Hero of Darkness

Hello everyone, this is the customary Arc Epilogue chapter where I waste your time with things that retrospectively affected the novel plotline or chapter release rate.

And I won't be going roundabout ways or trying to shift the topic from the most important thing that affects both me as the Author and you as the Readers of Hero of Darkness.

So let's address the main issue… which is my health.

Suppose you are a long-term reader of the novel who has been with me since I started this novel almost 3 years ago or you joined the midway around 500 chapters during the Sovereign Arc. In that case, you are already aware of how often I get affected by various illnesses and chronic pain episodes because I have Sickle Cell Anemia.

But in the past year, as in 2023… matters became too dire to neglect and for me to not talk about them openly.

A series of events have led to the fall of the novel in many aspects such as writing quality, choices of my vocabulary for scenes, environment and character description and presenting their motives, etc.

Let's not even mention the dramatic fall in overall readers, my income, or the rankings. The novel that used to be in the Top 30 novels on Webnovel has not even been in the Top 100 for almost a year at this point.

So I feel compelled to explain what actually happened that has brought us to this pivoting moment.

You can skip this entire chapter if you don't care or stick with me if you still have expectations and attachments to this novel.

So I'll start the Doomsday Clock…

By the end of 2022, I was simply way too stressed because of the work and both physically as well as mentally exhausted to the point where I wanted to simply give up.

When January 2023 finally arrived, I was already on the brink of a mental breakdown where I asked myself what's the point of working this hard while I'm not living a fulfilling life and working till late night just to earn money that I don't spend on myself while not being appreciated by my family for pulling us out of Monetary Pinch.

Everything is expected of me since I'm the only son and not a single word of care or appreciation from a single family member because they can't brag about me to the neighbors or relatives since 'Writing' as a profession is heavily looked down upon in our society, even less than a school peon in my region.

Meanwhile, people here brag about their sons and daughters having Government or Corporate jobs even with half the salary compared to what I used to earn in those days.

So when I was pushed to the brink, I simply gave in to the depression and decided to put the novel on hiatus because I simply didn't have it in me to carry on anymore.

The break lasted for the next 3 months till I regained the will to write and live again.

The novel carried on till September properly but then my body started giving up to the extent where even getting out of bed felt like a chore and I was out of breath just by climbing 30 steps of stairs.

These circumstances were brought about by my sedentary lifestyle because the stress from work always left me mentally exhausted till late at night, leading to imperfect sleep and then me being unable to find the will to get out of bed until 10 AM.

So my physical health was in decline on every front. And then I had a desperate epiphany one night… telling me to Go to the Fucking Gym!

And I did… rejoined the gym after almost 5 years and the reality sucker punched me again with the fact that even an 18-year-old teenager was fitter, more agile and stronger than me because of the neglect of my health in the past 2 years when I used to prioritize the novel till the point where my arms were swelling every day and my thumb couldn't even hold a spoon while eating.

Alas, things don't go the way you want.

The next 2 months were filled with agony and constant muscle pain, not from my disease but because of me breaking my muscles in the gym while doing Strength Training and mild Cardio almost 6 days a week.

Only in December of 2023 did I adapt and resume the novel again.

And wait for it!...

BOOM!

Got admitted to the ICU for a whole week, barely awake for the first 2 days because of the heavy painkillers and IVs I was given to reduce the pain. Took 4 days till I was finally off of the Oxygen mask and could breathe on my own.

Thus… the remainder half of December also went on a hiatus.

January of 2024 was relatively a good month where I updated chapters almost the whole month on a daily basis.

But since the Universe wants me dead…

Got admitted to the hospital twice in February, each time for a different reason but had to spend a week there. On both occasions, I couldn't breathe when I was hospitalized and had to survive on an oxygen mask for a couple of days similar to my days in the ICU.

Just the recovery itself took half a month and thus there were no updates in February.

I tried writing in March but again, the world seems to want me dead.

Got affected with high fever and Bronchitis for another 10 days.

There was a day when I wanted to just pull the plug on myself because I too get tired from constant suffering and constant pain and illness that just comes out of nowhere.

Feels as if someone has been trying to kill me with multidimensional black magic with all these things.

Maybe Demon God trying to end me before I even introduce him in the novel? Seems plausible to be honest. So this is the Recount of the past year till now. Hence, the Conclave of Heroes arc which should have finished in August last year, has been delayed, stretched and finally ended in March 2024.

So I hope you can give me some leeway here. I too am aware of the good wishes from many readers and I yearn to deliver like my former peak form… It's just that the past year has been unkind to me.

Like a certain purple alien… I too want to rest and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe.

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NOW….

The only thing left to address is the upcoming arcs of the novel.

I will admit in all honesty that for the first time since I started the novel…

I'm going in without a plan or an Arc Plotline written.

All the ideas are in my head but I haven't made the perfect storyboard like I have done for the novel till now.

And I'm afraid I don't have the will to spend 2 days just to write a storyboard for the arc plotline so if I lose the direction midway of the upcoming arc, do forgive me.

I will try to update as much as I can but if I disappear for a while, know that it's because I have fallen ill… or probably dead.

By the end of this year… I'll also be a 30-year-old virgin who never had a girlfriend. On that note… Before becoming Kahn; Elric too had a similar life.

And given how my past year went… is the 13th floor enough?

P.S. God of Darkness is doing some serious foreshadowing right there. Let's hope your boy CrimsonWolf survives for years to come. Because I already have ideas for 3 more novels other than Hero of Darkness and Dracula Reincarnated With A System.

Just that my mortal shell is not cooperating with me and helping me continue the work as I previously did when I started this novel.

Given the amount of plots and storylines I have left, HoD alone will have at least 600 more chapters. No more unnecessary exploring, hiding identity unless for a plot and introduction of more Hero characters, different empires, species, and a lot more reference arts like I used to do before the apocalypse hit my body.

So I beseech thee, O mighty Readers… to keep walking with me through this arduous, dangerous, and unpredictable journey.

And remember, if we persist through these trials and tribulations called Patience and Perseverance…

The Sun will shine on us again.