Eighteen-year-old librarian Lin Jin has a perfect memory that preserves every moment of the past.
Yet to snatch a loved one back from the Grim Reaper, he is forced to awaken a cursed supernatural ability: devouring memories in exchange for power.
Every time he uses his ability, it is a form of self-torture. His mother's lullaby, the joy of success, the marks of friendship... These precious fragments that make up his soul burn away into power to protect others, leaving behind only a cold, empty void and bewilderment.
Forced to join the "Guardians," an organization that maintains the city's facade, he learns this desperate law of survival under the brutal training of his cold-faced mentor, Chen Mo.
He meets archivist Su Xiao, who is willing to preserve his "past" for him, and provokes Gao Yang, a powerful enemy who sees memories as fuel for pleasure.
While searching for his missing mentor, Lin Jin gradually uncovers the bloody truth: the glorious city he lives in is nothing more than a "memory ranch" left behind by an ancient civilization, and the past he cherishes is "strategic fuel" coveted by others. The organization's infighting, the invasion of outside enemies, and the cruel nature of the world all point toward one ultimate philosophical dilemma:
Should he follow the rule of devouring himself for power, step by step toward the same cold future as his mentor, stripped of all emotion? Or should he break this desperate cycle once and for all, and seek a new path for humanity amid eternal forgetfulness?
His journey is a tragic and heroic road paved with memories, leading to his own annihilation.
· This is an urban epic about "the price" of power, exploring what it means to be human on the scales of strength and humanity.
