On New Year`s Eve 2026, as the clock strikes midnight, catastrophic earthquakes trigger massive volcanic eruptions along the Ring of Fire, including previously unknown volcanoes. A vast cloud of ash envelops the globe, carrying an ancient bacterium deliberately hidden a decade earlier by a government program that had attempted and failed, to weaponize it. The infection spreads rapidly, transforming the afflicted into the Ashen: humans whose skin crumbles to ash while glowing orange or blue veins pulse beneath. As the bacterium evolves, it forges a mysterious neural connection among the infected. creating a collective intelligence. Amid the chaos, Gerison and his cat Miso confront an extraordinary change. Miso develops the same glow and heightened intellect. Together with a band of survivors they encounter on the journey, Gerison and Miso must uncover the bacterium's secrets and find a way to eradicate it before it consumes humanity entirely.