Chapter Summaries

Su Wen and his companions attended a performance at the Mariinsky Theatre while agents monitored David Ivanovich and other targets. During the Anna Karenina musical, three Sublimators from the masquerade ball enveloped the theater in a mental field and displaced it into a projected ancient ruin, which Su Wen identified as a Third Era sacrificial ground.

• Duke Miss deduced that Ivanovich’s ruin might be in the Baltic Sea or Arctic Ocean, and Su Wen praised her while deciding to watch the masquerade ball’s performance.
• Su Wen, Vanessa, and their companions entered the Mariinsky Theatre as agents reported the seats of key targets, including David Ivanovich.
• After Swan Lake, Su Wen discussed the Anna Karenina musical with Vanessa and revealed that he had prepared three special Travel Cards.
• As Anna returned to her Saint Petersburg home onstage, Su Wen used Appraisal Vision and detected mental-field interference and spatial deflection.
• Three Sublimators from Muse’s branch lineages enveloped the theater, transforming their surroundings into the projected ruin called Night of Glory and Despair.

Su Wen and the others were drawn into the Masquerade, where they received identities and a quest to find the Witch, reenact history, and break the Border Relics. As the ruins targeted Count Gore’s group, Su Wen identified a way to disrupt the crisis but held back, leaving Mark Gore surrounded by knights.

• Su Wen read the Masquerade quest and suspected Border Relics were interfering with appraisal.
• The theater transformed into ruined surroundings, and Su Wen explained that the Masquerade cast its targets as villains in its performance.
• Angelia revealed she had received the minor role Taciturn One, while Vanessa had become a knight; Su Wen told agents to protect Vanessa and Baron Reynolds.
• Su Wen explained the different forms of Transcendent Crises and identified three braziers as the sources of the Masquerade, saying he had found a way to break it.
• Knights from the ruins surrounded Mark Gore, who pleaded that they had mistaken him for someone else.

Su Wen and Angelia watched Count Gore's forces clash with the Court of Judgment before Su Wen moved to reach the weakened Thirteenth Witch. He fought Performer Edwin Berkeley, uncovered the relic's connection to the Great Library, and learned that Edwin's group sought to rewrite history.

• Mark Gore tried to blame his companions, but Count Gore crushed nearby knights and nobles with stone palms and summoned golems to fight the Court of Judgment.
• Su Wen told Vanessa that the deaths were real, while Angelia vowed to purge the corruption if the masquerade ball failed to do so.
• After the battle weakened the Witch's escort, Su Wen recognized the relic projection as a possible Border Relic and headed toward the Thirteenth Witch.
• Performer Edwin Berkeley blocked Su Wen and warned that he would be judged as an accomplice, but Su Wen wounded him with an enchanted Crusader longsword.
• Su Wen identified the relic as the Great Library's Third Civilization Chronicle, and Edwin admitted his group were Relic Scholars who sought to rewrite history.

Su Wen killed Edwin Berkeley after learning that the masquerades used historical roles to escape their regrets, while Angelia fought the dancer Katie Gracie. Angelia sprang a trap with her winter abilities, but the battle's outcome remained unknown.

• Su Wen learned from Edwin Berkeley that the masquerades used historical figures to indulge in the past and that Edwin had accepted Count Ivanovich's deal after his wife died in a fire.
• Edwin Berkeley played Beethoven's overture to Fidelio and was killed by Su Wen's sword strike.
• Angelia confronted Katie Gracie, a Royal Ballet dancer whose Fallen Feather ability sent razor-sharp feathers raining down.
• Angelia countered Katie Gracie's feather attack with a winter storm and fought her at close range.
• Angelia used Winter - Ice Cone Array to attack Katie Gracie, then triggered Winter - Frost Touch, sending icy chains erupting from the frozen ground.

Angelia subdued Katie Gracie as Ivanovich and Gary Jona prepared to execute Count Gore’s group and the witch in the Projection Relic. Rhine interrupted the staged trial by killing the judge and declaring that he would take over the performance.

• Katie Gracie offered to join her, but Angelia restrained Katie and sent Rhine toward the real stage.
• Count Gore and the surviving guards were captured and marched to the sacrificial platform, where Ivanovich and Gary Jona prepared to burn them with the witch.
• Ivanovich ordered Jona to deepen the knights’ loyalty imprints so they could not report the conspiracy.
• The Court of Judgment declared the witch responsible for the Stellar Extinction incident and sentenced her to death.
• Rhine’s Storm Tear beam killed the judge, and Rhine announced that he would take over the performance.

Su Wen entered the Witch trial site disguised as Rhine and fought through the church’s knights to reach the chained Witch. Conductor Gary Jona activated Arturo’s Detune, and Su Wen met its crushing pressure with his defensive abilities.

• Su Wen arrived at the trial site, declared himself Night Watch: Rhine, and cut down the projection knights who attacked him.
• Su Wen advanced toward the chained Witch as Gary Jona ordered the church forces to stop him.
• Su Wen defeated the charging knights with his storm-infused swordsmanship, leaving the arena strewn with corpses and broken lances.
• Gary Jona entered the arena and activated Extraordinary Characteristics: Arturo’s Detune, creating a powerful pressure field around Su Wen.
• Su Wen endured the field behind golden barriers that gradually strengthened and began pushing back against its gravity.

Su Wen revealed the Masquerade’s hidden third-tier Puppeteer, Su Clairell, and confirmed her connection to Count Ivanovich’s abduction of the test subjects. As Su Clairell sent her puppets to attack, Angelia unleashed a powerful ice spell across the judgment altar.

• Gary Jona used Herbert’s Glorious Echo, and a transparent thread grazed Su Wen before piercing and hoisting Gary Jona like a puppet.
• Su Clairell, the Masquerade’s concealed third-tier Puppeteer, appeared and revealed that the motionless first-tier members were her puppets.
• Su Wen identified Su Clairell as Count Ivanovich’s true collaborator and restored his golden barrier after it appeared to break.
• Su Clairell sent her puppets and their combined Spiritual Energy Traits against Su Wen.
• At Su Wen’s signal, Angelia cast Roar of Extreme Cold, opening a fissure that unleashed the Eternal Ice Abyss’s freezing winds across the relic.

Su Wen used Prometheus - Embers of Stealing Fire to copy Angelia’s Roar of Extreme Cold and break through Count Ivanovich’s protective barrier. The blizzard exposed Ivanovich as a hidden Tier 2 Transcendent and left him badly injured as Su Wen approached.

• Count Ivanovich activated Hader’s Shield, protecting himself and Clairelle’s surviving puppets from Angelia’s first blizzard.
• Su Wen revealed that he had gained an Ember of Stealing Fire by having Angelia include him in her spell, then used Origin Reenactment to cast Roar of Extreme Cold.
• Su Wen’s copied blizzard overwhelmed the barrier, severely injured Clairelle, and froze Duke Gore to death.
• Count Ivanovich revealed his hidden Tier 2 strength and used an attendant as a scapegoat, but the blizzard still left him severely injured.
• Su Wen walked toward the injured Count Ivanovich.

Su Wen protected the Thirteenth Witch from the flames of judgment, gained the Hymn of Fire characteristic, and formed a covenant with her as his second follower. The Projection Relic halted as the Witch asked whether she and Su Wen would meet again in the real relic.

• Clairelle fled the Sacrificial Ground, and Count Ivanovich activated the Border Relic: Judgement - Ignition Command to set the cross ablaze.
• Su Wen used Please Judge Me First! to shield the Witch from the flames, and his actions improved his lineage compatibility and granted him the Hymn of Fire characteristic and an S-rank hidden mission.
• Su Wen impaled Duke Ivanovich with a forged cross sword, freed the Witch from her chains, and rejected the Judge identity on his Identity Token.
• Su Wen offered the Witch another chance, and she agreed to become his second follower through Mythical Trait: Prometheus - Lonely Guide.
• The Witch asked Su Wen whether they would meet again, and the Projection Relic abruptly stopped as the covenant was formed.

Su Wen received Lucia Ferdinand’s relic and watched the Court of Judgment collapse. Puppeteer Su Clairell tried to escape, but Edwin Berkeley and Katie Gracie confronted her.

• Lucia Ferdinand gave Su Wen a jade relic before her projection faded, and Su Wen received the Bug Player achievement.
• Su Wen remembered his promise to Lucia as the Court of Judgment began to collapse.
• Su Clairell abandoned Count Ivanovich and ran toward the edge of the relic, but Edwin Berkeley blasted her away.
• Edwin revealed that he was an undercover agent for the Aurora Organization and said he intended to detain Clairell.
• Katie Gracie appeared and told Clairell that she had joined the Aurora Organization after the Masquerade’s Saint Petersburg branch fell.

Angelia and her allies defeated Su Clairelle, while Katie warned them to contain the puppeteer before killing her so she could not send information back. Elsewhere, Patience Ivanovich learned his father was dead and contacted Uncle Strat about the deal and the family’s next move.

• Miss Dancer Katie Gracie revealed that Su Clairelle was a Real Puppet whose death could transmit information to her original body, and Angelia enclosed her in a field jammer.
• Angelia’s group destroyed the Projection Relic, and Vanessa compared the Masquerade to Conan’s Black Organization.
• Patience Ivanovich used Border Relics: Tracking Ink and saw the words “Death” where his father’s trail should have been.
• Patience called Uncle Strat and warned that his father had failed and their family might be finished if they did not act quickly.

Patience Ivanovich and Strat realized that Christopher’s involvement made retaliation impossible and decided to flee while gambling on the remaining ruins. At the Mariinsky National Grand Theater, Su Wen prepared to blur the audience’s memories and begin his final performance.

• Patience Ivanovich told Strat about the information Patience had obtained, including references to Aurora, the Night Watch, and Christopher.
• Strat warned Patience Ivanovich to evacuate the factories and avoid fighting back, advising him to stake their hopes on the ruins.
• The performance in the ruins ended, and Su Wen explained to Angelia that the audience was suffering from spatial angular coordinate offset vertigo.
• Vanessa worried that Su Wen’s identity might be discovered, and Su Wen assured her he would blur the audience’s memories and complete the performance.
• Su Wen handed his coat to Duke Miss and took his place at the grand piano as armed agents watched over the few nobles who had awakened.

Su Wen performed Chopin’s “Nocturne” to soothe the audience and concluded the Masquerade relic incident, earning World Influence as the performance spread through the Current World. With two days left in Duke Christopher’s Butler, Crisis Seventy-Two Hours, he and Angelia set out to follow Leis Angton and Ivanovich’s evacuation.

• Su Wen played Chopin’s “Nocturne” with a Master-Level Performance Technique, calming the audience and helping the relic experience fade from their memories.
• Christopher’s entertainment company released footage of Su Wen’s performance anonymously, and the Piano Prince became popular in the Current World.
• Angelia warned the nobles that the Aurora Organization and Night Watch would continue investigating the Masquerade incident.
• Edwin Berkeley told Su Wen that his wife had died in a fire set by people disguised as Night Watch members, explaining why he distrusted the Night Watch but chose Aurora.
• Su Wen noted that two days remained in the event and suggested following Leis Angton and Ivanovich as they evacuated.
• Su Wen drove Angelia out of the city toward their destination.

Su Wen and Angelia traveled through the snowy outskirts of Saint Petersburg toward the Leis Angton coastal factory, where workers were being rushed through a secret evacuation. Su Wen ordered his agents to let the evacuation reveal the facility’s destination while ensuring every abducted child was rescued.

• Angelia gazed at the stars and told Su Wen she now wanted to find traces of her mother among them.
• Su Wen remembered a message assuring Angelia she was not alone as they drove through the snowy wilderness.
• At the Leis Angton factory, workers hurried to evacuate, unknowingly carrying crates filled with human remains.
• Sifana and Yulis discussed the factory’s Large-Scale Mental Interference Field and the workers’ lack of awareness.
• Su Wen told Yulis to track the evacuation destination and ensure that every abducted child was rescued.

Su Wen and Angelia’s agents infiltrated the Leis Angton Coastal Factory to rescue captive children and uncover its research. Su Wen reached the laboratory and found records describing an alchemical bioreactor and the use of an Abyss Potion.

• Yulis slipped past the factory’s guards, killed one, and reassured the imprisoned children as her team began freeing them.
• Su Wen’s agents infiltrated the giant ships while Su Wen drove to the factory and entered through a scouted passage.
• Su Wen headed to Agent Sifana’s laboratory, where she had disguised herself as the facility’s supervisor and prepared the research logs.
• Su Wen read that the researchers were trying to build an alchemical bioreactor and considered injecting people with the Abyss Potion to increase their output of alchemical materials.

Su Wen examined Leis Angton’s research into using an alchemical reactor to consume the Black Death and reach a relic core, connecting the files to his quest about Hohenheim’s Legacy. After discussing alchemy’s history and its ties to modern science with Sifana, he asked whether Fifth Squad’s infiltration could establish contact.

• Su Wen read the research files and linked their alchemy findings to his C+-rank quest, Hohenheim’s Legacy—Alchemy Remnants.
• Su Wen inferred that researchers sought to contain the Black Death-like infection so they could investigate another door inside the relic.
• Su Wen reflected on his limited knowledge of life sciences and the importance of inherited knowledge, then opened Sifana’s notebook on alchemy.
• Sifana asked whether alchemy could be considered a science, and Su Wen described its influence on chemistry and modern scientific research.
• Su Wen asked Sifana whether Fifth Squad’s infiltration was progressing and whether they could establish contact.

Su Wen prepared to pursue Leis Angton and Patience Ivanovich after uncovering the factory's atrocities, coordinating with the Aurora Alliance to control the evacuation routes. He left Regina in charge of the port and set out into the storm, determined to end Ivanovich's crimes.

• Su Wen and Angelia discussed the Disguise Masks and the alchemical materials she could provide if the ruins required them.
• Su Wen contacted Kevin and arranged for the Aurora Alliance to control the ferries in exchange for the ruins belonging to Christopher.
• At the underground port, Regina reported that the Aurora envoys had arrived and that the evacuation ships had already departed.
• Sifana told Su Wen that Patience Ivanovich was aboard the third evacuation ship and that the ships' routes crossed Aurora's control points.
• Su Wen left Regina in charge and went after Ivanovich, enraged by the murdered children, vagrants, and young mother.

Su Wen reflected on his father and resolved to make difficult choices while cherishing those who traveled with him. Angelia arrived aboard a destroyer to pursue the fleeing organization, and Vanessa insisted on joining the operation.

• Su Wen recalled learning about his father from Professor Jiang Xiuyuan and resolved to choose his own path rather than wait for civilization's end.
• Su Wen learned that Leis Angton had evacuated the factory workers and that Strat was racing to claim the ruin and its Border Relics.
• Angelia arrived at the abandoned harbor aboard a Leningrad-class Destroyer requisitioned for the joint operation.
• Su Wen boarded the destroyer and placed his hat on Angelia's head to shield her from the rain.
• Vanessa explained that she had sailing experience from the Arctic Ocean Border War and wanted to help, prompting Angelia to tease her.

Su Wen and Angelia prepared to search the ruins by sailing through a storm belt tied to the Spiritual Energy Field disturbance. Vanessa accepted the task of correcting their position in real time as the destroyer turned toward the storm.

• Vanessa told Su Wen that Little Borya had returned safely, and Su Wen praised the agent who rescued him and promised a bonus.
• Su Wen studied the sea chart and argued that the storm belt was necessary to opening the ruins and finding Leis Angton.
• Sifana warned that the storm could disrupt her Fifth Division's signal markers, but Su Wen said he had a solution and entrusted Vanessa with the mission.
• Vanessa used her Cartographer Lineage and real-time correction ability to prepare to guide the ship through the storm.
• Su Wen freshened up and changed into clothes Angelia had prepared, while the Leningrad-class Destroyer turned and headed into the storm.

Su Wen’s forces attacked the Leis Angton evacuation ship as Patience Ivanovich and Strat tried to flee toward the ruins. An infiltrating agent kept tracking them, while Su Wen ordered her to wait for a chance to strike and his destroyer continued its bombardment.

• Strat reassured Patience that the chaos around the ruins meant the Masquerade’s sacrifice had helped, and the two toasted aboard Evacuation Ship No. 3.
• A shell struck the ship, and a disguised agent reported that Christopher’s forces were attacking and that Patience and Strat planned to escape to the ruins.
• Strat and Patience fled toward the escape pod, leaving the other passengers behind as the agent slipped away to report to Captain Sifana.
• Sifana relayed the agent’s report to Angelia and Su Wen, who ordered the agent to keep following the pair rather than intercept them.
• Su Wen’s forces bombarded the evacuation ship, and the Leningrad Destroyer rammed toward it through the storm.