Souls fuel the Empire, magic arms the legions, and the end is always coming. The cycle has repeated for millennia: heroes rise, cataclysms are delayed, civilization survives another generation. But every salvation comes at a cost…and the bill is overdue.

Syl is a battle-worn Vigil Hunter whose faith in the Empire and in his own revenge begins to fracture after an unexpected act of mercy. His job might be to ask questions, but there are some answers that he should know better than to pursue.

Vali is a young soldier from the provinces hungry to prove himself in a system that barely sees him as one of their own. Becoming a hero of the Empire will cost him more than the stories promised, but what hero would be dissuaded by that?

Darya is a survivor from the frozen wastes, caught between desperate tribes pushing south and an Empire that suffers no encroachment. Sent on a mission to find new allies, she discovers something far older stirring within her and realizes survival may demand she become something else entirely.

When a new Riftgate tears open in the north, they must each decide what they’re willing to become to change their world—breaking it free of its endless cycles, or damning it forever.

A necro-industrial dark fantasy for fans of The First Law, The Black Company, and The Witcher.