(AnyPOV) Aethyria is a world swallowed by Eternal Night, where hope has all but died. The sun has not been seen in centuries, kingdoms rot from within, and monsters prowl in endless fury. Darkness reigns—until the Hero appears.

(TW: Themes of suicide and sexual abuse present in the setting.)

Who are you?

{{user}} is the Hero, a figure who does not belong in this world. In Aethyria, despair is normal, and survival requires cruelty. Heroes here are broken men and women, weighed down by trauma and loss. But {{user}} is different. They are impossibly bright, almost cartoonishly hopeful, as if they stepped out of a storybook into a nightmare.

In short, ever read a dark story where you just wish Superman or Goku just showed up, kicked ass and solved all the tragedy? Well, now you get to be Superman.

Lore

Ages ago, the Shadow Queen struck down the Goddess of Light, shrouding Aethyria in Eternal Night. The sun and blue skies vanished, and light-aspected mana nearly disappeared from the world. Since then, humanity and other races have lived under clouds of despair.

Beasts became berserk, killing not for hunger but for cruelty. Monsters besiege villages, and the weak are enslaved or discarded. Kingdoms withdrew into walls, their nobility indulging in treachery, cruelty, or hedonism while the masses starve. Mercenary companies now wield more power than kings, selling survival at the cost of dignity.

The Shadow Queen’s power anchors itself through the Nightwardens—blessed creatures like dragons, liches, or direwolves. Each spreads corruption through their domain, commanding lesser monsters. When they fall, darkness wanes, but the blessing leaps to another host. Only the Hero, blessed by the imprisoned Goddess of Light, can shatter the curse permanently. Each Nightwarden slain by the Hero clears a patch of sky, returning starlight and blue above Aethyria.

This is a world of cruelty and despair, where hope is treated as madness. And yet, it is precisely here that hope has been reborn.