Recaps

Alice attended a Tarot Club gathering where Derrick, codenamed The Sun, joined and offered to obtain Audrey’s Mind Reader Potion Formula. After the gathering, Alice privately asked Klein where Derrick came from, and Klein guessed he was from the Land Abandoned by God.

• Alice saw Derrick introduced as the Tarot Club’s new member, The Sun.
• Audrey asked Mr. Fool for the Mind Reader Potion Formula in exchange for Roselle’s diary pages and additional compensation.
• Derrick offered to obtain the Mind Reader Potion Formula from City of Silver in exchange for the initial Sun Pathway formula.
• Klein arranged for Derrick to receive the Bard formula and for Audrey to provide the Mind Reader formula and diary pages in return.
• Alice asked Klein privately where Derrick came from, and Klein said he guessed Derrick was from the Land Abandoned by God.

At the Tarot Club, Alice warned Audrey that Mr. V might belong to the Aurora Order, while Alger offered to seek information about a Monster pathway Beyonder for Alice. Alger then asked Audrey to help locate the pirate general Qilingus, who had secretly entered Backlund, and requested aid from Mr. Fool’s Blessed.

• Audrey told the Tarot Club that the King and Prime Minister had approved open examinations for administrative officials, and Alger paid her for confirming the King would not retaliate against Feysac in Bayam soon.
• Audrey asked about Mr. V, and Alice said he might be an Aurora Order Divine Emissary like Mr. A and Mr. Z, warning Audrey to be careful.
• Alice asked Alger to find the address of a Monster pathway Beyonder so she could learn what such Beyonders could see in her Fate, and Alger agreed to search.
• Alger asked Audrey to help find Qilingus, the pirate general who had secretly entered Backlund, and explained that Qilingus was a dangerous Sequence 6 Beyonder with a Sealed Artifact.
• Alger asked Mr. Fool to have his Blessed assist at a critical moment in exchange for a price that would interest him.

At the Tarot Club, Alice explained that Qilingus’s Creeping Hunger likely let him use a Shepherd’s many stolen abilities, and Audrey accepted a commission to investigate him. Alice then warned the others that Mr. A might return to Backlund with a woman pregnant by the Fallen Creator.

• Alger described Qilingus’s Creeping Hunger and the many abilities Qilingus had gained, prompting Alice and Derrick to identify him as a possible Shepherd.
• Alice explained that Shepherds could devour and command souls to use their abilities, warned the others to flee if they met Qilingus, and requested information about the School of Life and Monster Pathway Beyonders as compensation.
• Audrey accepted Alger’s commission to investigate Qilingus, and Alger agreed to pay her whether or not she succeeded.
• With Klein’s help, Alger manifested a portrait of Qilingus, which Alice memorized.
• Alice told the Tarot Club that Mr. A might return to Backlund with a woman who was pregnant with the Fallen Creator’s child.

Alice warned the Tarot Club that the Fallen Creator's offspring might be brought to Backlund, but Mr. A's decision to stay in Tingen changed the official Beyonders' plans. While stuck at Blackthorn Security Company, Alice discovered that her lost memories included intimate drawings of Klein and a mysterious monocled man.

• Alice told Audrey and Alger that the Three Churches planned to let Mr. A bring Megose to Backlund, where they would set a trap despite the risk of the Fallen Creator's descent.
• The Quill Pen revealed that 0-08 had helped the official Beyonders agree to deal with Megose in Backlund, frustrating Ince Zangwill's plan.
• Mr. A suddenly chose to remain in Tingen City and protect Megose until she gave birth, leaving Alice bored after her vacation was canceled.
• Rosanne praised Alice's Q-version drawings of the Nighthawks, prompting Alice to wonder whether Shen Yinghuan had studied art.
• Alice used Dream Divination and saw repeated drawings of Klein and an unknown monocled man in intimate and sometimes explicit scenes.

Alice struggled with memories of drawings that made her suspect Klein had a lover, then avoided him without explaining why. At the Tarot Club, Alice warned that the Fallen Creator’s offspring was likely headed for Tingen, while Derrick revealed that the City of Silver taught the Acting Method and its central precaution.

• Alice recalled drawings of Klein and another man, suppressed her questions, and fled when Sica mentioned illustrations.
• Alice avoided Klein at Blackthorn Security Company, and her colleagues could not discover why.
• Alice told Audrey that Mr. A and the official Beyonders had changed their plans, making it unlikely that the Fallen Creator’s offspring would appear in Backlund soon.
• Audrey gave Klein a page of Emperor Roselle’s diary, and Derrick provided the Mind Reader potion formula in exchange for compensation toward future Sequence 8 needs.
• Audrey asked Derrick about the Acting Method, and Derrick explained that the City of Silver taught it with the warning, “Remember, you are only acting.”

At the Tarot Club, Alice and Derrick explained the risks of the Acting Method, while Alger shared intelligence about Hurricane Lieutenant General Qilingus’s mission in Backlund and his habits. The group agreed to continue investigating Qilingus, though Alger did not obtain Mr. Fool’s promise of help.

• Audrey and Alger thanked Derrick and Alice for explaining that acting too deeply could change a Beyonder’s personality and make them forget who they were.
• Alger reported that the Monster Pathway Beyonder on his ship had said Fate told him it was not yet time to leave.
• Alger revealed that Qilingus was in Backlund on a difficult commission involving an important item that could help him gain strength comparable to the pirate kings.
• Audrey and Alger discussed searching for Qilingus, while Alger emphasized that he would remain in Backlund for a long time and that the item was crucial.
• Alger described Qilingus’s preferences and habits, and he and Audrey agreed to cooperate in finding him.

Alice met the injured Lord Crescite Sesima at Blackthorn Security Company and learned that the Red Gloves had clashed with Mr. A. Sesima reassured her and promised to arrange a Team Entry Mission after the current matter was over, leaving Alice eager to prove herself.

• Alice encountered Lord Crescite Sesima at Blackthorn Security Company and learned he had been injured in a clash between the Red Gloves and Mr. A.
• Alice felt uneasy about Mr. A's sudden change in behavior, though her divinations had failed to reveal what was happening.
• Sesima told Alice that civilians would not be put on the front lines, making her resent being treated as someone who needed protection.
• Alice argued that she was already a Sequence 7 Nighthawk, but Sesima reminded her that she had not come of age.
• Sesima promised to discuss a Team Entry Mission with Dunn for Alice after the current matter was over, and Alice happily accepted the prospect.

As official Beyonders were stretched thin by Mr. A and the Aurora Order, Alice felt an unexplained spiritual warning she could not decipher. At the Tarot Club, Audrey reported progress on Qilingus, and Alger revealed that the Monster Pathway Beyonder was waiting in Pritz Harbor for a “Fated Encounter.”

• Sesima left Blackthorn Security Company as Mr. A began hunting official Beyonder squads, keeping them occupied while Alice sensed an approaching danger.
• Alice told the Tarot Club that her spirituality seemed to be warning her of something, but she could not understand it.
• Klein said Alice had likely received the three hundred pounds in compensation because she had made no further requests for help.
• Audrey reported that Qilingus had noticed the investigation into him and killed the people involved.
• Alger promised to tell Mr. Fool through a ritual if he learned Qilingus's purpose and the identity of the important item he sought.
• Alger told Alice that the Monster Pathway Beyonder was waiting in Pritz Harbor for a Fated Encounter, and Alice thanked him for the information.

The Tarot Club discussed Audrey’s need for a rare Spectator potion ingredient, and Alger offered to help her obtain it in exchange for assistance finding Qilingus. Klein questioned Derrick about the City of Silver’s faith, revealing Derrick’s origins and leaving Alice wondering about the Lord worshipped there and the True Creator.

• Audrey asked whether members could contact Mr. Fool through rituals with urgent intelligence, and Klein permitted it for her, Alice, and Derrick.
• Audrey sought an intact Seven-Colored Lizard Dragon pituitary gland, but Alice and Derrick had none; Alger offered to obtain one if they helped him find Qilingus.
• Audrey asked about substitute materials for the nearly extinct dragon, and Alice withheld the answer, warning that Audrey would not want to know it.
• Klein asked Derrick whether the City of Silver still believed in gods, and Derrick said its people worshipped the Lord of Everything Created, the Omniscient and Omnipotent God.
• Klein asked whether that God had abandoned the City of Silver, prompting Derrick to explain its people’s history and hope of regaining the Lord’s favor.
• Alice wondered how the City of Silver’s God related to the True Creator and decided to search for information about Him.

Alice’s foreboding came true when the missing Megose appeared at the Nighthawks Headquarters, carrying the True Creator’s offspring. The Nighthawks began evacuating and preparing, but Klein warned that the child would be born within three minutes.

• Klein asked Derrick to describe the sacrifices to the Omniscient and Omnipotent God, while Alice refused to reveal substitute materials because Klein lacked sufficient confidentiality clearance.
• Alice realized that Megose had vanished and that Anti-Divination measures prevented her from finding the woman.
• Megose arrived at Alice’s room, and Alice recognized her as the woman carrying the True Creator’s offspring.
• Alice alerted the Nighthawks that Megose was upstairs, prompting them to evacuate non-combat personnel, contact Sesima, and attend to Megose.
• Megose tore at her hair and face while Alice brought her warm water and tried to conceal her fear.
• Klein told the others that the child in Megose’s belly would be born in at most three minutes.

Alice, Klein, Leonard, and Dunn fought Megose, but her child’s birth overwhelmed them. Ince Zangwill arrived after a strange coincidence killed Megose and the child, then reached into Alice’s chest and tore out her heart.

• Klein gave Alice a charm, and she joined him and Leonard in attacking Megose with a blast of light.
• Megose survived the explosion and attacked the group; Leonard briefly controlled her, but her head exploded and she struck Leonard and Dunn unconscious.
• Megose gave birth, then cut Klein in half with her bone blade while Alice failed to stop her.
• Megose lunged at Alice, tripped, and accidentally cut herself and the child in half.
• Ince Zangwill entered, and Alice realized he had caused the coincidences; he pulled her beating heart from her chest.

Alice remembered Ince Zangwill killing her, then woke inside a coffin and climbed out of her grave beside Klein’s. She and Klein reunited with Azik and began considering how to live after their deaths, relieved to learn the other Nighthawks were alive.

• Alice recognized Ince Zangwill and learned from the Goddess that an unknown existence had erased the original owner of her body from Fate and put Alice’s fate in its place.
• Alice woke in a coffin, pushed open her grave, and climbed out in Raphael Cemetery in front of Azik.
• Klein crawled out of his nearby grave, and Alice, Klein, and Azik left the cemetery together to avoid discovery by the Nighthawks.
• Klein introduced Alice and Azik, and Azik asked what identities and faces they would use since the world believed them dead.
• Azik told Alice and Klein that the other Nighthawks were alive, easing their concern.

Alice warned Klein and Azik that Ince Zangwill was using 0-08 to target the Nighthawks Headquarters and Saint Selina’s Ashes, which he needed to advance. After Azik left, Alice told Klein about her resurrection, her blessing from the Goddess, and the bizarre deaths that had made her a Beyonder, leaving them both wary of her strange luck.

• Alice warned Klein and Azik about 0-08 and Ince Zangwill, and Klein deduced that Ince was after Saint Selina’s Ashes to advance to a demigod.
• Azik left after warning Alice and Klein to be careful, and Alice asked Klein whether he had seen the Goddess.
• Alice told Klein that the Goddess had said an unknown existence erased the traces of her body’s original owner from Fate, and she suspected she had awakened in Other Places before.
• Alice explained the Law of Conservation of Extraordinary Traits and revealed that a Sequence 7 Lucky One had fallen to his death in front of her, giving her a Beyonder Characteristic.
• Alice recounted how Megose tripped and was cut in half by a bone blade after killing Klein, and Klein said he suddenly understood what a Clown was.

Alice and Klein discussed Alice’s resurrection, their plans to leave, and Klein’s pursuit of Ince Zangwill. Their divination pointed them toward Backlund, and they decided to visit Klein’s family before departing.

• Alice said she suspected an unknown force had revived her and made her visible, and Klein understood her frustration at being unable to control her fate.
• Alice told Klein that she had no plan for hiding her appearance and wanted to go to Pritz Harbor, while she felt neither the Goddess nor Fate wanted her to return to the Nighthawks.
• Klein asked Alice about Ince Zangwill, and she warned him that Ince had reached Sequence 5 and might soon become a Demigod.
• Klein and Alice divined where to go next and saw Backlund, the City of Cities.
• Klein said he wanted to see his family, Benson and Melissa, once more, and Alice offered to help him put on Clown makeup before they visited.

After leaving Klein, Alice traveled to Pritz Harbor to find a Beyonder of the Monster pathway and met Charlie King of the School of Life. Charlie offered her the Calamity Priest Potion Formula in exchange for her future help sealing a Sealed Artifact, though the identity of the people behind the deal remained unknown.

• Alice withdrew the remaining 200 pounds in her bank account and traveled from Tingen City to Pritz Harbor.
• A young guide led Alice to a mysterious man who recognized her as the person he had been waiting for.
• The man introduced himself as Charlie King of the School of Life, and Alice used the alias Briel Rose.
• Charlie said Fate had directed him to reveal his location to a Bishop of Storms, while unknown people had arranged a deal with Alice.
• Charlie offered Alice the Monster pathway's Sequence 6 Calamity Priest Potion Formula in return for her future help sealing a Sealed Artifact.

Alice negotiated with Charlie King over helping with a Sealed Artifact and secured a Sequence 6 Potion Formula as an advance. Afterward, she sought Mr. Fool’s help with finding work and housing, revealing that she might have been a high school student before transmigrating.

• Alice questioned Charlie King about the Sealed Artifact and negotiated for a long-term appearance-altering Extraordinary Item and proof of identity.
• Charlie King agreed to prepare identity papers for Alice under the name Briel Rose and arranged a secret-code contact method through the Backlund Morning Post.
• Alice booked an inn room and realized she needed to find a place to live and a job.
• Alice prayed to Mr. Fool for guidance, and Klein learned that she might have been a high school student named Shen Yinghuan before transmigrating.
• Alice said she could draw, but she hesitated when Klein asked about her skill and possible work drawing comic books.

Alice learned about Backlund’s districts and asked to read Roselle’s Diary because she realized she needed strength. At the Tarot Club gathering, Klein shared key laws about Beyonder Characteristics, while Alice’s explanation of what happens to them after a Beyonder’s death shocked Audrey.

• Klein explained Backlund’s districts, and Alice ruled out several areas before asking to read Roselle’s Diary next time he collected it.
• Alice told Klein she had realized she needed strength, and Klein began convening the Tarot Club after recovering his spirituality.
• Alger offered Mr. Fool nineteen pages of Roselle’s Diary as payment for the Blessed who had helped eliminate Qilingus.
• Klein shared the Law of Conservation of Extraordinary Traits, and Alice explained how Beyonder Characteristics precipitated from corpses and could be used.
• Audrey was shaken by the revelation, then Klein introduced the Law of Conservation of Beyonder Characteristics within neighboring sequences.

At a Tarot Club gathering, Klein explained how similar Sequences could substitute for one another at high levels and asked members to investigate the Hermit Order in exchange for the answer. He then proposed using a sacrifice ritual to deliver Alger’s Beyonder material to Audrey, leaving Alice to wonder at Mr. Fool becoming a courier.

• Alger agreed to investigate the Hermit Order for Klein, and Audrey, Derrick, and Alice also offered to gather information in exchange for the answer about similar Sequences.
• Klein explained that certain high-level Sequences from different Pathways could replace one another without causing loss of control, and Audrey asked which Pathways could exchange with the Spectator Pathway.
• Audrey asked Alger whether he had obtained the complete pituitary gland of an adult Seven-Colored Lizard Dragon, and Alger confirmed that he had it.
• Klein proposed that Alger sacrifice the Beyonder material to him through a ritual so he could bestow it upon Audrey safely and confidentially.

Klein explained a ritual for Alger to attempt a Sacrifice, while Alice arranged payments for information and asked how Qilingus had died. The gathering ended with Alice revealing that the Fallen Creator's offspring was dead.

• Klein instructed Alger to prepare a simple altar and perform a prayer ritual to attempt a Sacrifice, and said he would teach Audrey the Ritual of Bestowal if it succeeded.
• Alice stopped seeking information on the School of Life and Monster Pathways, offered Alger details about Shepherd for three hundred pounds, and asked Audrey for one thousand three hundred pounds for earlier information.
• Alice asked how Qilingus had died, and Alger said Mr. Fool's Blessed, a High-Sequence powerhouse of the God of Death Pathway, had caused Qilingus to decay during his escape.
• Alice told Audrey, Alger, and Mr. Sun that the Fallen Creator's offspring was dead.

At the Tarot Club, Alice told Audrey how an evil god’s offspring and its mother died, then pondered madness and the God of Death after reading Roselle’s Diary. In Pritz Harbor, Charlie King gave Alice the Calamity Priest formula and explained his premonition that she might otherwise swallow another Beyonder Characteristic.

• Alice told Audrey that the monster-like mother of an evil god’s offspring fell and was cut in half by her own bone-blade arm, then said everything was inescapable and absurd before Klein ended the gathering.
• Alice received Roselle’s Diary from Alger and wondered whether the True Creator was an Orthodox God who had gone mad and had once been the Original Creator.
• Alice found Charlie King’s secret code in the Backlund Morning Post and met him in Pritz Harbor.
• Charlie King gave Alice the Sequence 6 Calamity Priest Potion Formula, and Alice realized she had no way to verify whether it was genuine.
• Alice told Charlie King she had accidentally died and accidentally swallowed a Lucky One’s Beyonder Characteristic, prompting him to reveal his premonition that she might otherwise have swallowed a Sequence 6 Characteristic.
• Alice put away the formula and asked Charlie King to explain the abilities of a Calamity Priest.

Alice learned about the Calamity Priest’s abilities and received a new identity and a transforming necklace, which she named Matilda. Charlie King also gave her the Honorific Name of the Monster Pathway’s fate-associated figure, though he did not know whether He was in Backlund.

• Charlie King explained that Calamity Priests could foresee disasters, prepare for them, use their advantages in battle, and create Mental Storms, but he offered no direct combat ability beyond what Fate granted.
• Alice asked how she could control her fate, and Charlie King answered that she would need to advance.
• Charlie King gave Alice identification for Briel Rose, a merchant’s daughter who had come to Backlund, and warned her that Alice trusted others too easily.
• Charlie King showed Alice a necklace that could alter her appearance but amplified vanity and could cause its wearer to lose control; Alice named it Matilda.
• Alice asked how she and Charlie King could contact each other, and he offered the Honorific Name of the Monster Pathway’s figure instead.
• Charlie King told Alice that the Monster Pathway was the Pathway of Fate and recited the Honorific Name, but said he did not know whether He was in Backlund.

Alice changed her appearance to conceal her identity, then rented a house on Welsh Street while preparing to live as Briel Rose. She paid six months’ rent and a deposit, leaving her with a new home near St. Samuel Church.

• Alice designed a mature-looking face with dark brown hair, using a heavily modified version of an old friend’s features as a template.
• Alice checked out of her room and changed her face in an empty alley.
• Alice entered the Metropolitan Housing Improvement Association and asked Madam Maggie to help her find a house near a church.
• Alice chose a terraced house on Welsh Street with a study, workshop-like space, heating, and other rooms.
• Alice failed to bargain and paid thirty pounds for the deposit and six months’ rent at one pound per week.

Alice began drawing comic books for a living, but a frightening encounter with a boy left her unsettled. After dreaming of a vast white serpent, she woke just after midnight and decided to wake Klein.

• Alice settled into a routine of praying and drawing comic books, then went for a walk when she grew tired of working.
• Alice rescued a boy from a speeding carriage and received fifty pounds in compensation.
• When the boy thanked her, Alice felt terrified by him and hurried home without understanding why.
• Alice dreamed she climbed a strange black spire and found a gigantic white serpent coiled at its top.
• Alice woke just after midnight and decided to wake Klein.

After a nightmare about a boy and a snake, Alice suspected an Angel of Fate might view her as a future Potion Ingredient because of her strange luck. She sought help finding Potion Ingredients but had to keep working on her comic, leaving the search for a Beyonder gathering for later.

• Alice prayed to Klein after her nightmare, and he replied that he was awake and asked whether she was sick.
• Alice interpreted the dream and suspected the boy was an Angel of Fate who might be waiting for her to mature so he could use her as a Potion Ingredient.
• Alice went to St. Samuel Church and considered how to find a black market or Beyonder gathering where she could obtain Potion Ingredients.
• Alice prayed to Klein for advice, and he told her to visit Bravehearts Bar in Backlund Bridge Area and ask for Caspars Canning, saying the Old Man had sent her.
• Alice returned to drawing her comic book because she needed a job to cover her daily expenses.

Alice visited Bravehearts Bar to buy a powerful revolver from Caspars Canning and asked him to connect her with a gathering of people with special abilities. Caspars agreed to take her to someone who was there that night, and Alice disguised herself before they left.

• Alice entered Bravehearts Bar and asked the bartender for Caspars Canning.
• Caspars sold Alice a specially made revolver and fifty bullets for three pounds and ten soli.
• Alice asked Caspars to arrange a meeting with people with special abilities, and he agreed to take her to someone at the bar for two pounds.
• Caspars gave Alice an iron mask, and she changed her hair, eyes, and jawline to disguise herself.