Recaps

Tiandao confronted three Hidden Star Society Executives in a hidden villa, punished Leighton for disparaging humans, and demanded an update on his assignment. The chapter ended with the Executives silent under Tiandao’s pressure, as Leighton began to answer.

• Scorpio questioned Hydra about whether a Calamity had discovered his identity, and Hydra said his disguise had held.
• Hydra and Scorpio discussed the Demonic Blade’s investigation and their plan to leave once their scheme was complete.
• Euphemia accused Leighton of losing himself among humans, and Leighton threatened her with his scorpion tail.
• Tiandao arrived and used black star energy to choke Leighton, then released him and warned him not to repeat his words.
• Tiandao sat with Little Danika and asked the Executives how they had handled the matter he assigned them.

Tiandao ordered Leighton to spread a rumor that Chen Kong held the Steam Church’s missing Holy Relic, putting Chen on the Church’s radar while keeping the larger plan on track. He also explained why Yu Chen was investigating Euphemia and chose to let him continue, then ended the meeting by teasing Little Danika with soda.

• Tiandao told Leighton to spread the rumor about Chen Kong and threatened to kill him if he interfered with the plan.
• Tiandao warned Euphemia that Yu Chen was investigating her and might know about her identity and Tiandao’s connection to the Hidden Star Society.
• Tiandao revealed that Yu Chen was the Church orphan Euphemia had failed to kill twelve years earlier, and that he had later protected Vivian from being taken as tribute.
• Euphemia offered to eliminate Yu Chen, but Tiandao refused because his investigation would distract him and help Tiandao’s plans involving the Association and the Twelve Brass Conference.
• Tiandao shook Little Danika’s soda before opening it, soaking her, and laughed as she angrily tried to get even.

Tiandao recruited Leighton to help him control Steam Capital and build the organization Doctor had asked him to create. Leighton accepted after Tiandao threatened to expose his past and kill him, giving 'Glimmer' its first members beyond Tiandao.

• Tiandao stopped Leighton after Andromeda and Hydra left, then revealed that he had found photographs of Leighton's daughter dating Yu Chen.
• Tiandao reassured Leighton that his daughter had not knowingly leaked information and explained that he valued Leighton's honest nature and personal weakness.
• Tiandao offered Leighton a role managing Steam Capital after Tiandao purged the city's 'rust' and said he intended to rule through Leighton.
• Tiandao threatened to expose Leighton's past and kill him if he refused, and Leighton agreed to obey his orders.
• Tiandao considered Leighton's recruitment the basic framework for the 'Glimmer' Doctor had asked him to create.

Tiandao advised Leighton to replace his servants and subtly encouraged him to let Yu Chen act against Euphemia, while Leighton agreed to protect his family and leave Euphemia’s fate to Yu Chen. Tiandao then anticipated Chen Kong and Liu Ma’s arrival in the Upper City, which would ignite the conflict between Steam Capital’s Upper and Lower Cities as the Calamity of the Masses approached.

• Tiandao warned Leighton that his servants might threaten his wife and daughter, and suggested he replace them after returning home.
• Tiandao told Leighton not to stop his daughter from pursuing Yu Chen and hinted that he could secretly help Yu Chen; Leighton understood that Euphemia would eventually die at Yu Chen’s hands.
• After Leighton left, Tiandao considered Yu Qianxia’s formidable strength and reflected on his plan to become a true Perfect.
• Tiandao expected Chen Kong and Liu Ma to encounter Yu Qianxia and soon break into the Upper City to rescue Vivian.
• Tiandao anticipated that Chen Kong and Liu Ma’s actions would inflame the divide between the Upper and Lower Cities as Steam Capital approached spring.

Episode 5 of "Stellaris: Glimmer" followed Vivian in prison as she recalled her father's death and her resolve to uphold the Clockwork Knight name. With Yu Chen unable to clear her, Vivian left for her trial determined to prove her innocence through her actions.

• Little Danika brought Vivian orange-flavored nutrient paste and told her Yu Chen had found a lead that might prove her innocent.
• Vivian remembered her father William's funeral, when a Referee returned the pink toy watch that became the vessel for his Star Source.
• Vivian recalled refusing to leave for the Seven Great Floating Cities and vowing to carry on her father's path as the Clockwork Knight.
• Vivian resolved to face the trial and use her actions to reform the people who had condemned her.
• Tiandao came to escort Vivian from her cell, and Vivian thanked Yu Chen as she passed him.

Tiandao escorted Vivian to the Brass Council, but Chen Kong and Liu Ma attacked the convoy and freed her. Tiandao fought Liu Ma and nearly pursued the escapees before Yu Chen deliberately disrupted him with a shot.

• Tiandao escorted Vivian across the Bridge of Gears and Brass, where Steam Guards stopped the convoy to inspect it.
• Chen Kong and Liu Ma attacked the Fifth Squad, shattered Vivian’s power-sealing shackles, and fled with her.
• Tiandao struck at Chen Kong, but Liu Ma intercepted his sword energy and challenged him.
• Liu Ma tried to suppress Tiandao with perfect Star Energy, but Tiandao’s S-rank attribute repelled it, and Tiandao cut through Liu Ma’s armor.
• Tiandao prepared to capture Chen Kong and Vivian, but Yu Chen fired a bullet at him and claimed he had missed by accident.

Yu Chen betrayed the Fifth Squad to help Vivian escape and fought Captain Tiandao at the Bridge of Gears and Brass. His Silver Falcon bullets failed to pierce Tiandao’s defense, but he used Azure Owl to draw the scattered bullets into a storm that engulfed the captain.

• Yu Chen admitted that he had deliberately missed his shot and chose to help Vivian because her father had once saved his life.
• Tiandao sent the Fifth Squad after Chen Kong and Vivian, then kept Little Danika from following them and faced Yu Chen alone.
• Yu Chen challenged Tiandao over the Steam Church’s crimes, but Tiandao insisted he only acted within his duty.
• Yu Chen fired Silver Falcon, whose curving bullet struck Tiandao’s ink-black Star Energy defense and was knocked away.
• Tiandao advanced while deflecting Silver Falcon’s bullets, but Yu Chen’s Azure Owl shell drove him backward and drew the scattered bullets into a storm around him.

A flashback showed Tiandao teaching Caroline that Star Energy manipulation was the foundation of a Star Envoy’s strength. In the present, Tiandao used overwhelming Star Energy to trap Yu Chen and prepared to strike him with Shattered Star.

• On a hillside at Ember Base, Caroline asked Tiandao why he had surpassed the others despite training together.
• Tiandao explained that after adapting to his Star Core early, he had trained his Star Energy and shown Caroline how compression let an Envoy contain more power.
• Tiandao told Caroline that Star Energy was a Star Envoy’s true foundation, and the flashback overlapped with Shui Mo’s figure in the present.
• At the Bridge of Gears and Brass, Tiandao blocked Yu Chen’s attacks with a defensive barrier and criticized his reliance on his Star Source.
• Tiandao engulfed Yu Chen in a tide of Star Energy, immobilized him, and walked up to him.
• Tiandao raised Shattered Star over the trapped Yu Chen, relying on basic Star Energy rather than elaborate techniques.

Liu Ma broke through Tiandao’s Star Energy restraints and saved Yu Chen, revealing his newly awakened combined form. His taunt prompted Tiandao to announce that he would fight more seriously, leaving Liu Ma facing a much more dangerous opponent.

• Liu Ma blocked Tiandao’s strike against Yu Chen and took Shattered Star into his arms.
• Liu Ma unleashed the power of his awakened Netherworld Warhorse and Golden Demon Bull combination, breaking Tiandao’s Star Energy field and freeing Yu Chen.
• Yu Chen escaped Tiandao’s oppressive range while Liu Ma mocked Shui Mo and praised the fearsome monster he had once encountered.
• Tiandao let some of his gathered Star Energy subside after Liu Ma’s praise, then raised Shattered Star and declared he would take the fight seriously.
• Tiandao’s ink-black Star Energy deepened, and Liu Ma’s confidence faltered as Tiandao gave him no chance to back down.

Tiandao defeated Liu Ma and Yu Chen, then revealed that Chen Xing could track Chen Kong and Vivian despite the Mark of the Void. Chen Kong and Vivian reached Bolt Hub Station, where Chen Xing confronted them and blocked their escape to the Lower City.

• Tiandao redirected Liu Ma’s punch toward Yu Chen, leaving Yu Chen injured and Liu Ma unconscious.
• Yu Chen said he had completed his mission because Kong’s Star Core ability would protect Vivian, but Tiandao explained that Chen Xing could track Chen Kong and Vivian.
• Tiandao knocked Yu Chen unconscious and waited calmly after the fight.
• Chen Kong and Vivian fled toward Bolt Hub Station, using Presence Erasure to evade the pedestrians and vehicles around them.
• Chen Xing appeared at the station entrance, saw through Chen Kong’s Presence Erasure, and confronted him as he tried to escape with Vivian.

Chen Xing trapped Chen Kong and Vivian in her Red Lotus Karmic Fire and unleashed an army of remnant souls against them. Chen Kong and Vivian fought back together, but Chen Xing remained the true obstacle to their escape.

• Chen Kong dragged Vivian toward the Steam Train station, but Chen Xing’s Red Lotus Karmic Fire blocked their way.
• Chen Kong used Mark of the Void: Return to Dust to open a path through the flames, but Chen Xing’s fire replenished faster than he could assimilate it.
• Chen Xing explained the limits of Return to Dust, drew her Demonic Blade, and summoned a horde of evil ghost remnant souls.
• Chen Kong fired Mark of the Void Bullets at the remnant souls while Vivian used her Seconds Hand Rapier to fight them off.
• Chen Kong and Vivian stood back-to-back and began thinning the horde, while recognizing that Chen Xing was still the real threat.

Chen Xing confronted Chen Kong and Vivian, insisting that her duty as a Star Envoy required her to capture them while challenging Chen Kong to prove his objections. After overpowering him, she revealed that her harshness came from wanting her younger brother to protect himself and stay alive.

• Chen Xing drew her Demonic Blade, transformed with Bloodflame, and told Chen Kong that he still could not escape her.
• Chen Kong questioned why she would uphold the trial despite its apparent injustice, and Chen Xing said capturing fugitives was her duty and she would not change her mind based on words alone.
• Chen Xing attacked with a colossal flaming blade, and Chen Kong dodged while continuing to remind her of their childhood and their parents.
• Chen Xing rebuked Chen Kong for risking his life in the name of justice, then struck again and sent him and Vivian flying.
• Chen Xing pressed her blade to Chen Kong’s throat and asked him to admit his mistake, but he stayed silent because he believed he had done nothing wrong.
• Chen Xing reflected that she had come partly on Tiandao’s instruction and partly to stop Chen Kong from endangering himself, because she wanted him to live well.

Chen Xing brutally beat Chen Kong for risking his life to save Vivian, then left with Vivian after she intervened. Isabelle arrived, arranged medical treatment for the unconscious Chen Kong, and had him taken away in a Skysea Group convoy.

• Chen Xing confronted Chen Kong for risking his life to save a woman he had just met.
• Chen Xing repeatedly struck and kicked Chen Kong, ordering him to get up each time.
• Vivian stepped between Chen Xing and Chen Kong and said he had saved her life, so Chen Xing sheathed her blade and left with her.
• Isabelle appeared beside the unconscious Chen Kong and called for a Skysea Group convoy.
• Isabelle ordered her employees to take Chen Kong to the medical department and ensure he woke without a scratch.

After Chen Xing traded Vivian’s release for the revocation of her brother’s warrant, Tiandao confronted Vivian about her plans and revealed that she had stolen the Church’s Holy Relic herself. Vivian admitted her scheme was driven by revenge for her father William, and she entered the Brass Tower determined to carry it through.

• Chen Xing handed Vivian over to Tiandao after he agreed to revoke the warrant for her brother.
• Tiandao questioned Vivian about her determination to act, then warned her not to let revenge blind her.
• Tiandao revealed that Vivian had stolen the Holy Relic and worked with Bishop Cleve and Saintess Euphemia to deceive everyone.
• Vivian admitted she wanted revenge on those who had framed her father, even if it meant making the Clockwork Knight’s justice a false legend and causing upheaval.
• Tiandao brought Vivian to the Brass Tower, where she stepped out ready to carry out her plan.

Vivian faced the Twelve Brass Nobles in a public trial and denied stealing the Gear Church's Holy Relic. She presented both witness testimony and physical evidence, beginning with the name Jack Bailey, which shocked Bishop Cleve and Saintess Euphemia.

• Tiandao accompanied Vivian into the council hall, where the Twelve Brass Nobles convened her trial.
• Vivian declared herself innocent and began explaining that she had never stolen the Church's Holy Relic, but Saintess Euphemia tried to silence her.
• Euphemia sent invisible threads toward Vivian, but Tiandao warned her, and the threads withdrew.
• The Council President asked Vivian for evidence, and she confirmed she had both witness testimony and physical evidence.
• Vivian named Jack Bailey, owner of the Rust Nail Bar in the Lower City, and Bishop Cleve and Saintess Euphemia reacted with shock.

Old Jack presented evidence that Vivian had acted on Euphemia and Cleve’s orders, but the Brass Nobles dismissed it and sentenced Vivian to Furnace Punishment. As the verdict spread through the Steam Capital, Tiandao anticipated the Lower City’s anger and prepared to fan it into rebellion.

• The Council President summoned Old Jack, who presented a ledger documenting the Gear Church’s dealings in the Lower City and a recorder containing Euphemia’s orders to Vivian.
• The recorder revealed that Euphemia had instructed Vivian to take the Holy Relic and promised her a mech suit, but Cleve argued the recording could be forged and pressured the Brass Nobles to reject it.
• Cleve stripped Vivian of her Silver Knight status, and the Council President declared her guilty and sentenced her to Furnace Punishment seven days later.
• Most of the Brass Nobles voted to approve Vivian’s sentence, while Fischer and two Association representatives voted against it.
• Tiandao anticipated that the broadcast verdict would ignite the Lower City’s anger and decided to fan the uprising himself.

Chen Xing and Tiandao discussed his awakened Stellar Eclipse Heavenly Eye and the potential of its Subspace ability, then turned to Tiandao’s plans for changing Upper City. Chen Xing confessed she had watched him for eight years, leaving Tiandao flustered and her uncertain how he felt.

• Chen Xing burned Tiandao’s Gomoku pieces after he declared victory, and they ended the game in a draw.
• Chen Xing examined the Star Mark in Tiandao’s eyes, and he demonstrated how his awakened Stellar Eclipse Heavenly Eye opened visible Subspace nodes to store and retrieve objects.
• Chen Xing deduced that Tiandao could eventually use Subspace to evade physical attacks, and he confirmed that he hoped to develop the ability into “Phasing.”
• Tiandao told Chen Xing that Enit would tolerate his plans to change Upper City if they benefited ordinary people, and he intended to charge a service fee for his work.
• Chen Xing said she had watched Tiandao since eight years ago and asked whether he hated it; Tiandao said he did not, while she looked disappointed when he avoided her gaze.

Chen Xing urged Caroline to delay testing the Spirit Realm until after advancing, while hiding her own reasons for wanting Caroline to wait. Though Caroline agreed to be cautious, she felt unexplained unease and called Jing Liuli for a conversation.

• Chen Xing told Caroline she had found leads on the Sentient Species and Caroline explained that the Spirit Realm could expose their disguises.
• Chen Xing asked whether Caroline would use the Spirit Realm to investigate her sealed memories before advancing, and Caroline said she planned to test it first.
• Chen Xing warned that using the Spirit Realm before advancing could risk Data Assimilation, then admitted she feared losing Caroline as a friend.
• Caroline promised to avoid risks until the Spirit Realm experiments produced results, which would take at least half a year.
• After their call, Caroline felt uneasy, left her calculation pod, and contacted Jing Liuli to talk.

Jing Liuli helped Caroline infer that Chen Xing was struggling with the Demonic Blade’s threat to take control of her, and Caroline realized Chen Xing might want her to supervise a deadly trial. Alone in the Gear Tower, Chen Xing drew the blade and answered its desire to possess her with a defiant challenge.

• Jing Liuli told Caroline that Chen Xing’s evasiveness likely meant she had encountered a serious problem unrelated to combat.
• Caroline recalled that Chen Xing’s Demonic Blade was her true Star Core organ and that it could enslave her if it gained too much influence.
• Caroline suspected Chen Xing wanted her to supervise the coming battle and kill her if she became a blade slave, but she kept the matter private from Jing Liuli.
• Chen Xing stood before the Demonic Blade in the Gear Tower, drew it, and challenged it to prove it could take her body.
• The Demonic Blade trembled with violent battle intent, and Chen Xing mocked its ambition.

Chen Xing threatened the Demonic Blade into submission by revealing her willingness to die by Tiandao’s hand so he would remember her. Tiandao sensed the blade’s growing influence on her and decided to test her strength, but first put on his Mysterious Masked Man disguise to handle another matter.

• Chen Xing told the Demonic Blade to submit and help her stand beside Tiandao, or become a weapon that cut down anything in his way.
• Chen Xing said she would accept dying by Tiandao’s hand if it made her the only one he could never forget, frightening the Demonic Blade into silence.
• Tiandao noticed the killing intent left on the chessboard and concluded that the Demonic Blade was increasingly affecting Chen Xing’s will.
• Tiandao recalled that Chen Xing had once vented her killing urges by challenging him, and reasoned that the Demonic Blade needed to accept him as a resting place rather than merely be defeated.
• Tiandao decided to test Chen Xing’s current strength, then put on his mask to take care of another matter.

The Gear Church split into factions after Bishop Cleve and Saintess Euphemia’s actions caused believers to doubt their faith. Fischer killed Per when he attacked him, but the Purification Faction rose against Fischer, leaving the church on the verge of further violence.

• The Purification Faction gathered to pray, and Per rang the Great Pendulum Church’s clock to signal their plan to purify those they considered unclean.
• Fischer arrived and ordered Per to stand down, insisting the knight order could not act against a bishop or Saintess without authorization.
• Per attacked Fischer with a Steam Sawblade and accused him of allowing the doctrine to be trampled.
• Fischer caught the sawblade and killed Per with a punch to his helmet.
• The remaining believers rose against Fischer, who concluded that more of them needed purification.

Tiandao Siming confronted Fischer in the blood-soaked Great Pendulum Church and used his abilities to overpower the mechanical knight. After revealing his identity and disabling Fischer’s armor, Tiandao left him unable to move.

• Fischer killed the believers corrupted by “sensibility” inside the Great Pendulum Church.
• Tiandao entered the church and said he had come to take the Central Authority from Fischer’s chest.
• Fischer attacked Tiandao, but Vector Control redirected his sword and Tiandao evaded his follow-up strike.
• Tiandao used a Quantum Cube to block Fischer’s encrypted signal and revealed that he was Tiandao Siming.
• Tiandao used Vector Control to disrupt Fischer’s armor, then placed a hand on his shoulder and left Fischer unable to control his body.

Tiandao defeated and killed Fischer, taking the Steam Capital Quantum Key from his body. He escaped the cathedral unseen as Church knights arrived, while an ominous storm gathered over Steam Capital.

• Tiandao seized control of Fischer’s golden mech, but Fischer shed the armor and attacked him with Star Envoy-targeting bullets.
• Tiandao turned Fischer’s bullets against him and used his foresight to pierce Fischer’s chest, destroying his power core.
• Fischer made one final attack before dying, and Tiandao drew the Steam Capital Quantum Key from his body into the Quantum Cube.
• Church knights rushed into the cathedral, but Tiandao walked past them unseen and left for home.
• The cathedral clock rang out, a cicada began to sing, and dark clouds spread toward Steam Capital as a summer storm approached.

Chen Kong and Isabelle discussed the rising tension between Upper City and Lower City, while a flashback revealed the stakes and secrets of the Starry Sky Ladder Ranking Competition. When a riot erupted at Bolt Hub Station over Upper City's planned overhaul, Chen Kong left to find Jack Bailey, the one person he believed could stop it.

• Chen Kong turned off a radio broadcast announcing Upper City's planned overhaul of Rust Iron District and suspected the news had been released to provoke conflict.
• Isabelle suggested Chen Kong ask Yu Qianxia about the overhaul, but he hesitated because he already owed her a favor and was unsure whether to enter the Starry Sky Ladder Ranking Competition.
• In a flashback, Yu Qianxia explained that the competition could grant top-ranked Star Envoys an item needed to reach Calamity-class and revealed that Dragon and another classified disciple had defected from the Association over the same woman.
• A crowd of Rust Iron District citizens attacked Bolt Hub Station, setting buildings alight and charging the mechanical guards in protest against Upper City's planned demolitions.
• Chen Kong left the office to find Jack Bailey, believing the former owner of Rust Nail Bar was the only one who could stop the riot.

Chen Kong refused to abandon the Lower City residents or Vivian, while Old Jack chose to leave the Steam Capital. Isabelle then informed her father, Dorian, that she intended to take action, leaving him alarmed as she explained the crisis.

• Old Jack told Chen Kong that he could not give the Lower City residents hope and decided to leave the Steam Capital.
• Chen Kong vowed to help Vivian and the Rust Iron District, then headed for Bolt Hub Station.
• Isabelle contacted Dorian and invoked his advice about braving dangerous waves to pursue valuable fish.
• Dorian encouraged Isabelle to act until she warned him that her plan might turn the Steam Capital upside down.
• Isabelle described the situation to Dorian, who grew increasingly alarmed.