Twenty-six-year-old antique restorer Lin Shen sets foot on Mist Island with a map left by his late mother, hoping to find his father, who vanished aboard an expedition ship 20 years ago. His companions include Madam Wu, who wears a bronze mask; the mysterious doctor Cheng Ye; and twin sisters carrying a pocket watch with a photo from 30 years ago. Every 20 years, Mist Island swallows ships and triggers a "seven-day death loop." Everyone alive on the island has a deadly "reflection in the mist."
After they reach the island, the Morning Star, which sank 20 years ago, reappears. His father's notes reveal that Lin Shen is the "key" to the thirteenth cycle. And Madam Wu turns out to be an older version of his girlfriend, Su Qing, who became a "half-mist-core being" after touching her reflection. As three layers of time overlap and the mirror curse grows stronger, Lin Shen discovers that he is the thirteenth reincarnation of the island's ruler from a century ago. Cheng Ye, meanwhile, represents the island's consciousness and forces him to kill his companions and become its new ruler.
With a bronze dagger bearing twelve notches in hand, Lin Shen must choose between piercing his reflection and bringing down the island, or accepting his fate. As the mist lifts, Su Qing's warning echoes across the island. Beyond its shores, "mist era researchers" are plotting to end the cycle with a nuclear bomb. The truth behind the thirteenth dawn lies hidden in the cracks between reflections and memories...
