Ross Evans never believed in magic. Not in other worlds. Not in destiny. His life was grounded in routine, and the quiet certainty that reality followed rules.
Then the sky tore open.
In an instant, everything he thought he understood is ripped away as he's pulled into Teraulis, a world that shouldn't exist, yet feels disturbingly real. Once a thriving technological empire, Teraulis now lies in ruin, scarred by a catastrophic event that shattered its foundations. Towering remnants of advanced civilization stand like ghosts against the landscape, while deadly mechanical guardians roam the land, hunting anything that still dares to live.
But technology isn't the only force at play here.
Magic pulses beneath the surface of this broken world, unpredictable and dangerous.
Rescued by a group of survivors hiding within the last safe refuge known as Safehaven, Ross is thrust into a brutal struggle for survival. Among them is Sara, a hardened warrior whose strength is matched only by the care she has for the people she protects. As she helps him navigate this unforgiving world, it becomes clear that Ross is more than just an outsider caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There is something different about him.
As Ross begins to uncover fragments of the world's past, a far more unsettling truth emerges: the destruction of Teraulis was not an isolated event. The boundary between worlds, is weakening. Cracks are forming, and something is beginning to manipulate those weaknesses.
Caught between a past he can no longer return to and a future he doesn't yet understand, Ross is forced to confront a reality that defies everything he once believed. The deeper he's pulled into the conflict, the more the world seems to respond to his presence choose between the man he once was or the man he is becoming.
And the cost of that transformation may be everything he once was.
In a story that blends science fiction and dark fantasy, Trading Existence: Awakening explores identity, sacrifice, and the fragile line between worlds. As reality itself begins to unravel, one question remains: What would you do?