to the reader who is not afraid to die
What if death is not the end?
What if it is merely the beginning of something far longer, far more unfathomable... and infinitely lonelier?
This is not a story about saving the world.
It is not about a hero falling into another realm, growing stronger, gaining companions, and defeating evil.
Smertnik is the story of one who dies. And dies again. And again. And again.
Each death is not a defeat. It is a transition.
Each rebirth is not a gift, but a sentence.
He is born without memory. Without a name. Sometimes — without even a mind.
He may awaken as a fish. As a crawling thing.
As something that doesn't even have eyes to see.
And yet, inside — something remains.
A spark. A fragment of a thought.
Then — a feeling.
Then — fear.
Then — choice.
Smertnik is a journey through countless forms of life, across worlds that share nothing in common.
It is an endless chain of births and deaths where the protagonist does not find meaning — he forges it.
He learns to live where there is no logic.
He struggles to be strong where strength holds no power.
He searches for himself where even the word "I" has no meaning.
Every arc in this novel is a separate universe.
It may be a primordial world.
A realm built on digital consciousness.
A landscape drawn from classic literature or forged in the depths of fantasy.
A world of pain. A world of childhood. A world where God is dead.
A world where God is you.
There are no templates. No restrictions.
But there is one rule: in the end, he will die.
Sometimes — meaninglessly.
Sometimes — beautifully.
Sometimes — with the haunting sense that he has walked this path before.
Sometimes — with hope that next time will be different.
He remembers nothing. And yet, something carries through.
The feeling of injustice.
The ache of loss.
The impulse to protect.
The understanding that some truths matter in every world, whether that world runs on magic, machines, morals, or madness.
He finds these truths himself.
He loses them.
He finds them again without even knowing.
This story is unlike any other.
Because it does not end.
Because each ending is only the beginning of another chapter.
And because within it lies what we fear most in ourselves —
the silence after death,
the hunger to continue,
the question of who we truly were.
Smertnik is not just a novel.
It is the foundation of a larger idea.
I want this world to become a crossroads — for other stories, other authors, other universes.
A place where each reader can find a reflection of their own soul.
And where every creator might one day weave their world into this endless journey.
This is a story that allows me to speak in any language — philosophy, metaphor, genre.
And perhaps, through it, I will say something that matters.