Ashe was called half-blood. In the star empire, that meant lower than low. She grew up in the slums. Her mother was dying. Her father, an arms dealer named Klaus, had abandoned them. Now he wanted to use Ashe as a scapegoat. He sent her into a deadly radiation zone to retrieve a crystal core for Vance, the empire's strongest marshal. Vance was on the edge of madness. Everyone thought Ashe would die. She did not. She tore apart S-class beasts with her bare hands. She killed arrogant pureblood nobles. She survived the radiation. She conquered Vance's suspicion. They fought side by side. They uncovered a conspiracy: the Senate and the nobles were running human experiments. Ashe's blood awakened. She was not half-blood. She was the only first-generation pureblood in the universe. She destroyed the Senate. She stood beside Vance at the top of the empire. She had been born in the gutter. She had climbed to the stars.