Though winter passed, darkness clings still across the land. As Drake heads west in search of the fabled Oracle to restore his broken memories, he clashes against an increasingly hostile world on the brink of war. Kings plot their grand ambitions, powerful rebels envision a world for themselves, and clandestine cults lie threatening to strike from every shadow. Mystics, the chosen few tethered to a soul manifested from nature, may have shaped planet Kyros-but there's no place left for demigods in these wicked kingdoms. As he searches for a way into Godwin's domain, Drake seeks answers to the unsolvable questions within. His past and purpose a foggy mirror, he painfully attempts to make sense of the little he knows. Golden-eyes, the merciless architect of Drake's suffering. His black-robed followers, tirelessly recruiting Mystics into their faceless organization. Talia. Far more terrifying than failing to recover his memories is the thought harm could come to Talia. With no other family, Drake considers the orphaned girl as a daughter of his own and would go to any lengths to keep her safe. Even with the aid of a belligerent Primal named Pyros, he increasingly doubts his own ability to protect her. Danger takes many faces, and some threats cannot be killed with a blade. Meanwhile, Allen discovers new hope in the Library of El Aria. Under Virgil's tutelage, Allen finds a place among the renowned scholars and professors of Kyros. Distracted by evolving relationships and the promise of a new world to be discovered, Allen almost finds happiness trapped on this side of the portal. Almost. The absence of his wife and daughter haunts him every time he closes his eyes. His impossible wish to see them again drives him deeper into the library, where he discovers the true price of the El Aria's vast knowledge. Torn between reuniting with his family and preserving the last remnants of his morality, Allen faces the undoable decision alone.
