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by Aleksander Stepanov (Author)
Deep within the endless desert stands the Tainted and Undesired Center, a towering prison of rusted metal, concrete, and fear where the unwanted are hidden away from the rest of the world. Inside its endless halls, survival is brutal, hope is dangerous, and people born with the Taint are treated as less than human.
Kaleb Cutter has spent his entire life trapped inside the TUC, raised by a father who taught him one impossible belief: even in a broken world, a person can still choose honor. But when violence erupts and Kaleb is forced beyond the walls of the only home he has ever known, he discovers that the desert hides far more than death.
Beneath the sands lies Oasis, a secret city carved into the cavern depths of the world, where elite warriors train to defend a fragile peace between kingdoms. There, Kaleb begins a new life among Neophytes, hardened young fighters struggling to earn their place amongst the legendary guardians of the city. Kaleb forms unlikely bonds with fellow recruits.
But Oasis is far from safe.
As political unrest spreads through the hidden city, a growing conspiracy begins twisting the people of Oasis against one another. Fear spreads through the streets. Machines bearing the mark of the Acumen Empire emerge from the shadows. Old enemies rise. Trusted allies fall. And behind it all lurks something even more unsettling: a mysterious figure known only as Nexus, a being who seems to move lives like pieces upon a chessboard, guiding fate toward an unknown end.
When betrayal tears Oasis apart and war threatens to consume far more than a single hidden city, Kaleb is forced to confront what it truly means to be a noble warrior. Not someone defined by strength or victory but by sacrifice, compassion, and the choices made when everything is at stake.
As kingdoms prepare for conflict and unseen powers manipulate the world from the shadows, Kaleb must carry the weight of those he has lost and decide whether he will remain a piece in someone else's game or become the one capable of changing it forever.
