When salvation becomes a plague and protection turns into mutation, he burns his own cells as fuel, kindling humanity’s final twilight.
On the night the Seventh Dome, “Eden,” collapsed, Lin Zhou volunteered to become the Host of the nanoplague “Child of Rebellion” to save his younger sister. But something else awoke within him too: a guiding protocol left behind by the ancient civilization known as “Mother.” He became a walking paradox: one force yearned to devour and remake all things, while the other sought to guide orderly evolution.
He is no hero. He is a dam on the verge of collapse.
Every time he unleashes inhuman power, he pays with the permanent sacrifice of his own cells. His right arm crystallizes in battle, becoming a cold, hard, alien limb. His memories are eroded by the tragic imprint of the pioneer Evelyn. Even the most basic act of “living” becomes a constant drain on his very existence.
In the abyss beneath the earth, the sleeping “Cocoon” is stirring.
The remains of the “Starweaver” and the twisted creations of the abyssal “Echo” use their tainted frequencies to lure all things into madness. The “Anchor” mark in Lin Zhou’s palm is both the key to sealing it and a beacon that draws its prey.
Above the ruins, order and chaos are reshuffling the world.
A mysterious trading company searches for ancient protocols, the scavenger girl Ying struggles between survival and morality, and the “Cleaners” continue their merciless purge of everything “anomalous” with their iron tide. Every escape by Lin Zhou and his younger sister reshapes the fragile balance of this rusted wasteland.
This is an epic about “the price.”
When the sacrifice of cells changes from something passively endured into an active choice, and an individual’s frequency is tempered into shape through destruction, Lin Zhou must answer one question: how much are you willing to pay to protect those you love
