TBATE creator announces new Tapas webnovel SOUL FORGED

With The Beginning After the End winding down, fans may worry that they won’t be able to read any of TurtleMe’s works for a long time. But worry not! The creator has already announced his next work.

TurtleMe teased a big announcement a few days ago before revealing that he was working on a new webnovel called Soul Forged. The series will launch as a Tapas Original on November 7, but he released the first seven chapters on his Patreon on August 22.

TurtleMe has kept quiet about Soul Forged’s plot, only revealing that it belongs to the fantasy genre. The cover features what appears to be a young protagonist with tousled short hair. Wearing gauntlets, they grasp a translucent sword that may have been forged from souls.

TurtleMe, whose real name is Brandon Lee, began writing The Beginning After the End in October 2015 on Royalroad before eventually moving it to Tapas in 2017. Inspired by Mushoku Tensei, Tower of God, and Eragon, The Beginning After the End follows Arthur Leywin, an intelligent and inquisitive child who begins a journey of self-discovery as he learns how to wield magic. Many of his friends and allies don’t know that Arthur was reborn, and that in his past life he ruled as King Grey, who mysteriously died. Although Arthur wants to live a new life, he cannot stop wondering who killed him—and why.

The Beginning After the End became a popular webcomic illustrated by Fuyuki23 from 2018 to 2023. The series recently finished its sixth season, and a seventh season is on the way. Its success led to the first anime adaptation of an American webnovel and webcomic. The first season aired in April 2025 to less-than-stellar reviews, and a second season will premiere in 2026. The webnovel also recently launched a Kickstarter for a print release, which fans fully funded in less than 15 minutes.

If November feels too far away, you can start reading Soul Forged now on Patreon.

Source: X, formerly known as Twitter