Rewind: A Grimdark LitRPG Series (Pyresouls Apocalypse, Book 1) by James Callum (reading tree .txt) 📕

sea of clouds below. Jacob rushed into the dust and debris that the impact threw up, hiding him from the Stone Giant up above.

He breathed a sigh of relief once he passed. Normally it would have taken several throws to get the timing down but he felt confident enough that he could slip through unnoticed.

The path to the Pyre was clear.

Nestled at the mouth of a cave that led deep into the nameless mountain range protecting the Forbidden Kingdom, the Pyre was the first step along a very long and treacherous road.

There were a lot of choices to make once he rested at the Pyre.

Ever since he was a kid he had always been impatient. Everything always took too long. Learning patience had been long and painful.

But with no enemies ahead of him and a fully regenerated Stamina bar, Jacob indulged his younger self by sprinting all the way along the narrow mountain trail until he reached the cold embers of the Pyre.

Breathing hard, he didn’t wait to catch his breath or recover his Stamina. The Pyre would do that for him. Jacob reached a hand over the pile of ash and low glowing embers. Something inside him flared with warmth and a spark of light fell from his palm into the ash below.

The embers flared to life, a blazing Pyre leaped into being. And most important, the small ferret-like creature wreathed in fire began to wake up and shake off the ages of ash that coated his thick fur.

Pyre Ignited.

Your respawn location has been set to the Razor Pass.

The Fire Oppa stokes the embers of your conviction.

Health, Stamina, and Spell Gems restored.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!” cried the little fire ferret. He sauntered out of the fire a few inches to sit at Jacob’s feet. “How long has it been?”

Jacob stared, nonplussed. That wasn’t what the creature said his first playthrough. He couldn’t remember precisely what the little creature said. Who could after a decade? But it sure as hell wasn’t that. He was greeting Jacob like an old friend.

Looking down at the adorable thing beside him, Jacob sat down at the fire’s edge. The warmth of it spread throughout his body. And though he wasn’t grievously injured, the instant he ignited the Pyre any wounds vanished.

More than the soothing sensation of being freed from his injuries though was the soul-calming effect of the Pyre. He had forgotten how good it felt to be warm.

“You remember me?” he asked tentatively, brushing aside his sweat-plastered hair.

The ferret got up on his paws and circled the Pyre before coming over to rest at Jacob’s feet once more. “Why wouldn’t I?” As if suddenly realizing that this was strange, the creature looked around. “This isn’t the first Pyre you’ve awoken. But that-” The little creature narrowed beady eyes at Jacob as if he was playing a trick the ferret didn’t find funny. “Something is wrong here.”

“What do you mean?” Jacob asked, doing his best to hide his shock. His heart began to pound in his chest. The adorable little creature called himself Fire Oppa and was remarkably cagey about his origins whenever Jacob had asked in his last playthrough.

At the time he figured it was just a clever way of introducing a cute NPC that was meant to be more utility than story focused. But if Lormar was real, and all the creatures and characters within were also real… then that meant that the Fire Oppa wasn’t just an NPC but a real mystical creature.

“This is the wrong order of events,” Fire Oppa squeaked. He rose up onto all four paws and padded back and forth, leaving tiny fiery paw prints in the stone. “We have done this before. You and me. Only you… are not you.”

He had never hoped to find an ally within Pyresouls or in any of the other players. Briefly, he considered trying to tell people about the reality of Pyresouls and the horrors that were to come but who would believe him?

Either he would seem like somebody trying to spread fear and doubt to get people to quit and increase his chances, or he would be labeled as insane. That was even worse than being a Savage. At least if he kept his mouth shut he might survive some of the Crossings coming up.

If people thought he was insane they’d either attack him openly out of annoyance or they would go out of their way to avoid him. And cooperation was the best way to survive the deadly Crossings.

Even if he told Alec everything he knew about him, how likely was he to listen to him? If he could even find him. Each person had their own shard, a reality that was all their own. Other players could invade or be invited in to help but aside from the Crossings, most players were kept separate.

The large worldwide guilds were screwed over hardest and it was the best-kept secret of the competition. Altis let the best guilds organize all they wanted and prepare to steamroll the content in well-disciplined groups. People studied ancient warfare tactics like phalanxes and shield walls all to no avail.

Group tactics were useless without a group.

The likelihood that you would come across members of your guild was vanishingly small considering there was no way to contact each other. There was no in-game mail or messaging. No way of organizing beyond meeting somebody at a Crossing in-person and asking.

And the risk of approaching somebody was high. Would they kill you for your Souls or would they be willing to hear you out? Nobody really knew and aside from specific puzzles and monsters, most people stayed out of each other’s way.

The Fire Oppa was still staring at Jacob as he pulled himself out of his thoughts. “How do you know I’m different?” he asked.

“I’m a mystical creature of fire that can instantly heal all your wounds, recover your Stamina, craft items, bring you back from the dead, and you question how I can