Chapter Summaries

Angel defeated the Red Angel evil spirit with the Calamity Charm and learned that Adam had arranged events to obtain 0-08. Klein killed Ince Zangwill, then faced Angel as she appeared at Resurrection Square.

• Angel used mist and vapor to conceal herself while the Red Angel tried to escape through the Spirit World, but a vast black castle blocked his path.
• The Red Angel offered a truce, then attacked Angel; she revealed her mirror doubles, imprisoned him, and destroyed his Spirit Body with the Calamity Charm.
• Adam collected the Quill of Alzuhod and Red Priest card, admitted arranging events to exhaust 0-08, and told Angel to go to Klein.
• Klein shot Ince Zangwill repeatedly, rejecting his claim that Angel was Cole Granger, and killed him with the final bullet.
• Klein tossed the reversed Star onto Ince's corpse and saw Adam and a pale-faced Angel standing nearby.

Klein confronted the truth about Angel Granger’s identity as she feared losing his trust, but he drew strength from their shared memories and successfully advanced to Trick Sorcerer. He proposed to Angel in Resurrection Square, and she accepted.

• Klein remembered the doubts he had long held about Angel’s forged identity and realized Ince Zangwill’s revelation had affected him despite his earlier confidence.
• Angel despaired as Daly Simone, Leonard Mitchell, and the apparently resurrected Dunn Smith arrived and heard Ince’s words; Adam narrated Klein’s revenge and questioned whether his turmoil would affect his advancement.
• Angel embraced Klein and urged him to focus on advancing, and Klein drank the Trick Sorcerer Potion.
• Klein nearly lost himself among fragmented identities, but memories of Angel and their life together helped him regain control and complete his advancement.
• As Angel tried to slip away, Klein stopped her and proposed marriage before their teammates and the watching Adam; Angel accepted the ring.

After Klein proposed to Angel and the Nighthawks reunited with Dunn, Angel returned to the City of Calamity and discovered a new area. The chapter ended when she found the body of Angel Gray, who had already died.

• Klein and Angel left the battle site after Klein declined to return to the Church, while Dunn told Leonard and Daly that he belonged to a new team called Goddess Heart.
• Klein and Angel returned to their hotel, where Klein explained his proposal and Angel accepted him as her fiancé.
• Angel woke in the City of Calamity and explored its streets, finding a fog-shrouded area and a modern district.
• Angel discovered Angel Gray's burned body lying at an intersection.

Nighthawks investigated a series of ritualistic murders of East Borough gang leaders, while Trissy warned Shermane to stay cautious as she pursued Viscount Stratford. After returning to Backlund, Angel reflected on her engagement to Klein, her encounter with the Red Angel, and the mystery of the City of Calamity and her past.

• Two Nighthawks examined the charred body of the Salin Gang boss and found no clues, learning that Spirit Channeling and Divination had been obstructed.
• A Nighthawk noted that the murders of East Borough gang leaders formed a third similar case and recommended seeking help from the Red Gloves.
• Trissy questioned Shermane about her feelings for Viscount Stratford and instructed her to act naturally while pursuing him.
• Angel returned to Backlund, admired the engagement ring from Klein, and reviewed her battle with the Red Angel's evil spirit.
• Angel examined the Red Priest Card and wondered whether Emperor Roselle had created two identical sets of Cards of Blasphemy.
• Angel recalled the City of Calamity and questioned whether she had ever crossed into this world, since she had seen her former self's corpse there.

Angel concluded that her world might be Earth transformed after its destruction, and the revelation helped her digest the Despair Potion. She summoned Arrodes to ask about the City of Calamity and learned that it was one of nine Sefirot before asking whether it could reveal events from the First Epoch or earlier.

• Angel connected the world's geography and history to Earth and wondered whether her corpse had been preserved until she possessed Cole Granger.
• Angel calmed herself, digested the Despair Potion, and considered seeking answers after resolving the danger of Ince Zangwill and 0-08.
• Angel summoned Arrodes through a mirror and asked what it knew about the City of Calamity.
• Arrodes explained that the City of Calamity was one of nine Sefirot and named several others, including Sefirah Castle, the Chaos Sea, and the River of Eternal Darkness.
• Angel asked Arrodes whether it could use divination or spirit channeling to glimpse events from the First Epoch or earlier.

Angel learned that the Spirit World held no information from before the Chaos Era, then rushed to help Klein after Arrodes warned her he needed her. Klein reflected on the truth of his transmigration and how his attachments to this world had changed, and he reunited with Angel, hiding what he had discovered above the Gray Fog.

• Arrodes explained that divination drew on information in the Spirit World, which held nothing from before the Chaos Era, and suggested Angel ask the Seven Lights about an ancient civilization.
• Angel memorized the ritual for contacting the Seven Lights, then learned from Arrodes that Klein needed help and hurried to him.
• After returning from the Gray Mist, Klein recalled the cocoons above the door of light and concluded that people from Earth had been released into the world at different times.
• Klein realized that family, friends, compassion for the poor, and his love for Angel had replaced returning to Earth as his ultimate goal.
• Angel arrived injured after crossing the Berserk Sea, and Klein embraced her, reassured her, and kept his discovery secret before offering to show her his new abilities.

Klein demonstrated his new Trick Sorcerer abilities to Angel, who then told him about the City of Calamity and Medici’s full name. In Cookawa, Dunn, Leonard, and Daly’s account of the battle was accepted, but Leonard was left with unanswered questions before a crimson light enveloped him.

• Klein showed Angel that he could let his Marionettes use his Beyonder abilities and swap places with them over a distance, confusing her about which figure was the real Klein.
• Angel told Klein about the Gray Fog blocking her way into the city and shared the seven Sefirah names, while withholding her discovery about her identity and the world beneath them.
• Klein and Angel discussed the City of Calamity and learned that the Red Angel spirit called himself Sauron Einhorn Medici; Klein burned the list of Sefirah names after studying it.
• In Cookawa, Dunn told Leonard and Daly that he had survived Tingen and had secretly investigated Ince Zangwill on Arianna’s orders; he refused to explain the Goddess Heart.
• Leonard returned to his room, found that Old Man still did not answer, and was suddenly enveloped by crimson light.

Leonard met Mr. Fool above the Gray Fog, joined the Tarot Club as the Star, and learned that Pales Zoroaster was an Angel parasitizing him. Meanwhile, Angel considered using her fabricated identity to plan a public future with Klein, who was summoned above the Gray Fog by Miss Magician’s prayer.

• Mr. Fool summoned Leonard, explained the Tarot Club, and invited him to join while telling him to inform Pales Zoroaster.
• Leonard chose the Star card as his code name, and Klein revealed that every remaining card was also the Star as he considered how the club could help protect Leonard from Pales.
• Angel heard her servants speculate about her relationship with Dwayne Dantès and considered using her and Klein’s fabricated identities to start a family safely.
• Angel asked Ribak for her schedule, while Klein answered Miss Magician’s prayer by going above the Gray Fog.

Klein cleansed Xio and Fors’s Spirit Bodies and welcomed Xio into the Tarot Club as Judgment. Angel settled her social plans in Backlund, then traveled to the Beluga Whale Sea to inspect an arms deal and tell Helene they would search for the Fountain of Youth; someone overheard them.

• Klein brought Xio and Fors above the Gray Fog, cleansed their Spirit Bodies, and explained the Tarot Club to Xio.
• Xio joined the gatherings and chose Judgment as her code name, then prepared to tell Klein how she and Fors had encountered the contamination.
• Angel declined invitations from unmarried gentlemen, arranged a visit to Iris Flower Winery with Audrey Hall, and traveled through the Mirror World to Toscarter Island.
• Angel met Helene aboard the Red Haired Woman and heard that the arms had been loaded for delivery near Nass under a false pirate identity.
• Angel told Helene she would need the ship and crew to search the Sonia Sea for the Fountain of Youth, and an unseen speaker overheard her.

Angel investigated the Fountain of Youth legend while inspecting a weapons shipment from Helene, and she planned to help Helene advance. In Backlund, Crestet Cesimir arrived to discuss dealing with Ince Zangwill.

• Angel told Lucky William that she sought the Fountain of Youth as a Potion ingredient, and William explained what Edwina had taught him about the sea’s legends.
• William revealed that he had left the Golden Dream after mistaking Edwina’s attention to his studies for romantic interest.
• Angel approved Helene’s shipment of firearms and ammunition and urged her to deliver it to Nass, promising further support for her advancement.
• Angel considered building a fleet under the Golden Queen’s name and thought of a target for Helene’s Reaper ritual.
• Crestet Cesimir met Archbishop Anthony in Backlund after advancing and said he had come to deal with Ince Zangwill.

Archbishop Anthony learned more about the people who took revenge on Ince Zangwill, while Cesimir entrusted him with the Unaging Demoness Beyonder Characteristic and joined the search for a royal-family ruin. At Audrey's salon, Angel identified Stephen Hampres as a Spectator and watched Audrey meet him, where he ordered her to report her investigation.

• Cesimir told Anthony that Dunn Smith and Angel Granger had survived the Tingen Incident, Klein Moretti had truly died and later returned, and the Holy See had concealed their secret unit's hunt for Ince Zangwill and '0-08.'
• Cesimir explained that Ince Zangwill's spirit had revealed clues about a royal-family ruin near Backlund, and Anthony assigned teams, including Soest's, to help search for it.
• Cesimir handed Anthony the Unaging Demoness Beyonder Characteristic and warned him to store it securely behind Chanis Gate with at least two people inspecting it together.
• Angel attended Audrey Hall's psychology salon, recognized Stephen Hampres as a Spectator connected to Hvin Rambis, and noticed Audrey leave the hall after him.
• Hampres sat opposite Audrey in a reception room and coldly ordered her to report the results of her investigation.

Audrey pretended to remain under Hampres’s Hypnosis while steering him toward the conclusions she and Angel had prepared. Hampres reported back to Hvin Rambis, who identified Christine Teresa as likely being a Demoness of Pleasure.

• Audrey reported that Christine Teresa was a Beyonder with ties to the underworld and claimed she felt drawn to her, prompting Hampres to order Audrey to stop investigating Christine and look into Baron Cinderas’s dealings with Earl Hall.
• Audrey played along as Hampres erased their conversation from her memory, while Angel watched through Magic Mirror Divination and confirmed Hvin Rambis was not at the villa.
• Angel intercepted Hampres after his meeting with Audrey, and a trace of pale red blood vanished into his glass of sparkling wine.
• Hampres returned home and found Hvin Rambis waiting in his sitting room, then reported Audrey’s investigation and said Christine Teresa was likely a Demoness of Pleasure.

Angel used a curse and Mirror Magic to spy on Hvin Rambis questioning Stephen Hampres, learning that the Psychology Alchemists wanted Audrey to investigate Baron Cinderas’s defection to the New Party. After reporting the successful operation to Audrey, she joined the Tarot Club gathering above the Gray Fog, where two newcomers appeared.

• Hvin Rambis searched Stephen Hampres’s memories and confirmed that Hampres had told him the truth about Christine Teresa and Audrey Hall.
• Hvin checked Hampres for a curse, ordered Audrey to investigate Baron Cinderas’s defection discreetly, and used subconscious manipulation to make Hampres forget their conversation.
• Angel revealed that she had used a Bribe, Hampres’s blood, and a Curse Doll to eavesdrop on Hvin and Hampres through the Mirror World.
• Angel recited the Fool’s Honorific Name to tell Justice Audrey that the operation had succeeded.
• At three o’clock on Monday, the Tarot Club gathered above the Gray Fog with two newcomers present.

Angel sensed that the gray fog had changed, then watched the Tarot Club welcome Leonard and Xio as new members. As the gathering turned to commissions, Leonard sought a Mystical Item.

• Angel noticed Mr. Fool seemed more integrated with the gray fog and recognized Leonard and Xio among the two newcomers.
• Audrey greeted the members, and Leonard and Xio introduced themselves as the Star and Judgment.
• Leonard realized that Roselle's Diary pages served as a special offering to Mr. Fool and remembered the pages kept in Saint Samuel Cathedral's archives.
• Angel asked the members to find leads on the Fountain of Youth, and the Hanged Man and Hermit agreed to search for her.
• Leonard announced that he wanted to buy a Mystical Item.

At the Tarot Club meeting, Leonard sought a powerful Mystical Item and learned more about the members’ resources and connections as they discussed Angelica Zaki, Ince Zangwill, and Adam’s move toward godhood. The chapter ended with Daly finding Dunn Smith outside Leonard’s unanswered cabin aboard a passenger ship.

• Leonard asked the Tarot Club members for an offensive Mystical Item, but no one offered a suitable one.
• Derrick described exploring the Ancient City of Noss, and Xio told Angel that MI9 planned to raise the Golden Queen’s bounty to four hundred and fifty thousand pounds.
• Leonard mentioned the death of a defected Evernight Archbishop, and Alger identified the deceased as Ince Zangwill and noted that the whereabouts of '0-08' were unknown.
• The Fool revealed that Adam had drawn closer to godhood, and the World and Angel explained Adam’s connection to Ince Zangwill and his seizure of '0-08.'
• Daly knocked on Leonard’s cabin door aboard a northbound passenger ship, then encountered Dunn Smith in the corridor.

At the Tarot Club, Angel recounted the battle involving Adam, the Red Angel evil spirit, and Ince Zangwill, leaving the members to reflect on their roles and the World’s new demigod status. After Leonard returned to the ship, the chapter ended with Shermane killing Le Ruisi, a wanted criminal in Backlund.

• Angel described how the Tarot Club members had become involved in the battle over 0-08, shocking the others with the revelation that the World had become a demigod.
• The Tarot Club members reflected on the Red Angel evil spirit, Adam’s involvement, and Mr. Fool’s warning not to speak or think of Adam’s name in the Physical World.
• Leonard returned to his cabin, realized his colleagues might have seen him during the gathering, and decided to hide somewhere safe for future meetings.
• Shermane tracked down Le Ruisi in a Backlund warehouse and killed him with black flames, sentencing him for murder and robbery.

Shermane continued her ritualistic killings to advance as a Witch, while Helene completed an arms deal in Nass and sent its proceeds to Angelica Zaki. The money arrived safely in Backlund, though the chapter left Angel delighted by the enormous suitcase of cash and gold spilling across her floor.

• Shermane cleaned Le Ruisi’s murder scene, took his Barbarian Beyonder characteristic, and warned a scavenging child to leave the alley.
• William watched from concealment as Helene exchanged weapons for money with Jia Wade and the Gargas Archipelago resistance.
• Helene and her crew returned to the Red Haired Woman without being attacked, while would-be assailants withdrew from the forest after sensing danger aboard the ship.
• Helene summoned Wensa and sent the suitcase of proceeds to her contractor, Angelica Zaki.
• Wensa delivered the suitcase to Angel, where its lock burst and scattered gold and banknotes across the floor.

Angel received the proceeds from Helene’s arms deal and promised to support Wensa’s faction in the Demoness Sect in exchange for the Fountain of Youth’s location. Elsewhere, Trissy’s growing Affliction drove her to consider seeking help from the Golden Queen.

• Angel calculated that the arms deal left her about 4,000 pounds and learned that two Storm pathway Beyonders had watched the transaction.
• Wensa demanded that Angel promise to choose her side in the Demoness Sect’s internal struggles after advancing to Sequence 3.
• Angel agreed on the condition that Wensa’s claims were true, and Wensa marked the Fountain of Youth’s location deep in the Fog Sea on Angel’s map.
• Trissy transformed her hair into venomous snakes during an agonizing episode, then decided she needed a new hiding place.
• Trissy feared that her Affliction would turn her into a Divine Descent Vessel and considered asking the Golden Queen for help.

Angel returned to Backlund’s high society and visited Saint Samuel Cathedral, where the Church rewarded her for her mission with an Unaging Demoness Beyonder characteristic. Archbishop Anthony and Crestet Cesimir then began discussing her upcoming work.

• Angel reviewed her finances and crowded social schedule, then arranged to visit the Iris Flower Winery with Audrey and look into the Loen Charity Student Aid Fund.
• Angel told Ribak she would visit Saint Samuel Cathedral and asked him to arrange a meeting with Mr. Sander.
• At the cathedral, Angel spoke with Bishop Electra, who believed her relationship with Dantès was progressing and offered to visit him.
• A duty bishop led Angel to Archbishop Anthony’s office, where she met Crestet Cesimir and received the Unaging Demoness Beyonder characteristic.
• Angel sealed the characteristic after its patterns stirred desire in her and the two Saints, then Archbishop Anthony raised the subject of her upcoming work.

Angel learned that Ince Zangwill’s memories connected the royal family and the Demoness Sect to the Great Smog and a vast human-trafficking operation, while the Church tasked her with secretly investigating the royal family. Elsewhere, Klein questioned Nast about Emperor Roselle and learned the Ghost Empire might hold Roselle’s last hope, possibly a means of resurrection.

• Cesimir told Angel that Ince Zangwill had cooperated with the royal family and the Demoness Sect, and that more than twenty thousand people had disappeared from Backlund’s East Borough over three years.
• Anthony explained that someone had erased the royal family members’ traces from Zangwill’s memories, and Cesimir was sent to find ruins near the Tussock River while Angel was assigned to investigate the royal family in secret.
• Angel connected the secret-keeping power to the Arbiter pathway and revealed that she had contacted Trissy Cheek, who was seeking revenge for Prince Edessak.
• Klein visited Nast aboard The Black Emperor and asked about Emperor Roselle, agreeing to one reasonable condition in exchange for information.
• Nast asked Klein to tell Angelica Zaki to join his fleet’s search for the Ghost Empire, which might contain Roselle’s final hope.
• Klein suspected that the Ghost Empire could conceal a mausoleum holding the Black Emperor’s means of resurrection.