A cursed archmage who slays women to steal their magical powers. Having witnessed his foster parent murdered right before his eyes, Karyudo trains in the secret arts of the Night Scribe to bring down the tyrant... A sensational debut from a rising star of Japanese fantasy!

Born with a moonstone in his right hand, obsidian in his left, and a pearl inside his mouth, Karyudo was marked by fate from the day he entered the world. But his life is utterly shattered when his foster parent is brutally slaughtered before him by Anjist—a cursed archmage who murders women to claim their sorcery for himself.

The Maiden of the Moon, the Witch of Darkness, and the Sorceress of the Sea. Across thousands of years, the tragic destinies of these three women slain by Anjist converge with Karyudo's own.

Determined to destroy his sworn enemy, Karyudo undergoes grueling training to master a power beyond traditional magic as a "Night Scribe." But where will his quest for vengeance ultimately lead...?

Rewriting the landscape of Japanese fantasy and sparking a sensation across the literary world, this is the breathtaking debut novel that started it all.