Dark will stop at nothing to keep himself out of the Spider's tower of torture. At all costs, he will remain free from Kim's grasp.He has accepted a new quest, with incredible bonus objectives. If he completes the quest, he will receive the very thing he needs the most.Yet the more he progresses, the more impossible the task seems. Should he work day in and day out, with no food or rest, he still could not possibly complete it in time. The quest is a ravenous pit, consuming all of his time and effort, hour after hour, fight after fight.In order to have a chance, he must risk everything for equipment--and then once more risk everything for help. If his luck fails, he faces capture, betrayal, and total mental destruction.And even if he makes it, the road he chooses, the journey he risks, may not bring him to the place he hopes for...

Konoha Satou has a dark history. Although she’s not the only middle schooler who’s dreamed about romance and adventure, Satou takes it to the next level when she writes herself into a reincarnation fic as the main heroine. But little does she know, her fantasies will become reality when she wakes up in her Dark History! There’s just one small complication…Instead of playing the role of heroine, she’s the most despicable villainess—Konoha’s little sister, Iana. Which means if she wants to avoid tripping her own death flags, she’ll have to remember every last detail of her story…

* Instant New York Times Bestseller * Indie Bestseller * In this stunning new fantasy novel from international bestselling author C. S. Pacat, heroes and villains of a long-forgotten war are reborn and begin to draw new battle lines. This epic fantasy with high-stakes romance will sit perfectly on shelves next to beloved fantasy novels like the Infernal Devices series, the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and the Red Queen series. Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run, pursued by the men who killed his mother. Then an old servant tells him of his destiny to fight beside the Stewards, who have sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns. Will is thrust into a world of magic, where he starts training for a vital role in the oncoming battle against the Dark. As London is threatened and old enmities are awakened, Will must stand with the last heroes of the Light to prevent the fate that destroyed their world from returning to destroy his own. Like V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic and Shelby Mahurin’s Serpent & Dove, Dark Rise is more than just high intrigue fantasy—it’s fast-paced, action-packed, and completely surprising. Readers will love exploring the rich setting of nineteenth-century London. This thrilling story of friendship, deception, loyalty, and betrayal is sure to find a passionate audience of readers.

The End of the Kai of the Dark Legacy Cycle details the violent end of the Kai Order - an ancient, spiritual guild of warrior guardians and priestesses who have sworn their lives to protect the Oracle Queen of Atlantis - at the hands of Maniok, the being referred to as the "Great Evil" in the age-old Song of the Oracle King. It is a chronicle of Arkan, the last Kai guardian, and his desperate attempt to save the life of his priestess, who carries his unborn son, and his escape from Atlantis. Book I - Trinity is the story of Kieko, a lonely Lemurian boy of mixed blood who seeks to know more about his absent father's mysterious Atlantean past. Constantly bullied by Aiko, he eventually takes refuge with the village priest in the Kadek Temple, where he studies medicinal and culinary arts, calligraphy, and ultimately, the art of Ki sword. Under the tutelage of the priest, he comes to know the grim truth about his father and is prepared to face the horrific assault of the armies of the Atlantean Empire upon his humble world. And this is just the beginning . . .

Book I - Trinity of the Dark Legacy Cycle details the violent end of the Kai Order-an ancient, spiritual guild of warrior guardians and priestesses who have sworn their lives to protect the Oracle Queen of Atlantis-at the hands of Maniok, the being referred to as the "Great Evil" in the age-old Song of the Oracle King. It is a chronicle of Arkan, the last Kai guardian, and his desperate attempt to save the life of his priestess who carries his unborn son, and his escape from Atlantis. It is the story of Kieko, a lonely Lemurian boy of mixed blood who seeks to know more about his absent father's mysterious Atlantean past. Constantly bullied by Aiko, he eventually takes refuge with the village priest in the Kadek Temple where he studies medicinal and culinary arts, calligraphy, and ultimately, the art of Ki sword. Under the tutelage of the priest he comes to know the grim truth about his father, and is prepared to face the horrific assault of the armies of the Atlantean Empire upon his humble world. And this is just the beginning . . .

In an age of increasing specialization, horror anthologies have seemed to pick up on the trend. Zombie anthologies, vampire anthologies and post-apocalyptic anthologies are among the many that have sprung up of late creating an entire book filled with only one kind of story. But what are the roots of horror and what really frightens us? Bram Stoker Award-winning editors Del Howison and Jeff Gelb have gone back to the roots of our fears with a collection of horror of all types, new tales by the current masters of horror. Each story is a different disturbing dark narrative so that you never know what is coming for you next. After all, we really don’t know what is hiding in the dark, do we?

Reincarnation in America: An Esoteric History surveys the complex history of reincarnation theories across multiple fields of discourse in a pre-American context, ranging from early Greek traditions to Medieval Christian theories, Renaissance esotericism, and European Kabbalah, all of which had adherents that brought those theories to America. Rebirth theories are shown in all these groups to be highly complex and often disjunctive with mainstream religions even though members of conventional religions frequently affirm the possibility of rebirth. As a history of an idea, reincarnation theory is a current, vital belief pattern that cuts across a wide spectrum of social, cultural, and scientific domains in a long, complex history not reducible to any specific religious or theoretical explanation. This book is cross-disciplinary and multicultural, linking religious studies perspectives with science based research; it draws upon many distinct disciplines and avoids reduction of reincarnation to any specific theory. The underlying thesis is to demonstrate the complexity of reincarnation theories; what is unique is the historical overview and the gradual shift away from religious theories of rebirth to new theories that are therapeutic and trans-traditional.