Death was a bummer. Well, not for Akal. A death on Earth only meant a birth into the multiverse. It did for him, anyway. Just when he thought he was checking out and taking his last breath, he was standing… on an island. In space. With a pretty tree and bench on it. There was a little breeze, too. But, where was it coming from?
Countless star systems, galaxies and universes stood before Akal but their numbers couldn’t rival the amount of questions he had. He knew all the answers were out there somewhere, but they wouldn’t do him any good if he didn’t know where to start. Slowly but surely, through tribulations across a myriad of experiences, Akal starts to piece together what had happened to him, as well as his wife. His one true love across all of existence.
His wife’s fate was just the tip of an iceberg of multiversal manipulation and deranged hate for the weak and vulnerable. Akal’s wife was not weak, but she was definitely vulnerable. Akal seethed and seeped with regret at his inaction before his transformation, but never strayed too far from his personal goal of making up for it. There had been a dark and grotesque exploitation of people going on since time seemingly began, and Akal planned to stop it.
Before long, Akal was dodging gunfire from the United States Army in 1877, sailing and fighting in space millennia later, and dodging the razor-sharp wings of assassins high in the skies of Kestrellia. The quests seemed unending but were absolutely necessary in the name of getting information. He dared someone to stop him.
Akal is quickly humbled, however. He is humbled numerous times in countless physical and emotional ways by friends and by the multiverse. Only when he learns that the power of patience and joy of learning outweigh any abilities or powers, does he start to reap the rewards of true strength and understanding.
As insignificant as any single creature may be within the context of the multiverse, Akal eventually discovers how that margin can be narrowed by a single act. How he and others like him live their lives may show us how to more thoroughly live our one.
Souls of Astraeus is a distinct and engaging science fiction and fantasy adventure that redefines the role of the hero and the hero’s motives, without cynicism or naivete. Souls of Astraeus shows us that knowledge and love can be attained by everyone without having to sell their souls.
