Deep beneath the world we know, there are four different worlds far apart, but all inside the Underworld. These worlds are Veritas, Luminos, Ethelgard, and Tartarus. Tartarus is a dark and dangerous place, like a prison for cursed creatures, hidden deep inside the earth. Normal people cannot enter it. Only certain people from a secret group can open a portal to the Underworld by chanting special spells.
Long ago, Tartarus was called Elysia — a peaceful, beautiful, and fertile world where people could live for thousands of years. But everything changed when a mysterious being named Erebus Thanatos came. He was cruel, with four eyes, four arms, black wings, and a body as red as blood. He took power from Kairos Lucian Alden, the first Almighty Ruler, who was kind, fair, and humble. They fought, but Erebus was too strong. Kairos lost and was locked away in the lowest caste, called Puer.
Now, Erebus rules with cruelty and controls all the worlds in the Underworld. He chose seven cruel Rulers to do his bidding because after ruling for so long, he was tired of fighting.
In this harsh world lives a young man named Alaric Orion, who is 20 years old. He works as a slave for the Sicarius caste. Along with his friends and parents, he is forced to carry huge stones for fifty miles. After they reach the 29th mile, his parents collapse, too tired to continue.
Alaric and his friends panic because if they stop, the higher castes will beat them without mercy. As a Puer, the lowest caste with no special powers, they have no choice but to keep going.
The castes in Tartarus are strict: at the top are the Rulers with great powers, then the strong Pugnatores, the fast and deadly Sicarius, and at the bottom, the powerless Puer.
Fifteen years ago, the Puer tried to rebel against the Sicarius, but they failed and became even more controlled.
Every day for Alaric is an endless struggle. His young, strong body is forced to bear nearly impossible burdens. His hands are raw and bleeding, skin torn from the rough stones they carry. Every blow from the higher caste overseers feels like fire burning him, nearly extinguishing his hope. Yet beneath the pain, a hidden resolve burns — a small flame in his heart that refuses to die. In the cold, silent nights, he often remembers his parents’ gentle smiles, their soothing voices, and the promise that one day, justice will come. Those memories give him strength to endure, even as the world around him is filled with darkness and despair.
Back to the present, when the Sicarius overseers see Alaric’s parents lying on the ground, they come and beat them harshly. Angry, Alaric grabs a small knife and slashes one overseer’s stomach.
The hurt overseer screams, and his friends come running, shouting, “How dare you attack a Sicarius?!”
Alaric is caught and sent to prison as a criminal. The injured overseer recovers and drags Alaric’s parents in front of him.
“Don’t hurt my parents!” Alaric shouts angrily.
The overseer laughs, “I will slash them both, just like you did to me.”
Alaric’s anger grows, but his mother looks at him softly, “My time has come. Keep fighting to make all castes equal.”
Before she finishes, the Sicarius drag his parents to a corner and kill them cruelly.
Alaric cries out, full of pain and rage. The Sicarius laughs, “Goodbye, weak Puer.”
The death of his parents changes Alaric forever. He promises to become the Almighty Ruler, to destroy evil in Tartarus, and to bring back the peaceful world of Elysia.