In the realm of Another World, an afterlife peopled by mask-wearing keepers known as soulkeepers, the living essence of memory is treated like a current that can be shed. When a soul is ready to release its past life, it is guided to a cascading waterfall where memories drift away and the soul begins to turn into a rope. If a rope bears knots, those knots mark unresolved resentments. Should resentment accumulate, a Seed of Evil forms within the rope, and if the seed grows, the soul can transform into a Wrath—an extraordinarily powerful, dangerous being. Gudo, a soulkeeper with a keen curiosity about these Seeds, spends time pondering why these resentments crystallize into such seeds.
His path crosses with Yuri, a determined figure who travels the afterlife’s mysteries in search of her brother Kenji. Though their aims begin in different directions, they forge a bond as they navigate the rules of Another World. The Goddess, ruler of this other realm, grants Gudo a special ability to observe the past, a key to unlocking the origins of Seeds and the way memories ripple into the present. This act of permission deepens Yuri’s quest and sets the stage for revelations about guilt, forgiveness, and the fates that tether disparate lives across time.
Meanwhile, in a distant kingdom called Flower City, a young princess named Goran faces her own peril as her Seed of Evil starts to bloom. Her world is strained by the weight of a dying King, the whispers of a traitorous general who once served him, and the encroaching threat of Nyer’s forces. As the King’s funeral unfolds, suspicion and sorrow mingle with political deceit. A defector’s arrest in the dungeon adds fuel to the tension, and a devastating claim about the King’s death—whether by suicide or betrayal—casts a long shadow over the crown. When Gudo appears briefly in her life—she offers him food and is drawn into a moment where a loop is drawn on her stomach—she becomes a focal point for the Seed’s dangerous potential. The situation spirals as a bodyguard named Dark Sky pushes toward decisive action, and Gudo intervenes, arguing that Goran can still be saved from becoming a Wrath if her Seed is carefully tended. A dramatic, deceptive ruse leads to a perilous moment where Gudo appears to decapitate her, prompting a summons back to Another World and leaving Goran to grapple with a growing disorder in her own body and mind.
Decades pass, and Flower City collapses under the weight of a Wrath known as the Ghost Princess, transforming into a bleak village called Wheat Village. A wheat farmer named Keung contemplates rebellion and wonders whether to enlist the power of the Ghost Princess’ Wrath to resist Nyer’s advancing forces. He visits the Requiem Temple, drawn by rumors of the Ghost Hand—the Wrath’s legendary instrument—despite the concerns of his family and fellow farmers. In a tense encounter with Gudo, Keung declares his desire to become a Wrath, mirroring the Ghost Princess. Gudo reveals a crucial truth: the Ghost Princess is actually Goran, a revelation that shakes Keung’s resolve and reframes the idea of power and justice. After a brutal chain of betrayals and violence, Goran’s Seed is finally expelled, and Flower City’s downfall continues despite her pleas for mercy.
Yet the struggle does not end with Goran’s fall. Dark Sky, a loyal protector, acts to restrain the Wrath’s urge to destroy, and the confrontation with a senior general named Duan culminates in a brutal moment that leaves Keung torn between duty and humanity. Seeing his friend fall and recognizing the true cost of turning into a Wrath, Keung rejects the path of vengeance and allows Gudo to pluck his Seed of Evil, though not without great consequence. The rebellion falters, and Wheat Village is nearly erased by a cunning trap set by Nyer’s forces. In a heartbreaking turn, Keung witnesses another farmer rise as a Wrath, signaling that the cycle of Seeds and Wraths continues to haunt the land. Overcome by despair, Keung dies, and the devastation he witnesses underscores the heavy toll of rebellion and fear.
As the wounds of battle close, the Goddess’s hold on the ropes that bind the souls grows strained. The ropes of resentment have grown so thick that they begin to collapse the Goddess’s power itself. Dark Sky clues that the only path to healing lies in undoing Gudo’s own deep-seated resentment, a revelation that pushes the story toward a profound reckoning about forgiveness and sacrifice.
In a flashback to the human world, Yuri discovers the fate of Kenji after a landslide devastates their village and plunges them into famine. Kenji dies, and his family, unable to bear the loss, cooks him into a meal to stave off their own starvation. Realizing what she has eaten—her own brother— Yuri’s Seed spikes in a moment of horror, threatening to unleash Wrath. Gudo intervenes, saving her, but the Goddess demands that Yuri be turned to dust to shield Another World. Instead, Gudo leads her into the forest and, with the lake’s help, seeks Mother Earth, who explains that Yuri’s Seed will require a millennia of reincarnation before she can emerge from the Seed’s shadow. Gudo agrees to watch over Yuri’s reincarnations for a thousand years, on the condition that his own life remains tethered to her fate. The two ascend to the waterfall to begin the long vigil, and Yuri’s future selves—Goran and Keung among them—are promised as the threads of destiny unwind.
In the final leg of the story, Yuri’s last reincarnation becomes Ying, a young girl living during the industrial era. Ying endures a brutal awakening as she faces bullies and danger in a factory town. A heroic sister named Nana tries to shield her, but tragedy strikes when Nana falls to her death in a fatal accident with a flywheel. The moment Ying’s Seed erupts into Wrath is sudden and devastating, and Dark Sky is forced to subdue the Wrath as Gudo—whose own strength has waned from years of wandering between worlds—makes a last, costly stand. He uses his power to restrain Ying, mortally wounding himself in the process, a sacrifice meant to save others from the devastation of Wrath.
As Yuri, in the form of Ying, processes the weight of what has happened, she learns that Hardy—the reincarnation of Kenji—has been saved by her actions. The sorrow of the moment gives way to a fragile relief, and Yuri allows her final Seed to be plucked, closing a long arc of vengeance, memory, and rebirth. Returning to Another World, Dark Sky guides the dying Gudo toward the Goddess, where they await their ultimate fates. The Goddess reveals that Gudo can also reincarnate now that his resentment has been resolved. Choosing to begin anew, he relinquishes his memories of Another World and becomes a newborn in Ying’s city, watched over by Yuri and Dark Sky as the cycle of life, memory, and forgiveness circles back toward a hopeful horizon.
