After the End: Serenity

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

We all want to believe we are heroes of our own story - unless we want to be the villain, of course.

At the end of everything, the Final Reaper decided he hadn’t been a hero. Driven by a desire to right the wrongs he was subjected to, he killed everyone who wronged him or his people - which turned out to beeveryonethat wasn’t killed by someone else first. He'd won - but it was a hollow victory.

Eventually, Order’s Voice found a way out. If the only existing being would agree to give up most of his power, the Voice could reset the multiverse to an earlier time with a fewminorchanges. Of course, the Voice couldn't ask it that way. It could only ask if the Final Reaper was willing to start over from when Earth was first brought into Order.

It was an easy decision, and yet it wasn’t. Was he willing to go through eons of pain again to not be alone?

Yes. In a heartbeat.

Not that his heart beat anymore. Now it would. Perhaps he could even be a hero, this time.

When he landed in his old body - more or less - on Earth, the Final Reaper once again became Thomas. He was both and neither. He needed a new name for a new life.

Serenity.

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While this is technically a System Apocalypse story, it's a System Apocalypse that is designed to have a large percentage of the population survive and prosper. There are a lot of problems that come with the appearance of the Voice, and it's entirely possible to lose. Earth has some special opportunities, but also special challenges.

The first time around, Earth won the first round and lost the second. Serenity has ten years from when the Voice arrives to prevent that from happening. It will be a group effort; Serenity can't win alone - which is difficult for someone who's been alone for as long as he has.

Of course, that's only his second priority.

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A note on the nonhuman lead tag: He isn't human, and hasn't been human for a very, very long time (or maybe not long at all, depending on how you count it). He still thinks of himself as human, either way.

The content warnings are mostly to give me room to write; this fiction is not intended to be edgy, but there are times when someone is seriously injured and the Bad Guys sometimes do Bad Things. The characters also had lives before the story and they're ... not always happy.

The cover image is a Chandra/Hubble composite image of VV 340 / Arp 302 / UGC 9618. While we're not going to space itself any time soon in the story, people from elsewhere are coming to Earth and Serenity will visit other planets. Plus, I like space imagery.

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As the tag says, this story is DONE. I'm planning to do a revision of it in the future; there are some things I learned while writing it that I'd like to apply to it. With that said, what's here does stand on its own. I believe I brought it to a satisfactory ending :-)

Oh, and don't go into it expecting a fast story. Serenity may be from the future ... but he hates where he ended up and is doing his best to not end up there again. He knows a lot of things he shouldn't, but at the same time is often not willing to use all of the tools at his disposal.

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2021
Author: Lillene

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 2,529
Views: 8,679,250

Chapters(1080 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

dragonzflyteRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
There are some flaws, but overall I really like this story. It focuses on character growth for the whole cast, as well as the main character; as Serenity heals and changes, the story moves further and further from direct conflicts. I also really like that everything that happens makes sense within the framework that the story sets up. I would love more side-stories that wrap up little pieces after the main story is finished, but I also get why the author ended where they did.
Honestly, if I had one major gripe about the story, it's simply that a lot of the couples that get focus are very straight, and so are the characters whose perspectives we get to see. Technically there's at least one queer-platonic dynamic, but it's through a very alien lens. It's a bit frustrating that all the queer elements to the story are framed like that; I still don't disagree that aliens from completely different cultures would have different approaches to relationships. It's more than there's a certain level of rigidity to the earthling relationships that we see, that's even more noticeable because of the contrast.
Overall though, I do really like the story. I don't think it's for everyone - if you find Serenity's perspective frustrating in the first 100 chapters, you probably won't like reading the rest of the story either. He changes and grows, and eventually gets past a few (very frustrating) mental blocks, but the way he thinks stays relatively the same.
DracoocardRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
After the End: Serenity was a very good story. It was not at all what I expected and I am glad for that. The world behind it is so deep it's almost upsetting we can't just read the lore docs instead. I can certainly say that it isn't perfect and that I understand why a lot of people will jump ship early. This is a power fantasy story and Serenity does have his struggles but being the previous hegemon leads to hammering in a lot of things that probably aren't meant to be nails. However you do see him change and adapt and grow. Even at the end of his story Serenity is not perfect, he likely never will be, but he is a better man than he was yesterday and will be a better man tomorrow. That is all you can ever be.
DurrakonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Just spent the last month binging this series. Just as great as any critically acclaimed series. I would put this as one of my top 3 in this genre of story. Very few grammatical errors, very easy to read. The pace is pretty consistent and I never found any part of the book where I just got bored or tired of reading. If you like this genre it’s definitely worth a read.
rgreadsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Don't be fooled- it sounds like stereotypical system apocalypse redo, but there are two big differences:
1. The Final Reaper won. He 'survived' everything from having the Earth itself shatter during the invasions, being killed and turned into a mindless undead that eventually regained awareness, and then an escalating, almost endless series of betrayals, wannabe xenocides, power hungry cultivator types and more until he became a literal force of nature- the Incarnate of Death.
At that point, he probably got attacked more than once out of sheer terror at what he'd become.
He beat all of it. He won. And he was the only thing left in an otherwise dead universe, because every other living thing became fuel for a rival's power, his own, or an enemy to be destroyed.
The System itself wanted a redo that didn't end like that, so here we are. He didn't like it much either after an eternity of solitude.
2. His top priority isn't to gain power, or defeat a specific foe, or avenge someone, or anything like that. It's to make sure the universe doesn't end up like that again. Earth survives, the people he loves survive to live out whatever their new natural life might be, and the universe doesn't end in eternal darkness.
Yes, Serenity is more powerful than normal. Yes, he's got a special connection with the Voice of the System. From all appearances, it's because the Voice sees Serenity as the best tool to avoid that path and is treating him more as a partner (albeit with less than 1% of what he knew before the rewind, and with limits on how much it can share) than as a participant.
I
That's a really cool premise, and Serenity is written as a real person, not a source of endless wisecracks to a played-out audience, or an unaware one trick protagonist whose solution to everything is to hit it harder with his axe- and miraculously, at that moment, he powers up just enough to hit it to death.
It's a little slow, with consistently polished writing, heavy focus on believable worldbuild
Undead WriterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It takes a few chapters to get used to the style of his writing, but it is a very good novel. The plot is well thought out, the characters are well balanced, and the stats arent overwhelming. I like how the MC is actually having to work out the endless time he spent as an undead god of some sort.
He just doesnt go, welp now time be human again! No. He actually feels like someone who lived a long and depressing life and is now put back to the begining of it all. He had lost his humanity for so long and now seeing the people he loves and lost, slowly brings pieces of him back. Its definitly a entertaining read.
The characters are not just side pieces too. They have their own stories and lives and driving forces pushing them to do the things that they do. This gives the story some depth and thinkness that many stories dont have. I wish you all the best writer. I cant wait for more. Keep writing!
Long story short: Try it before you nock it. Its really good.
200 word count: haha you sad man. I am tricking this robot into beliving I'm typing 200 words. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha is that 200 words? Nope. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha I think that's enough words.
ColscimitarRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I normally don't go for stories with a long tutorial periods, something about the story kept drawing me in and look at 600 chapters later loving it can't wait for more.
Spoiler.....
I read a portal story sometime in the last year where the character eventually returns to Earth for a period. Ever since then I've been craving more stories that have the character eventually make it back to Earth, which are few and far between. This one does it really well still want to see more time on Earth and magiTech and Earth combination stuff going on but I don't think this is the author's intention. I really would like to see this character start combining runes with technology from Earth but he's extremely opposed to enchanting which I can't understand because of the fact that he does rune so much.
ZeusyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Loving the story so far!! Kinda noticing some gaps in some of the relationships, where some extra dialog could be helpful, but I don't really want to make specific examples just yet till I see where your going with the story. Overall, loving your take on the path system and I like the development of serenity as a character! Definitely has a lot of potential!! Read through all the currently released chapters in one sitting, kinda hard to put down.
Good work!!
I'll be keeping an eye out for a new chapter every day :D
VioletaAshRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This is one of the longest series I've read in Royal Road, and it's well worth reading for people who like litRPG.
Style: The general feeling of the story isn't an inovation, an all powerful being returns in time to when he was a ordinary human and the System arrived on Earth, but the choices he makes and the way to use Paths to develop in individual directions is new.
Story: The author was able to maintain the general plot and worldbuilding consistent, and while there were some pacing issues, expecially in the first book, that was corrected with time.
Grammar: There were no grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors that I could see, and in general it's well written, and the new words are explainedas they appear as well as in the end of each book.
Character: While the secondary characters feel a bit one-dimensional, the main character, Serenity, is very well developed, and we can see how he changes and has new options across his journey.
I can only add tha i look forward to reading the next series of this author, that promises to continue in the same universe but with the next generation.
I need more words, so:
[Destruction is not the point. The goal is to have as many as possible survive and grow. Once upon a time there were no invasions, but fewer people survived once the outside universe was allowed to reach the World. Too many people played it safe and didn’t grow enough to defend their World against the people that would come. With the invasions, more die early on but also more grow to meet the challenges. It is a difficult balance to reach]
Carson6319Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Short Review:
The Top Review by Acerbic is entirely accurate though I disagree with their score. The story is as the name implies 'serene' or if you are feeling critical 'muted/boring'. Personally, I highly recommend it if your looking for a break from the more intense works of this genre. If you go in expecting something relatively relaxing you will find the quality of grammar and style creates a really easy read that is great for mass consumption.
Long Review:
The Author, Lillene, has really nailed the MC name and book's title with the words Serenity. The story contains a number of Royal Road's most enjoyed tags like LITRPG, Time Travel, OP MC, and Non-Human Lead which traditionally combine into some kind of plot about a battle loving level junkie. This story could very well do the same thing but as of right now, Chapter 38, it instead feels very calm, and muted. Personally, after so many of the more intense works I find myself loving the difference.
This overhanging serene feeling can primarily been attributed to the main characther 'Serenity'. His entire engagement with reality is slightly detached and casual but in a semi human way. The most comparable characther would actually be Saitama from One Punch Man. He still gets frustrated and has emotions but no matter the situation his response is at the level one would expect for something minor. It makes sense when you consider he is suppose to be one of the, if not the, oldest being in existance with the exception of the System itself.
Its interesting that the author may have not intended this representation, as in more recent chapters, setences have been added to point out how stressed or concerned the MC is about certain threats. However as the work is currently written such sentences instead reinforce an idea that the main characther is dellusional about his remaining humanity. A great example of this is when the MC is faced with an injury that any human would already be dead from. We are told that Serenity i
Luke ScheffeRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Not at all what I was expecting. I was hoping for an interesting restarted type story when I found this, wherein the Altered Template would be for the Universe at large, leaving him to have to deal with new issues that he never had to deal with the first time, while simultaneously getting opportunities he wouldn't have gotten the first time. Instead, the author seems to have gone the straight power fantasy route, where he is placed back at the beginning of his journey, but this time, He's got extra abilities to make him considerably more dangerous.
Style - falls flat. It is basically just stating how powerful Serenity is. It doesn't really feel like there are stakes, because due to his powerups, he is already considerably stronger than he should be for there to be any tension.
Story - Feels flat. For example, he finds out early on that the person who killed the love of his life was someone who he actually knew last life, but had somehow not discovered as god Emperor of the universe.
Grammar - nothing to say here. nothing stellar, but not horrible either.
Character - Serenity seems flat. He really isn't all that interesting of a character, despite how it should seem from his backstory, largely because his backstory doesn't really matter in the story. I feel like this story would have been much better as his original ascent to power, rather than this bastardized version.