Ash Eden

Eden is a city without walls, protected by an invisible barrier upheld by thirteen iron boundary stakes, shielding it from the gray desolate mist outside. Chen Bo is the current Keeper, living a lazy life, seeking only stability and peace. But peace is shattered as Eden begins to silently collapse. Strange cracks spread from the boundary stakes across the city, and otherworldly seepage appears everywhere: pedestrians bear bizarre layered lacerations, travelers leave clay shards inscribed with cryptic words, companions vanish without a trace, clues become hopelessly tangled, and hidden secrets of old places are quietly excavated. The black stone beneath his pillow unveils the thousand-year-old truth of Eden. This city that shelters humanity was not built by human hands but grew from the earth itself. The first Keeper was not human; Eden ceased growing after birthing the Keeper, but now the dead land stirs again, and strange things break through the soil. The Keeper protects Eden, yet Eden continuously drains the Keeper's vitality. With every use of his power, Chen Bo's body withers further, nearing depletion. Companions missing, boundaries shattered, the truth grim. Holding an unknown black seed, Chen Bo stands at the boundary between dawn light and gray mist, the path ahead shrouded in uncertainty. He does not know whether his perseverance is a guardian's salvation for all or a destined sacrifice. When the Keeper is fully exhausted, what new darkness will this reborn Eden nurture? — Description from novelcodex.org