Worshipers of the Black Hole

What does it mean to possess a soul?When Pliny Augur is killed in a sudden attack at the marketplace, advanced medical technology brings him back to life-but something within him has irrevocably changed. There was something else with him while he was dead, a singularity of fathomless darkness. Pliny is disturbed by this and driven to investigate his experience. However, his research brings him into direct conflict with the theocratic regime of Roma IV, ruled by the all-powerful Imperial Pantheon. Perplexed by the question of his completeness as a person and the meaning of the presence, Pliny is pushed to more extreme measures to discover what he saw, and what it meant.Aelia Vellus, an Inquisitor raised by the Pantheon to hunt down heretics, is sent to stop Pliny before his dangerous curiosity can spread and infect the minds of others. As their paths converge, Pliny's search for meaning and Aelia's unwavering loyalty to the Pantheon collide in a battle of faith, knowledge, and self-discovery. Will Aelia's rigid zeal lead to Pliny's destruction, or will his revelations compel her to think for herself?