A boy wakes alone, lying upon the altar of a long ruined temple.

Soon he is taken in by the mysterious and cantankerous Old Mother Hecate, a dying crone with an uncertain past and even more uncertain motivations.

Who can he trust? What is wrong with his soul? And why do the crows keep watching him?

He who stares into the abyss is a dark fantasy story with elements of lit-rpg, progression fantasy, Lovecraftian horror, and traditional fairytales.

The protagonist starts as a powerless child and must cope with the realities and horrors of being weak in a dark world where powerful beings known as 'immortals' scheme and conspire against one another and the few mortals powerful enough to play their games.

Can he find the strength to keep himself and those he cares about safe from the beings that seek to use him as a pawn in their own machinations?