In a galaxy built on cybernetics and cruelty, the gutter is the only home Cole has ever known. The Ascendancy’s selection exam was his one chance at escape. He didn’t just pass—he tested into the Aegis Phalanx, the ruthless enforcers who bleed the slums dry. Thrust into a nest of vipers where betrayal is currency and loyalty is a death sentence, Cole must become a monster to survive. But will he be the Ascendancy's weapon, or the spark that burns it all to ash?