PROLOGUE

Jameson Callahan entered the world cloaked in shadow, a curse clinging to him from the very first beat of his heart. From his earliest memories, a profound emptiness echoed through his life, particularly within the walls of his father's local church. Despite his efforts, his religious practices and heartfelt prayers felt hollow, never finding the spiritual solace or connection he so desperately sought. He was an anomaly, an unholy presence in a sacred space, unable to bring any genuine value or spiritual uplift to the church, let alone earn his father's approval.

This spiritual barrenness became a separation between him and his devout father. Their inability to understand his disconnection with their faith led to a heartbreaking, definitive act of abandonment. Cast adrift and alone, a seed of resentment took root in Callahan's soul. Amidst the ruins of his faith and family, he swore a solemn, chilling oath: he would earn his revenge, no matter the cost or the path it demanded.

Chapter 1

They say the wind never stops howling in Hollow’s End. Some say it’s just the ocean cliffs. Others say it’s the boy who was never buried. But some, those whose eyes have been hollowed by truth - they speak of one who returned with a heart that should not beat, and a soul stitched not by god, but by lightning.

Edgar Blackwood was born cursed. he had a face of twisted flesh and facial parts, and he has never been able to bring value or wealth to the family. “God has turned his back,” the priest once muttered to Edgar’s mother. His father didn’t even stay long enough to whisper anything. He was never welcome. The villagers didn’t acknowledge Edgar. He was left outside in winter. Children threw stones at him. Even the dogs wouldn't go near him; and the Church? It prayed for him, never with him. From the moment Edgar entered this world, he was alone, and the world around him would punish him for it.

Edgar never cried. Not once. Every night, he stood by the chapel and stared into the stained glass of saints and angels. Their painted smiles mocked him. 

On his eighteenth birthday, as he looked for something to speak to him in heaven, thunder split the sky into two rivaling sides. One side Edgar. One the 7 billion in hatred of him. Him against the world. Edgar climbed the jagged cliff above the village. No one stopped him. No one cared. With no god to save him and no mother to mourn him, Edgar opened his arms to the wind. He didn’t scream when he jumped.

CHAPTER 2

His body washed ashore three days later, cold and blue, twisted like a dropped marionette. That’s when he arrived. Father Callahan. Not a true priest — not anymore. His robes were tattered, his Bible was water-stained and rewritten with notes in a language no one could read. He spoke of electricity as power, of galvanism as resurrection. “God isn’t the only one who gives life,” stated the words etched on his bible. “He just doesn’t like to share.”

Callahan found Edgar’s corpse where the tide had spat him out. He stared for a long time, whispering prayers that flickered between Latin and science. His hands shook as he dragged the boy’s body up the mountain. Locals said they heard chanting. And laughter. And thunder louder than ever before.

CHAPTER 3

Up on the mountain, Callahan built a grotesque structure of metal rods, copper coils, and broken crosses. He pierced Edgar’s chest with a thick iron spike. He raised his arms, not in prayer, but in command. Lightning answered.

The bolt split the night open. Edgar’s limbs jerked violently. His jaw snapped shut, severing part of his tongue, blood bubbling, gargling and oozing in his throat. The rattling of bones bringing Edgar back to life echoed through the mountains. His back snapped straight as if suddenly possessed by a force stronger than God. His eyes burst open — glowing, crackling with something other. Edgar was alive. Or something like it.

Callahan stood back to admire his masterpiece, preparing to get back at his own family, although gone, who had abandoned him 40 years ago. Their presence lay in the village they once inhabited, but following the same story of Edgar.