Hollowborne

Two hundred years ago, a Sovereign-rank Wielder attempted to become a god. He almost succeeded. The backlash cracked the dimensional barrier between the mortal plane and the Hollows — a parasitic shadow-dimension of corrupted essence. Now ash falls from fractures in the sky, civilization has contracted into walled Bastion Cities, and the system that governs power is damaged, glitching, and ruthlessly exploited by those at the top.

Cael Vantris was the best soldier in the western bastions — until his commanding officer sent his squad into a corrupted zone for profit and he was the only one who walked out. Discharged, rank-stripped, and dumped in the outer ring, he discovers a class so rare the system flags it as an error: Hollowborne. He can consume corrupted essence without degrading. He can reforge it. In a world where corruption is the most abundant and most dangerous resource, Cael is a walking refinery — and the system itself wants him dead for it.

Think the ash-choked oppression of Mistborn, the wit and moral backbone of He Who Fights With Monsters, the raw power growth of Primal Hunter, and the brotherhood of Dragon Ball Z. Clean language throughout — no alcohol, no profanity.

Dark but hopeful. The powerful exploit the weak. The system pushes back against anyone who threatens the hierarchy. But good people refuse to stop fighting — and that stubbornness changes everything.