Death: Genesis

In pursuit of his abusive father’s approval, Zeke Blackwood pushed himself to the very pinnacle of his chosen obsession. Since childhood, all he’d ever wanted to do was play baseball, and through hard work, discipline, and no small degree of talent, his goal of reaching the major leagues was finally in sight. But then a horrific car accident ruined his arm, eliminating any hope of a professional baseball career. Consumed by depression, Zeke gave up on his future, preferring to wallow in self-pity. That is, until an opportunity came along for him to prove his worth.

On Earth, Zeke Blackwood was a star athlete who devoted his every waking minute to baseball . . . before his tragic death and the devastation of the planet. Eons later, he was resurrected in a magical realm known as the Radiant Isles. There, Zeke survived two years of unrelenting combat through sheer grit and determination. Battling trolls in a labyrinth of caverns, he gained superhuman abilities with every victory, ultimately equipping him for a war between good and evil.

Chosen by the enigmatic deity Oberon to be a soldier in a war between good and evil, Zeke Blackwood has become one of the deadliest warriors in the Radiant Isles. With supernatural strength and otherworldly resilience, he’s carved a path of destruction through the realm, defeating both horrifying monsters and skilled sorcerers and acquiring devastating powers no mere human could ever hope to control. Determined to apply his abilities to protecting his companions, Zeke has run afoul of the Isles’ elite—otherworldly beings revered as demigods.

For years, Zeke Blackwood fought tooth and nail to defend the powerless and avenge the fallen, becoming one of the strongest people in the world and a match for any monster or magic-wielding sorcerer in the Radiant Isles. One life-or-death battle after another forged him into the ideal solder, meant for a war between good and evil. But when an encounter with the demon realm leaves him transformed, his body shattered, he's forced to follow a far more dangerous path.

Zeke Blackwood was one of the most powerful beings in the Radiant Isles, wielding supernatural abilities earned through countless battles. A unique fusion of human and demon, he waded through oceans of blood as he fought against a tide of undeath that consumed the hearts and souls of everyone it touched. Now, with the Isles lost, Zeke and his companions have ascended to the Eternal Realm. Transformed by their ascent and scattered across the lands, each must endure their own trials as they struggle to cope with their new powers in an unfamiliar world.

To his dwarven captors, Zeke Blackwood is just another slave working the mines. They're unaware he's a Cambion, or human-demon hybrid, who's been charged with increasing his power as he battles the monstrous beings beneath the mountains of Min Ferilik. Forced by the dwarves into hard labor, gladiatorial games, and dangerous quests, Zeke continues to grow more powerful, becoming a champion meant for deployment in a forthcoming war between good and evil.

Zeke Blackwood wields immeasurable power. A half-human, half-demon Cambion, he has fought his way through the Eternal Realm, becoming a legend in the process. A liberator of slaves and the leader of an army of loyal kobolds, he reluctantly takes on the responsibility of protecting those who've sworn to fight at his side, even as his other allies remain lost to him.

Half-human, half-demon, Zeke Blackwood has become a legendary warrior and wielder of mana. To the kobolds he's Ak-toh—Savior. The centaurs call him Spear of the People. Both species have rallied to his side along with beastkin, elves, and other creatures who've sworn allegiance to him. They're willing to sacrifice themselves while he fulfills a quest on behalf of the god Oberon: to be the greatest fighter in the forthcoming apocalyptic battle between good and evil. But the realm is overrun with malice and cruelty.

Zeke Blackwood wields mana beyond imagination. A human/demon hybrid, he walks the path of arcane destruction, slaughtering monstrous and mythical creatures in one conflict after another. With every victory, he's becoming more powerful—and less human. But despite the devastation he's left in his wake, he's also saved lives and become the reluctant king of a diverse community of beastkin, elves, kobolds, and other species. He protects them even as he follows the will of the god Oberon toward his destiny as a warrior in a forthcoming battle that could destroy the very fabric of reality.

After years of battling elite soldiers, slaying soul-crushing monsters, and acquiring powerful combat skills and destructive mana abilities, the realization of Zeke Blackwood's destiny is imminent. Everything he's endured since being reborn into a system of troll-infested caves has been to prepare him for ascension into the Ethereal Realm, where he'll stand against the forces of darkness that threaten all existence.

Zeke Blackwood lives for battle. Channeling powerful mana, the half-human, half-demon warrior has slain monsters, toppled empires, and brought would-be tyrants to their knees, destroying anything—and anyone—that dares cross his path. He believes his cause is a righteous one and executes those who don't follow his standards of morality. To some, he's a bringer of justice. To others, he's an exactor of revenge. But in actuality, Zeke is driven only by the desire to become strong enough to wage war against evil entities capable of unmaking the universe itself.

At long last Zeke Blackwood has become a primordial. He wields mana powerful enough to combat the gods of the Ethereal Realm and prevent the destruction of the universe. The quest has taken many lifetimes. He's fought in countless battles, claimed more lives than he can remember, and sacrificed his humanity. Empathy and compassion have been lost as he's traveled this bloody, violent path, hollowing out any feelings he once had for his friends and loved ones.