The Smirk of Ruin

In Althanar—a vast world divided into subterranean, surface, and celestial layers—Sir Malik ibn Skhrya is nothing more than a running joke. His strength is average, but his enthusiasm far exceeds his sense. He fights for a single day, often winning by trickery or sheer luck—or losing spectacularly and hilariously. In this world, everyone is an insect compared to dragons, demons (the Sheikhsan), and cosmic entities—and Malik is just a bug among bugs. But when Malik, in a foolish act of recklessness, breaks an ancient seal in a long-forgotten Egyptian dungeon, he awakens Nefert-Ai, a scion of the lost Kinit civilization. Nefert-Ai is a lethal mix of forgotten power and sharp, royal beauty. She seeks to reclaim her lost glory, while he’s after a free meal and some thrills. Together—in an unconventional and scandalous pairing—they become the center of a conflict spanning 21 different races and the great entities, a struggle that threatens to tear reality itself apart. This is a mad, bloody, and strangely quiet journey, in which a flawed and perverse hero tries to save a world that mocks him, all to return to the embrace of his noble mummy beloved.