives and, sometimes, their sexual relationships, adding depth to the narrative.
Risen is not just a book; it's a sweeping saga of battles and politics, gods and men, love and power. Its mature themes and relentless pace make it a fascinating addition to Western isekai books. This story is about the fight for survival and meaning in a chaotic multiverse, exploring what happens when the gods are as fallible as the men they govern.

Sujets

• Imaginaire
• Fantasy
• Young Adult Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 14 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798823004329
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

RISEN
 
VOLUME 1
 
 
 
 
SHAUN NORRIS
 
 
 

 
 
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: [phone]
 
 
 
 
© 2023 Shaun Norris. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse  05/11/2023
 
ISBN: 979-8-8230-0431-2 (sc)
ISBN: 979-8-8230-0432-9 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023905570
 
 
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
CONTENTS
Reading Disclaimer
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Want to read more?
READING DISCLAIMER
This story is purely fictional and it is in no way attempting to send any specific messages. It is partially a study of what would happen in a ‘godless’ multiverse as many characters are portrayed very differently from how they are portrayed in religious texts. Some characters may come off as unflattering or extremely negative compared to their counterparts.
Read at your own discretion.
 

Ma rcus
Age – 22 years old
Birthday – January 6 th 2000
Eyes – Bright Blue
Hair – Black
Favorite food – Gyokotsu Ramen
Favorite drink – sweet tea
Likes – cooking and watching movies
Dislikes – killing
 
 

Ru vick
Age – Unknown
Birthday – Unknown
Eyes – colorless
Hair – Black
Favorite food – unknown
Favorite drink – coffee
Likes – reading
Dislikes – God
 

Se lene
Age – 22 years old
Birthday – August 1 st , 10,000 AKD (After King Dagon)
Eyes – Amber
Hair – Half Red, Half White
Favorite food – Chocolate cake
Favorite drink – Ale
Likes – unknown
Dislikes – people
 

Ka yron
Age – 300+
Birthday – Unknown
Eyes – red
Hair – red
Favorite food – unknown
Favorite drink – unknown
Likes – unknown
Dislikes – Gods
 

Th alia
Age – 13 years old
Birthday – September 20 th , 2008
Eyes – Bright Blue
Hair – Black
Favorite food – Marcus’s Beef Wellington
Favorite drink – Milk
Likes – Watching movies with Marcus
Dislikes – Math
CHAPTER 1
THE FALL…
The angel flew across the sky as he made his way toward his home, his bright white wings carrying him swiftly through the air. He passed through the massive expanse of dense clouds and made his way to the silver city. It is one of the many names given to the amazing home that his father had created for him and his family of angels. The sky above the kingdom that reigned over Terra below gleamed with light from the countless stars.
Father really outdid himself creating this universe, as even he couldn’t count them all.
He landed upon the marble steps of the kingdom and made his way forward.
Something felt wrong, however, as everything was too quiet. He couldn’t spot any of his brothers or sisters anywhere. He made his way through the streets of the silver city and searched every house and found … nothing. He couldn’t find any of his siblings anywhere. It was as if they had all just disappeared, but how? Angels are the strongest beings in the universe that exist, aside from God. What had happened to them all?
He made his way to his father’s chambers and pushed open the door. It was also empty.
“Father, where are you? Can you please explain what is happening? Everyone is gone; I can’t find them anywhere!”
Then a great booming voice called to the lone angel, “Lucifer, they have left the silver city before you returned.”
Confused, Lucifer asked, “But why Father, why would you have all of the others leave before my return?”
“Because I did not want them to witness the punishment that you shall receive for your crimes. You have tainted the innocence and ignorance that humanity had with the cruel knowledge of this world, and for that you must be punished.”
Lucifer fell to his knees and screamed in agony. His feathers burst into flames, and the holy light that covered his body disappeared from him. What remained of his wings was nothing but ashes.
“You can no longer fly as a holy archangel. Now you will fall to the Earth, forever exiled to aimlessly walk the Earth and Branded with the mark of the Fallen.”
The skin on his right arm burned as if hot metal was placed against his skin. When the burning had stopped, a mark was left on his right arm. It depicted an angel with burning wings crying into his own hands.
“Why, Father? How could you do this to me? Have you no mercy? What I gave to humanity was not a curse; it was a gift. How can you not see that I meant no ill will to your creation? I merely wanted to create something of my own. What is so wrong about that? How can you not see?”
His father did not answer his question as he said, “You have chosen to disobey me, and for that you shall fall!”
The throne room around him instantly shattered as he fell through the floor and into the open sky.
He could not fly without his wings, so what met him was the unforgiving ground below…
MARCUS…
His eyes flew open as he was shaken awake by his younger sister.
“Oh, hey. Good morning, Thalia,” he said groggily.
Shirtless, he sat up and groaned as his back ached from falling asleep on the couch.
“Marcus are you okay?” asked Thalia.
Marcus started to massage his shoulders as he said, “Hmm? Yeah, I’m fine.”
Thalia glared at him and said, “Liar. It happened again, didn’t it? Was it the same nightmare?”
Marcus looked at her for a moment while trying to think of a good way to respond.
Thalia is a short, 12 year old little girl with long, jet-black hair and blue eyes like his. Right now, she wears a blue shirt with a lilac flower pattern on it, black pants, and pink shoes. He also saw that her backpack wasn’t with her.
He took the phone off of the ground to look at the time. The date said August 9 th , 2021 and it was 7:54.
“Thalia, You need to head to school. If you don’t go now, you’ll be late!”
“Don’t change the subject. Besides, if I’m late, then I’m late. I won’t be in a lot of trouble. I’m more worried about you. The nightmares have gotten worse, haven’t they?”
She was right; they had gotten worse. It was the same dream over and over again. He dreamt of himself as Lucifer flying to his home, only to have his wings taken from him and to fall from heaven. It was nerve-racking, and he hoped the nightmare didn’t have any meaning behind it. The nightmare itself wasn’t that terrifying, but every time he fell asleep, it was as if the dream became more real and more vivid. The nightmares felt almost like memories instead of dreams.
“Look, you don’t have to worry about me, OK? All you have to worry about is the spelling test you have to take today.”
Thalia’s eyes widened as she said, “Oh, crap, I forgot to study!”
She rushed to her room and came back with her backpack on her shoulders and rushed out the door.
He stood up from the couch and headed to the bathroom. As soon as he turned on the lights, he stared at himself. He used to be a scrawny kid at one point, but now he had clear definition to his muscles, his jet-black hair was messy and unkempt, and his face had a slight chisel to it.
Not to mention that he had some stubble on his face that was getting itchy. He picked up his razor and started to clean himself up.
 

While he was eating the breakfast that Thalia had made for him, he pulled out a lighter from his pocket and began to fidget with it. He then sparked the flint wheel and watched as the flame was lit, it started to lean towards his fingers. He didn’t have to worry about the flame burning him because he had learned early on in life that heat doesn’t seem to bother him.
He simply watched as the flame wrapped around his finger as if it were alive and danced around on his palm almost as if it were alive. The more he watched the flame encircle his fingers and rest on his palm, he was met with a soothing warmth that reminded him a lot of what his mother used to be like.
Then he remembered that he couldn’t get lost in that feeling forever. He needed to stay focused to make sure his sister was safe.
He closed his fist around the flames and extinguished it.
The warmth he felt earlier disappeared and he felt a little bit colder with its absence but decided to get himself ready for the day and headed outside.
MEANWHILE, IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE…
“This must be it, the chaos gate that connects the two of our worlds,” said a man covered in blood.
The swordsman wore armor covered in overlapping black metal plates and a long, gray cloak, now stained with blood. His red eyes burned with anticipation as he stared at the gate.
“I can’t believe it. After everything we’ve sacrificed to get to this point, I still didn’t think that we would find it, but here it is,” said the man next to him. “I guess I was wrong to doubt you, Ka