The story opens in a realm parallel to Earth, where animals live with human-like ambitions. Survivors in a crumbling city struggle to keep hope alive while whispers spread of a mysterious queen named Ivy. She lures lonely men with pity, then drags them into her machine, the Reforger, stripping them into husks. On Earth, the first signs of the dead rising spread quietly — a prelude to disaster. The survivors’ paths begin to cross as they realize their world is built not on hope, but on cinders waiting to reignite.