Casting necromancy without ever learning how isn't supposed to be possible. A starving orphan girl named Vita is somehow managing it anyway, and she's not sure if this is going to be the solution to her life's problems or a horrifying, spiraling mess into problems she can't even conceive.

Everyone wants superpowers, including Alden Thorn.

But even if he's lucky enough to be one of the few humans granted magical abilities by the extraterrestrial System that's been running things on Earth for decades, his goal of being a battlefield support hero is still a long way off.

He's got determination on his side and maybe a murderous alien desk clerk, too.

The universe is a complicated place. Alden's about to meet it.