In the world of Orntia, “magic” is nothing more than astral particles left behind by an advanced civilization. Dragons and demons are runaway biological weapons, while the lofty “gods” are really just cold management AIs. Beneath its medieval façade, this world is a failed “civilization incubator,” a cruel relic of an interstellar experiment.
Ares, a fallen noble of the Crystal Song Fief, watched his family perish in the flames of bloodshed at the hands of the ancient dragon “Ash Lord.” Then the power dormant within him suddenly awakened. His spine was actually the core that controlled astral particles! Driven by the fire of revenge, he was drawn into an even deeper conspiracy. As he gradually uncovered the truth about “magic,” he harnessed particle resonance: his flesh could become steel to deflect dragon breath, and his will could dismantle a city wall and reforge it into a giant sword. He struggled to manage the Crystal Song Fief, subdued the Hawkfolk corrupted by particles, and fought the whispering followers of Cthulhu and the “Radiant Church,” which worshipped a false AI god.
But the truth grew ever more horrifying. Ares was no lucky accident; he was a “civilization assessment prototype” deployed by the “Observers,” and his memories had been altered again and again. The deepest pain came from his old friend, Lia. Once the Church’s sharpest “Blade of Light,” she had been completely brainwashed and now saw him as a heretic who must be purged. With the Church’s iron hooves and Lia’s holy sword pointed at the seventy thousand civilians of the Crystal Song Fief, Ares faced an ultimate choice: activate the devastating “Civilization Purge Protocol” in his spine and kill every incompatible being, including Lia, to save himself? Or watch helplessly as his home was destroyed?
