In Virelia, the last bastion of post-collapse civilization, emotion is outlawed. After a global catastrophe known as The Shuddering, society restructured under the Calming Protocol — a mandate enforced through neural implants that suppress all emotional response. Citizens live in sterile harmony, devoid of passion, art, or memory. To feel is a crime. To remember is rebellion.
When a mysterious stranger known only as Lio enters the city — unmodulated and overflowing with raw, contagious emotion — a quiet storm begins. Enforcement Officer Dren Hal is assigned to investigate the anomaly, confident in their duty and detachment. But as Lio’s presence sparks inexplicable recollections and emotional ruptures across the city, Dren is pulled into a hidden undercurrent of forbidden memory and long-buried longing. With Virelia on the brink of unraveling, Dren must decide whether to uphold the order of numb survival… or risk everything to feel again.
