Tsutomu Nihei

A visually stunning work of sci-fi horror from the creator of Biomega and BLAME! A vast city lies under the shadow of colossal, ancient tombs, the identity of their builders lost to time. In the streets of the city something is preying on the inhabitants, something that moves faster than the human eye can see and leaves unimaginable horror in its wake. Tsutomu Nihei’s dazzling, harrowing dystopian thriller is presented here in a single-volume hardcover edition featuring full-color pages and foldout illustrations. This volume also includes the early short story “Digimortal.”

Killy is a man of few words who packs one very powerful gun. He wanders an endless labyrinth of cyberdungeons filled with concrete and steel, fighting off cyborgs and other bizarre silicate creatures.

Sanakan attempts to destroy the Central A.I., as Mensab and her guardian knight, Seu, fight for the lives of the human residents they promised to protect. After the Central A.I. recklessly attempts to forward the whole of TOHA Heavy Industries, Kyrii and Cibo are left with a precious genetic sample from a very old human being. Wanting to test the genetic sample for signs of the Net Terminal Gene, Kyrii and Cibo make their way through an unofficial megastructure...

Cibo has uploaded herself into Sanakan's body, and she struggles to suppress Sanakan's consciousness and the Safeguard commands. Cibo and Kyrii continue their hunt for the Net Terminal Gene inside of Toha Heavy Industries, which appears to be a safe space where neither the Administration nor the Safeguards can interfere. Mensab is one of the few AIs who succeeded in protecting her human charges from the deadly attacks of the Silicon Life. Mensab attempts a forwarding that shunts Kyrii into an unstable space within Toha, where time and space warp at random, and he encounters a familiar face...

The Administration contacts Kyrii and Cibo, encouraging them to keep searching for the Net Terminal Gene which will stop the City from its intractable, chaotic growth. The Admin also warns them of the autonomous Safeguards, vicious entities that attempt to kill off any humans who access the Netsphere without the required Net Terminal Gene. Kyrii is attacked, and a group of humans who have settled on the outskirts of Toha Heavy Industries comes to his aid. Kyrii awakens with a newfound ability to read his surroundings, which allows him mere seconds to fend off an attacker lurking among the humans settlement. In the ensuing battle, Cibo makes a heavy sacrifice, but not before learning a startling truth about her traveling companion...