Alistair’s life is turned upside down when he is abruptly separated from his friends and family. As the universe slowly transforms and new laws take hold, everyone within his universe is cast into the trial—a crucible of survival and transformation. Before being set on his path, Alistair encounters a system avatar—a brief and enigmatic guide who offers little explanation, guidance, or aid before sending him and the rest of his universe into the unknown.

Dania Ellis has faced warzones and Emergency Room chaos—but nothing prepared her for Drop Night. Once every ten years, the gods give a deck of cards to a chosen few. These new “deckbearers” are capable of great magical feats, and are the top of every food chain, both metaphorically and literally. As a combat veteran and ER nurse, Dania knows what it takes to fight for a better life. She’s worked tirelessly to build a future for herself and her orphaned nephew, Jake. But everything changes on Jake’s fourteenth birthday when he receives a Drop Night deck—straight from Nyx, the goddess of night.

Kazro never asked for the quest. With nothing but a broken interface and dogged determination, he sets out to deliver a ceremonial scythe to a princess he’s never met. But when he glimpses her in the crowd, a jolt of familiarity strikes like thunder. Before he can uncover the truth, chaos erupts—the King of the Sundust Reaches storms the city, smacks Kazro aside, and abducts the royal family for a mass sacrifice.

I don’t know how I ended up in a dark, battle-locked realm, fighting monsters and struggling to survive, but I refused to give up and die. Snatched from death by the mysterious and untrustworthy Monarch, imprisoned ruler and god of the realm, I am ordered to liberate her. To do so, I must prevail against unspeakable horrors and slay the five betrayers to retrieve their golden coins—the keys to her prison.

Dorian Hawke's daily routine was pretty straightforward. Wake up, pull his weight around the village, eat potatoes, go to bed. Not too shabby. Not very interesting, maybe, but it was honest work. Then a boat falls like a meteor from the sky. Next thing he knows, a gorgeous elf and stunning faun tell him that magical blood runs through his veins, and they need him to navigate their ship through space.