[WATTYS 2024 SHORTLIST] Lucan Thurst, an alchemist shackled to his obsessions, seeks the unattainable: immortality. In the heart of Burnell Academy he toils away--pieces of himself lost until the line between human and other is blurred beyond recognition. Meanwhile, long-time friend and scientific rival, River Kim, believes death is not the body's end, and a heart stopped may yet beat again. Nearing the completion of his medical degree, River intends to prove immortality lies not in elixirs but in the resilience of flesh. As their friendship fractures around them, the two men must learn to work together in order to achieve their goal. Both keen on being the first to alter the course of medical science. Both utilizing one another's secrets to their own advantage. But, when those secrets are whispered into the dark, Lucan and River will learn a harrowing truth: it is the dark that always listens. For fans of dark academia: Frankenstein, The Secret History, The Haunting of Bly Manor