Gray snow has fallen for ten whole years. The "Heavenly Ones" look down from the clouds at humanity's suffering, treating all living beings as ants and toys. To cure his younger sister's "Ashen Disease," Shen Xuan takes up the carving knife and ten puppet strings left behind by his grandfather. Others awaken supernatural powers and command the wind and rain; he awakens the nearly extinct "Puppet Way," controlling inanimate things with strings tied to his ten fingers. When the indescribable "Heavenly Ones" descend, humanity's last line of defense teeters on the brink of collapse, and the entire city despairs. Standing atop a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, Shen Xuan's fingers dance as blood drips along the transparent strings. Behind him stands a towering hundred-zhang wooden construct, along with the spirits of countless humans who fell in battle, now raised upright by strings. "Ladies and gentlemen, how do you like this show, Slaying Gods on Strings?" The whole city falls silent. Only the gray snow rustles. He isn't controlling puppets. He's pulling the strings of this godforsaken fate.
