Chapter Summaries

Alice sensed a dangerous presence beneath the water and joined Alger in investigating it, but they were swept onto the deck by a storm that had escaped the Manova Snakes' control. After breaking off the horns of one snake, Alice used her spirituality to affect the force troubling her, suggesting she could finally influence Fate.

• Alice warned Alger that something beneath the water was causing a brewing disaster and accepted his cufflink, which let her breathe and move underwater.
• Alice and Alger dived beneath the ship, but Alice sensed danger and pulled him back toward the surface.
• A violent wind hurled Alice, Alger, and two Manova Snakes into the air and slammed them onto the deck.
• Alice grabbed one snake's horns despite its bite, broke them off, and infused them with her spirituality.
• Alice touched the troubling sensation in the air through the horns and felt that she could affect Fate.

After recovering from the sea voyage, Alice learned that her attempt to untangle the ship’s fates had killed both snakes, then returned to Backlund. At the Tarot Club, the members welcomed Fors as Miss Magician and began exchanging information and potion formulas.

• Alice woke aboard Alger’s ship and learned that the two snakes had died after she tore apart tangled threads of fate.
• Alice asked Alger to use the remaining Beyonder materials to find her a pair of Calamity Banshee eyes, and reassured him that she enjoyed living as Alice Kingsley.
• Alger agreed to Alice’s request, and she asked him to tell her stories about the sea during their return voyage.
• Klein introduced Fors as Miss Magician at the Tarot Club, where Derrick asked Alger for information about the Fallen Creator.
• Fors asked for the Apothecary and Trick Master formulas, and World sold her the Apothecary formula for 230 pounds.

Alice taught Fors the Acting Method in exchange for two pages of Roselle's Diary, while the Tarot Club members noticed how unusually familiar Alice seemed with Mr. Fool. Derrick then offered a question in exchange for information about the Seven Deities, revealing his interest in learning about the outside world.

• Fors accepted Alice's offer to teach her the Acting Method on the condition that she keep it secret without Mr. Fool's permission.
• Alice said Fors could pay Mr. Fool with two pages of Roselle's Diary, then explained potion digestion and the risks of acting.
• Derrick asked which deities made up the Seven Deities and offered each respondent one question he could answer.
• Audrey agreed to trade with Derrick because she was interested in the City of Silver.
• Alice explained that the City of Silver was in the legendary Land Abandoned by God.

At the Tarot Club gathering, Derrick answered questions about Devils, the City of Silver’s Creation Myth, and King of Demonic Wolves Flegrea. Later, Alice visited Roselle’s memorial exhibition and recognized the Chinese writing in one of his notebooks, leaving with a new appreciation for its oddly mundane contents.

• Audrey realized Alice was telling the truth about Mr. Fool bringing people from the Forsaken Land of the Gods to the gathering, then apologized for still owing Derrick a payment.
• Derrick described Devils’ shared abilities and weaknesses in response to Alice’s question.
• Derrick recounted the City of Silver’s Creation Myth for Alger and said he knew little about King of Demonic Wolves Flegrea beyond his other names.
• The World learned that Miss Sharron might belong to the Prisoner pathway and be a deserter from the Rose School before Mr. Fool ended the gathering.
• Alice visited the Roselle Memorial Exhibition and saw the emperor’s belongings, historical documents, and a notebook written in Chinese.
• Alice read the notebook’s opening entry about Roselle’s constipation, admired his handwriting’s familiarity, and gave up on stealing the diary.

Alice visited the Roselle Memorial Exhibition and discovered that a Demigod was watching her. At the display of Roselle’s children’s toys, someone asked Alice whether she recognized the exhibits.

• Alice sensed a Demigod in the “Affectionate Roselle” hall and was startled when another visitor called attention to her.
• Alice reassured the guide that she was fine, and the tour continued under the Demigod’s watchful gaze.
• Alice reflected on Roselle’s love letters, educational books, and her own lost memories of bookstores and libraries.
• Alice examined Roselle’s building blocks and Chinese chess set, then heard someone ask whether she knew the items.

Alice encountered Bernadette in the Exhibition Hall, where Bernadette questioned her about the works of Emperor Roselle. Alice revealed that others like her could recognize Roselle’s works and suggested they might not all have been written by him; she then told Bernadette that Roselle had loved her and that his published notes were diaries.

• Alice realized a veiled female demigod had isolated her in the Exhibition Hall and questioned her familiarity with Emperor Roselle’s works.
• Alice guessed the demigod knew someone connected to those works, and the woman revealed that he was the protagonist of the exhibition.
• Alice recognized the woman as Bernadette and described Roselle as a senior whose works nearly blocked the path for those who came after him.
• Alice explained that others could recognize Roselle’s works and questioned whether he had truly written them all.
• Alice told Bernadette that Roselle had loved her and that the notes published after his death were actually his diaries.

Alice told Bernadette that she came from a vanished civilization and began explaining its communication technology, including the Internet. Their conversation stopped when a pair of emotionless black eyes appeared before them.

• Bernadette asked Alice to read Emperor Roselle’s diary, and Alice explained that its writing was a native language from her vanished civilization.
• Alice said she and her companions were searching for how they had come to this world and identified the Fool as someone Bernadette could pray to.
• Bernadette asked whether Roselle was alive and why he had acted as he did, but Alice reminded her that she was only fifteen or sixteen.
• Alice described her civilization as one without Beyonders and explained how the Internet connected people across great distances.
• Alice began recounting the development from telegraphs to telephones, mobile phones, and the Internet, but she and Bernadette froze when a pair of pitch-black eyes appeared before them.

After the Hidden Sage watched them, Alice and Bernadette realized Alice’s lost technological civilization had existed in this world, raising questions about Alice’s origins. Alice asked Bernadette for the Sequence 0 Fate potion formula and revealed that a Mercury Serpent was hunting her as a possible ingredient.

• Bernadette caught Alice as the Hidden Sage’s gaze fell on them, and Alice explained that she and her companions came from a civilization without supernatural powers.
• Alice reasoned that the world’s calendar and astronomy matched her old civilization, leaving her unsure whether she had transmigrated from another world or into a book that had foretold her fate.
• Alice described transmigration and compulsory education, prompting Bernadette to wonder how such a prosperous civilization could have vanished without a trace.
• Alice asked Bernadette for the Sequence 0 Fate potion formula, and Bernadette revealed that she possessed the Fate Blasphemy Card.
• Alice said a Mercury Serpent was hunting her as a suspected Sequence 0 potion ingredient, then asked what the ingredient was; an invisible threat briefly surrounded Bernadette.

Bernadette explained that the Wheel of Fortune required the Mercury Serpent’s Beyonder Characteristic and its Uniqueness, prompting Alice to suspect she was connected to that Uniqueness and being affected by its Divinity. They discussed Anchors and gods’ believers, then Bernadette learned Alice was Sequence 7 and asked for the Fool’s Honorific Name.

• Bernadette told Alice what a Beyonder needed to advance to Sequence 0 of the Wheel of Fortune Pathway.
• Alice wondered whether she was the Fate Pathway’s Uniqueness or connected to it, and Bernadette suggested Divinity might be influencing her.
• Bernadette explained that Anchors stabilized mental states, and Alice concluded that believers served as gods’ Anchors.
• Bernadette questioned Alice’s lack of reverence for gods, and Alice said she was a Goddess believer but doubted anyone would worship a Sequence 7.
• Bernadette learned Alice was Sequence 7 and asked her to share the Fool’s Honorific Name, while Alice looked away.

Bernadette taught Alice how to summon her messenger and warned her about the dangers of seeking the Uniqueness. Alice reflected on her connection to it and explained what “hometown” meant, leaving Bernadette wondering whether Roselle had sought a way back to his own.

• Bernadette gave Alice her address and explained her messenger-summoning ritual, warning her not to summon one alone.
• Bernadette told Alice she lacked the qualifications to receive prayers, and Alice concluded she would retrieve the Uniqueness.
• Alice realized that the Mercury Serpent’s plan might draw her into contact with a dangerous Sealed Artifact, but suspected her dream held a clue.
• Bernadette asked Alice her name and what “hometown” meant, and Alice explained that it was a place one could never return to.
• Bernadette wondered whether Roselle had searched for a way back to his hometown, and Alice said she did not know.

Alice met Bernadette at the Roselle Memorial Exhibition, searched Emperor Roselle’s study for the Card of Blasphemy, and received a package from Evelyn. She then told Klein they might not be able to return.

• Bernadette helped Alice blend in with a new group of visitors, then returned to the hall containing Roselle’s diary.
• Alice toured the reconstruction of Roselle’s study and noticed a portrait bookmark among his manuscripts, but decided against trying to identify or take it.
• After the museum tour, Alice found Evelyn’s letter and a rough wooden Pirate Ship model in her mailbox.
• Alice prayed to Mr. Fool and told Klein she had met Bernadette and had something important to report.
• Alice told Klein in Chinese, “We... might not be able to go back.”

Alice told Klein that Bernadette’s reaction to hearing about the Internet suggested Earth civilization had once existed on their world, leaving them with little hope of returning. Klein questioned whether his path was truly his choice, while Alice revealed that Bernadette possessed the Fate Blasphemy Card and had given her a messenger summoning ritual.

• Alice told Klein she had met Bernadette and revealed that she had described their civilization, Emperor Roselle, and The Fool to her.
• Alice explained that mentioning the Internet drew the Hidden Sage’s gaze, and Bernadette said only real, highly secretive knowledge could attract It.
• Alice concluded that the world had once had an Earth-like civilization, and Klein struggled to accept that they might never return.
• Klein questioned whether he had any choice in advancing, and Alice argued that choosing to act was better than Fate forcing the issue.
• Alice told Klein that Bernadette held the Fate Blasphemy Card and had explained that a Sequence 0 potion required a Sequence 1 trait and the pathway’s Uniqueness.
• Klein proposed having Justice investigate whether the card was in the exhibition hall, then sent Alice out of the Gray Fog after she suggested setting it on fire.

Klein and Alice planned to steal the Blasphemy Card from Roselle’s exhibition, but Bernadette caught Klein taking bookmarks and asked about his connection to the Fool. After escaping, Klein met Alice at a wealthy merchant’s storage room, and they used the cursed Universal Key to travel through walls until they smelled blood.

• Alice asked a waiter whether he knew of chopsticks, but he had never heard of them.
• After Audrey confirmed the bookmark was dangerous, Klein discussed stealing the Blasphemy Card with Alice, who urged him not to worry about Bernadette unless she appeared.
• Klein entered Roselle’s study as a transparent clown-like figure and began taking bookmarks, but Bernadette confronted him and asked his relationship with the Fool.
• Klein vanished, then met Alice in a wealthy merchant’s storage room and accepted the Universal Key despite its curse.
• Klein and Alice used the Universal Key to open doors through walls, following a straight path until they smelled blood.

Alice and Klein escaped the Demon Hound, and Alice returned home to find Bernadette waiting for her. Bernadette pressed Alice for information about the person who stole the bookmark and The Fool’s believers, but Alice withheld the person’s identity and asked for the diary in exchange for more details.

• Alice and Klein found the Demon Hound beside a murdered woman, but it backed away and let them pass.
• Alice returned home and encountered Evelyn, who nervously tried to hide where she was going; Alice told her to come back early.
• Bernadette appeared in Alice’s living room and asked who had stolen the bookmark, explaining that she wanted to learn about The Fool’s believers.
• Alice refused to identify Another Person and told Bernadette that the Demon Hound had completed its twelfth murder and might soon advance to Sequence 5.
• Bernadette asked about the diary and its Blasphemy Card, and Alice demanded that Bernadette give the diary to them in exchange for more information.
• Bernadette left by disappearing with the Pea Vines.

Alice prayed to Klein after meeting Bernadette at home, and Klein showed her the unsealed Card of Blasphemy. They discussed selling the Barbarian formula and the risks surrounding Bernadette, then left the question of compensation unresolved.

• After Bernadette vanished, Alice prayed to Klein and appeared Above the Gray Fog.
• Klein showed Alice the Card of Blasphemy, and she examined Emperor Roselle’s Black Emperor and other Sequence portraits, including Lawyer and Barbarian.
• Alice and Klein agreed they could sell the Barbarian formula to someone at Bravehearts Bar, then Alice told Klein that Bernadette had waited for her at home.
• Klein recounted Bernadette’s appearance at the Exhibition Hall, and Alice returned to reality to check whether Bernadette was still there.
• Alice found Bernadette gone and told Klein that Bernadette had been seeking the Fool’s believers; Klein realized she had waited for Alice to contact him.
• Klein proposed paying Justice 3,000 pounds in compensation, but he and Alice acknowledged that neither had the money available, so Alice could owe him later.

Alice learned that Doctor Aaron’s misfortune began after he met a boy named Will Auceptin, whom Alice recognized as the Snake of Mercury. She urged Klein to let fate bring him into contact with Will, despite the danger.

• Alice found the museum theft barely mentioned in the newspaper and went to church for her daily tasks.
• Alice worried that Evelyn’s growing connection to her could draw the ordinary girl into the Extraordinary World, then returned home to work on her comic.
• Klein summoned Alice above the Gray Fog and told her that Doctor Aaron had suffered bad luck after treating a young boy.
• Alice recognized the boy as the Snake of Mercury and learned that his name was Will Auceptin.
• Alice told Klein to let fate arrange a meeting with Will, and Klein grew curious about what Will might see in his fate.

Alice concocted and drank the Calamity Priest potion, briefly losing consciousness as she experienced a strange river of light. She awakened with new abilities and signs of potion digestion, confirming she had reached Sequence 6.

• Alice received the final Main Ingredient from Klein and prepared to concoct the Calamity Priest potion.
• The potion exerted an instinctive attraction on Alice, but she resisted its pull and then drank it.
• Alice experienced a comforting, disorienting vision of a River of Rippling Light and descended toward her body before awakening on the floor.
• Alice stopped herself from recalling the vision when a stabbing pain warned her that remembering it was dangerous.
• Alice sensed the Calamity Priest abilities to foresee and cause calamities, then recognized a Sign of Potion Digestion and confirmed she was Sequence 6.

Alice questioned whether her lost memories explained her potions digesting instantly, then resolved to wait until she was stronger before probing them. At a Backlund gathering, she heard the Fortune Accessory was still being offered for 2,000 pounds and suspected its owner was hiding a drawback.

• Alice woke in a cold sweat after advancing to Sequence 6 and wondered whether her forgotten past explained the potion’s direct digestion.
• Alice decided to postpone investigating her memories, then failed to divine Charlie King’s location beyond learning he was still in Backlund.
• Alice attended old Mr. Eye of Wisdom’s gathering and heard the Fortune Accessory’s owner again offer it for 2,000 pounds without finding a buyer.
• The Fat Apothecary asked for a subdued Extraordinary Creature, and Alice suggested raising an Extraordinary Pet with potions and sufficient strength to handle it losing control.

At a gathering, Alice, Klein, and Lady Daly traded a Potion Formula for Extraordinary bullets, after which Klein sought purification items. On Monday, Alice received an invitation to Viscount Glaint’s Literary Salon, and the Tarot Club meeting ended with Audrey asking to speak privately and Fors offering two pages of Roselle’s diary.

• Lady Daly offered fifty specialized bullets for five hundred pounds or the 'Barbarian' formula, and Alice and Klein both revealed they had the formula.
• Klein paid Alice three hundred pounds to withdraw from bidding, and the transaction left Alice with the money, Klein with the bullets, and Lady Daly with the formula.
• Klein sought powerful purification items and offered to trade formulas, but declined Lady Daly’s offer of eight hundred pounds for 'Bribing.'
• Alice received a mass invitation to Viscount Glaint’s Literary Salon and wondered whether to ask Audrey about it.
• At the Tarot Club, Audrey noticed the Card of Blasphemy beside the Fool, while Alice failed to notice it.
• Audrey asked to report something privately to the Fool, and Fors said she remembered two pages of Roselle’s diary.

Alice posted a commission to find Charlie King, a Sequence 5 Winner in Backlund, and World accepted it. After Fors revealed that World had found the Trick Master Potion Formula, Alger asked about missing tribespeople and escaped slaves, prompting Alice to ask whether anyone recognized Chopsticks.

• Alice asked Mr. Fool to materialize Charlie King's portrait and offered three hundred pounds for information about his location.
• World accepted Alice's commission, and Alice said Charlie could bestow misfortune, make himself lucky, and attack a Beyonder's spirit.
• Alice explained that she had saved a Fate angel from a carriage and suspected it was now too occupied to care for Charlie.
• Fors said World had found the Trick Master Potion Formula, and World told her to recite Mr. Fool's Honorific Name before purchasing an item for him.
• Alger asked about tribespeople taken from the Southern Continent and groups of slaves escaping; after the others had no leads, Alice showed an image of Chopsticks and asked if anyone recognized them.