Chapter Summaries

He Ao said goodbye to his brothers in Rock City, then returned to Winter City and organized a plan to oppose United Industries and the Eternal Sect. As a blizzard began, his allies moved into position for a confrontation tied to the FBI investigation team’s arrival.

• He Ao accepted the iron teacup from Third Brother, said goodbye to Third Brother and Fourth Brother, and watched his offspring disintegrate after its power ran out.
• He Ao met with Laina, Vili, and the FBI agent in Winter City and planned to strike when United Industries sent a B-class mercenary to meet the FBI investigation team at the airport.
• He Ao told Laina that members of the Eternal Old Sect were hiding near the Temporary Bishop’s church, and Laina agreed to contact them for help.
• A group of Eternal Old Sect members prepared to attack the heretics’ temporary church at seven, but their wristbands lost network access as restrictions began.
• Laina followed He Ao’s associate into Novis District while the mercenaries at Aka District Airport waited for the incoming aircraft at 18:58, as the blizzard arrived.

Vili rallied the Twilight Society’s warriors for a desperate fight against the Eternal Sect, while the boy and Laina discovered a hidden factory producing Artificial Meat. The boy identified the flesh-covered workshop as the Eternal Divine Kingdom just as footsteps approached from the corridor.

• Vili delivered a speech asking the Twilight Society’s warriors to join her, and nearly everyone stepped forward.
• Vili boarded the warriors into vehicles and spoke with the boy over her Walkie-Talkie, who praised her speech and said she had matured.
• The boy led Laina through an unfamiliar part of Novitt District, where they followed unmanned Transport Vehicles to a massive red-lit building.
• Laina broke through the building’s glass doors, and she and the boy rode the elevator to the top floor as strange sounds came from the shaft.
• The boy and Laina found a workshop where crimson figures worked amid flesh covering the walls, and the boy called it the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
• Footsteps sounded from deeper in the corridor.

Vili and the Twilight Society attacked the Mayor's Residence to rescue Uncle Endier while forces loyal to the Eternal Sect struck elsewhere in Winter City. At Novitt District, Ilo confronted Kewen, who admitted Vincent had been removed and recognized that Ilo had lured him out.

• A flashbang set off a firefight at Aka District Airport, but the mercenary commander continued aboard the aircraft as Director Gaster warned that the mercenaries belonged to the Eternal Sect.
• Vili led two white mechas against the mercenaries and Hell Apostle Mechas surrounding the Mayor's Residence, broke through the defenses, and prepared to reach Uncle Endier.
• A group of burly attackers stormed the Temporary Bishop Church, and their leader reached a wounded figure's room on the third floor with an object he believed could kill the B-rank target.
• Kewen appeared in Novitt District wearing a Gold Thread White Robe and identified himself as an Archbishop of the Eternal Sect, confirming that Vincent had been dealt with.
• Ilo explained how he had deduced that Kewen used Captain Lutz's Mercenary Group and Vincent's authorization to seize control of United Industries' armed forces, and Kewen praised the deduction before asking whether Ilo had used himself as bait.

He Ao explained how he traced the Eternal Divine Kingdom to its hidden workshop in Novitt District, while Kewen challenged whether his rescue plan was succeeding. Elsewhere, the fighting revealed unexpected enemies at the airport, the Main Church, and the Mayor’s Residence, where He Ao arrived just in time to save Vili from a bishop’s attack.

• He Ao explained that the Eternal Divine Kingdom sustained itself through food bought with the souls’ labor, leading him to locate its hidden domain in Novitt District.
• Kewen revealed that the church had knowingly used He Ao’s parents and Wright, then outlined He Ao’s plan to distract the city’s strongest forces while rescuing the mayor and contacting Federal Central.
• At Aka District Airport, Jia Tuo learned that Skinny’s men had sided with Commander Lutz’s mercenaries and ordered his remaining followers to break out north.
• At the Storm District Temporary Main Church, Lie Lun admitted he had no injured New Bishop to protect and attacked Wei A with a golden greatsword.
• At the Mayor’s Residence, a bishop’s golden spear destroyed Vili’s pure white Mecha, but He Ao struck the bishop through several walls and caught Vili before she fell.

He Ao defeated the Gold Thread White Robe Priest and urged Vili to keep advancing while he flew to another battle. In Novitt District, Kewen exposed a decoy disguised as Ilo, but someone caught his sword through the ruined wall.

• He Ao caught the Gold Thread White Robe Priest’s spear, then erased the power from his pendants and killed him in a rapid clash.
• He Ao gave Vili rose-gold Snow Eagle armor, told her to stay rational, and flew off after the Twilight Society’s warriors broke in.
• In Novitt District, Laina blocked Kewen’s sword but was kicked through a wall into a workshop.
• Kewen approached the hooded boy, who threw a grenade before retreating; Kewen crushed it and emerged from the flames unharmed.
• Kewen recognized the boy as a fake Ilo, spotted the speaker in his mask, and struck at him, but a fair hand caught the blade through the shattered wall.

He Ao fought Archbishop Kewen after Laina and the disguised boy escaped, using the Eye of Dissipation to erase the power Kewen drew from the Eternal Divine Kingdom. He wounded Kewen, who then summoned the surrounding block’s writhing flesh and revealed his role in He Ao’s parents’ deaths.

• The boy’s Paper Butterfly exposed his disguise, and He Ao sent Laina and the boy to find Vili while he faced Kewen.
• He Ao and Kewen clashed with their swords, and He Ao’s first Bone Sword broke against Kewen’s golden blade.
• He Ao inscribed enhancement patterns on a second Bone Sword, blocked Kewen’s attacks, and wounded him with a strike to the chest.
• Kewen retreated to the rooftop, where He Ao continued to erase the power Kewen tried to draw from the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
• Kewen made the rooftop and surrounding block writhe with flesh, then challenged He Ao to kill him and confessed that he had helped plan He Ao’s parents’ deaths and reuse their bodies.

He Ao fought Kewen inside the Eternal Divine Kingdom, using the tentacles to climb toward Eve’s mecha hovering beyond the kingdom’s reach. Kewen cornered him on a platform of flesh and defeated him in their duel, leaving He Ao gravely wounded with a broken sword.

• He Ao cut through the crimson figures but realized they would keep emerging as long as the Eternal Divine Kingdom’s power remained.
• Kewen used a hidden tentacle to hurl He Ao through buildings, while the crimson figures and tentacles grew stronger.
• He Ao climbed the tentacles toward Eve’s mecha, which hovered above the Eternal Divine Kingdom’s reach, but Kewen intercepted him on a platform of flesh.
• Kewen and He Ao fought on the platform, and Kewen pierced He Ao’s back and snapped the Bone Sword.
• He Ao unsteadily rose with the Broken Sword in hand as Kewen prepared to finish him.

He Ao defeated Kewen but was trapped inside a golden cage as the Eternal Divine Kingdom began to awaken, and he resurfaced with a strange symbol in his eyes. Elsewhere, the Security Federation broke through the airport defenses, a girl confronted the Old Man at the Mayor’s Residence, and Gaster’s group saw lights approaching across the Storm Sea.

• He Ao lured Kewen into close combat and killed him by striking the Energy Convergence Point at his neck with the Broken Sword.
• As Kewen died, he activated the Pope’s trap, sealing the area beneath a golden dome and pulling He Ao into the collapsing Eternal Divine Kingdom; He Ao later surfaced with an inverted triangular symbol in his pupils.
• At the Aka District airport, Lutz discovered the fighter jet was empty, and its Plasma Cannon blasted through the defenses and outer wall, letting Jia Tuo lead the Security Federation through the breach.
• At the Mayor’s Residence, the blonde girl confronted the Old Man, who apologized for her father’s death before vanishing; the Red Haired Woman then saw radiant cracks in the sky.
• At the Storm Sea Coast, Gaster and his companions watched lights approach across the waves as a Hell Apostle Mecha hovered behind them.

He Ao used a decoy offspring to let the Cardinal seal him while recovering the Eye of Dissipation and keeping the Eternal Sect focused on him. With Captain Nissen steering, He Ao reached the Storm Sea’s hidden destination, where he summoned Atmorayeh and revealed the Eternal Divine Kingdom.

• Mercenaries sealed off Wente City’s districts as a golden dome contained a vast, twisted mass, and a fighter jet’s attack failed before the jet was destroyed.
• The blonde girl and Lena chose to head for Storm District as the Eternal Sect’s ritual threatened the city.
• He Ao and Captain Nissen sailed beyond the mining ships’ known range while He Ao used his sight to find their destination.
• He Ao explained how he had used a Pseudo-God offspring as a decoy, let it be sealed, and recovered the Eye of Dissipation through its sacrifice.
• A giant sea monster attacked the boat, but He Ao killed it and raised his brooch while calling out to Atmorayeh.
• The fog parted to reveal the colossal golden Eternal Divine Kingdom.

He Ao entered the Eternal Divine Kingdom on the Storm Sea and confronted Mayor Endier, uncovering how Endier had concealed the kingdom and arranged Skorn’s death. Endier warned that Winter City’s ritual would proceed despite He Ao’s arrival, but He Ao declared that the people could still resist and that no high walls blocked the Storm Sea.

• Laina led Vili through the shacks toward the coast as mercenaries pursued them and their commander closed the encirclement.
• He Ao joined the Golden Brooch with the Finger Bone Fossil, entered the golden city, and went with Nissen to Winter City’s old central plaza.
• He Ao confronted the elderly man at the plaza and explained how he traced the Eternal Divine Kingdom to the Storm Sea and identified him as Mayor Endier.
• He Ao accused Mayor Endier of arranging Skorn’s assassination after Skorn discovered the painting “Baptism,” and Endier expressed surprise that He Ao knew his identity.
• Mayor Endier warned that Winter City’s ritual would proceed and that the sealed high walls would prevent reinforcements from arriving.
• He Ao said Winter City’s people were not silent lambs and declared that there were no high walls on the Storm Sea.

Vili and Laina were cornered by mercenaries at the Storm Sea, but the Twilight Society and Security Federation broke the encirclement before Lutz overwhelmed them. Reinforcements from Rock City arrived by mining ships, and Vili learned that Ilo had arranged their arrival as the battle continued.

• Vili and Laina fought through the mercenary assault until Lutz seized Laina and attacked Vili.
• Vili baited Lutz while preparing a timed grenade, but a modified Hell Apostle Mecha broke through the wall and Wright struck Lutz away.
• Laina helped Vili up as Gaster explained how Ilo and Captain Kevin had brought Rock City reinforcements across a mapped safe route through the Storm Sea.
• Rock City soldiers and sailors disembarked from the mining ships and charged into battle while Ivo's mecha attacked the Dragon Rider Fighters.
• Vili recognized Wright and Ivo from the news, touched the mask hidden beneath her clothes, and watched the sea's reflected lights as a faint spark emerged from Lutz's extinguished cigar.

He Ao confronted Endier over the Eternal Divine Kingdom’s exploitation of the dead, then fought him after revealing that Wright’s Golden Brooch protected him from the kingdom’s attacks. Endier transformed into an incomplete angel and seized He Ao, but a crimson K mark summoned power from the sleeping figure beneath the Snow Mountain.

• Nissen explained that the Eternal Divine Kingdom offered miners freedom from hunger but trapped them in endless labor, and Endier described why his plans with Skorn had failed.
• He Ao accused Endier of turning his ideals into another system of oppression and said he had come to avenge his family.
• Endier raised the Eternal Divine Kingdom above Winter City and unleashed golden lightning, but the bolts dissolved around He Ao because Wright’s Golden Brooch shielded him.
• He Ao wounded Endier with his Knight Sword, and Endier revealed that Talent Sequence 180: Saint let him fuse with the sealed Defective Angel Level item called “Baptism.”
• Endier transformed into a colossal incomplete angel and seized He Ao, but the K mark on He Ao’s chest flared with crimson radiance.
• Deep beneath the Snow Mountain outside Rock City, the sleeping figure straightened as crimson light emerged around him.

He Ao used the God of War’s power through Endier and the Eye of Dissipation to transform Ilo into a crimson giant and battle the White Robe Figure. He broke through the Eternal Divine Kingdom’s barrier and hurled a lightning spear into the illusory realm, shattering the barrier as the mission neared completion.

• He Ao activated a mystical connection to Endier and borrowed the God of War’s power through Ilo.
• The White Robe Figure cut off the crimson power funnel, but Ilo ate the Eye of Dissipation and forced his body to withstand its B-rank power.
• He Ao tore through the White Robe Figure’s spatial barriers, struck it down, and then fought its shield as its power continued to grow.
• He Ao broke through the golden barrier above the Eternal Divine Kingdom and emerged into the storm sky as a crimson giant.
• He Ao drew lightning into a spear and hurled it at the illusory realm, shattering the golden barrier and lightning around the city.

He Ao destroyed the barrier sustaining the Eternal Divine Kingdom’s descent, then overturned the golden city and defeated the White Robe phantom. The phantom warned that his death had left the Eternal Divine Kingdom free to return to the Eternal Radiance’s control, as a vast will began descending into the storm.

• In Winter City, a crimson giant shattered the barrier and the reflected golden city, ending the priests’ golden radiance; Vili believed it was K and said the sky would not fall.
• On the Storm Sea, He Ao realized the barrier sustained both the golden city’s shield and the descent ritual, then attacked the White Robe phantom as its power supply weakened.
• He Ao lifted and overturned the golden city, crushing the White Robe phantom and exposing the tentacles beneath the city.
• He Ao pierced the phantom’s core with a lightning spear, defeating him and emerging from the sea as his crimson giant form disintegrated.
• The dying Plain Robed Old Man warned He Ao that the Eternal Divine Kingdom would return to the Eternal Radiance’s control, while the tentacles began to move and a vast will descended.

He Ao destroyed the Golden Brooch and attempted a ritual while the Eternal Divine Kingdom awakened, but his ritual failed as Eternal Radiance and Good Friend clashed above the Storm Sea. He completed another ritual by calling on the Desire Witch, and the battle erased the divine kingdom; He Ao returned to his original world as Laina and Vili sensed the storm’s end.

• He Ao crushed the Golden Brooch, drew a Heptagram Array in blood, and prepared a ritual using keepsakes from his backpack as the Eternal Divine Kingdom awakened.
• The Plain Robed Old Man’s phantom shielded He Ao from the tentacles long enough for him to begin his ritual, then shattered as the old man died.
• He Ao’s ritual failed, but a gray eye descended and attacked the Eternal Divine Kingdom while Eternal Radiance’s projection fought back.
• He Ao used a blood-drawn heart pattern and his Red Knitted Scarf to contact the Desire Witch, whose purple lightning broke through Eternal Radiance’s defenses alongside Good Friend’s gray rain of light.
• The battle erased the Eternal Divine Kingdom, He Ao returned to his original world, and the damaged Paper Butterfly carried his scarf above the waves.
• Laina asked whether it was over, and Vili confirmed that the battle had ended as the clouds parted over the city.

Wright killed Lutz and helped secure the mercenary group, while Vili and Laina uncovered the Eternal Sect’s records and sought a new mayor for Winter City. Uncle Jack accepted their appeal after receiving a postcard, and Christos received a hard drive from Winter City as his coalition faced a difficult election.

• Wright defeated and killed Lutz, then told the tall Youth that Lutz’s body might yield a secret medicine containing his Talent Sequence.
• Vili and Laina accessed the Eternal Sect’s files and discovered its cooperation with the Rockville Energy Group, its reach across thirty-seven cities, and the details of Skorn’s assassination by Endier.
• Laina told Vili that Winter City’s government had been devastated, so Vili proposed that her uncle Jack run for mayor alongside her.
• After receiving a postcard recalling his past with Skorn, Endier, and Vincent, Jack agreed to come out of retirement and run for mayor.
• Christos received a hard drive sent by an old friend in Winter City while news reports predicted trouble for his governing coalition in the upcoming election.

Christos decided that Dawn City should pursue government involvement in setting electricity prices as the story shifted to the fallout from Winter City’s sacrifice attempt and the growing conflict with Rockville Energy Group. By February 21, Rockville faced investigations, public outrage, and a falling stock price, while Winter City’s new government continued its probe into United Industries.

• Christos asked whether the Municipal Government could help set electricity prices, then said it was time for them to try.
• Documents exposed United Industries’ cooperation with the Eternal Sect, and the FBI launched an investigation as United Industries’ stock plunged.
• Jie Ke became Winter City’s temporary mayor and Vili became vice mayor; Jie Ke began restoring the government and investigating United Industries.
• Jie Ke suspended United Industries’ mining permits and ordered the company to return assets, prompting Rockville Energy Group to cut trade caravans to Winter City.
• Reports linked Rockville Energy Group to United Industries and the Eternal Sect, sparking public outrage, investigations, protests, and a sharp decline in Rockville’s stock.
• On February 21, Winter City residents marched against Jie Ke’s government, but its investigation continued as Dawn City intensified its investigation of Rockville Energy Group.

Vili’s campaign helped bring down Rockville Energy Group and enabled Winter City to take control of United Industries, which it rebuilt as a city-owned industrial group. As Winter City began recovering, Vili met with the surviving beings tied to Alice and ended the chapter mourning Ilo at his grave while rival forces worried about the changes underway.

• Vili’s interview helped prompt investigations and raids against Rockville Energy Group, whose stock collapsed as partner cities broke away.
• Winter City acquired United Industries, renamed it Winter City Industrial Group, and introduced housing, wage, transport, and medical reforms.
• Workers rebuilding Winter City recalled how Ilo had inspired one of them to protect two children from Eternal Sect believers.
• Vili met Nissen and Alice, learned that the survivors needed food and machines, and promised that Winter City would include them in its welfare policies.
• A messenger told Mr. Delin that conventional methods had failed and that their eastern enemy continued to win, while a red-haired woman burned an old drawing and grieved for Ilo.
• Vili watched a martial arts lesson from Jia Qian, greeted residents in the park, and laid flowers at Ilo’s grave, saying the road alone was long.

He Ao reviewed the new Eternal Obsession Character Card and received the Winter City Copy World settlement, earning a four-and-a-half-star overall evaluation and triggering the Almost There achievement. The system began calculating his mission reward, which would treat his overall evaluation as five stars.

• He Ao examined the Eternal Obsession card, which appeared to combine Ilo and Alice with remnants of the Eternal Divine Kingdom and powers tied to several gods, but he did not exchange for it.
• He Ao received four-and-a-half-star Main and Side Mission evaluations and a five-star Hidden Mission evaluation for helping Ilo gain the power and future he had wanted.
• The settlement awarded He Ao six Exchange Stars overall, and he questioned why his overall evaluation had not reached five stars.
• He Ao triggered the Almost There achievement, gaining one Exchange Star immediately and having the overall evaluation portion of the current mission reward calculated as five stars.
• The system began calculating He Ao's mission reward.

After He Ao earned achievements for his Five-Star evaluation and thwarting a god's scheme, the system upgraded and fused his rewards into the Eye of Truth Stone Slab. He Ao grasped the slab despite its Angel-level contamination and realized it contained a magic array imprisoning a flesh-and-blood eye that was more like a higher-status concept.

• He Ao received the Perfect Ruler and God Defier achievements after the mission settlement.
• God Defier upgraded his reward options to the Witch's Mask, Blood-Colored Blazing Light, and Incomplete Truth Machine.
• He Ao activated Perfect Ruler and chose to fusion refresh the rewards; after an initial failure, the system succeeded.
• The system awarded He Ao the Eye of Truth Stone Slab, whose description warned that Truth and other forces could watch its holder.
• A massive eye appeared behind He Ao, and its Angel-level contamination overwhelmed his senses when he looked at it.
• He Ao grasped the slab and used divine sense to discover that its apparent stone surface was a magic array imprisoning an eye that existed as a concept.