Hunt Athalar, an enslaved angel assassin, carries out a brutal killing mission in a dingy apartment in the Meadows district. The victims had earned the wrath of Archangel Micah Domitus, and Micah's orders specified no guns—an unwritten command to make them suffer. Hunt executes the men with his blade, ignoring one survivor's pleas to share information, and disembowels him before finishing the job.

Hunt returns to the Comitium barracks late at night, blood-soaked and emotionally hollow. In the common room, he encounters three fellow triarii—Naomi, Viktoria, and Justinian. Justinian remarks on the blood covering Hunt, but Naomi shuts down the conversation. She relays a message from Isaiah, Commander of the 33rd Legion: Micah wants Hunt and Isaiah investigating something in the Old Square tomorrow morning. Viktoria offers Hunt a beer when he's done cleaning up, but Hunt heads straight for the showers.

As Hunt processes the night's violence, his backstory unfolds. Centuries ago, he served as general of the 18th Legion under Shahar, the Daystar—an Archangel who rebelled against the Asteri and her twin sister Sandriel. Shahar believed Sandriel had murdered their Archangel parents and framed an assassin. The rebellion ended in catastrophic defeat at Mount Hermon, where Shahar was killed by Sandriel. Hunt was enslaved and branded with the halo of thorns. He passed through three Archangel owners, spending fifty-three years under Sandriel, who tried to break him through torture, arena fights, and assassination orders.

Micah, Hunt's current owner, traded for him and offered a rare bargain: Hunt must make a kill for every life lost during the Battle of Mount Hermon that was attributed to him and his legion—a total of 2,217. When the debt is paid, Micah will consider removing Hunt's slave tattoo. After four years of obedience, Hunt's tally stands at only eighty-two. Despite knowing the number is inflated and possibly impossible, Hunt clings to this slim hope of eventual freedom. He receives his assignments via anonymous files bearing the imperial SPQM crest and seven stars.

In the bathroom mirror, Hunt confronts his bloodied reflection—the painted skull helmet, the thorns tattooed on his brow, and the emptiness in his eyes. He recalls that his mother named him Orion and lovingly called him Hunt, and doubts she would have done so knowing what he'd become. He strips off his armor, leaving bloody handprints on the porcelain, and steps into a scalding shower, submitting to its punishing heat.