The quest to find a friend whose life hangs by a thread, leads James and Jiron back into the heart of the Empire. The impetus behind the hunt is not as it would seem. The life of their friend is but a lure that powers use to draw James to the appointed place at the appointed time. James is ultimately maneuvered to face the power behind the Empire, a dark being whose orchestration of peoples and powers has brought the world to the point of annihilation. He discovers that he, too, has been manipulated in furthering the dark plans of this sinister being. Can James defeat a being that has walked this world for over a millennia? Or will he face defeat and the destruction of all that he has come to hold dear.