In a city where names are traded like currency, a cunning broker builds a secret market that spirals out of control. His deals awaken an ancient river god that treats ledgers as law and demands restitution in blood, memory, and service. As the curse spreads-tongues silenced, doors sealed, tokens humming-the city fractures into rival factions: Corvin, the pragmatic commander; the priestess, who seeks mercy through ritual; the registrar, who binds law to ink; the fanatic Teacher and his New Account; and House Lian, forced into guardianship.

When the god insists on a sovereign's life, a mysterious Moirified steward emerges, binding himself as living office to temper divine appetite. Yet war erupts: river-creatures invade, factions clash, and the god escalates its demand-one life, given now. In the final chapters, the lot falls on Corvin himself, leaving the city suspended between sacrifice, law, and annihilation as the tide rises for the last reckoning.