The story takes place in a parallel world much like our own, in a city called Ashen City. Fifteen years ago, an unknown disaster known as the Great Collapse swept across the globe, awakening supernatural abilities in 0.1% of the population. The disaster has passed, but abnormal energy remains, turning modern cities into perilous hunting grounds.
The Ability System: The Law of Cost. Unlike the golden finger abilities found in other novels, the abilities in this story are curses. Those who awaken them are called Ember Kings, meaning people who burn themselves to illuminate the abnormal. Each use of an ability requires an equal price. For example, immense strength comes at the cost of losing the ability to feel pain, so the body can be destroyed without the user realizing it; the ability to read minds comes at the cost of persistent memory loss; and the ability to control fire comes at the cost of a steadily falling body temperature, until the user eventually becomes an ice sculpture. This concept runs throughout the story, exploring the eternal question of power and its price.
Social Structure: The government has established the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs to contain Ember Kings and deal with abnormal events. Unregistered, wild Ember Kings operate in the gray areas of society, giving rise to an underground black market and mercenary organizations.
