Chapter Summaries

Rover found Imperator’s soul but could not take her away without paying a price, so he repeatedly attacked the door until he turned to stone. Truth believed Rover had lost the use of his body, but Phrolova’s voice sounded from Triss’s button, revealing that Rover’s heart remained.

• Truth explained that seeking knowledge demanded a fitting price, then showed Rover a path to the knowledge of resurrecting Imperator’s soul.
• Rover followed the path through a torrent of knowledge and found a portal containing Imperator’s soul.
• Rover discovered that he needed to pay a price to take Imperator away, but Truth did not answer his third question, and black hands forced him out.
• Rover repeatedly smashed the portal and promised Imperator he would take her away that day, while she told him she believed in him.
• Rover turned completely to stone after his three-thousandth attempt, and Truth concluded that he had lost the use of his body.
• Truth noticed that Rover’s statue had no heart, and Phrolova’s voice came from the button Triss had given Rover.

Triss’s button carried Phrolova’s stories of Rover into the Gate of Truth, where the dead remembered the lives he had changed and chose to lend him their strength. Their light broke the seal on Rover’s statue and brought him back to life, leaving him saved by the people he had once saved.

• Triss’s button recounted Phrolova’s stories about Rover, and voices from doors across the ages remembered his deeds.
• The people who had passed away heard that Rover was in trouble and insisted on giving him their strength despite Truth’s warning that they would disappear.
• Phrolova’s recorded will urged the dead to lend Rover their light, and they shared memories of the lives and homes he had made possible.
• Golden light from the doors broke the seal over Rover’s eyes, causing Truth to crumble and Rover to return to life.
• Rover’s own Gate of Truth appeared, showing the living reaching out to save him.

Rover returned from Truth with Imperator’s soul blueprint and confronted Xiutake, whose regenerative monster form Fleurdelys had been unable to defeat. Jinhsi stopped time and took the ring containing Xiutake’s data, leaving him furious and the means to resurrect Imperator in Rover’s hands.

• Rover took Imperator into himself, receiving the complete blueprint of her soul and promising Truth he would return to answer a question.
• Rover left through the gate as the figures there bid him farewell, then arrived to find Fleurdelys fighting Xiutake’s regenerative fusion monster.
• Rover used Haien to burn through Xiutake’s regeneration and force him back into his human form.
• Xiutake revealed that the Philosopher’s Stone and Imperator’s body blueprint were stored in a ring, then tried to destroy its data.
• Jinhsi arrived and stopped time, removing the ring from Xiutake’s finger before he could press it.

Rover demanded the Philosopher’s Stone and its refinement method from Xiutake, who revealed a message from someone connected to Rover’s forgotten hometown before detonating the Stone. After escaping the blast with Jinhsi and Cartethyia, Rover received his Zanpakuto draw and recognized the card as an exceptional prize.

• Rover demanded the Philosopher’s Stone and its refinement method, but Xiutake refused and invoked Edward III.
• Xiutake told Rover that someone from his hometown had asked him to pass on the message, “Do you miss home?”
• Xiutake detonated the Philosopher’s Stone, and Jinhsi stopped the explosion long enough for Rover to carry her and Cartethyia to safety.
• Xiutake died and the stronghold was destroyed in the blast.
• Rover received a chance to draw a Zanpakuto and celebrated when the black-and-gold card appeared to show a powerful blade.

Rover unlocked Ryūjin Jakka, but Jinhsi warned that the Faceless Inferno Lord was reviving and advancing toward Jinzhou. As Rover, Cartethyia, and Jinhsi raced back, Phrolova persuaded Sanhua to release her so she could help defend the city.

• Rover unlocked Ryūjin Jakka and put aside Imperator's soul blueprint when Jinhsi reported the Faceless Inferno Lord's approach.
• Abu summoned a cannon, and Rover, Cartethyia, and Jinhsi rode a launched stone pillar toward Jinzhou.
• Sanhua found Phrolova sewing a collection of Rover dolls in her prison cell.
• Phrolova told Sanhua that the revived Faceless Inferno Lord was stronger than before and that Jinzhou's defenders needed help.
• Sanhua unlocked Phrolova's cell, and Phrolova left her dolls with Sanhua before setting out to confront the Faceless Inferno Lord.

Jiyan and the Midnight Rangers fought the Faceless Inferno Lord’s forces at Norfall Gorge, but the enemy overwhelmed their defenses despite Sentinel Jué’s intervention. As Jiyan prepared to overclock and make a final stand, Phrolova arrived and attacked Impermanence Heron.

• Jiyan rallied the Breaking Formation Battalion to defend Norfall Gorge as the Faceless Inferno Lord advanced.
• The cannons broke the Threnodian’s barrier, and the battalion fought the Tacet Discords while Jiyan crushed their ranks.
• Multiple Crownless broke through the defenders, but Sentinel Jué appeared and destroyed them with dragon breath.
• Sentinel Jué’s form faded, and Impermanence Heron arrived with four Crownless as the Tacet Discords surged again.
• Jiyan prepared to overclock, but Phrolova arrived and sent Hecate to attack Impermanence Heron.

Phrolova helped Jiyan and the Breaking Formation Battalion defeat the Tacet Discords, then faced the Faceless Inferno Lord alone as Reversal Rain revived the dead and turned fallen soldiers into enemies. After the colossus pierced her with a beam, she rose and summoned the Book of the End as a longsword, determined to protect the world he loved.

• Phrolova used Hecate to immobilize the Tacet Discords, letting Jiyan and the soldiers kill or drive back the enemy tide.
• A soldier praised Phrolova as a heroine, but others accused her of being a Fractsidus fiend responsible for past deaths, and she refused to explain herself.
• Reversal Rain revived the slain Tacet Discords and corrupted fallen soldiers, while the Faceless Inferno Lord grew stronger by drawing on the war.
• Jiyan ordered the Breaking Formation Battalion to withdraw, and Hecate hurled Jiyan beyond the rain as Phrolova stayed behind to fight the tide.
• Phrolova used Hecate to control the Tacet Discords and make them attack one another, but the Faceless Inferno Lord entered the battlefield and pierced her with a beam.
• Phrolova struggled back to her feet, vowed to protect the world he loved, and summoned the Book of the End as a longsword.

Phrolova repeatedly used the Book of the End to heal herself while fighting the Faceless Inferno Lord’s war puppet, then gained Jué’s power and destroyed it. As the Faceless Inferno Lord’s true body attacked the canyon, Rover and two others arrived, and Rover praised Phrolova.

• Phrolova used the Book of the End to undo her defeat and control Tacet Discords, but the Faceless Inferno Lord absorbed them and formed a powerful war puppet.
• Hecate saved Phrolova from the puppet’s first strike, and Phrolova used all ten of the Book of the End’s restorations while the defenders debated whether to help her.
• Jiyan ordered the troops to support Phrolova, and the cannons blasted the puppet away from her.
• Sentinel Jué lent Phrolova power, allowing her and Hecate to destroy the war puppet with Remnant Moon, Final Melody of the Underworld.
• The Faceless Inferno Lord’s true body approached and attacked the canyon, but Rover and two others arrived; Rover told Phrolova that she had been very elegant.

Rover and the others wounded the Faceless Inferno Lord, but it underwent a terrifying power breakthrough and turned its rain of retroact into a deadly weapon. Rover sent Jinhsi, Cartethyia, and Phrolova to safety and prepared to face the monster alone.

• Phrolova blushed at Rover's praise, while the Faceless Inferno Lord targeted him with a devastating beam that Cartethyia and Jinhsi blocked together.
• Rover caught the wounded Phrolova and held her still as she struggled and threatened to scratch him.
• The Faceless Inferno Lord grew nearly twice as large, reached second-class Reiatsu, and spoke the words "War... tides!" as its rain of retroact became instantly lethal.
• Rover told Jinhsi, Cartethyia, and Phrolova to retreat while the rain and thousands of Overlord Class Tacet Discords surged after them.
• Rover summoned a card and announced Ryūjin Jakka's Shikai as he prepared to fight the Faceless Inferno Lord alone.

Rover unleashed Zanka no Tachi and defeated the Threnodian Crownless, but its core began recovering by absorbing the battlefield’s frequencies. Imperator offered to use the Separation Authority to sever its connection to the Resonator.

• Rover used Flame Rampart and Brush Slash to destroy the spawned Tacet Discords and split the Faceless Inferno Lord’s body in two.
• The Faceless Inferno Lord’s remains gathered into Crownless, its true form, and its immense power shook the battlefield.
• Rover activated Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, and burned away Crownless’s right arm and war spear with East, Kyokujitsujin and West, Zanjitsu Gokui.
• Crownless summoned fallen warriors from a sea of blood, and Rover countered with skeletal Tacet Discords using South, Kaka Jūmanokushi Daisōjin.
• Rover struck Crownless with North, Tenchi Kaijin, reducing it to a core, but the core began recovering by absorbing the battlefield’s frequencies.
• Imperator told Rover to release him so he could use the Separation Authority to sever Crownless’s connection to the Resonator.

Rover restored Imperator and helped her sever the Faceless Inferno Lord from its Resonator, securing Jinzhou’s victory. As the defenders celebrated, Rover stopped Phrolova from leaving and told her he liked her.

• Rover used Cartethyia’s Philosopher’s Stone to recreate Imperator’s soul, then gave her a body with a Gigai.
• Imperator used an alchemical array and the defenders’ strength to sever the Faceless Inferno Lord from its Resonator and stop its rebirth.
• Rover sealed the weakened Threnodian with Bakudō #99, Kin, and the defenders celebrated Jinzhou’s victory.
• Phrolova tried to leave, but Rover caught her as the soldiers praised her for helping defend them.
• Rover told Phrolova that those she protected could acknowledge her actions and said he liked her.

Phrolova panicked after Rover said he liked her, then returned to prison, where she learned he had three days in Jinzhou before leaving for Rinascita. She invited him to lie on her lap.

• Phrolova blushed and became flustered over Rover saying he liked her, then hid in a fissure she made with her baton.
• Xixi pulled Phrolova from the fissure, and Phrolova gave a young warrior the false name Red Lotus.
• Jinhsi ordered Jiyan to reinforce the defenses around the Faceless Inferno Lord's seal and keep Fractsidus members away.
• Phrolova complained that a blind woman had confiscated some of her dolls while Rover visited her in prison.
• Rover told Phrolova that Cartethyia's frequencies were disordered and that he would return to Rinascita with her in about three days.
• Phrolova told Rover to lie down on her lap.

Rover and Phrolova grew comfortable with each other as she soothed him to sleep, while Jinhsi and Sanhua watched from the magistrate’s office. As Rover drifted into a buried childhood memory, a woman told him she only hoped he could live a carefree, happy life.

• Rover rested his head on Phrolova’s lap, and the two awkwardly grew accustomed to the closeness.
• Phrolova stroked Rover’s hair, and he teased her until she ruffled it in retaliation.
• Jinhsi and Sanhua watched the pair on a screen and discussed whether Phrolova was following a seduction strategy.
• Phrolova sang “Dreamless Sleep and Crimson Beyond,” and Rover sat up in alarm when the melody stirred painful memories.
• Phrolova changed to a lullaby, and Rover relaxed and began falling asleep.
• Rover remembered telling a woman he wanted to travel the universe and save people, and she said she hoped he would live a carefree, happy life.

After waking from a dream, Rover watched over the sleeping Phrolova and worried about the dangers ahead in Septimont. Edward III resurrected Xiutake and learned that Rover was the prophesied Crown, while Phrolova was trapped in a nightmare and Rover had to choose how to wake her.

• Rover woke from a dream, carried the exhausted Phrolova to bed, and considered the Threnodian Leviathan, the Fractsidus, Edward III, and the mysterious person from his hometown.
• Phrolova began struggling in her sleep and cursed the stars, while Edward III resurrected Xiutake with Philosopher's Stones.
• Xiutake told Edward III that he had found the Crown, who could enter the Gate of Truth and return unharmed, and Edward III recited the prophecy of his ascension to godhood.
• Edward III's throne displayed a rune, and he declared that the Star Maiden must return as a vision showed a blood-red meteor destroying a town and a maiden in white falling amid the devastation.
• Phrolova screamed and thrashed in her nightmare as her frequency became dangerously unstable, and Rover called for her to wake.
• The system offered Rover three ways to wake Phrolova, and he chose the third option: kiss her.

Rover kissed Phrolova to wake her from a nightmare, and she returned to herself after remembering that Triss and the others might still be saved. Phrolova received fifty uses of the Book of the End and awakened Fairy-Tale House, then prepared to show Rover its other uses.

• Rover accepted the system's task and kissed the distressed Phrolova to wake her, while Sanhua prevented Jinhsi from watching.
• Phrolova woke, kicked Rover into a wall, and then remembered her nightmare and apologized.
• Rover reminded Phrolova that there was still a chance to save Triss and the others, restoring her hope.
• The system rewarded Phrolova with fifty uses of the Book of the End and awakened her Fullbring, Fairy-Tale House.
• Phrolova made the Rover doll fire a Byakurai and revealed that her other dolls could move, then teased Rover about using her ability to pay him back.

Phrolova trapped Rover inside a doll with her Fairy-Tale House ability and teased him, but his Separation Authority freed him. Rover advanced on the cornered Phrolova, who asked to make peace, and he refused.

• Phrolova shrank Rover by stuffing him inside a doll with her Fairy-Tale House ability.
• Phrolova poked the doll and pressed her foot down on Rover, but he resisted with his strength.
• Rover used Hadō #33, Sōkatsui, and the blast erupted inside the doll, covering him in soot and freeing him from Phrolova's foot.
• Rover used Separation Authority to escape the doll and approached Phrolova.
• Phrolova stumbled to the ground and asked Rover if they could make peace, but he refused.

Rover visited Phrolova in prison, where she revealed that the meteorite disaster might have been man-made and shared a cryptic clue about the Truth. He spent several days visiting friends in Jinzhou before discovering a penniless artist painting an indecent picture of him.

• Rover confronted Phrolova, who claimed the meteorite was no natural disaster and recited a cryptic phrase about stars, a ring, and finding Truth.
• Rover promised to investigate whoever had caused the disaster, while Jinhsi cheered up after Sanhua gave her a doll and planned to mass-produce it.
• Rover watched Lingyang perform a lion dance and later sparred with Yuanwu, defeating him in a boxing match.
• Rover crossed paths with a mysterious female agent and, with Yangyang and Chixia away, visited their usual teahouse alone.
• Rover lost a board game to Changli, joined her for spicy meat, and found her voice hoarse the next day.
• Rover spotted a young artist painting an indecent picture of him in an alley.

Rover discovered that Zhezhi had been drawing risqué pictures of him for a client, who turned out to be a terrorist. After feeding Zhezhi and paying her the money the client owed, Rover received a call from Cartethyia saying it was time to return to Ragunna.

• Rover startled Zhezhi while she was drawing and learned she had accepted a commission despite being banned from taking work.
• Zhezhi explained that her client, Xiaochen's Solo Fan, had hired her to draw risqué pictures and then disappeared without paying the final balance.
• Rover told Zhezhi that Xiaochen's Solo Fan had been arrested for carrying out a terrorist attack, and Zhezhi fainted from shock.
• Zhezhi woke up to find Rover had prepared a meal, which she eagerly ate.
• Rover transferred Zhezhi the unpaid Shell Credits, and Cartethyia called to tell him it was time to return to Ragunna.

Rover and Cartethyia left Mount Firmament for Septimont, but Edward III’s servant Gaia ambushed them on the way to retrieve the crown. The chapter ended as Gaia gathered energy to attack and Cartethyia stepped forward to fight him.

• Taoqi, Danjin, and Jinzhou residents gathered to see Rover and Cartethyia off, while Taoqi relayed Jiyan’s wishes for a safe journey.
• Imperator explained that she could not return to Rinascita without her true Sentinel body, and Cartethyia promised Jinhsi that she would keep Rover safe.
• Rover and Cartethyia rode a stone pillar launched by Abu’s cannon toward Septimont, as Cartethyia said she wanted to test her new abilities.
• Gaia attacked them with a blazing ball of light that destroyed the stone pillar and leveled a mountain.
• Gaia revealed that Edward III had sent him to retrieve the crown, and Cartethyia stepped forward as he prepared to attack.

Cartethyia fought Gaia in her blue Sentinel form, using speed and wind attacks before he countered with powers that neutralized her sword and movement. Just as Gaia was about to strike her, she transformed into Fleurdelys’s red form and shattered his left claw with one punch, leaving Rover stunned.

• Cartethyia entered her blue third form and dodged Gaia’s blazing sun attack with her enhanced speed.
• Cartethyia pierced Gaia’s armor with Wind-Erosion Annihilation, then attacked him with six sword-wielding copies.
• Gaia revealed his true name, Qian Gaia, and used his Qian powers to become intangible, conjure blades of light, disarm Cartethyia, and suppress her speed.
• As Gaia moved to strike Cartethyia’s throat, she changed into Fleurdelys’s red form and broke free of his restraint.
• Cartethyia punched Gaia’s steel claw apart, shocking both Gaia and Rover.