Rewind Pyresouls Apocalypse, Book 1 James T. Callum Copyright © 2020 by James T. Callum All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Also by James T. Callum Beastborne Chronicles Series Beastborne: Mark of the Founder Newsletter Want to get notifications when there’s a new book out? Are you interested in keeping abreast of the latest sales and new series I’ve got cooking? Then you’ll want to sign up for the mailing list! I’m no fan of spam myself, so you can expect to only get occasional updates once or twice a month unless there is a major event. Sign Up Today! (https://jamestcallum.com/subscribe/) Introduction A legendary time travel adventure to reverse the apocalypse and save humanity. When Pyresouls released, it was a brutal new virtual reality game with a twist. Be the first to beat the game and win billions of dollars. But after the Burgon Beast couldn’t be defeated, Pyresouls turned very real and unleashed an apocalypse of undead, monsters and a System of levels and stats onto the world. For many years since, Jacob Windsor has fought with sword and shield to survive Post-Collapse Earth where only ancient, Guilt-soaked weaponry can harm the monsters from Pyresouls. While defending his bunker with some of the last refugees of humanity, yet another friend loses his life to secure one final hope. An enigmatic artifact capable of sending one person through time. In a cruel twist of fate, Jacob becomes humanity’s best chance for survival. He takes the plunge into the past of the terrifying, fractured realm of Pyresouls, where every player is out for blood, and the monsters are more vicious than anything on Post-Collapse Earth. Armed with knowledge of game mechanics, secret loot and enemy weaknesses, along with well-honed swordsmanship from years of battle, Jacob has every possible advantage against the competition. But the choices he makes have long-reaching ripple effects on the timeline. Can Jacob beat the clock while grinding out Levels and manage to avert the apocalypse, or will his every action darken the timeline even further? From the #1 Bestseller author of Beastborne Chronicles comes the first book of a new grimdark litRPG / progression fantasy series. This post-apocalyptic gamelit includes battle, leveling and gear enhancing mechanics inspired by the Dark Souls games. Start your time travel dark litRPG adventure today! As always, if you find any typos or errors feel free to drop me an email citing what chapter they’re in at: [email protected]. I update the manuscript whenever an error is found, so make sure you allow your reading device to update your ebooks! That way you will always have the best version. Dedication To all those struggling against insurmountable odds, and never give up, this book is for you. Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Epilogue Jacob’s Final Stats Afterword About the Author Acknowledgments Newsletter Beastborne Preview Prologue Chapter 01 Chapter 02 1 May 7th, 2045 – 10 Years Post-Collapse. The air rang with the sound of Jacob’s deflection. He raised his cracked lucidian brass shield just in time to fend off a second blow from the wheezing undead. As he did, he drew his notched and battered sword from its sheath. Jacob stepped forward and swept his sword beneath the angle of his raised shield using the Sword Form, Wind Parts the Grass, to strike into his opponent’s gaping ribcage. His blade split the bone of the decaying creature and swept clear through its spine, blasting the brittle bone and desiccated flesh into the dry hot wind. Another lost soul took its place, providing only a moment for Jacob to recover his Stamina. The [Vacant Human] takes 470 damage from Wind Parts the Grass. You consume 20 Stamina. You defeat the [Vacant Human]. Awarded 50 Souls. A wisp of white mist lifted from the fallen creature and into Jacob’s chest. A chill spread through his chest and his Souls went up by 50, bringing his total in the bottom right quadrant of his vision to 97,120. The number didn’t matter. Without the Pyres, Souls were useless. Jacob focused on the upper left quadrant of his vision, taking a step back up the dusty mountain trail as he did. Stamina management was one of the most important aspects of fighting the hellish creatures that all but destroyed the world. His green Stamina bar filled slowly as he kept his shield up, but he didn’t dare drop his guard. There were too many. And he had been fighting for too long. With less than a quarter of his Health remaining, he couldn’t afford to take any risks. Down below, clad in tattered black robes hemmed in bright blue thread, Caleb held up a hand and called down fire into his palm. Jacob was less than fifty feet from the man but couldn’t get to him through the narrow switchback that descended into the clearing the sorcerer was in. Even if he had more Health, taking the fast route down would be suicide. The fall alone would take most of his Health and the undead would be on him before he could recover from the impact. Jacob, with only a passing understanding of sorcery, didn’t understand what Caleb was doing. Surrounded by the undead – called Vacant, due to their empty unseeing gaze – he couldn’t see how Caleb would be able to extricate himself. But Alec understood. “Caleb, no!” Alec cried, his voice raw with emotion. Like Jacob, he was situated up the side of the same sheer cliff face. The narrow stony paths prevented them from getting rushed, forcing the Vacant to come at them single-file. It also prevented them from reaching any allies caught in the clearing below. That didn’t stop Alec. He didn’t understand the meaning of the word “can’t.” Clad in full medieval plate mail stolen from
