

On her coronation day, Empress Yedda Lara orders her betrothed, Ronan Vance, thrown into the furnace for allegedly draining the empire's dragon vein. Ten years ago, Ronan actually tore out his own dragon core to seal the demons beneath them, but now, he stands branded a traitor.Before he can burn, the ancient Vowstone shatters, unleashing memories that expose the truth to the entire court: it was Ronan who saved Yedda's life as a child, sacrificing his blood, his horns, and his power to protect her, while the true villain, Chancellor Cyrus, stole her memories and framed him.As her hatred shatters into agonizing guilt, the dragon vein begins to die. Desperate and broken, the empress falls to her knees, begging the man she just condemned to save them all.

Kain Harris runs a small shop. He seems unremarkable. He is not.His abilities have quietly compounded into something the outside world, where the highest known level is thirty, has no framework to measure—wooden carvings that manifest as divine forms, comics that accelerate transcendence, a dog that devours celestial bodies, catfish soup that breeds dragons. His wife is a CEO. His admirer is a martial saint. His neighbors are the greatest cultivators in the nation, and they all know exactly what he is. The world beyond his street does not. When it eventually finds out, it will need a moment.