The Path of None — Book V
The Ascent
An Epic Spiritual Fantasy Adventure
"The ascent is not escape from the abyss. It is what begins when the abyss follows you upward."
The Path of None — Book V
An Epic Spiritual Fantasy Adventure
"The ascent is not escape from the abyss. It is what begins when the abyss follows you upward."
The Story
When destiny calls, only the bold ascend. The eternal sky-mountain rises beyond sight — a brutal monument to legends long forgotten. For Drakko, a young initiate raised in the hidden monastery of Mahālaya, the climb is more than a challenge. It is survival itself.
Chosen as one of the Nine to brave the ancient path, Drakko must confront treacherous terrains, shattering illusions, and trials that warp the very fabric of existence. Haunted by visions and fractured dreams, his journey becomes a breathtaking fusion of brutal survival, mystical revelation, and relentless adventure. Each step across crumbling ledges and through ancient ruins tests not just his strength, but the very core of who he is.
This is no ordinary quest — it is a crucible where friends turn rivals, where trust becomes a fleeting luxury, and where every decision carries the weight of fate. Amid the swirling mists and hidden perils, an ancient power stirs, awaiting those bold — or foolish — enough to seize it.
Praised as "gritty, vivid, and profoundly moving — a true epic," The Ascent merges the spirit of survival fantasy with the grandeur of mythical quests, crafting a character-driven, high-stakes adventure destined to leave readers breathless.
Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings, Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, and the mythic odysseys of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea.
Series
The Path of None
Order
Book V of The Path of None
Format
Epic Fantasy Adventure
Editions
213 pages · Kindle · PB · HC
Peek Inside
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Souls on the Mountain
The Initiate
Raised in the hidden monastery of Mahālaya. Chosen as one of the Nine — the select few entrusted to brave the ancient path up the eternal sky-mountain. The climb tests everything he thought he was.
The Chosen
Selected to climb the ancient path alongside Drakko. They begin as companions — but the mountain turns them into rivals. Trust becomes a fleeting luxury. Every decision carries the weight of fate.
The Waiting
Something stirs in the swirling mists of the high peaks. It does not come to the climbers. It waits for those bold — or foolish — enough to reach it.
From Readers
★ 4.8 / 5 — 59 ratings on Amazon
"Captures the rawness of survival and the beauty of inner transformation like few fantasy novels do."
"The spiritual parts of The Ascent resonated with me the most, adding real depth to the journey."
"An inspiring, soul-stirring climb up a mystical mountain. I couldn't put it down!"
What This Book Explores
The mountain does not ask who you were. It asks who you are when everything you used to call yourself falls away. The Ascent traces the dissolution of the false self — not with comfort, but with precision.
The climb is not a metaphor — it is a crucible. Each step across crumbling ledges and through ancient ruins tests not just strength, but the very core of who Drakko is.
The Nine begin as companions. The mountain turns them into rivals. In The Ascent, trust becomes a fleeting luxury — and every bond forged on the path can be broken by the altitude.
Mahālaya — the monastery where Drakko was raised — is not just a setting. It is the origin of everything he believes, everything he trusts, and everything the mountain will ask him to question.
Continue the Journey
II
Book VI
Continue the Journey
The climb continues. The mountain is not finished. After the first summit, the path opens into terrain that was always there — invisible until now.
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Expand the world — Deep lore
Every villain was once a dreamer. The origin of the darkness whose shadow shapes the entire saga.
Full Book Details →Questions
Yes, The Ascent follows The Spiral in the Path of None reading order. Both explore later incarnations of Drakko's soul, but The Spiral introduces the world and the language of pilgrimage. The Ascent lands harder if you have already walked The Spiral's path.
The Eternal Mountain is not merely a place — it is an initiatory force. It does not welcome seekers; it tests them. Every traveller who approaches it faces the stripping away of what is false — identity, belief, fear, and ego — until only what is real remains.
The Ascent works as a standalone epic, but its full depth rewards those who read The Curse I first. The Path of None is a connected saga — reading in order reveals the architecture behind the journey.
The Ascent is 213 pages — a full-length epic. The sample reader on this page contains 67 pages to explore before you commit to the climb.
The Ascent is perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings, Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, and the mythic odysseys of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea — stories where the inner journey is as epic as the outer one.
About the Author
Author of dark spiritual fantasy, graphic ballads, grimdark fiction, and mythic stories of transformation. His work explores the place where the sacred meets the abyss — where suffering becomes initiation, and the soul is forced to confront both its darkness and its hidden light.
Drawing from years of spiritual practice, sacred texts, mythology, martial sciences, and the guidance of his teacher Vladimir Vojen Kocurek, ZoderoT writes worlds of demons, seekers, warriors, cursed bloodlines, reincarnation, and broken souls searching for wholeness.
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