Because things just couldn't get any worse. Micaiah is dead. No tricks. No schemes. He's gone. And with him goes any hope of defeating the Cult as the Akarin spiral out of control. Rifun isn't about to waste this opportunity, and he readily assumes the role of mentor for Tommen's Akari training, taking him into the heart of Cult operations and inducting him into the army. But even that pales in comparison to the war being waged on Earth, a war that is no longer a secret. The Borelians have established themselves as a terrorist group, killing and kidnapping humans right and left, leaving the Time Agents scrambling to stop them. Defense is negligible, offense is laughable, and any progress they do make may not come in time to save them. The boiling point is past, and things are about to explode.