After the Great Expedition, humanity's era of struggle had ended. The world was supposed to be fixed; the Emperor's hand grasped all and kept them safe from harm. Yet nothing has changed. The world still follows only one rule: survival of the fittest.
Lorien's warrior life had only just begun when he was faced with his hardest trial yet—hunt a terrible creature, or die to the timed rune engraving on his body. But when his soul entwines with a sentient ring, the trial becomes the least of his worries. To survive in this centuries-old empire, haunted by humanity's dangerous past, he will require more than wits and brawn.
