In the quiet border town of Yaoyuan, the life of young Chen Mo is shattered by a single nightmare. A bizarre assassination attempt against him uncovers a shocking secret buried deep in his bloodline. When he watches his loved ones die at the hands of mysterious men in black robes, overwhelming grief and the chilling whisper of a "game of the gods" tear apart everything he thought he knew about the world.
To uncover the truth and seek revenge, Chen Mo sets out for the imperial capital with his father, who bears wounds of his own. Armed with a letter of recommendation from an imperial arcane mage, Chen Mo enters the Royal Academy, where genius and power converge. There, he must learn to control the strange, elementless magic within him and grow rapidly amid intrigue and competition.
Yet the shadow of the men in black robes never fades. Their schemes involve not only a horrifying plot to assassinate gifted youths one after another, but also the gathering storm surrounding the empire's ancient enemies, and even the cruel game played by the gods above, who treat all living beings as pawns. Chen Mo must break free of his fate as a chess piece. Amid the legacy of his loved ones, the bonds he shares with his companions, and the flames of revenge, he must cut through the fog and face the darkness capable of devouring the world, fighting a path to survival for himself and every cursed prodigy.
