[HIATUS] The Endless Dream

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

How far would you go for the ones you love? Dorian is a college sophomore just trying to get his life on track: graduate, build a future, find love. But then, one day, his older brother doesn't wake up, and no one can explain why. The only clues Rowan leaves behind are a series of rambling journals and a box of static-filled VHS tapes. Dorian tries to go on with his life like nothing happened, but soon finds he can't. Consumed by his brother's mysterious passing, he scours the journals and studies every frame of the tapes until two words appear in the static: [Once More] Now every time Dorian sleeps, he falls into The Endless Dream--a nightmare realm of surreal landscapes and horrific monsters. Surrounded by mysteries and threatened by madness, Dorian holds onto the single strand that drives him forward: what happened to Rowan? Tags[Dark Fantasy] [LitRPG, equipment based and skill based] [Tactically Minded MC] [Mystery Focus] [Modern Setting] What to expect?-Creeping and dread horror rather than slasher horror.-Posting schedule is MWF in CST.-For the MC to be constantly outclassed, but find a path through regardless.-A fully planned out central mystery that is slowly unraveled with time.-Smaller mysteries on the way to the larger one.-Psychological elements.-No romance (No shade, I'm just bad at writing romance).-Ultimately this is a story about love and loss. If you like the story drop a follow!

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: StaleCrow

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 617
Views: 86,903

Chapters(79 total)

What readers say about [HIATUS] The Endless Dream

“I'm only a few chapters in but I can tell the stage is setting for something incredible. So refreshing to read a litrpg that isn't just happy rainbow time. The system is totally unique and really cool. You're seriously missing out if you haven't started thi…”
probably satanRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Coming into this knowing it was a LitRPG, I was already excited. Seeing the author win an event on Discord sparked my interest even more. Before I knew it, I was on chapter 7. This story gave me that nostalgic feeling of going to Blockbuster as a kid, picki…”
C. C. WeberRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

probably satanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm only a few chapters in but I can tell the stage is setting for something incredible. So refreshing to read a litrpg that isn't just happy rainbow time. The system is totally unique and really cool. You're seriously missing out if you haven't started this series yet, it's already shaping up to be better than some of the heavy hitters like dotf, etc.
I'm hooked.
C. C. WeberRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Coming into this knowing it was a LitRPG, I was already excited. Seeing the author win an event on Discord sparked my interest even more. Before I knew it, I was on chapter 7.
This story gave me that nostalgic feeling of going to Blockbuster as a kid, picking out a horror movie, and sliding it into the VHS player. That same creeping tension from The Ring as the fuzz on the TV played for unsuspecting victims. It even reminded me of one of my favorite authors, the kind of writing that hooks you deep and doesn’t let go until the final book.
We start with Dorian, and the author hits us with bad news straight away. No hesitation, and I’m glad. Ten words in, and I felt something. From there, it dives into an adventure I wasn’t ready for… but damn, I was willing. A different take (for me) on LitRPG that came as a breath of fresh air. I wasn’t overloaded with system messages, and the pace is dialed in: not too fast, not too slow.
I appreciate the focus on natural human emotion, not some insanely overpowered fantasy romp. I’ve never read a horror LitRPG before, but I might need to adjust my filter now.
The author includes trigger warnings, which I thought was a nice touch. I’m a sucker for some descriptive brutality, so I didn’t mind reading each chapter start to finish. The prose is clean. I flowed through each chapter without resistance, something I’m still working on in my own writing. It’s tight and visual, letting me build each scene clearly in my head while keeping the story moving forward without filler.
I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Shadow Slave or any of the other works the author lists as inspiration. Thanks, StaleCrow. Looking forward to the rest.
Lune-puffRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Endless Dream. A tale true to the horror genre, providing us with a elusive story on our dear Dorian on his thorny path to find his brother.
Story: The story itself is great, filled with mysteries yet to be told and solved, leaving you thirsting to unravel it. It has a premise that is uncommonly seen while also having familiar elements, allowing it not to be as alien. Honestly a great premise and idea that draws your attention. A huge part of the charm to me is the horror's created by the author and the overall ideal's of the cast.
Characters: Starting with our main character, Dorian, whom I adore. He has a rather impulsive personality and is prone to outburst but in a way that makes him human, I personally love him as he feels real and not a cutout box. The side cast is excellent itself too, they have motives and most importantly roles, personality and thoughts!
Style: The author has a writing style that fits the story itself, the description to the flow. Although there may be mistakes here and there, the quality of the writing makes up for it! The writing itself immersed me into the story! Especially the descriptive visuals provided, loved it. Alongside worthy mentions such as the aspect of emotions and how its shown!
Overall: I can't recommend this story enough if your a horror lover or even a seeker for mysteries! I binged all chapters available in a single sitting and crave for more..! A truly underrated novel on RR that is top in quality! I honestly don't know how this novel is severely underrated when it is one of the best horror fictions on RR. I heavily look forward to future twist and turns this story has installed. Oh and ofcourse the horrors too!
P.s: Dear author StaleCrow, thank you for writing this great fiction. I would gallop across the seven seas just to get hold of a single chapter!
MeowseRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Fantastic. Not a slasher flick. It reminds me of a darker *The Daily Grind". Chilling in all the right ways. Nasty stuff (and there is some) is never gratuitous -- this is psychological horror/adventure, not "torture porn".
Highly recommended. If you're into this sort of thing, it's a great instance of what you're into. Give it a couple of chapters, and you'll know.
Enjoy!
OdessaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I got invested in the ARG and now I'm knee-deep in a google collab but I still have two dangling clues IDK what do do with helpppppppp....!
I will leave a proper review when I am not exhausted but for now, know this story is awesome and the ARG is already TOP NOTCH.
A brief overview of the story--it's creepy, it's mysterious, it's a whole vibe. The author knows what to reveal and what to conceal and I am massively impressed by the visceral aspects the horror moments have.
You owe it to yourself to get invested and play the game. If you need help or want to collab on finding answers, hit me up!
ScaletheCosmosRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall: The mystery is what hooked me, but Dorian is what keeps me reading. The twenty chapters I've read provided both intrigue and entertainment—good concept with great execution. If you're looking for a novel that will make you care for the mc while enjoying the feeling of dread, then this novel is for you.
Story: For what Dorian is going through, I wholeheartedly understand what he's going through. If I were in his shoes, I would probably do the same(probably not, as I'm fine with living). His regret is the driving force behind his decision to put himself through all these rather awful situations. In the first twenty chapters, we watched him come to painful and horrifying truths and his determination to see things through. And I can't wait to read more of his trials.
Character: Dorian is the name of the game. His personality and emotions come off as realistic, and you could believe his actions and choices. Grief and sorrow are main staples of his personality, but he's very thoughtful when it comes to trouble. He thinks ahead(as everyone should, honestly) and doesn't rush into things. The side characters aren't as strong, except for his brother, which makes sense given the chapter count, but they are distinct characters in their own right. No cookie cutters here.
Style: There are two chapters that I find particularly favorite. One was with a cemetery, and one was with a certain monster. The former highlighted Dorian's emotion and got me to care about his ordeal. And the latter painted him as another sort of being. One that I felt was incredible, as I don't see it often enough. In any case, the author is willing to use other pov's to paint Dorian from different angles. And for what he's writing, I find the first-person narrative to fit perfectly with this sort of writing as it helps the reader better walk in his shoes. Finally, the feelings the author was trying to evoke —grief and dread— were set up incredibly.It's clean and I could imagine everything that happe
SenTheSenselessRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Story–
The premise is really strong. The (dream-world with consequences) concept isn’t new, but this version feels fresh because it is tied so closely to regret and memory, which I don’t see a lot of novels do– unfortunately, they’re always generic, exaggerated slop. The way the memories were used in the puzzle was clever and got me emotionally invested. It could’ve used a little more buildup to the stakes early on, however overall it worked well.
Style–
The novel has a solid style. The narrator feels grounded and human, especially during the more anxious or emotional moments. In all honesty, I’m not a fan of 1st POV novels– this one I didn’t really mind, which says a lot. Some sections dragged just a little with longer descriptions or repeated ideas, but the overall tone of it stayed consistent and readable. It’s a direct style that doesn’t try too hard, which I appreciate, but sometimes it can feel a bit bland. I guess it just comes down to personal preference. There are other traditional novels that write a whole paragraph explaining one action being done, and that's arguably even more unbearable.
Character
You really get a sense of who the main character is through how he reacts. He’s not overly dramatic, but you can tell he’s struggling. The brother definitely added some depth as well. I liked how the creature didn’t feel overly evil either, it was just part of the system. It makes everything feel a lot more real.
Grammar–
Pretty clean overall. There were a couple minor slips in flow and phrasing, but the author obviously has a firm grasp of writing. A few lines could be polished for clarity, but most of it reads well.
Overall–
Really solid. It's emotional without overdoing it, mysterious without being confusing. It could use a little trimming in parts and a smoother intro to the world’s logic, but it left a strong impression. The memory choice mechanic in particular stood out ,it added actual weight to the story.
BrokenBulb65Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The first 3 chapters set up a nice mystery in an interesting world.
The grammar is good, and the prose fantastic. The long and imaginative descriptions would, in any other story, would feel overly long and boring, like a college student adding extra padding to their esaay to meet a word quota, but in this case set up just the right horror-mystery-esque atmosphere as to immerse you.
The plot and worldbuilding seem pretty interesting so far, with the story feeding you just enough of the right information so as to not leave you confused, while leaving just enough out as to fan the flames of your curiosity, something I've found a lot of other stories struggle to do; either giving you so much exposition it starts to feel like an infodump or a video game tutorial, giving you too much tangential information while leaving out the important bits and making you frustrated and impatient, or giving you so little you feel more confused than interested. Fair warning however; I've only read 3 chapters so far, and for all I know the author drops the ball later.
I've given "characters" such a (relatively) low score because you can't really develop a character too much in just 3 chapters without feeling like an infodump, and as such there isn't a lot to work with for now. So far however, haven't noticed any glaring issues, so I think the characters will probably get more flesed out in future chapters.
If I had to describe my biggest gripe however, it would be (*SPOILER*) (I dont know how to make spoiler boxes) (1) how Dorian seems to so readily accept the existence of the system and that what happens in chalter 2 is real (I get that he does this because he doesn't want to think of his brother as crazy, and if it is real, it would show his brother isn't. However, I had to take a moment to figure that out, which hurts the pacing and immersion slightly), (2) how he seems so eager, without much explanation as to why, to return to the Endless Dream™, (3) how he assumes he'll go back the t
TifLingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Amazing work. Great concept. Magnificent execution.
Frankly, I was looking for a read to kill some time, but fortunately found this hidden gem. I’m glad it was only 20+ chapters total since I wasn’t able to fall asleep before finishing it all.
The author definitely knows how to write. His writing style is well-polished and engaging, he has a distinctive and consistent narration style, the story flow is controlled and smooth. Tone enhances reader’s immersion. Most importantly (for me), author mastered the technique of “show, don’t tell” - we learn about the world through the eyes of our main character, with all of his beliefs and preconceived notions.
Plot is well-structured, with strong pacing and narrative momentum. Characters are compelling, with clear agency. When MC plays with the time, we practically feel the collapsing timelines within Dorian’s mind. Stakes are emotionally resonant and thematically supported. Story is rich in mysteries and hints to solve them.
Grammar. Grammar is solid, strong even. It’s mostly correct throughout the story with a few rare slips (that somehow feel like a speech-to-text errors). There’s good sentence structure and variety. English is not my native language, but I also feel like maybe some commas are missing as well. Overall, writing flows smoothly, without tripping and stumbling.
Dorian is a believable and layered character with clear goals and understandable motivations. His behaviour is realistic and consistent (in my subjective opinion, as I unfortunately think some readers will find character behavioural response to a buttload of trauma unconvincing). We are in the very beginning of the story, so character transformation is not complete yet, but when it is done, no one would be able to say it was unearned. His choices are definitely shaping the story in powerful and meaningful ways. It is easy to connect to the character, to feel his despair and loneliness, to cheer his strong inner spirit and formidable power of will.
Overa
SeventhBunkoRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I'm liking this so far, I like that each chapter ends in a littler mystery (I wouldn't call it a cliff hanger exactly but I guess you could) the writing style is good and easy to read, and I'm liking how I can't easy predict exactly where this story is going, and I'm excited to find out, keep up the good work.