The Missing Record: (The Forgotten Archive | Book 1) - Softcover

CROFT, PHILIP HESTER

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798184390802

Publisher: Independently published, 2026

Synopsis

In a world where reality is a bureaucratic database, the ultimate horror isn't death, it's being deleted.

Vaelorix Sornathis is an apprentice archivist in Velthara, a city governed by an omnipresent System that edits out paradoxes and erases "redundant" citizens. When a catastrophic System Event erases half his city and his closest friend, Vaelorix is the only one who remembers the truth.

Unlocking the hidden Bridge Warden class, he gains the power to anchor collapsing timelines. But magic in this world is a zero-sum game. Every time he saves a life, the System demands a brutal "Memory Tax," erasing something else to balance the equation. Hunted by a corrupted Echo of his lost friend and manipulated by cold Curators who view him as a mere tool, Vaelorix must navigate a deadly progression path where memories are currency.

To survive the Empty Shelf and join the underground resistance, he must weaponize his own trauma and become the very anomaly the universe wants to erase.

Perfect for fans of dark progression fantasy and philosophical LitRPG, this series features:

• A unique, bureaucratic magic system based on reality-editing and ontological weight
• Deep progression mechanics, hidden classes, and systemic censorship
• Dark cosmic horror, paradox residue, and existential dread
• A gripping narrative about identity, sacrifice, and the cost of survival

Edition details

• Publisher: Independently published
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798184390802
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 241