In the 26th century utopia - "New Hope Star" carefully woven by the "Gardener" system, pain is a mistake that must be deleted, and happiness is a syrup that is forced to be injected. The poet Leah, who cannot forget the pain of her deceased husband and carries "illegal emotions", is labeled as a "pathogen" by the system. When an amnestic failure triggers a collective collapse, she is forced to flee to the "Rust Nest", a scar beneath the city.
Here, she met a boy frozen in hatred, an "old bartender" who forged pain into a weapon, and a cruel truth: humans are just "emotional crops" cultivated by "gardeners" and will eventually be swallowed up by the unknown "reaper" civilization. Her "original emotions" - those untamed poems and memories, became the "fire" that ignited resistance in the eyes of the people of Rust Nest.
Armed with her late husband's vague last words, "There is still a spark breathing in the ashes," Leah must delve into the darkest core of "The Gardener" - the "Emotional Correction Center." She will connect with the "Heart of Thorns" made of the flesh and blood of the Rust Nest people, face the cold mechanical scavengers, and find the answer in the abyss of despair: When human nature itself becomes the prey of the universe, will her "fire" ignite the light of hope for civilization, or provide the final epitaph for darkness?
